The World of OPT

Recent Geologic Activity on the Moon?

2012-02-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

Newly detected series of narrow linear troughs are known as graben, and they formed in highland materials on the lunar farside. These graben are located on a topographic rise with several hundred meters of relief revealed in topography derived from LROC stereo images. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University/Smithsonian Institution.

Recent images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera provide evidence that the lunar crust may be pulling apart in certain areas. The images reveal small trenches less than a kilometer in length, and less than a few hundred meters wide. Only a small number of these features, known as graben, have been discovered on the lunar surface. There are several clues in the high-resolution images that provide evidence for recent geologic activity on the Moon.

The LROC team detected signs of contraction on the lunar surface as early as August of 2010. The contractions were in the form of lobe-shaped ridges known as lobate scarps. Based on the data, the team suggests the widely-distributed scarps indicate the Moon shrank in diameter, and may be continuing to shrink. Interestingly enough, the new image data featuring graben presents a contradiction, as they indicate lunar crust being pulled apart and theorize that the process that created the graben may have occurred within the past 50 million years.

“We think the Moon is in a general state of global contraction due to cooling of a still hot interior, said thomas Watters from the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies. "The graben tell us that forces acting to shrink the Moon were overcome in places by forces acting to pull it apart. This means the contractional forces shrinking the Moon cannot be large, or the small graben might never form.”

Based on the size of the graben, the forces responsible for contraction of the lunar surface are assumed to be fairly weak. It is further theorized that, unlike the early terrestrial planets, the Moon was not completely molten during its early history.

“It was a big surprise when I spotted graben in the farside highlands," said Mark Robinson, LROC Principal Investigator at Arizona State University. "I immediately targeted the area for high resolution stereo images so we could create a 3-dimensional view of the graben. It’s exciting when you discover something totally unexpected. Only about half the lunar surface has been imaged in high resolution. There is much more of the Moon to be explored.”

If you'd like to learn more about the recently discovered graben on the moon, you can watch a short video by Thomas Watters below:

To learn more about the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, visit: http://www.lroc.asu.edu/

Source: Arizona State University News. Written by Ray Sanders of Universe Today.

Product Spotlight: Vixen Polaire

2012-02-20T11:10:00.001-08:00

Are you looking for an easy way to start yourself into astrophotography? Then check out the very uncomplicated and very affordable Vixen Polaire Star Tracker!

The simple and elegant Vixen Polaire looks like an ordinary digital camera, but this compact mount platform and tripod is all you need to begin capturing night scenes and star images with ease. Just attach the tracker to the tripod and connect any digital camera weighing up to 4.4 lbs. Now make use of captive compass to orient the mount to face north. Ready for even more easy alignment? The Vixen Polaire Star Tracker also includes an alignment window for visual reference to Polaris! That means it can double as a polar alignment scope!

Now you're ready to begin imaging! Once the Vixen Polaire Star Tracker is set, it tracks smoothly along with the motion of the stars. No more unwanted "star trails" on your images. You'll be treated to sharp, crisp and clean astrophotography!

The Polarie is designed to not only be functional, but also to be compact and attractive. Inside it houses highly accurate stepper motors and precision gears. What's more, it operates on just two inexpensive and readily available AA batteries. That means no separate power source is needed. Outside is an attractive body with no visible screws or complicated connections to clutter your arrangement or tangle your astrophotography sessions. While the Polaire wasn't designed to be waterproof, you'll find it is "weatherproof" and functions in most weather conditions.

With the Venus transit coming up in the near future, you'll find the Vixen Polaire Star Tracker to be a great companion tool with your Coronado PST. Follow and image sunspot action... But don't stop there! The entire 2012 year features repeated planetary conjunctions that just beg for night sky photography. Image photographing Saturn, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter when they're lined up together! You're going to love what the Polaire can help you do!

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast: February 19-25, 2012

2012-02-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It's going to be an awesome week as we watch the planets - Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury - dance along the ecliptic plane. You don't even need a telescope for this show! But that's not all. We'll take a look at a wealth of bright star clusters, challenging studies and lots more. I'll see you in the back yard...

Sunday, February 19 - Today is the birthday of Nicolas Copernicus. Born in 1473, he was the creator of the modern solar system model which illustrated the retrograde motion of the outer planets. Considering this was well over 530 years ago, and in a rather "unenlightened" time, his revolutionary thinking about what we now consider natural is astounding.

Have you been observing retrograde motion while keeping track of Mars? Good for you! You may have also noticed that Mars has dimmed slightly over the last few weeks. Right now it’s around -1.0. Keep track of its many faces!

While we still have dark skies on our side, let's head for a handful of difficult nebulae in a region just west of Gamma Monocerotis. For binoculars, check out the region around Gamma, it is rich in stars and very colorful! You are looking at the very outer edge of the Orion spiral arm of our galaxy. For small scopes, have a look at Gamma itself - it's a triple system that we'll be back to study. For larger scopes? It's Herschel hunting time...

NGC 2183 (Right Ascension: 6 : 10.8 - Declination: -06 : 13 ) and NGC 2185 (Right Ascension: 6 : 11.1 - Declination: -06 : 13 ) will be the first you encounter as you move west of Gamma. Although they are faint, just remember they are nothing more than a cloud of dust illuminated by faint stars on the edge of the galactic realm. The stars that formed inside provided the light source for these wispy objects and at their edges lay in intergalactic space.

To the southwest is the weaker NGC 2182 (Right Ascension: 6 : 09.5 - Declination: -06 : 20), which will appear as nothing more than a faint star with an even fainter halo about it, with NGC 2170 (Right Ascension: 6 : 07.5 - Declination: -06 : 24) more strongly represented in an otherwise difficult field. While the views of these objects might seem vaguely disappointing, you must remember that not everything is as bright and colorful as seen in a photograph. Just knowing that you are looking at the collapse of a giant molecular cloud that's 2400 light-years away is pretty impressive!

Monday, February 20 - Today in history celebrates the Mir space station launch in 1986. Mir (Russian for "peace") was home to both cosmonauts and astronauts as it housed 28 long duration crews during its 15 years of service. To date it is one of the longest running space stations and a triumph for mankind. Spasiba! Today in 1962, John Glenn was onboard Friendship 7 and became the first American to orbit the Earth. As Colonel Glenn looked out the window, he reported seeing “fireflies” glittering outside his Mercury space capsule. Let’s see if we can find some…

The open cluster M41 (Right Ascension: 6 : 46.0 - Declination: -20 : 44) in Canis Major is just a quick drift south of the brightest star in the northern sky – Sirius. Even the smallest scopes and binoculars will reveal this rich group of mixed magnitude stars and fill the imagination with strange notions of reality. Through larger scopes, many faint groupings emerge as the star count rises to well over 100 members. Several stars of color – orange in particular – are also seen along with a number of doubles.

First noted telescopically by Giovanni Batista Hodierna in the mid-1500s, ancient texts indicate that Aristotle saw this naked-eye cluster some 1800 years earlier. Like other Hodierna discoveries, M41 was included on Messier’s list – along with even brighter clusters of antiquity such as Praesepe in Cancer and the Pleiades in Taurus. Open cluster M41 is located 2300 light years away and recedes from us at 34km/sec – about the speed Venus moves around the Sun. M41 is a mature cluster, around 200 million years old and 25 light years in diameter. Remember M41... Fireflies in night skies.

Tuesday, February 21 - Tonight is New Moon! Tonight let’s take a journey just a breath above Zeta Tauri and spend some quality time with a pulsar embedded in the most famous supernova remnant of all. Factually, we know the Crab Nebula to be the remains of an exploded star recorded by the Chinese in 1054. We know it to be a rapid expanding cloud of gas moving outward at a rate of 1,000 km per second, just as we understand there is a pulsar in the center. We also know it as first recorded by John Bevis in 1758, and then later cataloged as the beginning Messier object – penned by Charles himself some 27 years later to avoid confusion while searching for comets. We see it revealed beautifully in timed exposure photographs, its glory captured forever through the eye of the camera — but have you ever really taken the time to truly study M1 (Right Ascension: 5 : 34.5 - Declination: +22 : 01)? Then you just may surprise yourself…

In a small telescope, M1 might seem to be a disappointment – but do not just glance at it and move on. There is a very strange quality to the light which reaches your eye, even though initially it may just appear as a vague, misty patch. Allow your eyes to adjust and M1 will appear to have “living” qualities – a sense of movement in something that should be motionless. The “Crab” holds true to many other spectroscopic studies. The concept of differing light waves crossing over one another and canceling each other out – with each trough and crest revealing differing details to the eye – is never more apparent than during study. To observe M1 is to at one moment see a “cloud” of nebulosity, the next a broad ribbon or filament, and at another a dark patch. When skies are stable you may see an embedded star, and it is possible to see six such stars.

Many observers have the ability to see spectral qualities, but they need to be developed. From ionization to polarization – our eye and brain are capable of seeing to the edge of infra-red and ultra-violet. Even a novice can see the effects of magnetism in the solar “Wilson Effect.” But what of the spinning neutron star at M1′s heart? We’ve known since 1969 that M1 produces a “visual” pulsar effect. About once every five minutes, changes occurring in the neutron star’s pulsation affect the amount of polarization, causing the light waves to sweep around like a giant “cosmic lighthouse” and flash across our eyes. M1 is much more than just another Messier. Capture it tonight!!

Wednesday, February 22 - Today in 1966, Soviet space mission Kosmos 110 was launched. Its crew was canine, Veterok (Little Wind) Ugolyok (Little Piece of Coal); both history making dogs. The flight lasted 22 days and held the record for living creatures in orbit until 1974 - when Skylab 2 carried its three-man crew for 28 days.

Since we’ve studied the “death” of a star, why not take the time tonight to discover the “birth” of one? Our journey will start by identifying Aldeberan (Alpha Tauri) and move northwest to bright Epsilon. Hop 1.8 degrees west and slightly to the north for an incredibly unusual variable star – T Tauri.

Discovered by J.R. Hind in October 1852, T Tauri and its accompanying nebula, NGC 1555 (Right Ascension: 4 : 22.9 - Declination: +19 : 32), set the stage for discovery with a pre-main sequence variable star. Hind reported the nebula, but also noted that no catalog listed such an object in that position. His observations also included a 10th magnitude uncharted star and he surmised that the star in question was a variable. On each count Hind was right, and both were followed by astronomers for several years until they began to fade in 1861. By 1868, neither could be seen and it wasn’t until 1890 that the pair was re-discovered by E.E. Barnard and S.W. Burnham. Five years later? They vanished again.

T Tauri is the prototype of this particular class of variable stars and is itself totally unpredictable. In a period as short as a few weeks, it might move from magnitude 9 to 13 and other times remain constant for months on end. It is about equal to our own Sun in temperature and mass - and its spectral signature is very similar to Sol’s chromosphere – but the resemblance ends there. T Tauri is a star in the initial stages of birth!

T Tauri are all pre-main sequence and are considered “proto-stars”. In other words, they continuously contract and expand, shedding some of their mantle of gas and dust. This gas and dust is caught by the star’s rotation and spun into an accretion disc – which might be more properly referred to as a proto-planetary disc. By the time the jets have finished spewing and the material is pulled back to the star by gravity, the proto-star will have cooled enough to have reached main sequence and the pressure may have allowed planetoids to form from the accreted material.

Thursday, February 23 - If you have an open western horizon, then be out at twilight! Right now the speedy inner planet – Mercury – will make a brief appearance. Depending on your time zone, you might also spot a very young Moon just above it! For curiosity seekers, you can also find asteroid Vesta to the south of the Moon, along with planet Uranus to the south-east. How cool is that?!

In 1987, Ian Shelton made an astonishing visual discovery - SN 1987a. This was the brightest supernova in 383 years. More importantly, before it occurred, a blue star of roughly 20 solar masses was already known to exist in that same location within the Large Magellanic Cloud. Catalogued as Sanduleak -69-202, that star is now gone. With available data on the star, astronomers were able to get a “before and after” look at one of the most extraordinary events in the universe! Tonight, let’s have a look at a similar event known as “Tycho’s Supernova.”

Located northwest of Kappa Cassiopeia, SN1572 appeared so bright in that year that it could be seen with the unaided eye for six months. Since its appearance was contrary to Ptolemaic theory, this change in the night sky now supported Copernicus’ views and heliocentric theory gained credence. We now recognize it as a strong radio source, but can it still be seen? There is a remnant left of this supernova, and it is challenging even with a large telescope. Look for thin, faint filaments that form an incomplete ring around 8 arc minutes across.

Friday, February 24 - Tonight the slender first crescent of the Moon makes its presence known on the western horizon. Before it sets, take a moment to look at it with binoculars. The beginnings of Mare Crisium will show to the northeast quadrant, but look just a bit further south for the dark, irregular blotch of Mare Undarum - the Sea of Waves. On its southern edge, and to lunar east, look for the small Mare Smythii - the "Sea of Sir William Henry Smyth." Further south of this pair and at the northern edge of Fecunditatis is Mare Spumans - the "Foaming Sea." All three of these are elevated lakes of aluminous basalt belonging to the Crisium basin.

For telescope users, wait until the Moon has set and return to Beta Monocerotis and head about a fingerwidth northeast for an open cluster challenge - NGC 2250 (Right Ascension: 6 : 32.8 - Declination: -05 : 02). This vague collection of stars presents itself to the average telescope as about 10 or so members that form no real asterism and makes one wonder if it is indeed a cluster. So odd is this one, that a lot of star charts don't even list it!

Today in 1968, during a radar search survey, the first pulsar was discovered by Jocelyn Bell. The co-directors of the project, Antony Hewish and Martin Ryle, matched these observations to a model of a rotating neutron star, winning them the 1974 Physics Nobel Prize and proving a theory of J. Robert Oppenheimer from 30 years earlier.

Would you like to get a look at a region of the sky that contains a pulsar? Then wait until the Moon has well westered and look for guidestar Alpha Monocerotis to the south and bright Procyon to its north. By using the distance between these two stars as the base of an imaginary triangle, you'll find pulsar PSR 0820+02 at the apex of your triangle pointed east.

Saturday, February 25 - As the Moon begins its westward journey after sunset in a position much easier to observe. The lunar feature we are looking for is at the north-northeast of the lunar limb and its view is often dependent on libration. What are we seeking? "The Sea of Alexander von Humboldt"...

Mare Humboldtianum can sometimes it can be hidden from view because it is an extreme feature. Spanning 273 kilometers, the basin in which it is contained extends for an additional 600 kilometers and continues around to the far side of the Moon. The mountain ranges which accompany this basin can sometimes be glimpsed under perfect lighting conditions, but ordinarily are just seen as a lighter area. The mare was formed by lava flow into the impact basin, yet more recent strikes have scarred Humboldtianum. Look for a splash of ejecta from crater Hayn further north, and the huge, 200 kilometer strike of crater Bel'kovich on Humboldtianum's northeast shore.

When the Moon begins to wester, let's head for Beta Monocerotis and hop about 3 fingerwidths east for an 8.9 magnitude open cluster that can be spotted with binoculars and is well resolved with a small telescope - NGC 2302 (Right Ascension: 6 : 51.9 - Declination: -07 : 04). This very young stellar cluster resides at the outer edge of the Orion spiral arm. While binoculars will see a handful of stars in a small V-shaped pattern, telescope users should be able to resolve 40 or so fainter members.

Until next week, may all of your journeys be at light speed!

Messier 41 Image Credit: NOAO/AURA/NSF. If you enjoy the weekly observing column, then you'll love the book, The Night Sky Companion 2012 written by Tammy Plotner. This fully illustrated observing guide includes star charts for your favorite objects and much more!

Skydiver Prepares for Record-Setting Freefall from the Edge of Space

2012-02-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

In 2010, we reported on Felix Baumgartner and his upcoming attempt to break the sound barrier with his body, in a freefall from the edge of space. Part science experiment, part publicity stunt, part life-long ambition, the Red Bull Stratos mission will have Baumgartner traveling inside a capsule with a stratospheric balloon to 36,500 meters (120,000 feet), where he will step out and attempt a record-setting highest freefall jump ever. The mission was delayed by two years by a lawsuit, but Baumgartner’s jump is now back on, and will be attempted later this year, perhaps late summer or early fall 2012.

If Baumgartner is successful, the mission will break four world records: the altitude record for freefall, the distance record for longest freefall, the speed record for fastest freefall by breaking the speed of sound with the human body, and the altitude record for the highest manned balloon flight.

“This is the biggest goal I can dream of,” Baumgartner said. “If we can prove that you can break the speed of sound and stay alive I think that is a benefit for future space exploration.”

Above is a video of some of the preparations to test Baumgarter’s pressure suit and his body’s reaction to what he will endure during the freefall. The pressurized “space” suit and helmet supplies 20 minutes of oxygen includes especially designed equipment developed to capture data throughout the mission for the medical and scientific advancement of human flight.

The speed of sound — historically called the ‘sound barrier’ – has been broken by rockets, various jet-powered aircraft and rocket-boosted land vehicles. No one has broken it yet with just their body.

Back in 1960, a US Air Force captain named Joe Kittinger made aerospace history by making a jump from 31,000 meters (102,800 feet) in what was called project Excelsior. His jump contributed valuable data that provided ground work for spacesuit technology and knowledge about human physiology for the US space program. There have been several attempts to surpass Kittinger’s record, but none have succeeded, and people have given their lives for the quest.

Kittinger has been working with Baumgartner to help him prepare for the jump.

The Red Bull Stratos mission is named after the energy drink company that is sponsoring the jump by the renowned Austrian skydiver. Red Bull Stratos team members say the mission will explore the limits of the human body in one of the most hostile environments known to humankind, in the attempt to deliver valuable lessons in human endurance and high-altitude technology.

The lawsuit that halted the jump was made by Daniel Hogan, who claimed he pitched the idea of breaking the 50-year old freefall record to Red Bull in 2004, and that Red Bull said they weren’t interested, but later, the company went forward with the idea. Hogan filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the energy drink company, but the two parties settled out of court.

The delay may have been a good thing, however. Baumgartner revealed that in December 2010 during first pressure tests of the suit, he had a panic attack, an event which he called “the worst moment of his life.”

“When it came to the crucial pressure test at -60°C, under real conditions with pressure and altitude simulated, and surrounded by cameras, air force personnel and scientists, I realized I just couldn’t do it,” Baumgarter said in an article in the Red Bulletin.

Baumgartner said he thought the suit should feel like ‘second skin’ but instead he felt like his movements and perceptions were restricted. “As soon as the visor closes there’s this nightmarish silence and loneliness – the suit signifies imprisonment. We hadn’t originally conceived of a test that confined me in the suit for five hours – that’s how long the entire mission should take – with the visor closed. After all my past exploits, all the extreme things I’ve done in my career, no one would have ever guessed that simply wearing a space suit would threaten the mission, me included. In the end, the symptoms developed into panic attacks.”

But Baumgarter has been able to over the panic attacks and now is moving forward with the preparations for the jump. The jump will be recorded for a documentary with 15 cameras onboard the capsule and three cameras on Baumgarter’s body. The documentary will be produced by the BBC together with the National Geographic channel, with a feature-length film airing on the two channels following the jump.

The mission will take place in Roswell New Mexico because of the favorable conditions. The area is sparsely populated, plus it has some of the world's best facilities for balloon launches such as this, and the weather allows several good windows for a successful launch.

For more information, see the Red Bull Stratos website, and the Red Bulletin.

Take a look at the infographic about the jump.

Image Credits: Red Bull Stratos. Original Article Written by Nancy Atkinson of Universe Today.

Product Spotlight - TeleVue Delos Eyepieces

2012-02-13T07:43:00.000-08:00

TeleVue optical quality is a legend... and the legend continues with the new Delos eyepiece line. Designed by master optician, Paul Dellechiaie, this repertoire of the 6mm, 10mm and now a 17.3mm eyepiece sets a new standard in the mid-to-short focal length range. Delivering an outstanding 20mm of eye relief and a realistic 72° apparent field of view, these affordable optics are sure to please with their neutral color images, full field sharpness and virtually perfect f θ (theta) distortion mapping. Imagine putting these eyepieces to work on planets, lunar studies, distant galaxies and ethereal nebulae!

What sets the TeleVue Delos Eyepiece above the crowd? You'll find that image quality is enhanced through the use of multi-coatings which match the glass structure and anti-reflection coatings are incorporating through the entire eyepiece - not just reducing spurious images, but eliminating them. Increasing contrast is what it's all about, and the TeleVue Delos design employs an eyeguard system which continuously adjusts and can be locked into any position.

To prevent extraneous light from entering the eye, the first lens surface of the Delos design measures a generous 35mm and the sliding eyeguard quickly adjusts to not only provide observer comfort, but to all-importantly block stray light. The eyeguard can also be rotated for use with Dioptrix, too. Last, but not least, the eyepiece body is marked with indicator lines which can serve as a positioning reference guide for future use. You'll appreciate the 1.25" barrel and the slender, less clunky design... And you'll also appreciate an affordable price point!

The TeleVue Delos Eyepiece.... Why wait another night?

Written by Tammy Plotner.

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast - February 12-18, 2012

2012-02-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! As the Moon fades away, dark sky studies return and so do we as we take a look at a great collection of nebulae this week and expand your Herschel studies. Get out your binoculars and telescopes, because here's what's up!

Sunday, February 12 - Today is the anniversary (2001) of NEAR landing on asteroid Eros. The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission was the first to ever orbit an asteroid, successfully sending back thousands of images. Although it was not designed to land on Eros, it survived the low speed impact and continued to send back data. Would you like to view Eros for yourself? It will be visible a few hours after sky dark. At somewhere between magnitude 11 and 12, Eros will require at least a mid-sized telescope, but is very viewable to both hemispheres along the Hydra/Crater border… and about a handspan southwest of Mars! Be sure to check resources for a planetarium program or on-line service which will give you a precise location for your time and area.

Tonight we'll continue onward with our studies of Lepus as we head for two more of the coveted Herschel 400 objects. Our hop starts with beautiful Gamma and NGC 2073. Located less than a fingerwidth northeast of Gamma (RA 05 45 53.90 Dec -21 59 59.0), NGC 2073 might be magnitude 12.4, but its small size makes it anything but easy. Even if it does have some highly studied molecular cloud structure, be prepared to see nothing but a tiny, egg-shaped contrast change in the elliptical Herschel 241.

Continue northeast a little more than 2 degrees (RA 05 54 52.30 Dec -20 05 03.0) to encounter Herschel 225 - NGC 2124. Although it is slightly fainter, we are at least picking up something with more recognizable structure. Oriented north/south, Herschel 225 is an inclined spiral with a bright nucleus. Set in a wonderfully rich star field, it's difficult to spot at first with low power, but its slim structure holds up well to magnification. This one is really a pleasure.

Monday, February 13 - Today is the birthday of J.L.E. Dreyer. Born in 1852, the Danish-Irish Dreyer came to fame as the astronomer who compiled the New General Catalogue (NGC) published in 1878. Even with a wealth of astronomical catalogs to chose from, the NGC objects and Dreyer's abbreviated list of descriptions still remain the most widely used today.

Tonight let's make Dreyer proud as we finish up our Herschel 400 studies for Herschel 267. At magnitude 13, NGC 2076 (Right Ascension: 5 : 46.8 - Declination: -16 : 46 ) is a lot less forgiving of scope size and sky conditions than some galaxies, but if aperture and sky cooperate, you are in for a real treat! Although it is fairly small and somewhat faint, NGC 2076 is an edge-on that will show indications of a dark dustlane across its brighter nucleus, when using aversion. The lane itself has been highly studied for dust extinction and star forming properties and as recently as 2003 a supernova event was reported just south of the nucleus.

Now let's drop south about one degree and pick up Herschel 270! Far brighter at magnitude 11.9, don't let the ordinary elliptical NGC 2089 (Right Ascension: 5 : 47.8 - Declination: -17 : 36) fool you. What would appear to be a stellar nucleus is indeed stellar. Studies done by AAVSO have shown that the bright point of light is actually a line of sight star. Congratulations on your studies and be sure to write down your Herschel "homework!"

Tuesday, February 14 - Happy Valentine's Day! Today is the birthday of Fritz Zwicky. Born in 1898, Zwicky was the first astronomer to identify supernovae as a separate class of objects. His insights also proposed the possibility of neutron stars. Among his many achievements, Zwicky also catalogued galaxy clusters and designed jet engines.

In mythology, Lepus the Hare is hiding in the grass at Orion's feet. As we have seen, there are many objects of beauty hidden within what seems to be a very ordinary constellation. Before we leave the "Rabbit" for this year, there is one last object that is worthy of attention. If you look to the feet of Orion and the brightest star of Lepus, you will see that they make a triangle in the sky. Tonight we are headed towards the center of that triangle for a singular object - the Spirograph Nebula.

Shown in all its glory through the eye of the Hubble Telescope, the light you see tonight from the IC 408 (Right Ascension: 5 : 17.9 - Declination: -25 : 05) planetary nebula left in the year 7 AD. Its central star, much like our own Sol, was in the final stages of its life at that time, and but a few thousand years earlier was a red giant. As it shed its layers off into about a tenth of a light-year of space, only its superheated core remained - its ultraviolet radiation lighting up the expelled gas. Perhaps in several thousand years the nebula will have faded away, and in several billion years more the central star will have become a white dwarf - a fate that also awaits our own Sun.

At magnitude 11, it is well within reach of a small to mid-size telescope. Like all planetary nebulae, the more magnification - the better the view. The central star is easily seen against a slightly elongated shell and larger telescopes bring an "edge" to this nebula that makes it very worthwhile studying. Spend some quality time with this object. With larger scopes, there is no doubt a texture to this planetary that will delight the eye...and touch the heart!

Wednesday, February 15 - Born on this day in 1564 was the man who fathered modern astronomy - Galileo Galilei. Two and a half centuries ago, he became first scientist to use a telescope for astronomical observation and his first target was the Moon. Just before dawn this morning you will have the opportunity to observe the waning crescent and the tiny crater named for Galileo. Almost central along the terminator and caught near the edge of Oceanus Procellarum, you will see a small, bright ring. This is Reiner Gamma and you will find Galileo just a short hop to the northwest as a tiny, circular crater. What a shame the cartographers did not pick a more vivid feature to name after the great Galileo!

With absence of the Moon in our favor tonight, it's time to learn the constellation of Monoceros as the skies darken and Orion begins to head west. By using the red giant Betelgeuse, diamond-bright Sirius and the beacon of Procyon, we can see these three stars form a triangle in the sky with Sirius pointing towards the south. The "Unicorn" is not a bright constellation, and most of its stars fall inside this area with its Alpha star almost a handspan south of Procyon.

Using the belt of Orion as a guide, look a handspan east, this is Delta. A fistwidth away to the southeast is Gamma; with Beta about two fingerwidths further along. About a palmwidth southeast of Betelguese is Epsilon. Although this might seem simplistic, knowing these stars will help you find many wonderful objects. Let's start our journey tonight two fingerwidths northwest of Epsilon... NGC 2186 (Right Ascension: 6 : 12.2 - Declination: +05 : 2) is a triangular open cluster of stars set in a rich field that can be spotted with binoculars and reveals as many as 30 or more stars to even a small telescope. Not only is this a Herschel 400 object that can be spotted with simple equipment, but a highly studied galactic cluster that contains circumstellar discs!

Thursday, February 16 - On this day in 1948, Gerard Kuiper was celebrating his discovery of Miranda - one of Uranus' moons. Just 42 years earlier on this day, both Kopff and Metcalf were also busy - discovering asteroids! Today is the birthday of Francois Arago. Born in 1786, Arago became the pioneer scientist in the wave nature of light. His achievements were many and he is also credited as the inventor of the polarimeter and other optical devices.

Tonight let's celebrate Arago's achievements in polarization as we return again to Epsilon Monocerotis. Our destination is around a fingerwidth east as we seek out another star cluster that has an interesting companion - a nebula!

NGC 2244 (Right Ascension: 6 : 32.4 - Declination: +04 : 52) is a star cluster embroiled in a reflection nebula spanning 55 light-years and most commonly called "The Rosette." Located about 2500 light-years away, the cluster heats the gas within the nebula to nearly 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit, causing it to emit light in a process similar to that of a fluorescent tube. A huge percentage of this light is hydrogen-alpha, which is scattered back from its dusty shell and becomes polarized.

While you won't see any red hues in visible light, a large pair of binoculars from a dark sky site can make out a vague nebulosity associated with this open cluster. Even if you can't, it is still a wonderful cluster of stars crowned by the yellow jewel of 12 Monocerotis. With good seeing, small telescopes can easily spot the broken, patchy wreath of nebulosity around a well-resolved symmetrical concentration of stars. Larger scopes, and those with filters, will make out separate areas of the nebula which also bear their own distinctive NGC labels. No matter how you view it, the entire region is one of the best for winter skies.

Friday, February 17 - Tonight is a good time for us to go hunting some obscure objects that will require the darkest of skies. Once again, we'll use our guide star Epsilon and tonight we'll be heading about three fingerwidths northeast for a vast complex of nebulae and star clusters.

To the unaided eye, 4th magnitude S Monocerotis is easily visible and to small binoculars so are the beginnings of a rich cluster surrounding it. This is NGC 2264 (Right Ascension: 6 : 41.1 - Declination: +09 : 53). Larger binoculars and small telescopes will easily pick out a distinct wedge of stars. This is most commonly known as the "Christmas Tree Cluster," its name given by Lowell Observatory astronomer Carl Lampland. With its peak pointing due south, this triangular group is believed to be around 2600 light-years away and spans about 20 light-years. Look closely at its brightest star - S Monocerotis is not only a variable, but also has an 8th magnitude companion. The group itself is believed to be almost 2 million years old.

The nebulosity is beyond the reach of a small telescope, but the brightest portion illuminated by one of its stars is the home of the Cone Nebula. Larger telescopes can see a visible V-like thread of nebulosity in this area which completes the outer edge of the dark cone. To the north is a photographic only region known as the Foxfur Nebula, part of a vast complex of nebulae that extends from Gemini to Orion.

Northwest of the complex are several regions of bright nebulae, such as NGC 2247, NGC 2245, IC 446 and IC 2169. Of these regions, the one most suited to the average scope is NGC 2245 (Right Ascension: 6 : 32.7 - Declination: +10 : 10), which is fairly large, but faint, and accompanies an 11th magnitude star. NGC 2247 (Right Ascension: 6 : 33.2 - Declination: +10 : 20) is a circular patch of nebulosity around an 8th magnitude star, and it will appear much like a slight fog. IC 446 is indeed a smile to larger aperture, for it will appear much like a small comet with the nebulosity fanning away to the southwest. IC 2169 is the most difficult of all. Even with a large scope a "hint" is all!

Enjoy your nebula quest...

Saturday, February 18 - On this day in 1930, a young man named Clyde Tombaugh was very busy checking out some photographic search plates taken with the Lowell Observatory's 13" telescope. His reward? The discovery of Pluto! And just where is the planet that isn’t a planet any more? You can find it before dawn! The little rascal is hiding out in a very stellar field just east of M25 and a couple of degrees northwest of the slender crescent Moon. How do you know which faint “star” is Pluto? Well, if you set a computerized telescope to RA 18h 24m 59s – Dec 19°18'44", it will be precisely in the center of the field if you are perfectly polar aligned. If you are using a manual telescope, you will need to sketch the field and return over a period of several days to see which “star” moves. It would be a great lesson – since early astronomers did it that way!

This evening let us return to the realm of binoculars and small telescopes as we head now for Beta Monocerotis and a little more than a fingerwidth north for NGC 2232 (Right Ascension: 6 : 26.6 - Declination: -04 : 45). This wonderful collection of stars sparkles with chains and various magnitudes - the brightest of which is 5th magnitude 10 Monocerotis. Well resolved with a small telescope, its apparent size of about a full moon-width makes it a true delight and it can even be spotted unaided from a dark sky site. Be sure to note it, because it is on many open cluster study lists.

Now head back to Beta and about the same distance west for Class D cluster NGC 2215 (Right Ascension: 6 : 21.0 - Declination: -07 : 17). At magnitude 8, it is still within the realm of binoculars, but will look like a small fuzzy patch beyond resolution. Try this one with a telescope! Set in a rich field, the compressed area of near equal magnitude stars isn't the most colorful in the sky, but you can add another to your Herschel hits!

Until next week, may all your journeys be at light speed!

Image Credit: Spirograph Nebula Courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope. Written by Tammy Plotner. To find out what's up for a whole year, be sure to check out her new book, The Night Sky Companion 2012.

Hubble’s 1923 Nova in Andromeda Erupts Again!

2012-02-08T12:47:00.000-08:00

On December 11, 1923, Edwin Hubble discovered a nova in the Andromeda galaxy. Novae occurring in our Milky Way’s sister galaxy have proven to be not that uncommon, as there have been over 800 novae detected in M31 in the last 100 years. Hubble’s 1923 discovery became known as M31N 1923-12c, the third nova discovered in December of 1923.

Fast forward to January 21, 2012, and another nova has been discovered in M31, already the second novae seen in January 2012. K. Nishiyama and F. Kabashima reported the discovery and it has been given the designation, PNV J00423804+4108417. A day later, a spectrum was taken with the 9.2m Hobby-Eberly Telescope using the Marcario Low-Resolution Spectrograph, confirming the new nova in M31, and that it is a member of the He/N spectroscopic class.

What’s even more interesting, however, is that the new nova likely comes from the same progenitor as Hubble’s 1923 nova!

Classical novae are a subclass of cataclysmic variable stars. They are semi-detached binary systems where an evolved, late-type star fills its Roche lobe and transfers mass to its white dwarf companion. If the mass accretion rate onto the white dwarf is sufficiently low, it allows this gas to pile up and become degenerate. Eventually, after thousands to tens of thousands of years, a thermonuclear runaway ensues in this highly pressurized layer of gas, leading to a nova eruption. These eruptions can reach an absolute magnitude as bright as about MV -10, making them among the most luminous explosions in the Universe. Their high luminosities and rates, about 50 per year in a galaxy like M31, make novae very useful to astronomers exploring the properties of close binaries in extragalactic stellar populations.

Comparing its position with the approximately 900 novae in W. Pietsch’s M31 nova catalog revealed that PNV J00423804+4108417 was located about six arc seconds from the cataloged position of M31N 1923-12c, the nova discovered by Edwin Hubble on December 11, 1923. Given that the positions of M31 novae from early photographic surveys were typically reported to a precision of only ten arc seconds, and that He/N spectra are often associated with recurrent novae, astronomers considered the possibility that M31N 1923-12c and PNV J00423804+4108417 represented two outbursts arising from the same nova progenitor. To explore this possibility further, F. Schweizer (Carnegie Observatories) located Hubble’s original plate in the Carnegie Observatories archives and performed an eyeball comparison of the position of Hubble’s nova with that of PNV J00423804+4108417, finding them to match within ~1.5″.

After digitally scanning the Hubble plate and comparing the position of the nova relative to those of three nearby USNO reference stars, analysis revealed that M31N 1923-12c was located at R.A. = 00 42 38.06; Decl. = 41 08 41.0 (J2000). Hubble’s M31N 1923-12c and this year’s PNV J00423804+4108417 are the same object!

88 years and a handful of days later, PNV J00423804+4108417 represents the second recorded outburst of the recurrent nova M31N 1923-12c. Like the telescope named for him, Hubble’s legacy to astronomy and astrophysics continues to grow to this very day. Way to go, Edwin.

Original Story Source: Mike Simonsen of Universe Today. Image Credit: M31N 1923-12c in Andromeda, position plotted by the AAVSO Chart Plotter.

Product Spotlight - Meade 6" SCT LS LightSwitch Telescope

2012-02-06T14:26:00.000-08:00

For a lot of telescope users, aligning the telescope is always a frustrating experience - even when it is considered a "Go To". There's always something you have to know... Be it the perfectly correct time, the date, your latitude or longitude. How many new users have been stumped by not knowing the names of the alignment stars? Or not being able to see an alignment star that is blocked by a tree or a house? All of these little things can add up to beginning an observing evening in an unpleasant way and that's not what enjoying astronomy is all about.

Now imagine yourself setting up a very portable telescope called the Meade LS-6 SC. Thanks to its new LightSwitch Technology, you simply turn it on and let it do the work. Inside a built-in Integrated Sensor Module (ISM) takes over the job and Global Positioning System (GPS) connects with overhead satellites to automatically recognize your telescope's position on Earth. Once this fix takes place, this means your telescope also understands the local time - without even looking at a watch! As silent as a cat on wheels, the Level North Technology (LNT) sensors take over and the Meade LS-6 seeks out two alignment stars and automatically begins charting out a "real time" night sky map in its memory banks for your own personal time and location.

But, the Meade 6" LS-6 SC Telescope doesn't stop there...

It's a marvelous experience to look through a telescope at a distant object - but nothing can match the experience of knowing things like how far, how fast, how hot, how high, etc. Thanks to The Astronomer-Inside, the Meade 6" f/10 LS-6 delivers like no other telescope on today's market can. Right at the telescope the user has the capabilities of a complete audio/visual library at their fingertips... just waiting to give you a full tour of the night sky. Thanks to a built-in speaker and video-out jack, the whole family can share in the fun! Just think of what a great outreach tool the Meade LS-6 can be...

But don't stop there, either... the Meade LS-6 has even more to offer...

Built on the foundation of Meade's classic Schmidt-Cassegrain optics in a size capable of revealing all the Messier objects and such a huge portion of the NGC catalog as to keep most observers happy for a lifetime, this telescope is going to offer outstanding planetary and lunar views at a professional level. What more could you ask? What's that you say? Eyes like a CCD camera? Then stop dreaming and take a look at tomorrow's technology... the built-in ECLIPS CCD Camera. Now you can take vibrant, high-resolution, low-noise images of objects right at the telescope and view them on the spot using the scope's video output function. What's more, you can also store them on an SD card for later modifications - or sharing! Just exactly what does that mean? Can you imagine sending Grandma an email with a picture of comet you just viewed? Or how about an image of Saturn? For those who really like challenges, a built-in CCD camera means you can push the Meade LS-6 beyond its visual limits by taking timed exposures of objects far fainter than the human eye can see - and revealing them right at the telescope before your eager eyes!

If this sounds like the telescope for you, then read on....

Meade LS-6 LightSwitch Telescope Features...

Single arm fork Altitude-Azimuth (Alt-Az) mount provides rigid structure with large precision roller bearings on both axis designed to carry large OTAs.
Precision worm gear drives with 4.875” main gears in both axis for smooth and accurate
tracking and slewing.
Long fork arm length to allow clearance with the base for most cameras.
Runs on internal “C” cell batteries for 3-5 hours of portable field operation with hand control holder built into base.
Off-On LightSwitch and USB and other ports for accessory equipment.
Heavy-duty stable tripod with quick attachment of the mount
6” SCT optical tube assembly (OTA) provides 6" clear aperture with 1524mm focal length for an f/10 system.
Standard SC threaded back cell that accepts most existing accessories designed for all
Schmidt-Cassegrain models over the last 30 years.
Integrated Sensor Module (ISM) with GPS and Level North Technologies (LNT).
Electronically Controlled Locate Identify Position System (ECLIPS) CCD imaging module.
Multimedia output includes professionally produced audio and video content for hundreds of objects and custom guided tours designed for your location, time and date.
Multimedia presentations feature the voices of Sandy Woods of “Star Date” astronomy radio program and George Woods, Hollywood actor and the voice on many productions.
Built-in speaker in drive base and audio out jack for audio instructions and object
descriptions.
Video out for video presentations and images of many objects, instant display of images from
the ECLIPS imager and easy on-screen menu navigation.
AutoStar III hand controller easily control telescope for automatic location of objects, tours and many other features including 100,000 object database.
ECLIPS CCD Imager is an essential part of the LightSwitch alignment system.
Sensitive wide-angle color 640x480 CCD imager for taking your own astrophotographs.
Save your photos on a SD card (user supplied).
With a video monitor connected to the video out jack, see real-time images of the objects you
see in the eyepiece.
New electronics provide full USB support for accessories like additional DSI CCD cameras.
SD card slot for easy software upgrades and storing your astrophotographs.

Don't waste another night. Get your Meade 6" LS-6 SC Telescope at OPT now!

Weekly SkyWatcher’s Forecast – February 5-11, 2012

2012-02-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! At the beginning of this week we’ll enjoy lunar studies, but we’ll be hunting galaxies in Lepus before it ends! There are planets and more to explore, so get out your telescopes and binoculars, because here’s what’s up!

Sunday, February 5 - On this day in 1963, Maarten Schmidt measured the first quasar redshift and in 1974 the first close-up photography of Venus was made by Mariner 10. Tonight the great Grimaldi, found in the central region of the Moon near the terminator is the best lunar feature for binoculars. This huge, old basin on the western limb comes from the pre-Nectarian geological period and is definitely at least 4 billion years old. Spanning about 134 miles in diameter and filled with low albedo lava, Grimaldi - like Plato - is a landmark feature that's easily noticed even without optical aid, but holds wonderful details for study.

Using a telescope, take a look at the inner walls of Grimaldi, where you'll see they have been heavily eroded and worn away by impacts and time. All that's left now is a series of low hills and ridges – there are no sharp crater walls to distinguish it. Beyond the basin, an outer wall still remains. If the lighting is right at your time of observation, you'll notice it appears more strongly to the north and west, as opposed to the southeast Rimae Grimaldi. Take a close look at the floor region, too. It's home to a mascon – as well as lunar transient phenomena. Can you spot Lohrmann crater to its north or Riccioli crater to the southeast?

Let's begin our journey – and southern constellation studies - into Lepus as we take a look at Alpha. Its name is Arneb and it is a quality double star that resides around 900 light-years distant. Arneb's 11th magnitude disparate companion will take a larger scope to resolve. Its wide separation of 35.5" means it is probably not a true physical companion, but it is a challenge worthy of your time.

Monday, February 6 - On this day in 1971, astronaut Alan Shepherd became the first "lunar golfer” as he teed off on the Moon's surface. Think the ball is still in orbit? Then think again as his shot made a successful "hole in one” in a crater tens of meters away! If you haven't had a chance to view the Apollo 14 landing site, then try again when the Moon rises. You'll find it about midway along the bright peninsula-like feature that extends into Mare Nubium from the north. Return to landmark crater Grimaldi on the lunar surface tonight and we’ll continue our journey of evolution as we have a look at another walled plain just to the south - Darwin. Named for English naturalist Charles Darwin, this equally old feature bears the scars of the impact the created the Orientale Basin. Look carefully at the slopes in the northeast, for this may very well be material that was thrown there and left to slide back down to the crater floor. Spanning around 130 kilometers in diameter, Darwin’s actual size is only diminished by the fact that we view it on a curve. Its northern and southern shores have almost completely eroded, yet evidence remains of its eastern margin broken by the Rima Darwin which stretches for 280 kilometers. Was there lava here as well? Yes. Evidence still exists in the form of a dome along Darwin’s battered western edge. If the lighting is right, look at the western edge of Darwin for the Montes Cordillera. This is the external mountainous ring of Mare Orientale, and they could range as long as 545 miles in length, 182 miles in width and 18,200 feet in height. Many of the summits reach as much as 5000 feet! Talk about joining the mile high club...

Since the bright Moon will negate deep sky studies, let's celebrate the fiery return of the Soviet Space Station Salyut 7. Launched into orbit in 1982, the space station was doomed by electrical and maneuvering problems. At the time, cosmonauts would remain as long as eight months before returning to Earth. The project was abandoned in 1986, but some of the equipment and supplies were transferred to the orbiting Mir. On this day in 1991, Salyut re-entered our atmosphere and was lost. Have you ever wondered if you can spot orbiting spacecraft? Yes, you can. Many objects are visible to the unaided eye if you know where and when to look. Try checking with heavens-above.com for highly accurate information for your specific area. Many events are wonderful to witness. Among the most spectacular is the Iridium flare - the Sun reflecting off the highly polished sides of a communications satellite. Watching the ISS fly-over is also a wonder to behold! Try it tonight...

Tuesday, February 7 - On this day in 1889, the first national astronomy organization in the USA was born - the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Congratulations to these fine people who continue to contribute to public astronomy awareness! We appreciate you… and the Night Sky Network! Tonight is Full Moon! During the month of February in the northern hemisphere is usually heavy in snow in the upper regions. Native Indian tribes of the north and east most often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon. This is very understandable since the Arctic weather conditions in their areas made hunting very unproductive.

Although the skies will be bright tonight, let's return again to Lepus and an even more challenging double star - Beta. At a distance of 115 light-years, only a large telescope can hope to achieve an 11th magnitude companion no more than 2.5" distant. No luck? Then try your hand at 29 light-year distant Gamma. Even a very small telescope can easily split this colorful pair. The 3.5 magnitude primary star has a slightly yellow hue, while the 6.1 magnitude secondary appears more red-hued. Now it’s time for a star of singular beauty. Located about three fingerwidths southwest of Rigel, or a little more than a fingerwidth northwest of Mu in the constellation of Lepus, is R Leporis - better known as "Hind's Crimson Star”. Discovered in October of 1845 by J. R. Hind, R Leporis will require optical aid to view since it is a Mira-type variable that moves from approximately magnitude 6 to as low as magnitude 11 in about 432 days. As a carbon star, this particular example is well worth viewing for its intense ruby color when near minimum. As R Leporis undergoes its changes, it produces amazing amounts of carbon. To understand what makes it dim, think of an oil lamp. As the carbon "soot” collects on the glass, like the star's outer atmosphere, the light decreases until it is sloughed off and the process is repeated. At a rough distance of approximately 1500 light-years, Hind's Crimson Star will become an observing favorite and is also a challenge on many lists. Enjoy!

Heads up for Southern Hemisphere observers, over the next two nights will be the peak of the Centaurid meteor shower. Discovered by Michael Buhagiar of Australia, this stream has two radiants - Alpha and Beta. While both occur at roughly the same time and roughly from the same place, tonight's Alpha peak has a regular fall rate of around 3 per hour and an average magnitude of 2.4 while tomorrow's Beta stream varies with up to 14 per hour and far brighter at magnitude 1.6. Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 8 - Today celebrates the discovery of the Sayh al Uhaymir 094 "Mars Meteorite”. Found this day in 2001, scientists had long known Mars' surface was home to many impact craters which may have caused space-born debris. It was only a matter of time before a bit of this debris would be captured by Earth's gravity and be brought down as a meteorite. Upon study, tiny gas deposits were discovered in its composition that nearly matched the atmosphere of Mars as measured by the Viking Landers, and its mineral composition also leads science to believe the meteor originated from Mars.

Now, return to Beta Lepus and look west for Epsilon. Forming an isosceles triangle to the south is faint star ADS 3954 - also a closely matched double star. You will find M79 (Right Ascension: 5 : 24.5 - Declination: -24 : 33 ) just about a fingerwidth northeast. Originally discovered by Mechain in October of 1780, Messier himself didn't get around to looking at one of the very few globular clusters of winter until December of that year. On a good night, this small "round fuzzy” can be spotted with binoculars as an AL challenge object, but truly takes a telescope to appreciate. Moving away from us at 303 kilometers per second (188 miles per second), the 8th magnitude M79 will show as a concentrated ball of unresolvable stars to small aperture and begin resolution with larger scopes. At around 42 light-years away, this often over-looked Messier object is one of the very few globular clusters that resides further out in Milky Way galaxy than our own solar system!

Thursday, February 9 - Tonight we’ll begin early – and we’re going to use the telescope on Venus for a very good reason… Uranus is less than .2 degrees away to the south! For those of you who have never seen Uranus, this will be an awesome pairing that you’ll never forget. While Venus’ glare will be somewhat blinding, you might try using a light green, light blue or polarizing filter to help dim the situation. However, using a filter will also dim Uranus, too. Once you have them centered, try moving Venus out of the edge of the field of view. Who knows? You might not even need to!

Before Moon rise, return to the constellation of Lepus. For binoculars and small scopes, hop due east of Alpha Lepus about a fingerwidth for a brilliant multiple star system that is also designated as an open cluster - NGC 2017 (Right Ascension: 5 : 39.4 - Declination: -17 : 51 (degrees). First cataloged by Sir William Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope, this interesting group of stars will show in the same field as Alpha Leporis in binoculars, but come to colorful life in the telescope. The stars in this small open cluster are all gravitationally bound to each other and are a well-studied source of both radio and infrared emissions. NGC 2017 produces a dense wind from a thin H II region hidden within it, which may be from a loose distribution of gas and dust. Power up. As aperture increases - so does resolution. Watch as the primary colorful members begin to split into disparate pairs as magnification increases. It's a much underrated jewel box!

With the Moon absent from early evening skies, it's time to get more serious about Lepus and do some galaxy hunting. Our first marks will be Mu Leporis and NGC 1832 (Right Ascension: 5 : 12.1 - Declination: -15 : 41) in the same field to its north. At a rough magnitude of 12, this small galaxy isn't for the small scope, but is reasonably bright and easy to study with aperture. As an ongoing study for spiral arm pattern, rotation rates and star forming, a supernova incident was discovered in 2004 by LOSS and Federico Manzini. Look for a slightly oval shape that orients from north to south and brightens towards the core. A faint star can be seen at the edge of the arm structure to the northeast and it is best at mid-magnifications. Our second hop takes us about one degree southeast of Beta and into a stellar field for NGC 1964 (Right Ascension: 5 : 33.4 - Declination: -21 : 57). At a visual magnitude of 10.8, this Herschel 400 galaxy shows an oval disc elongated from the northeast to southwest with a bright core area and several faint stars that overlay the galaxy but are not involved with it. It can be spotted with scopes as small as 4.5", but truly requires larger aperture to appreciate.

Is the Moon rising yet? If so, you might want to stick around for awhile for a splendid conjunction with Mars!

Friday, February 10 - With early dark skies still in our favor, let's continue on through our tour of Lepus and the galaxy hunt. Tonight we'll go from one corner to the other as we begin with Iota and hop 2 degrees west for NGC 1784 (Right Ascension: 5 : 05.4 - Declination: -11 : 5). At magnitude 11.8, this barred spiral can be spotted in mid-aperture scopes as a misty oval with a slightly brighter center. With larger telescopes and optimal conditions, the central bar structure can be revealed as an elongated brightness towards the core region with some brighter knots noted in the arms. In studies done by Doug Ratay in radio wavelengths, NGC 1784 was mapped for its distribution of hydrogen gas both within and outside the galaxy structure. His incredible findings showed an orbiting area of gas that could be a small galaxy located about 100 million light-years away.

Our second mark is slightly more than more than 3 degrees south-southwest of Epsilon - NGC 1744 (Right Ascension: 5 : 00.0 - Declination: -26 : 01). Despite seeming to be possible - its magnitude is 12.3 - this north/south inclined barred spiral is anything but easy from the Northern Hemisphere - or the South! Very low surface brightness means this particular galaxy is a tough customer even for large telescopes and at best will show as a thin, nebulous area with no definition.

Saturday, February 11 - On this day in 1970 Lambda 4S-5, the first Japanese satellite, was launched. Tonight let's continue onward with deeper studies in the constellation of Lepus as we take on three galaxy challenges very worthy of the most seasoned amateur astronomer. Our goal area lies about a fistwidth southeast of Alpha Leporis as we start the hunt. The first galaxy, NGC 2179 (RA 06 08 02.10 Dec -21 44 48.0) holds an average magnitude of 13 which puts it in large telescope range, but does not make it easy. This very small galaxy will show as nothing more than a faint, round contrast change with some concentration towards the nucleus. It is bracketed on either side by stars and at lower power will show a slightly yellow and blue double star in the field. While this galaxy doesn't seem particularly spectacular, it contains one of the most massive dark matter halos so far discovered!

Next up is NGC 2196 (RA 06 12 10.00 Dec -21 48 24.0). At magnitude 12.6, this spiral is much larger and much brighter than our last. It is very round and shows some concentration towards the core that disappears at higher magnifications. Achievable in mid-sized telescopes, this particular galaxy is a lopsided spiral that shows gas accretion in its disc. Before we leave the area, let's have a look at NGC 2139 (RA 06 01 07.90 Dec -23 40 21.3). Holding a magnitude of 12.2, this peculiar spiral is also a faint object to detect. It's small, evenly dispersed, and better seen at lower powers along with the apparent double in the field. Keep an eye on this Seyfert, there was a supernova event in 1995!

Written by Tammy Plotner. If you'd like to know what's up for a full year, then check out her new book, the Night Sky Companion 2012!

Toronto Teens Launch “Lego Man in Space”

2012-02-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

Two Toronto Teens Launch 'Lego Man In Space' to the Stratosphere - Jan 2012
Stunning space imagery was captured by Canadian teenagers Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad when they lofted a tiny ‘Lego Man in Space’ astronaut to an altitude of 16 miles (25 kilometers) precariosuly protruding from a helium filled weather balloon. Lego Man is holding the Canadian National flag. Earth's curvature and blackness of space in background. Credit: Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad

Two teens from Toronto, Canada have launched “Lego Man in Space” using a helium filled weather balloon and captured stunning video of the miniature toy figure back dropped by the beautiful curvature of Earth and the desolate blackness of space that’s become a worldwide YouTube sensation - over 2 million hits !

17 year olds Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad lofted the tiny 2 inch tall Lego figure from a local Toronto soccer field up to a height of about 85,000 feet, or 16 miles (25 kilometers), where the 22 foot (7 m) diameter helium balloon burst in what is technically known as the stratosphere. The homemade styrofoam capsule - equipped with two video cameras and four digital cameras (Canon) - then parachuted back to Earth.

“We launched the project on January 7,” Mathew Ho told Universe Today.

“After endless hours of hard work, we managed to capture stunning views of our atmosphere and put a 'Lego' man into near space!” said the ambitious teens who are 12th graders at the Agincourt Collegiate Institute.

The pair posted a YouTube video (below) documenting the entire voyage and some camera snapshots on their website on January 25.

Lego Man even snapped cool Moon shots - look closely at the video and photo below.

"Lego Man in Space" - The Video

The duo recounted the details of their sensational space tale of science on a shoestring for Canadian TV and newspapers.

“Upon launch we were very relieved. But we had a lot of anxiety on launch day because there were high winds when we were going up after all the hard work,” said Ho in a studio interview on Canadian TV (CTV).

"We were also scared because now we would have to retrieve it back after it came down,” Asad chimed in.

“We had no idea it would capture photos like that and would be so good," said Ho. “We were blown away when we saw them back home.”

The toy Lego astronaut is seen standing atop a thin runway protruding precariously from one end of the small, box shaped capsule as though he was walking the plank and about to plunge into the ocean of space. All the while, cameras were aimed directly out towards him recording the entire rollicking journey from liftoff to the stratosphere to landing, with a constantly changing Earth in the background.

Altogether they netted two videos and 1500 photos.

Coincidentally, several Lego toys are constantly flying even higher above the Earth at this very moment aboard the International Space Station as part of an educational outreach effort by NASA and Lego. And 3 more Lego figurines are speeding to Jupiter aboard NASA’s Juno orbiter.

Legoman’s spectacular journey lasted some 97 minutes. He’s beaming proudly throughout the video while holding the Canadian National flag - the Red Maple Leaf. The rollercoaster-like scenery may well challenge the stomachs of those with fear of heights.

Mathew and Asad worked over about four months one day a week on Saturdays to assemble the rig in Mathew’s kitchen and successfully accomplished the feat on a shoestring budget of merely 400 dollars. They used GPS trackers to locate “Lego Man in Space” and recover the intact capsule holding the imagery.

After the balloon burst at 85,000 feet, the parachute assisted descent back to Earth took about 32 minutes. Winds aloft caused the capsule to drift some 76 miles (122 kilometers) away from the launch site before landing at Rice Lake in one piece.

“We were jumping for joy when we saw the capsule and the parachute. We were ecstatic when we found it,” said Ho.

“We have a long history of passionate building and working together,” Ho told CTV.

The project began after they saw that MIT students had sent a camera to the edge of space with a balloon and captured stunning views.

“We were inspired by videos and pictures we had seen online two years ago and we began working on this in the Fall of 2011. In total the project cost about $400 Canadian,” Ho told me.

“We hope to publish more pictures and video to our Facebook page and website soon,” Ho added.

And now we know another truth about Lego’s - Not only can they withstand the destructive forces of kids, but outer space too !

Story Credit: Ken Kremer of Universe Today. Image Credits: Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast - January 29-February 4, 2012

2012-01-29T14:17:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! There's plenty of Moon to study this week, so grab your telescopes and binoculars and let's blast off and learn!

Sunday, January 29 - Tonight let's head towards the Moon and the southern quadrant and explore "The Sea of Nectar"...

At around 1000 meters deep, Mare Nectaris covers an area of the Moon equal to that of the Great Sandhills in Saskatchewan, Canada. Like all maria, it is part of a gigantic basin which is filled with lava, and there is evidence of grabens along the western edge of the basin. While Nectaris' basaltic flows appear darker than those in most maria, it is one of the older formations on the Moon, and as the terminator progresses you'll be able to see where ejecta belonging to Tycho crosses its surface. For a real challenge, look for an ancient and ruined crater which lies on the southern shore of Mare Nectaris. To binoculars, Fracastorius will look like a shallow, light colored ring, but a telescope will reveal its northern wall is missing - perhaps melted away by the lava flow which formed the mare. This is all that remains of a once grand crater which was more than 117 kilometers in diameter. The tallest of its eroded walls still stand at an impressive 1758 meters, placing them as high as the base elevation of Mt. Hood, yet in places nothing more than a few ridges and low hills still stand to mark the crater's remains. Power up and look for interior craterlets. Be sure to mark your lunar observing challenge notes with your observations!

Now, take a look at Mars. While it’s been on the move, it has also been dimming slightly. Right now it’s around magnitude +0.5. Be sure to check out surface details and enjoy fine points like the polar caps.

Monday, January 30 - We'll begin our lunar studies tonight by exploring the edges of a feature that's about the same size as the state of New Mexico - Mare Serenitatus. On its southwest border stand the Haemus Mountains - which will continue on beyond the terminator. Look in their midst for the sharp punctuation of Class I Menelaus. This small crater has a brilliant west inner wall and deeply shadowed floor. Menelaus is fine crater to watch for expansive ray systems as the terminator progresses. While the Montes Haemus look pretty impressive, they are foothills compared to the Apennines which have yet to emerge. Look at Serenitatus' northwest edge to view some real mountains. These are the Montes Caucasus, rising up to 17,000 feet above the plains. Look closely at the maps and you will find that near these mountain ranges are the homes of the Apollo 11, Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 landers, as well as Luna 21. It is an area that you can deeply appreciate for its historical significance. Like its earthly counterpart, the Caucasus Mountain Range has peaks that reach upwards of six kilometers - summits as high as Mount Elbrus! Nearby and slightly smaller than its terrestrial namesake, the lunar Apennine mountain range extends some 600 kilometers with peaks rising as high as five kilometers. Be sure to look for Mons Hadley, one of the tallest peaks you will see at the northern end of this chain. It rises above the surface to a height of 4.6 kilometers, making that single mountain about the size of asteroid Toutatis.

Tuesday, January 31 - Today in 1961, Mercury Redstone 2 launched, carrying Ham the chimpanzee into a suborbital flight and to fame. In 1966, Luna 9 was launched. In 1958, the first US satellite - Explorer 1 - was launched and met a milestone as it proved the Earth was surrounded by intense bands of radiation which we now refer to as the Van Allen Belts.

In 1971 Apollo 14 was headed towards the Moon - and so are we as we take a look at the lunar poles by returning to previous study crater Plato. North of Plato you will see a long horizontal area of grey floor - Mare Frigoris - the "Cold Sea." North of it you will note a "double crater." This elongated diamond-shape is Goldschmidt, and the crater which cuts across its western border is Anaxagoras. The lunar north pole isn't far from Goldschmidt, and since Anaxagoras is just about one degree outside of the Moon's theoretical "arctic" area, the lunar sunrise will never go high enough to clear the southernmost rim. As proposed with yesterday's study, this "permanent darkness" must mean there is ice! For that very reason, NASA's Lunar Prospector probe was sent to explore here. Did it find what it was looking for? Answer - Yes. The probe discovered vast quantities of cometary ice which has hidden inside the crater's depths untouched for millions of years. If this sounds rather boring to you, then realize this type of resource may aid our plans to eventually establish a manned base on the lunar surface.

In 1862, Alvan Graham Clark, Jr. was at the eyepiece and made an unusual discovery. While watching Sirius, Clark uncovered the intense star's faint companion while testing an 18 inch refractor being built at Dearborn Observatory. The scope itself was built by Clark, his father and his brother. Imagine his excitement when it turned up the white dwarf - Sirius B! Friedrich Bessel had proposed its existence back in 1844, but this is the first time it was confirmed visually.

Why not try your own hand at turning up this difficult double star? If you have problems finding the companion, don't worry. Back in 1948, the first test photos using the Hale 5-meter (200-inch) telescope at Mt. Palomar were being taken. Believe it or not, problems with the configuration and mounting of the mirror meant that it was almost 2 years later before the first observing run was made by a scheduled astronomer!

Wednesday, February 1 - Let's begin our lunar studies tonight with a deeper look at the "Sea of Rains." Our mission is to explore the disclosure of Mare Imbrium, home to Apollo 15. Stretching out 1123 kilometers over the Moon's northwest quadrant, Imbrium was formed around 38 million years ago when a huge object impacted the lunar surface creating a gigantic basin. The basin itself is surrounded by three concentric rings of mountains. The most distant ring reaches a diameter of 1300 kilometers and involves the Montes Carpatus to the south, the Montes Apenninus southwest, and the Caucasus to the east. The central ring is formed by the Montes Alpes, and the innermost has long been lost except for a few low hills which still show their 600 kilometer diameter pattern through the eons of lava flow. Originally the impact basin was believed to be as much as 100 kilometers deep. So devastating was the event that a Moon-wide series of fault lines appeared as the massive strike shattered the lunar lithosphere. Imbrium is also home to a huge mascon, and images of the far side show areas opposite the basin where seismic waves traveled through the interior and shaped its landscape. The floor of the basin rebounded from the cataclysm and filled in to a depth of around 12 kilometers. Over time, lava flow and regolith added another five kilometers of material, yet evidence remains of the ejecta which was flung more than 800 kilometers away, carving long runnels through the landscape.

Thursday, February 2 - We start tonight's lunar tour with a northern landmark that can even be spotted with unaided vision - Plato. Located in the northern hemisphere of the Moon, its dark ellipse is unmistakable. Plato's floor consists of 2700 square miles of lava fill and is considered by some observers as the darkest single low-albedo feature on the Moon. Because of its low reflectivity, this crater has the distinction of being one of the only mountain-walled plains that doesn't "disappear" as the Moon grows full. With Plato in the center of the field note the pyramid-like peak of Pico due south in northeastern Mare Imbrium. East of Pico is an unnamed dorsum - or lava wave - terminating just above crater Piazzi Smyth to the south. Power up in a telescope and check out the triangular peak near its end.

Now let's go to the lunar surface to have a look through binoculars or telescopes at tremendous impact region located to the lunar west of Plato. Sinus Iridum is one of the most fascinating and calming areas on the Moon. At around 241 kilometers in diameter and ringed by the Juras Mountains, it's known by the quiet name of the Bay of Rainbows, but was formed by a cataclysm. Astronomers speculate that a minor planet around 200 kilometers in diameter impacted our forming Moon at a glancing angle, and the result of the impact caused "waves" of material to wash up to a "shoreline," forming this delightful C-shaped lunar feature. The impression of looking at an earthly bay is stunning as the smooth inner sands show soft waves called "rilles," broken only by a few small impact craters. The picture is completed by Promontoriums Heraclides and LaPlace, which tower above the surface, at 1800 meters and 3000 meters respectively, and appear as distant "lighthouses" set on either tip of Sinus Iridum's opening. For a great telescopic challenge, imagine that Sinus Iridum is a mirror focusing light - this will lead your eye to crater Helicon. The slightly smaller crater southeast of Helicon is Leverrier. Be sure to power up to capture the splendid north-south oriented “wave -like” ridge which flows lunar east. Enjoy this serene lunar feature ...

Friday, February 3 - Tonight we celebrate the success of Luna 9, also known as Lunik 9. On this day in 1966, the unmanned Soviet lunar probe became the first to achieve a soft landing on the Moon's surface and successfully transmit photographs back to Earth. The lander weighed in at 99 kg, and the four petals, which formed the spacecraft, opened outward. Within five minutes of landing, antennae sprang to life and the television cameras began broadcasting back the first panoramic images of the surface of another world, proving that a landing would not simply sink into the lunar dust. Last contact with the spacecraft occurred just before midnight on February 6, 1966.

Tonight you can view the area of the first successful landing on the Moon as you turn your scopes towards Oceanus Procellarum - the Ocean of Storms. While the area will be brightly lit and it will be difficult to pick out small features, Procellarum is the long, dark expanse that runs from lunar north to south. On its western edge, about one quarter the length from lunar north to south is where you would find the remains of Luna 9. While no earthly-bound telescope could ever hope to achieve resolution of mission remains, it is still a wonderful way to improve your skills and enjoy a bit of history at the same time. Now, let’s talk about Oceanus Procellarum…

Encompassing most of the northwest quadrant and stretching across 2,102,000 square kilometers of area, it rivals the Bering Sea in sheer size. No wonder it was considered an ocean! Created by lava floods, but never contained within an impact basin, it's similar to Earth's Siberian Traps great upwellings of lava from our shared primeval history. Formed in the Imbrian geological period, it could be anywhere from 3 billion to 4 billion years old. Oceanus Procellarum's name could refer to its vivid volcanic past, but there is a story behind the name "Ocean des TempUtes"... It originated from a myth claiming stormy weather ahead if it was visible during the second quarter. While the Moon doesn't play a role in our Earthly weather, what could cause such a myth to arise? Factually, if skies are clear enough to see the Ocean of Storms during the night, they'll allow heat to escape directly into our upper atmosphere. Rising air can cause clouds to form. Water vapor molecules cool and begin coalescing faster than they can be scattered by thermal energy condensing and forming clouds where only one of two things can happen. Water molecules will either evaporate, changing back into vapor, or join to grow liquid drops whose critical mass will fall back to Earth as either rain or snow. Tempestuous weather? Perhaps...

Saturday, February 4 - Today is the birthday of Clyde Tombaugh. Born in 1906, Tombaugh was the discoverer of Pluto and it happened 24 years and two weeks after his birth.

Tonight our lunar studies take us back to the Oceanus Procellarum and landmark crater Kepler. To the north you will see equally bright Aristarchus - quite probably one of the youngest of the prominent features at around 50 million years old. It's hard to miss the blinding beacon of Aristarchus! Its albedo is double that of other lunar features and it is so dazzling that it can usually be spotted with the unaided eye and quite frequently with binoculars during earthshine. Power up in the telescope and take a look around the southeastern edge for the Aristarchus plateau - an elevated area that contains a number of volcanic features, such as sinuous rilles. This is also home to other lunar transient phenomena, and even Lunar Prospector measured radon gas emissions from this area. Watch Aristarchus as the Moon grows full, because it will also develop a ray system.

Now, grab your telescope and look west of Aristarchus for less prominent crater Herodotus. Just to the north you will see a fine white thread known as Vallis Schroteri—or Schroter's Valley. Winding its way across the Aristarchus plain, this feature is about 160 kilometers long, from 3 to 8 kilometers wide, and about 1 kilometer deep - but what is it? Schroter's Valley a prime example of a collapsed lava tube—created when molten rock flowed over the surface. This may have been from a major meteor strike, such as the formation of Aristarchus crater, or early volcanic activity. What is left is a long, narrow cave on the surface which only shows well when the lighting is correct. Like many sinuous rilles covering the surface, collapse has occurred. If intact tubes can be found on the lunar surface they could conceivably provide shelter for future settlers!

Before you call it a night, it’s time to note Mars’ position. It’s starting to begin retrograde motion, moving slowly each night out of Virgo and back into the constellation of Leo.

Written by Tammy Plotner. If you'd like to know what's happening all year, then check out the book The Night Sky Companion 2012.

Russia Opens Talks With NASA And ESA With Plans For Manned Lunar Base

2012-01-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

On January 19, 2012, Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency began talking to the United States and Europe about the stuff dreams are made of... a manned research base on the Moon. The agency's chief, Vladimir Popovkin, led off the discussion with officials from NASA and the European Space Agency for a permanent facility. "We don't want man to just step on the Moon," Popovkin told Vesti FM radio station, according to the Ria Novosti news agency. "Today, we know enough about it, we know that there is water in its polar areas ... we are now discussing how to begin [the Moon's] exploration with NASA and the European Space Agency."

But that's not all. One giant leap for mankind often begins with one small step - or two. In this instance, Russia is planning to launch two unmanned missions to the Moon within the next 8 years. According to Popovkin, the plan is to either set up a stationary base on the lunar surface, or to put a working laboratory into orbit around it.

Don't shoot these comments down just because they've come to light after a recent run of bad luck on behalf of Russia's current space missions - most notably the doomed Mars probe Phobos-Grunt which crashed back to Earth following a malfunction. According to Fix News, "It was the latest mishap for Roscosmos and came after Russian president Dmitry Medvedev threatened to punish those responsible for previous space failures, which included the loss of satellites and botched launches."

In the meantime, let's focus on the positive contributions the Russians have made towards lunar exploration - in particular, the Luna missions which set many milestones. Of these, they were the first to successfully land a craft of the Moon, the first to photograph the far side, the first to achieve a soft landing and send back panoramic, close-up images, the first to become an artificial lunar satellite, the first to deploy rover missions and the first to return lunar soil samples which they shared with the international scientific community.

Russia? Keep talking... Spasiba for your contributions!

Written by Tammy Plotner. Image: Multiple images of the International Space Station flying over the Houston area have been combined into one composite image to show the progress of the station as it crossed the face of the moon in the early evening of Jan. 4. (Lauren Harnett) Original Story Source: Fox DC News.

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast: January 22-28-2012

2012-01-23T06:48:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Are you ready for another week of what can be seen in the night sky? Then get out your telescopes and binoculars and let's begin...

Monday, January 22 - Tonight we're going in search of a Herschel 400 object. Wait until Orion has well risen.. Our mark will triangulate with Xi and Nu and point back in the direction of Betelgeuse. It's name? Collinder 83.. It is believed that it may have been observed by Hodierna before 1654, but its discovery is credited to William Herschel in 1784 and cataloged by him as H VIII.24. It hangs out in space some 3600 light-years away and most catalogs refer to it as NGC 2169 (Right Ascension: 6 : 08.4 - Declination: +13 : 57). At a rough magnitude of 6, it is very well suited to even smaller binoculars. Although diffuse nebulosity accompanies this 50 million year old cluster, even a small telescope should be able to resolve out its 30 or so stellar members. But no matter which optics you chose to look at this cluster with, one bright asterism will stand out - the number ‘37’ written in stars. Enjoy and write down your observations!

Tuesday, January 23 - Tonight is New Moon and I ask you to once again take out your telescopes and explore a region with me - M78 (Right Ascension: 5 : 46.7 - Declination: +00 : 03). It is for the very sake of amateur astronomy that I ask you to do this... And here is why.

On January 23, 2004, a young backyard astronomer named Jay McNeil was checking out his new 3" telescope by taking some long exposures of M78. Little did Jay know at the time, but he was about to make a huge discovery! When he later developed his photographs, there was a nebulous patch there that had no designation. When he reported his findings to the professionals, they confirmed it had no official designation and that Jay had stumbled onto something quite unique! It is believed that Jay's discovery was a variable accretion disc around a newborn star - IRAS 05436-0007. Little is known about the region, but it seems that it had been caught in a photo once in the past but never studied. Even the Digital Sky Surveys had no record of it!

Although Jay's discovery might not be bright enough tonight to be seen just south of M78, it is a variable and circumstance plays a big role in any observation. Before you think that being a backyard astronomer has no real importance to science - remember a teenager in a Kentucky backyard with a 3" telescope... Catching what professionals had missed!

Wednesday, January 24 - Today is the birthday of American solar astronomer Harold Babcock. Born in 1882, Babcock proposed in 1961 that the sunspot cycle was a result of the Sun's differential rotation and magnetic field. Would you like to have a look at the Sun? Although solar observing is best done with a proper filter, it is perfectly safe to use the "projection method”.

First off, NEVER look at the Sun directly with the eye or with any unfiltered optical device, such as binoculars or a telescope! We're not joking when we say this will blind you. Exposed film, mylar, and smoked glass are also UNSAFE. But don't be afraid, because we're here to tell you how you, too, can enjoy the Sun. A safe way to observe sunspots is to "project” an image of the Sun through a telescope or binoculars onto a screen. This can be a simple as cardboard, a paper plate, a wall or whatever you have handy. If you're using a telescope, be sure that finderscope is securely covered. If you'd like to try binoculars, just keep the cover on one of the two tubes. By using the shadow method, you will see a bright circle of light on your makeshift screen. This is the solar disc. Adjust the focus by moving the distance of the screen from your scope or binoculars until it is about the size of a small plate. If the image is blurry, use your manual focus until the edges of the disc become sharp. Even though it might take a little practice, you'll soon become proficient at this method and you'll be able to see a surprising amount of detail in and around sunspot areas. Happy and SAFE viewing to you all!

Today in 1986, the United States Voyager 2 was the first spacecraft to fly by Uranus, providing us on Earth some of the most outstanding photographs and information on the planet to date. After 10,382 days of successful operation, Voyager 2 still continues on towards the stars carrying a phonograph record of "The Sounds of Earth”.

Thursday, January 25 - Today is the birthday of Joseph Louis Lagrange. Born in 1736, this French mathematician made important contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. For now, let us return to Orion and have a much closer look at the blue/white giant - Beta Orionis.

The seventh brightest star in the sky is known by the name Rigel. Very little is known about its true distance from Earth, but it is widely accepted that it is around 900 light-years away. This white-hot star has a surface temperature of about 12,000 degrees Kelvin and is thousands of times more powerful than our own Sun. If it were as close to us as Sirius, it would shine with a light as bright as 20% of the full Moon! But look closely at the brilliant star... Intermediate sized telescopes under good conditions will find a 6.7 magnitude blue companion. Although it is not always an easy double star, you'll find it on the list for many challenges. But, chances are, we'll never see the C star that accompanies the B!

Even if you just view Rigel with your eyes tonight, marvel at this young and powerful star. When the light you see left this star, the Crusades had began...the Vikings were sailing to discover America...the Mayan Empire was beginning to crumble...paper was a new concept...and the very numbers we use today were just beginning to catch on!

Friday, January 26 - Today in 1962, the US space program launched a lunar probe named Ranger 3. Its mission was to image the Moon right up until impact, land a seismometer, study gamma rays and report on surface reflectivity of radar... But, it didn't happen. Two days after launch, the ill-fated Ranger 3 was on a runaway course towards the lunar surface when it received a reverse command and lost contact with Earth. As a result, it overshot its mark by 36,800 kilometers and still remains in heliocentric orbit.

Be out early tonight to catch the slender crescent Moon as we begin our journey designed to acquaint you with specific craters. Around midway on the terminator – the border between night and day - you will spot a conspicuous old crater called Langrenus. Named for Belgian engineer and mathematician Michel Florent van Langren, this handsome old crater stretches out over 132 kilometers in diameter. Look closely at its walls, they rise above the surface by 1981 meters and the deepest part of the floor drops down below 4937 meters - deeper than Mount Cotacachi in Ecuador is tall. Is the Sun rising over its brilliant east wall? If so, look closely and see if you can spot Langrenus' central mountain peak rising up 1950 meters. Then get out your skis, because that's as high as the base elevation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming!

If the timing is right, look along the terminator in the southern quadrant for ancient old crater Furnerius. Named for the French Jesuit mathematician George Furner, this crater spans approximately 125 kilometers and is a Lunar Club challenge. Power up and look for two interior craters. The smaller is crater A and it spans a little less than 15 kilometers and drops to a depth of over 1000 meters. The larger crater C is about 20 kilometers in diameter, but goes far deeper, to more than 1400 meters. That's about as deep as a coral will grow under the Earth's oceans! Although it has no central peak, its walls have been broken numerous times by many smaller impacts. Look at a rather large one just north of central on the crater floor. If skies are stable, power up and search for a rima extending from the northern edge. Shallower and less impressive than other craters, Furnerius will fade to obscurity as the Moon waxes. This flooded old crater has no central peak, but a much younger crater has punched a hole in its lava-filled floor. Look for the long "crack" extending from Furnerius' north shore to crater rim. Perhaps it was caused by the impact? Sharp-eyed observers with good conditions and high power will also spot a multitude of small craters within and along Furnerius' walls. For binocular viewers, try spotting crater Stevinus to the north and Fraunhofer to the south. .Keep in mind as you observe that our own Earth has been pummeled just as badly as its satellite. Can you imagine how differently Furnerius would look if decorated by forests and lakes?

Saturday, January 27 - On this day in 1967, tragedy struck at Pad 34. During a training exercise atop a Saturn 1B rocket, astronauts Command Pilot Virgil I. Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee gave their lives to further human exploration of space as fire swept through their module. Named Apollo One, stop for a moment tonight to remember these brave souls. "They gave their lives in service to their country in the ongoing exploration of humankind's final frontier. Remember them not for how they died but for those ideals for which they lived.” (From the memorial on Launch Complex 34.)

During the early evening hours, take the time to view the northeast quadrant of the Moon and identify the emerging Mare Crisium. The "Sea of Crises” stretches out about 400 by 500 kilometers - an area about the size of the state of Washington. Mare Crisium is not only unique for its lack of connection with any other maria, but it is home to a gravitational anomaly called a mascon. This "mass concentration” might possibly be the fragments of the asteroid or comet whose impact with the lunar surface created the basin buried beneath the lava flow. The mascon creates an area of high gravity and causes changes in orbits of lunar probes. This excess gravity has even been known to cause low orbiting lunar satellites to either crash land or be flung out into space!

Sunday, January 28 - Today take the time to honor shuttle commander Dick Scobee, pilot Mike Smith, astronauts Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Ron McNair and Greg Jarvis, and teacher Christa McAuliffe. They were the crew onboard the Challenger when it exploded on this day in 1986. "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.” (President Ronald Reagan) Godspeed...

Today also celebrates the birth of Johannes Hevelius (1611) who published the first detailed maps of the Moon. This evening let's honor our brave crew and Hevelius as we have a deeper look at crater Posidonius. Located on the north-eastern shore of Mare Serenitatis, this huge, old, mountain-walled plain in considered a class V crater. Spanning 84 by 98 kilometers, you can plainly see where Posidonius is shallow - dropping only 2590 meters below the surface. Tonight it will resemble a bright, elliptical pancake on the surface, but we'll return to study it later in the year.

Now that's you're a bit more familiar with the landscape, let's try working on some harder targets. For a telescopic and binocular challenge, step further south to visit one of the oldest features left on the visible lunar side. Start by identifying two prominent craters in the southeast quadrant - Metius and Fabricus. While viewing the area around them, note that Fabricus' walls actually intrude on Metius - pointing to a younger age of formation. Around Fabricus, but not including Metius, is the boundary of a mountain-walled plain extending into the terminator. High power will reveal many breaks in its hexagonal walls surrounding a floor marred by many smaller craters and fine fissures. This is Jannsen. Look for three prominent interior craters, as well as an ancient rima falling near the shadow's edge. It may not seem exciting, but remember Jannsen could go back to the time when the Moon first formed - more than four billion years ago!

Written by Tammy Plotner. If you liked this article, then you'll love the Night Sky Companion 2012!

Aurora Alert! Sun Sends CME in Earth’s Direction

2012-01-19T13:30:00.000-08:00

As seen here by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a long duration M3-class flare began erupting on the Sun from sunspot region 1401 at 13:42 UTC (8:42 AM ET) today, Thursday, January 19, 2012, sending a coronal mass ejection (CME) directly towards Earth. Scientists predict the CME will arrive at around 16:00 UTC on January 21, 2012 GMT. Spaceweather.com says strong geomagnetic storms are possible and high-latitude (and possibly middle-latitude) skywatchers can be on the lookout for increased aurora.

NASA's Space Weather Services estimates that the CME is traveling at over 1,000 kilometers per second (630 miles per second).

This same region produced some spectacular loop structures made of superheated plasma earlier this week. Just one of these loops is the size of several Earths. These loops can have a wide range of temperatures, many reaching several million degrees Kelvin:

Earlier this week the Sun sent a similar CME towards Venus.

Original Story by Nancy Atkinson of Universe Today.

Product Spotlight - Celestron Green Laser Finderscope Kit

2012-01-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for a great way to aim your telescope that's not only accurate... but easy? Then you've got to check out the Celestron Green Laser Finderscope Kit!

At the heart of the kit is a 5mW green laser pointer with a sharp, bright, clear beam. (Always remember a green laser pointer's performance depends on ambient light, collimation, temperature and battery power. A laser pointer that has been repeatedly dropped or abused won't work as well as expected.) The Celestron Green Laser Pointer Finderscope also comes complete with secure telescope mounting brackets: a dovetail that works with almost every telescope (some binoculars, too!) and a bracket designed for Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes.

Once mounted, simply use the the X-Y alignment screws to put your telescope's target "on the beam". The laser will project a bright green line against the physical sky - not a screen. No more uncomfortable positions when trying to look through a fixed optical finder - or a difficult to see red reticle. You can even remove the laser and use it as a hand held star pointer! Then just place it back in the bracket and you're good to go again. The Celestron Green Laser Finderscope Kit has also included a Complimentary CR123A Battery to get you started and it's covered by a Celestron Two Year Limited Warranty. You're gonna' love it... I love mine!

Written by Tammy Plotner. Be sure to check out her new observing book Night Sky Companion 2012!

Weekend SkyWatcher's Forecast - January 15-21-2012

2012-01-13T12:18:00.000-08:00

Greeetings, fellow SkyWatchers! We're in for an entertaining week with darker skies and a minor meteor shower. If you're curious about what's up in the night sky - then join us!

Sunday, January 15 - With plenty of dark sky tonight, let's head around a fingerwidth northeast of Zeta Orionis and right on the celestial equator for a delightful bright nebula known as M78 (Right Ascension: 5 : 46.7 - Declination: +00 : 03). This is both a binocular and small telescope Messier challenge object.

Often overlooked in favor of the Great Orion Nebula, this 8th magnitude diffuse area is easily captured under dark skies. Discovered by Mechain in 1789, M78 is part of the vast complex of nebulae and star birth that comprise the Orion region. Fueled by twin 10th magnitude stars, the nebula almost appears to binoculars to resemble a "double comet”. Upon close scrutiny with a telescope, observers will note two lobes separated by a dark band of dust. Each lobe bears its own designation - NGC 2067 to the north and NGC 2064 to the south.

While studying, you will notice the entire area is surrounded by a region of absorption, making the borders appear almost starless. Filled with T Tauri-type stars and residing 1,600 light-years away, this reflection nebula is a cloud of interstellar dust which reflects the light of these young stars, the brightest of which is HD 38563A. In 1919, Vesto Slipher was the first to discover its reflective nature. As of 1999, seventeen Herbig-Haro objects are also associated with M78, and are believed to be jets of matter being expelled from newly forming stars.

Monday, January 16 - Wake up! Early this morning will be the peak of Delta Cancrid meteor shower. Yes, it's a pretty obscure one - no exciting parent comet or disintegrating asteroid to blame it on - but since the Moon will only be a slim crescent, why not give it a go? The radiant will be just slightly west of the M44 "Beehive Cluster”, making a worthy trip with binoculars. The Delta Cancrids are not exactly prolific - with a rate of only about 4 per hour - but they are very fast!

Tonight let's have a go at two Herschel 400 objects as we start about four fingerwidths southeast of Betelgeuse for NGC 2186 (Right Ascension: 6 : 12.2 - Declination: +05 : 27). This large, loose open cluster is well suited to larger binoculars or small telescopes and contains around 50 or so members that range in magnitude from 9 to 11. Look for many distinct pairings! NGC 2186 has been a study area for astronomers and is known to contain circumstellar disks, which may be either newly-forming solar systems or just regenerated materials left over from formation.

The next hop is just northwest of apparent double Kappa Orionis. NGC 2194 (Right Ascension: 6 : 13.8 - Declination: +12 : 48) is also a Herschel object and at magnitude 8.5 is well suited to smaller scopes. This rich galactic cluster can be well resolved in larger scopes and the similar magnitude members make it a delightful spray of stars.

Tuesday, January 17 - Tonight let's continue with our study of the Orion complex of nebulae associated with a molecular cloud. Known as LDN 1630 in Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae, it has many fine regions for study with a smaller scope under dark skies. Tonight return to M78 and let's look about one half degree northeast for the much fainter NGC 2071 (Right Ascension: 5 : 47.2 - Declination: +00 : 18).

At its core is the smallest protoplanetary disc yet detected. Rotating around a young star, this "disc” could have the potential to form a solar system, and in size it is very similar to the orbit of Neptune. Located 1300 light-years away, it contains compact clusters of water molecules that allow researchers to study its motion through their radio emissions. Known as masers, these regions amplify radio emissions, and the entire area has been subject to jet activity. Although we cannot see the disc itself, you can detect a faint nebula associated with a 9th magnitude star in an average telescope. As with many types of objects, sometimes high magnification is not the answer. Try staying with minimal power to spot NGC 2071.
Now lace up your Nikes and let's head out to find "The Running Man”...

Located just a half a degree north of M43, this tripartite nebula consists of three separate areas of emission and reflection nebulae that seem to be visually connected. NGCs 1977, 1975 and 1973 (Right Ascension: 5 : 35.5 - Declination: -04 : 52 ) would probably be pretty spectacular if they were a bit more distant from their grand neighbor! This whispery soft, conjoining nebula's fueling source is multiple star 42 Orionis. To the eye, a lovely triangle of bright nebulae with several enshrouded stars makes a wonderfully large region for exploration. Can you see the "Running Man” within?

Wednesday, January 18 - Tonight let's do some study of open clusters that belong to different catalogs. The first three are known as "Dolidzes” and your marker star is Gamma Orionis.

The first is an easy hop of about one degree northeast of Gamma - Dolidze 21. Here we have what is considered a "poor” open cluster. Not because it isn't nice - but because it isn't populous. It is home to around 20 or so low wattage stars of mixed magnitude with no real asterism to make it special. The second is about one degree northwest of Gamma - Dolidze 17. The primary members of this bright group could easily be snatched with even small binoculars and would probably be prettier in that fashion. Five very prominent stars cluster together with some fainter members that are, again, poorly constructed. But it includes a couple of nice visual pairs. Low power is a bonus on this one to make it recognizable.

The last is about two degrees north of Gamma - Dolidze 19. Two well-spaced roughly 8th magnitude stars stand right out with a looping chain of far fainter stars between them and a couple of relatively bright members dotted around the edges. With the very faint stars added in, there are probably three dozen stars all told and this one is by far the largest concentration of this "Do” trio.

Now let's have a look at a deceptive open cluster located in Barnard's Loop around 2 degrees northeast of M78. While billed at a magnitude of roughly 8, NGC 2112 (Right Ascension: 5 : 53.9 - Declination: +00 : 24) might be a binocular object, but it's a challenging one. This open cluster consists of around 50 or so stars of mixed magnitudes and only the brightest can be seen in small aperture. Add a little more size in equipment and you'll find a moderately concentrated, small cloud of stars that is fairly distinguishable against a stellar background.

Also known as Collinder 76, this unusual cluster resides in the galactic disc - an area of mostly very old, metal poor stars. It is believed that NGC 2112 is of a more intermediate age, based on recent photometric and spectroscopic data.

Thursday, January 19 - Johann Bode was born today in 1747. He was the publicizer of the Titus-Bode law, a nearly geometric progression of the distances of the planets from the Sun. Also born today, but in 1851, was Jacobus Kapteyn. Kapteyn studied the distribution and motion of half a million stars and created the first modern model of the size and structure of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Are you ready for a challenge? Then take advantage of dark sky time to head to the eastern-most star in the belt - Zeta Orionis.

Alnitak resides at a distance of some 1600 light-years, but this 1.7 magnitude beauty contains many surprises - like being a triple system. Fine optics, high power and steady skies will be needed to reveal its members. About 15' east and you will see that Alnitak also resides in a fantastic field of nebulosity which is illuminated by our tripartite star. NGC 2024 (Right Ascension: 5 : 41.9 - Declination: -01 : 51) is an outstanding area of emission that holds a rough magnitude of 8 - viewable in small scopes but requiring a dark sky. So what's so exciting about a fuzzy patch? Look again, for this beauty is known as the Flame Nebula.

Larger telescopes will deeply appreciate this nebula's many dark lanes, bright filaments and unique shape. For the large scope, place Zeta out of the field of view to the north at high power and allow your eyes to re-adjust. When you look again, you will see a long, faded ribbon of nebulosity called IC 434 to the south of Zeta that stretches for over a degree. The eastern edge of the "ribbon” is very bright and mists away to the west, but look almost directly in the center for a small dark notch with two faint stars to the south. You have now located one of the most famous of the Barnard dark nebulae - B33.

B33 is also known as the Horsehead Nebula. It's a very tough visual object - the classic chess piece shape is only seen in photographs - but those of you who have large aperture can see a dark "node” that is improved with a filter. B33 itself is nothing more than a small area cosmically (about 1 light-year in expanse) of obscuring dark dust, non-luminous gas, and dark matter - but what an incredible shape. If you do not succeed at first attempt? Do not give up. The "Horsehead” is one of the most challenging objects in the sky and has been observed with apertures as small as 150mm.

Friday, January 20 - If you're up before dawn, take a few minutes to watch the skies for the peak of the Coma Berenicid meteor shower. Although the activity for this one is fairly weak, with an average fall rate of about seven per hour, it still warrants study.

So what makes this particular shower of interest? Noted first in 1959, the stream was eventually tied in 1973 to another minor shower in the same orbit known as the December Leo Minorids. As we know, meteoroid streams are traditionally tied to the orbit of a comet, and in this case the comet was unconfirmed! Observed in 1912 by B. Lowe, an Australian amateur astronomer, the comet was officially designated as 1913I and was only seen four times before losing it to sunrise.

Using Lowe's observations, independent researchers computed the comet's orbit and it was basically forgotten about until 1954. At that time, Fred Whipple was studying meteoroid orbits and made the association between his photographic studies and the enigmatic comet Lowe. By continuing to observe the annual shower, it was determined that the orbital period of the comet was about 75 years, but the two major streams occurred about 27 and 157 years apart. Thanks to the uneven dispersion of material, it may be another decade before we see some real activity from this shower, but even one meteor can make your day!

And if you want to make your "night” an early one, why not trying looking for another odd meteor shower? Tonight will be the peak of the Delta Arietids! These unusual meteors also bear a resemblance to last week's Geminids, for the source of the stream appears to be a sun-grazing asteroid named Icarus. The hourly fall rate will be about 12 fast and bright "shooting stars”. Be sure to watch early as the constellation of Aries will be in the best position for only a few hours after dark.

But don’t go in just yet! Simon Mayr was born today in 1573. Although Mayr's name is not usually recognized, we all recognize names that he's given. Mayr was also observing the moons of Jupiter at nearly the same time as Galileo and he was the one who assigned them the Greek names in use today. Why not take a peek at Jupiter and its moons? You’ll find it located on the Pices, Cetus, Ares border high on the western horizon after sunset. Look closely… How many do you see? A steady pair of larger binoculars will reveal all four – unless one or more should be either in front or behind the mighty Jove!

Saturday, January 21 - John Couch Adams was born today in 1792. Adams predicted the existence of Neptune. Also born today in 1908 was Bengt Stromgren - the developer of the theory of ionization nebulae (H II regions). Tonight we'll take a look at an ionization nebula as we return for an in-depth look at M42 (Right Ascension: 5 : 35.4 (hours : minutes) Declination: -05 : 27). Known as the Great Orion Nebula, we've already learned where to find it - now let's learn what makes it up.

M42 is actually a great cloud of glowing gases whose size is beyond our comprehension. More than 20,000 times larger than our own solar system, its light is mainly fluorescent. For most people, the Great Orion Nebula will appear to have a slight greenish color - the result of doubly ionized oxygen. At the fueling heart of this immense region is an area known as the Trapezium, its four easily seen stars perhaps the most celebrated multiple system in the night sky. The Trapezium itself belongs to a faint cluster of stars which are now approaching the main sequence stage in an area known as the "Huygenian Region”?

Buried in this cloud of mainly hydrogen gas there are many star forming regions amidst the bright ribbons and curls. Appearing like "knots” in the structure, these are known as "Herbig-Haro objects” and are believed to be stars in their earliest states. There are also a great number of faint reddish stars and erratic variables - very young stars that may be of the accreting T Tauri type. Along with these are "flare stars” whose rapid variations mean that amateur astronomers have a chance to witness new activity.

While you view M42, note that the region appears very turbulent. There is a very good reason. The Great Nebula's many different areas move at different speeds both in recession and approach. The expansion rate at the outer edges of the nebula is an indication of radiation from the very youngest stars known. Although it may be as many as 23,000 years since the Trapezium brought it to "light”, it is entirely possible that new stars are still forming in M42.

Until next week? Clear skies and happy hunting!

Written by Tammy Plotner. If you'd like to know what's up for the whole year, be sure to check out Night Sky Companion 2012 available in either paperback or Kindle!.

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast - January 8-14, 2012

2012-01-06T12:10:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Sunday, January 8 - On this day in 1942 - precisely 300 years after the death of Galileo, Stephen Hawking was born. The British theoretical astrophysicist, despite his physical limitations, became one of the world's foremost leaders in cosmological theory and his book "A Brief History of Time" remains one of the best written on the subject. Also born on this day in 1587 was Johannes Fabricius, son of the discoverer of variable star Mira, David Fabricius. Like many father and son teams, the pair went on to study astronomy together, and some of their most frightening work dealt with viewing sunspots through an unfiltered telescope - a practice which eventually blinded Galileo!

To honor them both tonight, let's take a look at a variable star and a distant sun so large that astronomers have even observed a "hot spots" on the surface - Alpha Orionis - more commonly know as Betelgeuse. This star is so massive that if it were to replace our own Sun, it would fill our solar system out to the distance of the orbit of Jupiter, and so distant that resolving it would be like aiming a telescope at a car headlight from 9656 kilometers away. It is an irregularly pulsing, red supergiant that changes roughly every 5.7 years and can drop in intensity by as much as a magnitude. It is also well known that Betelgeuse is a multiple star system, with four companions ranging from 11th to 14th magnitude, but it is believed its variability is caused by internal changes rather than an eclipsing body. As you view this giant star tonight, keep in mind how much of its hydrogen has been expended and how many times it has expanded and contracted in the 425 years it took for this light to reach your eyes. When it finally does go supernova, it will be almost half a century before we know it!

Monday, January 9 - Today in 1839, Scottish astronomer Thomas Henderson was the first to measure the distance to a star while stationed at the Cape of Good Hope. Using geometrical parallax, Alpha Centauri became the first stellar standard other than our own Sun. Although Henderson began as a lawyer's clerk, his impressive list of 60,000 star positions led to his appointment as the first Astronomer Royal in Scotland.

Tonight is Full Moon and it goes by many different names. During the month of January it is called the Full Wolf Moon. Its name comes from the North American Indians who would hear the wolves howling in search of food in the cold, snow-covered and barren landscape. In Europe it was referred to as the Moon after Yule. And you’ll be no fool if you can’t take your eyes off Mars… Small wonder! Right now it’s tipping the magnitude scales at +0.0! While deep sky studies are out, we can take a look at Iota Orionis. Known to the Arabs as "the Bright One of the Sword," we know it as the southern-most star in its asterism's namesake. Iota is estimated to be around 2000 light-years away and is about 20,000 times brighter than our own Sun. In the small telescope you will find Iota to be an easy and charming triple star. The bluish B star is relatively close at 11" in separation, but a bright 6.9 in magnitude. Much more distant at 50" is the disparate, magnitude 11 reddish C star. Iota itself is a spectroscopic binary and you will note another "white" double (Struve 747) unrelated to Iota about 8' to the southwest.

Staying at high power, the reason I ask you to look here tonight is to conquer a Herschel 400 object and study a region of the sky that would be far more impressive if it weren't for its alluring neighbor. If you look closely, you will see that Iota is involved in a region of the emission nebula known as NGC 1980, along with a small open cluster known as H 31. To be sure, the area is vague, as are all low surface brightness nebulae, but do look to the east of Iota where a much brighter, roundish area makes an unmistakable appearance!

Tuesday, January 10 - Robert W. Wilson was born this day in 1936. Wilson is the co-discoverer, along with Arno Penzias, of the cosmic microwave background, and in 1978 he won the Physics Nobel Prize. While we're "listening in," on this day in 1946, the US Army's Signal Corps became the first to successfully bounce radar waves off the Moon. Although this might sound like a minor achievement, let's look just a bit further into what it really meant! Known as "Project Diana," scientists were hard at work to find a way to pierce the Earth's ionosphere with radio waves - a feat believed at that time to be impossible. Headed by Lt. Col. John DeWitt, and working with only a handful of full-time researchers, a modified SCR-271 bedspring radar antenna was set up in the northeast corner of Camp Evans. The power was cranked up and it was aimed at the rising Moon. A series of radar signals were broadcast, and in each case, the echo was picked up in exactly 2.5 seconds - the time it takes light to travel to the Moon and back. The significance of Project Diana cannot be overestimated. The discovery that the ionosphere could be pierced, and that communication was possible opened the way to space exploration. Although it would be another decade before the first satellites were launched into space, they were later followed by manned rockets. Project Diana paved the way for all those achievements.

Let's return again to Orion tonight before moonrise, but preferably with binoculars since we will be studying a very large region known as "Barnard's Loop." Extending in a massive area about the size of the "bow," you will find Barnard's photographic namesake to the eastern edge of Orion, where it extends almost half the size of the constellation between Alpha and Kappa. Because the Orion complex contains so many rapidly evolving stars, it stands to reason that a supernova should have occurred there at some time. "Barnard's Loop" is quite probably the shell leftover from such a cataclysmic event. If taken as a whole, it would encompass 10 degrees of sky! For the most past, the nebula itself is very vague, but the eastern arc (where we are observing tonight) is relatively well defined against the starry field. Although it is similar to the Cygnus Loop - the Veil Nebula - our Barnard Loop is far more ancient. If you have transparent, dark skies then return again when skies are darker and enjoy! You can trace several degrees of this ancient remnant using just binoculars.

Wednesday, January 11 - Tonight in 1787, Sir William Herschel discovered two of Uranus' multiple moons - Oberon and Titania. If you’d like to see Uranus for yourself, it can be found just southeast of the circlet of Pices (0h 3m 53s) not long after skydark. It can be captured with mid-sized binoculars, but even a small telescope will reveal its slightly greenish orb!

Our study for tonight is the "holy grail" of multiple star systems as we look into the fueling core of M42 - Theta Orionis (Right Ascension: 05 35.3 – Declination: -05 24). Are you ready to walk into "the Trap?" Even the smallest of telescopes can reveal the four bright stars that comprise the quadrangle at the heart of the Great Orion Nebula known as the "Trapezium." Both the beginner and the seasoned veteran know that there are actually eight stars in this region and the journey we are about to undertake requires both aperture and fine skies. What can you really see? All four primary stars are easy. A steady hand with binoculars and even the most modest of telescopes make this foursome an awesome sight... And they seem to be in a dark "notch" of their own, don't they? A mid-sized scope will reveal two additional 11th magnitude stars, but excellent skies could mean the even smaller aperture could detect them as "red" companions to the "blue/white" primary stars. The remaining two components average about magnitude 16, putting them within reach of large amateur scopes, but what would you see?

When I first began observing the Trapezium area with a 12.5" telescope, I was sure that I would never see the two faintest members of the group. I was new to challenging double stars and had never looked at a diagram. (To this day, I still prefer to observe and describe things first and confirm them later. Knowing in advance what you are "supposed" to see influences what you "can" see.) I had seen the fainter stars that appeared as doubles, along with a faint wink here and there as well as one to the outside that made the whole thing appear like a pentagon. Little did I realize I was seeing all eight members, and there seemed to be so much more just on the edge of my perception. Thus began my own personal quest to study the "Trapezium" on a more professional level, just like challenging galaxy studies.

Using the 31" reflector at Warren Rupp Observatory, it was time to "walk into the Trap" and to answer all my observing questions through visual confirmation. While at first glance with a small telescope, the background region in this area might appear a black void, it is not. The nebula continues here, but changes form. Instead of seeing "smoke-like" filaments, the region around the Trapezium is scalloped, like fish scales. You can never see this in a photograph! I realized immediately that both the G and H stars that I had always questioned were quite within range of my 12.5" as I recognized the pattern. Then a moment of perfect clarity came and the view literally exploded in dozens of stars buried within the field surrounding these eight known as the "Trapezium." Upon formal study, I found that there are around 300 such stars within 5' of the Theta Orionis complex that exceed magnitude 17. According to Strand, the expansion rate puts them at an approximate age of 30,000 years, making it the youngest star cluster known. Regardless of what size telescope you use, you owe it to yourself to take the time to power up on the "Trap." Since the time the area was revealed to my eyes in all its open glory, I have seen scallops in the nebula and both fainter members on nights with exceptional seeing in much smaller telescopes. No matter how many stars you are able to resolve out of this region, you are looking into the very beginnings of starbirth...

Thursday, January 12 - Today in 1830 celebrates the founding of what - in 1831 - would become the Royal Astronomical Society. The RAS was conceived by John Herschel, Charles Babbage, James South, and several others. The RAS has published its Monthly Notices continuously since 1831. Believed to have been born today in 1907 was Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. While few people recognize Korolev's name, he was a Soviet rocket engineer whose contributions to the science made him as important to the Russian space program as Robert Goddard was to that of the United States. His developments led to Sputnik, Vostok, Voskhod, and eventually the Soyuz programs.

Tonight our study region is to the northeast of the Great Orion Nebula (M42) and has a designation of its own - M43 (Right Ascension: 5 : 35.6 - Declination: -05 : 16). Discovered by De Mairan in the latter half of the 18th century, this emission nebula appears to be separate from M42, but the division known as "the Fish Mouth" is actually caused by dark gas and dust within the nebula itself. At the heart of it is 7th magnitude "Bond's Star" - and wouldn't 007 be proud? This unusually bright OB star is creating a matter-bound Stromgren sphere! Translated loosely, this star is actually ionizing the gas near it, making an orb-shaped area of glowing hydrogen gas. Its size is governed by the density of both the gas and dust that surround Bond's Star. This "exciting" star of our show is more properly known as Nu Orionis and near it resides in a dense concentration of neutral material known as the "Orion Ridge." It is this combination of dust - mixed with gases - that make for a well balanced area of star formation. And besides... It's just cool!

If you’d like to take another look at something cool, turn your head and telescope towards Leo to examine Mars. Tonight the planet reaches the apparent diameter of 10” and simply commands attention. Be sure to look for its polar caps and dark markings.

Friday, January 13 - Got a wide field eyepiece? Then tonight is your chance to pick off both an inner planet and a way outer planet in the same field of view! After sky dark, set your sights on Venus and you’ll find Neptune less than a degree away to the north!

Tonight let's return to Orion's sword to have a look for something you might have missed. Starting with M42 and M43, be sure to log these two Messier catalog studies for your binocular or small telescope records, but have a much closer look about one degree north. NGC 1981 (Right Ascension: 5 : 35.2 - Declination: -04 : 26) is a 4th magnitude open cluster that looks like a stellar member of the Orion group to the unaided eye. In small binoculars, it is easily resolved into around a dozen members with its brightest star weighing in at around magnitude 6. In the small telescope, as many as twenty individual members are resolved in chains and small groups. The region of NGC 1981 has been studied for rotational movement in the Orion arm of our galaxy and it was found that the stars in this cluster are actually rotating around our galactic center faster than the stars in the Perseus arm. Well suited to even urban skies, NGC 1981 is also an Astronomical League Binocular Deep Sky object that you will very much enjoy. For larger telescopes looking for a real challenge, double star Struve 750 is part of this entertaining and easy galactic cluster!

Saturday, January 14 - Tonight it's big scope challenge time as we take on two Hershel 400 objects. Let's start with NGC 2202 (Right Ascension: 6 : 16.9 - Declination: +05 : 59) located about two fingerwidths southeast of Lambda Orionis, directly in line with Betelgeuse. This 12.9 magnitude planetary nebula isn't for everybody and one of the reasons the Herschel studies are what they are is because it is challenging. Appearing like a stellar point, H 34 is not particularly bright, but will take on the form of a slightly fuzzy and slightly green planetary nebula at high power. Be sure to look at a detailed chart carefully if you are using a smaller scope to correctly identify this object. It wouldn't be a challenge if it were easy!

The next is more readily achievable in smaller scopes and more easily found by heading north of Beta Eridani about two fingerwidths. The molecular cloud of reflection nebulae known as NGC 1788 (Right Ascension: 5 : 06.9 - Declination: -03 : 2) is roughly 1 to 3,000 light-years away and shows more as a faint, squarish nebulosity with embedded stars. Best at low power or with rich field scopes, this small glowing patch is sure to please!

If you’ve been following Mars, then take note of its position later tonight. The red planet is about to go slide into the constellation of Virgo!

Dusty Plasma From Enceladus Might Affect Saturn's Magnetosphere

2012-01-04T06:40:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Discovered by the Cassini mission, Saturn Kilometric Radiation (SKR) has been something of an enigma to astronomers. According to the radio and plasma wave instruments, variations occur in sync with the planet's rotation. However, there are periodic "bursts" of radiation which are in line with Saturn's magnetosphere. What makes this odd? The rate isn't quite the same.

Thanks to investigations of Enceladus by Cassini in 2008, new information about the plasma environment surrounding Saturn's satellite could show a marked impact on the magnetosphere. This image and video show a changing pattern of radio waves from Saturn known as Saturn Kilometric Radiation, as detected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The colors indicate the emitted power of the radio waves, with red as the strongest.

How is it being affected? Thanks to Enceladus' "spraying" nature, the huge plume of water vapor and ice from its southern pole provides a hefty source of plasma to feed Saturn's magnetosphere and E-Ring. These negatively charged particles are again impacting the motion of the localized plasma.

"These signatures result from half or more of the electrons being attached to dust grains and by the interaction between the surrounding cold plasma and the predominantly negatively charged submicrometer-sized dust grains." says M. W. Morooka (et al). "The dust and plasma properties estimated from the observations clearly show that the dust-plasma interaction is collective."

According to the AGU Journal, this dust-plasma interaction impacts the dynamics of Saturn's magnetosphere, possibly influencing the rate of SKR emissions.

Original Story Source: American Geophysical Union.

Product Spotlight - Moonglow Technologies All Sky Cam

2012-01-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

So when it comes to messin' around with a lot of fancy equipment, I love to see the results - but I'm afraid of the technology behind it. Oh, don't get me wrong. If you give me long enough, I'll figure anything out, but what I don't want is to be frustrated with an expensive gadget, or be afraid to use it because it is expensive. And speaking of the E-word, I also don't want to invest a large amount of money in something I might or might not use. That's why when I saw the Moonglow Technologies All Sky Camera, I knew I had to take a closer look.

Now here's the kind of technology I could really get into. This color All-Sky camera is as easy as mounting it on a pole and running the cable to your television monitor. It's broadcasting real time video images from a 360 degree perspective aimed at the sky. There's nothing tricky here... just a low lux capable video camera that can also take direct sunlight. It is going to reveal everything from sunrises to sunsets, clouds to rainbows, the Milky Way to meteor showers.

The All Sky Camera's interior is completely sealed from the elements and humidity, and contains a clay desiccant (DMF-free) to prevent fogging inside the glass dome. The sturdy glass dome protects the camera from rain, snow, and moderate hail. Light snow and ice will be melted off by the camera's 1.5 watt internal power consumption. In cold climates during large snowfalls, it may be desirable to brush snow off of the camera to speed the melting process. In summertime, heat generated inside the dome by solar insolation is reduced by the reflective anodized aluminum surface, and removed by conduction through the aluminum housing.

The very best part is that it just simply doesn't need to be technical, nor confusing. The Moonglow Technologies All Sky Camera could be mounted on a garage roof and connected inside to an old television and VCR to record meteor showers. Or how about being part of your home observatory or your astronomy club's building? If you're more into it, there are simple (and inexpensive) cables which will allow you to convert the signal (or recordings) into a computer format for use on You Tube and more. Remember how thrilling the first video eyepieces were for a telescope... and how easy and fun they were (and still are) to use? Well, this little All-Sky camera is offering you the same thing. A chance to play around with technology at a price most of us can afford.

And there's nothing confusing about that!

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast: January 1-7, 2012

2011-12-30T06:30:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Sunday, January 1 - Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! We start our observing year together just before dawn with the brief appearance of Mercury on the eastern skyline. You’ll catch it to the lower left (northeast) of brilliant red Antares.

On this night in 1801, the skies were clear in Italy and astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi had just made a discovery - what would eventually become the first known asteroid. Unlike today's instant communications, Piazzi had to relate his observations to others via the mail - but by the time they received it, his discovery had moved too close to the Sun and was lost. What we now know as minor planet Ceres was not relocated until it returned in September of that same year. With some help from Gauss and his method of calculating orbits, Ceres was identified again on the last day of 1801 and reconfirmed again on this date in 1802. If you’d like to view this bright asteroid for yourself, you can find it on the eastern border of Aquarius and viewable just after the sky gets dark. Check with resources guide for a planetarium program or on-line service to give you an exact location for your observing position and time.

We start our observing evening with the beautiful Moon. For unaided eye observers, you can spot bright Jupiter a couple of handspans away to the east – and beautiful red Aldebaran about the same distance further east. Now, get out your binoculars or telescope and let’s start the year off practicing some selenography. Tonight we will begin our lunar explorations as we look to the far north and identify the “Sea of Cold”—Mare Frigoris. This long, vast lava plain extends 1126 kilometers across the surface from east to west, yet never ranges more than 72 kilometers from north to south. Look for the unmistakable dark ellipse of landmark crater Plato caught on Frigoris' southern central shore.

Named after the famous philosopher, this mountain-walled plain with a dark floor is a Class V crater. Its slightly oval shape spans approximately 101 kilometers in diameter but is a shallow 1 kilometer deep - appearing far more elliptical due to its northern latitude. Plato's floor is its most curious feature. Consisting of 2,700 square miles of unique lava, and only broken by a couple of very minor and supremely challenging craters, Plato is one of the very few areas on the lunar surface that seems to have changed in recent history. The bright rim of Plato's enclosure is very ragged and can rise as high as 2 kilometers above the surface, casting unusual shadows on the lava covered floor. At around 3 million years old, Plato is more ancient than Mare Imbrium to its south. For 300 years astronomers have been keeping a watchful eye on this crater. Hevelius called it the “Greater Black Lake,” due its low albedo (surface reflectivity). Despite its dark appearance, Plato is well known as a home for lunar transient phenomena such as flashes of light, unusual color patterns and areas that could be outgassing. Enjoy this lunar feature which will point the way to others in the future!

Before you put your telescope away for the evening, be sure to head towards the constellation of Leo and take a look at Mars! Right now it’s shining at +0.2 magnitude and has an apparent size of 9.0”. Why so bright? Maybe because it’s close. Right now the red planet is 1.03957 AU (155.5 million km) away from Earth… And about to get closer!

Monday, January 2 - In 1959, the USSR launched the very first Moon probe. Named Luna 1, it became the first extraterrestrial spacecraft. The spacecraft carried no propulsion system of its own, but after having reached escape velocity, its third stage released a payload of sodium gas, which left a glowing trail that reached a brightness of sixth magnitude, allowing astronomers to trace it. Luna 1 made outstanding contributions to science, including the first confirmation that the Moon had no magnetic field. The probe was designed to impact the surface, and although it failed to do so, it did achieve another first with its flyby.

Hmmmm… Is that a fly by the Moon? Nope. It’s Jupiter! No telescope is necessary to see the splendid pairing of Jupiter and the Moon! Look for the bright and mighty Jove just a couple of degrees away from our nearest astronomical neighbor and enjoy this bit of celestial scenery!

Now, turn your eyes towards the Moon as we perform a "flyby" of our own! Let's begin our lunar studies tonight with a deeper look at the "Sea of Rains." Our mission is to explore the disclosure of Mare Imbrium, home to Apollo 15. Stretching out 1123 kilometers over the Moon's northwest quadrant, Imbrium was formed around 38 million years ago when a huge object impacted the lunar surface creating a gigantic basin.

The basin itself is surrounded by three concentric rings of mountains. The most distant ring reaches a diameter of 1300 kilometers and involves the Montes Carpatus to the south, the Montes Apenninus southwest, and the Caucasus to the east. The central ring is formed by the Montes Alpes, and the innermost has long been lost except for a few low hills which still show their 600 kilometer diameter pattern through the eons of lava flow. Originally the impact basin was believed to be as much as 100 kilometers deep. So devastating was the event that a Moon-wide series of fault lines appeared as the massive strike shattered the lunar lithosphere. Imbrium is also home to a huge mascon, and images of the far side show areas opposite the basin where seismic waves traveled through the interior and shaped its landscape. The floor of the basin rebounded from the cataclysm and filled in to a depth of around 12 kilometers. Over time, lava flow and regolith added another five kilometers of material, yet evidence remains of the ejecta which was flung more than 800 kilometers away, carving long runnels through the landscape.

Tuesday, January 3 - We start tonight's lunar tour with a northern landmark that can even be spotted with unaided vision - Plato. Located in the northern hemisphere of the Moon, its dark ellipse is unmistakable. Plato's floor consists of 2700 square miles of lava fill and is considered by some observers as the darkest single low-albedo feature on the Moon. Because of its low reflectivity, this crater has the distinction of being one of the only mountain-walled plains that doesn't "disappear" as the Moon grows full. With Plato in the center of the field note the pyramid-like peak of Pico due south in northeastern Mare Imbrium. East of Pico is an unnamed dorsum - or lava wave - terminating just above crater Piazzi Smyth to the south. Power up in a telescope and check out the triangular peak near its end.

Today is the birth date of Russian astronomer Grigori Neujmin (1886.) His important discovery was the rotating asteroid Gaspra. This is also the date that Stephen Synnot discovered Juliet and Portia, two additional moons belonging to Uranus.

Although skies will be bright, be sure to keep a watch for members of the Quadrantid meteor shower. Its radiant belongs to an extinct constellation once known as Quadran Muralis, but any meteors will seem to come from the general direction of bright Arcturus and Bootes. This is a very narrow stream, which may have once belonged to a portion of the Aquarids. As Jupiter's gravity continues to influence it, in another 400 years of so this shower will become as extinct as the constellation for which it was named.

Wednesday, January 4 - Tonight we'll begin in the lunar north as we explore another challenging region - Sinus Roris. "The Bay of Dew" is actually a northern extension of the vast region of the Oceanus Procellarum. Extending for about 202 kilometers, many lunar maps aren't quite true to Sinus Roris' dimensions. Its borders are not exactly clear given the curvature on which we see this feature, but we do know the eastern edges join Mare Frigoris. This area is much lighter than most features of this type. If you seek answers, then look further north as Roris' high albedo can be attributed to the ejecta from many nearby impacts. It also holds a fanciful place in history, as seen in this excerpt from the science fiction story "Man on the Moon" by Wernher van Braun:

"We can't land where the surface is too rugged, because we need a flat place to set down. Yet the site can't be too flat, either-grain-sized meteors constantly bombard the moon at speeds of several miles a second; we'll have to set up camp in a crevice where we have protection from these bullets. There's one section of the moon that meets all our requirements, and unless something better turns up on closer inspection, that's where we'll land. It's an area called Sinus Roris, or "Dewy Bay," on the northern branch of a plain known as Oceanus Procellarum, or "Stormy Ocean" (so called by early astronomers who thought the moon's plains were great seas). Dr. Fred L. Whipple, chairman of Harvard University's astronomy department, says Sinus Roris is ideal for our purpose - about 1000 kilometers from the lunar north pole, where the daytime temperature averages a reasonably pleasant 40 degrees and the terrain is flat enough to land on, yet irregular enough to hide in."

Today is also the birthdate of Wilhelm Beer (1797), an amateur astronomer who with Johann Madler created an exhaustive and first of its kind map of the Moon - Mappa Selenographia. Tonight discover for yourself what Galileo and Beer saw. Using any type of optical aid, trace the bright lunar rays extending from the brilliant Tycho.

But, if you hear a wolf howl...perhaps it might be the "Dog Star" on the rise. Alpha Canis Majoris, better known as Sirius, is the fifth nearest star known and has played an important role throughout the history of astronomy. Although Sirius is a "moving star," belonging to the Ursa Major moving group, there is historical evidence that it was seen from the island of Zylos in the Persian Gulf on the 29th of April - in the year 11,542 BC!

Watch its dazzling appearance while it is still fairly low and flashing all colors of the rainbow. The light you see from this main sequence star left almost 9 years ago and was seen by Ptolemy, Homer and Plutarch. The ancient Egyptians revered it and the Greeks and Romans feared it. Enjoy it tonight and we'll be back to study...

Thursday, January 5 - We start our observing evening with the beautiful Moon as we begin with the ancient and graceful landmark crater Gassendi standing at the north edge of Mare Humorum. The mare itself is around the size of the state of Arkansas and is one of the oldest of the circular maria on the visible surface. As you view the bright ring of Gassendi, look for evidence of the massive impact which may have formed Humorum. It is believed the original crater may have been in excess of 462 kilometers in diameter, indenting the lunar surface almost twice over. Over time, similar smaller strikes formed the many craters around its edges and lava flow gradually gave the area the ridge- and rille-covered floor we see tonight. Its name is the "Sea of Moisture," but look for its frozen waves in the long dry landscape.

Now let's turn our attention towards the constellation of Orion and a binocular and small telescope cluster known as Collinder 69. While many of us have looked at Orion's triangular head before, what we may not have realized is that the area surrounding third magnitude Lambda is an open cluster. Containing approximately 19 stars that range from fifth to ninth magnitude, look for a southward extending chain that gives this collection its signature.

As you look at the brightest star, let me introduce you - its name is Meissa. The cluster itself is considered young, and probably formed no more than 10 million years ago. On a dark night, look again to see if you can spot some nebulous filaments that remain from its birth! Now look at Orion's belt. Almost all of us have seen these three stars time and again, but did you know they are also part of an open cluster? Turn your binoculars there and have a look. In an area spanning about three degrees are around 100 stars known as Collinder 70. Look for many mixed magnitudes, chains and pairings. This area has been used in the search for brown dwarfs!

Friday, January 6 - As the Moon nears Full, it becomes more and more difficult to study, but there are still some features that we can take a look at. Before we go to our binoculars or telescopes, just stop and take a look. Do you see the "Cow Jumping over the Moon"? It is strictly a visual phenomenon—a combination of dark maria which looks like the back, forelegs and hind legs of the shadow of that mythical animal. Maybe he’s running across the skies to chase Mars! Right now the celebrated planet is less that 1 AU away and getting brighter!

Today in 1949, the first atomic clock built on theoretical work by Isidor Rabi and Norman Ramsey went into operation. This model used ammonia as its "pendulum," but only 8 years later the first cesium beam device was built. Clocks using this primary standard are now keeping time to about one-millionth of a second per year. Like clockwork, objects that we can view also keep incredibly accurate time. Tonight return again to Orion's belt as we have a closer look at its westernmost star - Mintaka.

Located around 1500 light-years away, Delta Orionis usually holds a magnitude of 2.20, but orbiting it in a clockwise orbit of 5.7325 days is a nearly equal star around 8 million kilometers away. Mintaka is a prime example of an eclipsing binary star, and although visually you won't really notice a .2 magnitude drop in light, let's take a closer look with binoculars. As one of the few easy binocular double challenges, Mintaka will easily reveal its 6.7 magnitude companion star to its north. For over 100 years, the eclipsing physical AB pair has been closely watched and no movement between the half light-year apart physical pair has been detected. For those with larger telescopes - power up - and see if you can discover the 13th magnitude C star southwest of the primary.

No matter how you look at Mintaka, this fascinating star has been a part of history. It was the very first to display stationary spectral lines which proved the existence of interstellar matter!

Saturday, January 7 - Tonight the Moon will look nearly full and it is a good time to spot yet another lunar asterism, “The Rabbit in the Moon.” Since the dawn of mankind, we have been gazing at the Moon and seeing fanciful shapes in large lunar features. Tonight, as the Moon rises, is your chance to catch a lunar challenge - "The Rabbit in the Moon." The "Rabbit" is a compilation of all the dark maria. The Oceanus Procellarum forms the "ear" while Mare Humorum makes the "nose." The "body" is Mare Imbrium and the "front legs" appear to be Mare Nubium. Mare Serenitatis is the "backside" and the picture is complete where Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Fecunditatis shape the "hind legs" with Crisium as the "tail." See the Moon with an imaginative mind and new eyes -- and find the "Rabbit." It's already out of the hat and in the heavens…

Despite bright skies, let's take a brief look towards the three stars that form Orion's "belt". Starting with just our eyes, look around a thumb's length south to discover an asterism of stars referred to as the "sword." On a clear, dark night away from city lights you can spot a glowing cloud of dust and gas surrounding Theta that has long held a place in astronomy history. It was first noted only one year after Galileo first used his telescope, and the discovery is credited to Nicholas Peiresc in 1611. It wasn't until Christian Huygens sketched it in 1656 that it became well known for containing a "heart of stars."

Now, take out your binoculars and have a look. Stars are still being born in a dense cloud behind the nebula, and hundreds of them are less than a million years old. Compared to our own Sun's age of over four billion years, these would seem almost new! But think again at what you are looking at...the light you see tonight left this area around 1900 years ago.

So magnificent are the many details that can be seen in the Orion Nebula, that chapter upon chapter could be devoted to its riches. For now, feast your eyes upon this 30 light-year expanse of dust, neutral and ionized hydrogen, and doubly-ionized oxygen illuminated by the ultraviolet starlight of this stellar nursery. It is more than 20,000 times larger than our own solar system and its mass could form 10,000 stars like our own Sun!

New NASA Probe - The Comet Harpoon

2011-12-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

It's not easy to sample a comet. These outer solar system travelers speed around the inner solar system at 241,000 km/h (150,000 mph) - twisting and turning while spewing chunks of ice, dust and debris. To consider landing on one becomes a logistical nightmare, but how about shooting at it? Why not send a mission to rendezvous with these frozen, inhospitable rocks and insert a probe? A method like this could even mean a sample could be taken where a landing would be impossible!

Thanks to the work of scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, a new comet "harpoon" is being designed to make comet sample returns not only more efficient, but more detailed.

Roughly the size of a clothes closet, this syringe-like probe stands roughly two meters tall and will be inserted with a cross-bow like arrangement that will contact the surface of the comet. Positioned to fire vertically downward, this bow arrangement consists of a pair of truck leaf springs and 1/2 inch steel cable.. an arrangement which could fire up to a mile if pointed in the wrong direction! When it impacts, an electric winch will draw the bow back into position and eject the harpoon with 1,000 pounds of force at 100 feet per second.

So what would it be like to witness the harpooning of the cosmic whale? An explosive adventure, to be sure. Donald Wegel of NASA Goddard, lead engineer on the project, has been experimenting with the ballista and the core sample box in various impact environments. According to the press release, the resultant impact is something of a combination of rifle report and cannon blast.

"We had to bolt it to the floor, because the recoil made the whole testbed jump after every shot," said Wegel. "We're not sure what we'll encounter on the comet – the surface could be soft and fluffy, mostly made up of dust, or it could be ice mixed with pebbles, or even solid rock. Most likely, there will be areas with different compositions, so we need to design a harpoon that's capable of penetrating a reasonable range of materials. The immediate goal though, is to correlate how much energy is required to penetrate different depths in different materials. What harpoon tip geometries penetrate specific materials best? How does the harpoon mass and cross section affect penetration? The ballista allows us to safely collect this data and use it to size the cannon that will be used on the actual mission."

Studying comet core samples will provide researchers with important information on the original solar nebula and help us to further understand how life may have originated. "One of the most inspiring reasons to go through the trouble and expense of collecting a comet sample is to get a look at the 'primordial ooze' – biomolecules in comets that may have assisted the origin of life," says Wegel. Comet sample return missions - such as the one from Wild 2 - have shown us that that amino acids exist in these inhospitable places, yet may have helped stimulate life here on Earth.

However, there's more to the story than just searching out reasons for life... the biggest being the preservation of life itself. As we know, there's always a possibility that a comet could impact Earth and create an extinction level event. By understanding comet composition, we can get a better grip on what we might need to do should a cataclysmic scenario rear its ugly head. For example, we'd know if a certain type of comet might tend to fragment - or another explode. "So the second major reason to sample comets is to characterize the impact threat," according to Wegel. "We need to understand how they're made so we can come up with the best way to deflect them should any have their sights on us."

"Bringing back a comet sample will also let us analyze it with advanced instruments that won't fit on a spacecraft or haven't been invented yet," adds Dr. Joseph Nuth, a comet expert at NASA Goddard and lead scientist on the project.

If we were to be in a movie, perhaps we might consider getting a comet sample through a method like drilling - but lack of gravity on these small, moving worlds isn't going to allow that to happen. "A spacecraft wouldn't actually land on a comet; it would have to attach itself somehow, probably with some kind of harpoon. So we figured if you have to use a harpoon anyway, you might as well get it to collect your sample," says Nuth.

At the present, the design team is currently hard at work studying the harpoon's reactions to different mediums - and what needs to be done to sample and collect what they might encounter. This isn't easy considering they are working with a basic unknown.

"You can't do this by crunching numbers in a computer, because nobody has done it before -- the data doesn't exist yet," says Nuth. "We need to get data from experiments like this before we can build a computer model. We're working on answers to the most basic questions, like how much powder charge do you need so your harpoon doesn't bounce off or go all the way through the comet. We want to prove the harpoon can penetrate deep enough, collect a sample, decouple from the tip, and retract the sample collection device."

Nothing will be left to chance, however. By creating multiple tips, collection devices and planning for different firing techniques and needs, the team is sure to make the most of their research dollars and the spacecraft that will be available to them. To further assist in their planning, they will also be able to use data from the current Rosetta mission and its lander, Philae, which will hook up with "67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko" in 2014.

"The Rosetta harpoon is an ingenious design, but it does not collect a sample," says Wegel. "We will piggyback on their work and take it a step further to include a sample-collecting cartridge. It's important to understand the complex internal friction encountered by a hollow, core-sampling harpoon." Even more information will be added from recent NASA mission, OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security -- Regolith Explorer), which is an asteroid sample return mission. It will all add up to some very unique findings and one thing we do know is...

"Admiral? Thar' be whales here..."

Product Spotlight - The Galileoscope

2011-12-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Over four hundred years ago, Galileo pointed his refractor telescope towards the night sky and forever changed the way mankind thinks of astronomy. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have shared the eyepiece with Galileo - or to have been there to watch as he assembled one of those very first telescopes? Now you can...

While we can't step back in time, we can bring all the excitement and learning to you in a hands-on optic kit which will allow you to assemble a Galileo-like refractor telescope from the ground up. A dedicated team of researchers, astronomers and educators designed the Galileoscope Telescope Kit to be one of the most ultimate tools you'll ever encounter. It's more than just a kit... It's a learning experience.

The Galileoscope Telescope Kit achromatic optics include a 50-mm-diameter objective lens of focal length 500 mm, an eyepiece of focal length 20 mm (magnification 25x), and a 2x Barlow lens (yielding 50x when used with the supplied eyepiece). The Galileoscope accepts almost any optical accessory that has a standard 1¼-inch (31¾-mm) barrel, and it attaches to virtually every tripod made or distributed anywhere in the world.

While the facts and figures are great, it's what happens when you use it that counts the most. By inspection of each individual piece and how they connect together, you (and your audience) are able to grasp the concept of what makes a refractor telescope work. What's more, it can be disassembled and reassembled over and over again, so the learning doesn't stop with a single construction - or a single audience!

The Galileoscope Telescope Kit is perfect for educators of all types - home school, scouts, science classes, adult astronomy outreach and more! Even though it is inexpensive, it was built with durability in mind and - with proper care - will provide years of service. It's a very cool tool that deserves a place in every classroom and astronomy club!

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast - December 24-31, 2011

2011-12-23T05:38:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Friday, December 24 - Today in 1968, Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Until this date, no man had seen with his own eyes what lay beyond. Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders were to become the first to directly view the "dark side" and the first to witness earthrise over the Moon. As the days ahead bring the terminator around to the eastern limb, let your mind take flight to the distant orb and enjoy its landscape as the shadows take on new angles and old features become new again.

"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close, with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth." (Astronaut Frank Borman)

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…except for the mouse with the telescope who wants to see a multiple star system! Why don’t we join him tonight and have a look at very nice, and easily resolved, Sigma Orionis.

This particular system is easily found without a map. By identifying the three “belt” stars of Orion, go to the easternmost – Alnitak. Sigma is the first star south of it. In the telescope you will find a beautiful combination of four stars. The 3.8 magnitude white primary commands attention. With a designation of “A/B,” this super-massive and extremely bright pair is far too close (about 100 AU apart) to be split with a small scope. Looking 11″ to the southwest, you will discover the 10th magnitude white “C” star and you will see the 7.2 magnitude red “D” star 13″ to the east. Further away yet at a distance of 42″ to the east-northeast is the 6.5 magnitude blue “E” star. Sharp-eyed observers will also note another multiple system in the same field of view to the northwest. This is Struve 761. As an “all white” system of similar magnitudes, you will see two residing east/west of each other and the third companion to the north. What we are looking at is a system that is about 1,500 light years away from us in the rich, star-forming region of Orion. Give that mouse a piece of cheese!

Saturday, December 25 - Wishing you all the very best for the Christmas season! Like a present, Sir Isaac Newton was born on this day 1642 - Newton was the British "inventor" of calculus and a huge amount of what we now consider modern classical physics. Even young children are aware of his simple laws of motion and gravity. It wasn't until the time of Einstein until things changed!
In keeping with the season, tonight's astronomical object is a celebration of both starlight and asterism. Located 10 degrees east of Betelgeuse (RA 06 41 00.00 Dec +09 53 -0.0), NGC 2264 will be a challenging object thanks to the Moon. Also known as the "Christmas Tree Cluster," this bright asterism of approximately 20 bright stars and over 100 fainter ones is embroiled in a faint nebula that will be lost to bright skies, leaving only the delightful Christmas tree shape adorned with stars.

The very brightest of these stars, S Monocerotis, is 5th magnitude and will show clearly in the finderscope, and will be seen as a double at magnification. Steady skies will reveal that the "star" at the top of our "tree" is also a visual double. Many of the stars will also appear to have companions, as well as tints of silver as gold. The visual effect of this splendid open cluster is well worth the challenge it presents.

While you’re out tonight, be sure to enjoy the close pairing of Jupiter and the Moon. For observers in south Africa and southern South America this is an occultation event. Happy Holidays!

Sunday, December 26 - The slender crescent Moon will appear along the western horizon early this evening, but we're going to run ahead of it tonight and enjoy some studies in Auriga! Looking roughly like a pentagon in shape, start by identifying the brightest of these stars - Capella. Due south of it is the second brightest star, El Nath. By aiming binoculars at El Nath, go north about one-third the distance between the two and enjoy all the stars!

You will note two very conspicuous clusters of stars in this area, and so did Le Gentil in 1749. Binoculars will reveal the pair in the same field, as will telescopes using lowest power. The dimmest of these is M38, and it will appear vaguely cruciform in shape. At roughly 4200 light-years away, larger aperture will be needed to resolve the 100 or so fainter members. About two and a half degrees to the southeast you will see the much brighter M36. More easily resolved in binoculars and small scopes, this "jewel box" galactic cluster is quite young - and about 100 light-years closer!

Monday, December 27 - Born today in 1571 was Johannes Kepler - Danish astronomer and assistant to Tycho Brahe. Kepler used Brahe's copious notes of Mars' positions to help formulate his three laws of planetary motion. These laws are still in use today.

Before the Moon begins to interfere with deep sky studies, we still have time to set our sights about halfway between Theta Aurigae and El Nath. Our study object will be the open cluster M37. Apparently discovered by Messier himself in 1764, this galactic cluster will appear almost nebula-like to binoculars and very small telescopes - but comes to perfect resolution with larger instruments. At around 4700 light-years away, and spanning a massive 25 light-years, M37 is often billed as the finest of the three Aurigan opens for bigger scopes. Offering beautiful resolvability, this one contains around 150 members down to magnitude 12, and has a total population in excess of 500.

What makes it unique? As you view, you will note the presence of several red giants. For the most part, open clusters are comprised of stars that are all about the same age, but the brightest star in M37 appears orange in color and not blue! So what exactly is going on in here? Apparently some of these big, bright stars have evolved much faster - consuming their fuel at an incredible rate. Other stars in this cluster are still quite young on a cosmic scale, yet they all left the "nursery" at the same time! In theory, this allows us to judge the relative age of open clusters. For example, M36 is around 30 million years old and M38 about 40, but the presence of the red giants in M37 puts its estimated age at 150 million years! Just awesome...

Tuesday, December 28 - Today we celebrate the birth of Arthur S. Eddington. Born in 1882, Eddington was a British theoretical astrophysicist whose work was fundamental to interpreting and explaining stellar nature. He also coined the phrase "expanding universe" to refer to the mutual recession of the galaxies.

Tonight it’s going to be very hard to ignore the Moon, so why don’t we start by studying it and picking up another lunar club challenge? Your mission is to locate crater Petavius along the southeast shore of Mare Fecunditatis and have a look at the Petavius Wall… While you’re admiring Petavius and its branching rima, keep in mind this 80 kilometer long crack is a buckle in the lava flow across the crater floor. Now look along the terminator for the long, dark runnel which is often considered to be the Petavius Wall but is actually the fascinating crater Palitzsch. This 41 kilometer wide crater is confluent with a 110 kilometer long valley that is outstanding at this phase!

As soon as the Moon sets, let's enjoy the early dark skies and go to our maps west of M36 and M38 to identify AE Aurigae. As an unusual variable, AE is normally around 6th magnitude and resides approximately 1600 light-years distant. The beauty in this region is not particularly the star itself but the faint nebula in which it resides. Known as IC 405, this is an area of mostly dust and very little gas. What makes this view so entertaining is that we are looking at a "runaway" star. It is believed that AE originated in the M42 region in Orion. Cruising along at a very respectable speed of 130 kilometers per second, AE flew the "stellar nest" some 2.7 million years ago! Although IC 405 is not directly related to AE, there is evidence within the nebula that areas have been cleared of their dust by the rapid northward motion of the star. AE's hot, blue illumination and high energy photons fuel what little gas is contained within the region, and its light reflects off the surrounding dust as well. Although we cannot "see" with our eyes like a photograph, together this pair makes an outstanding view for the small backyard telescope, and it is known as "The Flaming Star."

Wednesday, December 29 - As the skies darken, we’ll venture to the lunar surface near previous study Posidonius to have a look at the incredible Serpentine Ridge. Known more properly as Dorsa Smirnov, it meanders for 130 kilometers north to south across Mare Serenitatis. Can you spot tiny the crater Very in its center?

Before the Moon interferes too much, this would be a great opportunity to locate an easy Messier object - M34. If you remember our previous study stars Almach and Algol, you're halfway there. Draw an imaginary line between them and look with your binoculars or finder scope just a shade north of center. In binoculars, M34 will show around a dozen fainter stars clustered together, and perhaps a dozen more scattered around the field. Small telescopes at low power will appreciate M34 for its resolvability and the distinctive orange star in the center. Larger aperture scopes will need to stay at lowest power to appreciate the 18 light-year span of this 100 million year old cluster, but take the time to power up and study. You will find many challenging doubles inside!

Thursday, December 30 - So… Are you ready to do a lunar walk for a challenge crater we haven’t listed yet? Then look to the northwest shore of Mare Serenitatis for the pair of Aristoteles and Eudoxus. What’s that? You see more? Then mark your notes for Eudoxus and let’s have a look at many other studies you may not have noted yet! The Moon will set shortly, and leave us with an opportunity to head for another northern gem, M76.

Located in western Perseus just slightly less than one degree north-northwest of Phi, M76 is often referred to as "The Little Dumbbell." Originally discovered by Messier's assistant Mechain in September of 1780, Charles didn't get around to cataloging it for another six weeks. What a shame it took him so long to view this fine planetary nebula! Its central star is one of the hottest known, but its resemblance to M27 is what makes it so fascinating. Looking very much like a miniaturization of the much larger M27, M76 is rather faint at magnitude 11, but is quite achievable in scopes of 114mm in aperture or larger. It is small, but its irregular shape makes this planetary nebula a real "class act!"

For our Southern Hemisphere friends, get thee out there and view Eta Carinae! First recorded by Halley in 1677, this nebular variable star left even the great Sir John Herschel at a loss to describe its true beauty and complexities. This "slow nova" is filled with all the wonders that we "northerners" can only dream about...

Friday, December 31 - Today is the birthday of Robert G. Aitken. Born in 1864, Aitken was a prolific American observer who discovered and catalogued more than 3100 double and binary stars. The Moon will be around much later tonight, but the year 2011 is just about ended. Try celebrating in a unique and inspiring way! Go observing...

In the hours before midnight, you could take a cosmic journey that spans millions of light-years. In the northern hemisphere, visit with the Andromeda Galaxy again - or the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds if you live in the South. Feast your eyes on vast and wondrous displays of stars like the "Double Cluster" in Perseus, or the "Jewel Box" - the Kappa Crucis star cluster. Rejoice in the birth of new stars by voyaging to M42 - the Orion Nebula... And remember the old by returning to M1 - the Crab Nebula. Perhaps the ISS will make a pass over your area tonight, or maybe only a single star will shine through your cloudy sky. It may be something as spectacular as watching a meteor go down in a blaze of glory, or as quiet and contemplative as watching the Moon rise as the year ends.

Now take a moment to look up at the stars and think about all the billions of years that they have been in the making and all the time that it has taken for the light to reach us. Salute! Our observing year has been wonderful together and I'll look for you under the stars! May all your journeys be at light speed…

In The Still Of The Night... Listening To The "Heartbeat" Of A Tiny Black Hole

2011-12-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

Written by: Tammy Plotner

Is everything quiet in deep space? Not hardly. It's a place jammed with noises of all kinds. So much noise, in fact, that it could be quite difficult to pick up a faint signature of something small... something like the smallest black hole known. Thanks to NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) , an international team of astronomers have found the pulse they were looking for and it's a pattern that's only been seen in one other black hole system. Its name is IGR J17091-3624 and it's a binary system which consists of a normal star and a black hole with a mass that measures only about three times solar. In theoretical terms, that's right at the edge where possibility of being a black hole begins.

Here's the picture... In this binary system, escaping gas from the "normal" star flows across space in the direction of the black hole. This action creates a disk where friction heats it to millions of degrees - releasing X-rays. Periodic changes in the strength of the X-ray emissions point towards the actions taking place within the gas disk. Scientists theorize that fast changes occur at the event horizon... the point of no return.

IGR J17091-3624 was discovered when it went into outburst in 2003. Current observations have it becoming active every few years and its most recent flare began in February of this year and has been kicking up cosmic dust ever since. Observations place it in the general direction of Scorpius, but astronomers aren't sure of an exact distance - somewhere between 16,00 light years to more than 65,000. However, IGR J17091-3624 isn't absolutely alone in its unique changes. Black hole binary, GRS 1915+105, also displays a number of well-ordered rhythms, too.

This animation compares the X-ray 'heartbeats' of GRS 1915 and IGR J17091, two black holes that ingest gas from companion stars. GRS 1915 has nearly five times the mass of IGR J17091, which at three solar masses may be the smallest black hole known. A fly-through relates the heartbeats to hypothesized changes in the black hole's jet and disk. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab

"We think that most of these patterns represent cycles of accumulation and ejection in an unstable disk, and we now see seven of them in IGR J17091," said Tomaso Belloni at Brera Observatory in Merate, Italy. "Identifying these signatures in a second black hole system is very exciting."

Binary GRS 1915 has some very cool characteristics. Right now astronomers have observed jets blasting out in opposite directions cruising along at 98% the speed of light. These originate at the event horizon where strong magnetic fields fuel them and each pulsation matches the occurrence of the jets. By observing the X-ray spectrum with RXTE, researchers have discovered the interior of the disk creates enough radiation to halt the gas flow - an outward wind which negates the inward flow - and shuts down activity. As a result, the inner disk glows hot and bright, eliminating itself as it flows toward the black hole and kick starts the jet activity again. It's a process that happens in as little as 40 seconds!

Right now astronomers aren't able to prove that IGR J17091 has a particle jet, but the regular pulsations indicate it. Records show this "heartbeat" occurs about every five seconds - about 8 times faster than its counterpart and some 20 times more faint. Numbers like this would make it a very tiny black hole.

"Just as the heart rate of a mouse is faster than an elephant's, the heartbeat signals from these black holes scale according to their masses," said Diego Altamirano, an astrophysicist at the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands and lead author of a paper describing the findings in the November 4 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. It's just the beginning of a full scale program involving RXTE to compare information from both black holes. Even more detailed data will be added from NASA's Swift satellite and XMM-Newton, too.

"Until this study, GRS 1915 was essentially a one-off, and there's only so much we can understand from a single example," said Tod Strohmayer, the project scientist for RXTE at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Now, with a second system exhibiting similar types of variability, we really can begin to test how well we understand what happens at the brink of a black hole."

Original Story Source: NASA Mission News.

Product Spotlight - The Celestron Power Tank

2011-12-19T07:26:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

For those who have a battery-operated "GoTo" telescope, you know the scene. Even the best of them eat batteries! Sure, an AC converter does help, but what happens when you're in the field where you can't use an electrical outlet and hooking up with your car battery and a DC line isn't an option, either? Well, then you have to rely on battery power... And here's some battery power that won't let you down.

The Celestron 12V 7AH Power Tank is hefty and reliable. This unique power source allows you to connect your telescope via the DC (car auxiliary port) cable and gives you all the juice you'll need for a full night's observing and more. Just park it between your tripod legs, hook up your power line and you're good to go.

Not only does it power your telescope, but a whole lot more. There are three 5mm pin-jack outlets for operating accessories (1 amp max)...a 3V, a 6V and a 9V. There is a built-in flashlight with a red filter that comes in handy during after-dark set-ups! Add to that an 800,000 candle-power halogen emergency spotlight built into the unit. It is certainly not for star parties, but if you leave the Power Tank in your car or someplace accessible in your home, the bright spotlight could be a lifesaver.

Re-chargeable? You bet. It comes with all the necessary gear to just plug it into any standard outlet to revive. One very cool feature is that it can also take a charge from your car, so if you forget at home, you can always charge while driving to a star party or to your remote location. For safety's sake, it will even add a power boost to a weak car battery, so it makes a great emergency tool. What's more, this product is Celestron durable. That means you're going to have it around and doing its job long after the warranty has expired.

Interested? You'll find the Celestron 12V 7AH Power Tank at OPT - and at a price you'll really like.

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast - December 16-22, 2011

2011-12-16T04:08:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It's going to be another great week. We have a host of unusual stars for you to explore - along with another meteor shower, a bit of history and even the upcoming solstice! Come on outside and join us... Because here's what's up!

Friday, December 16 - Tonight we’ll try our skills at observing an interesting variable star. RT (star 48) Aurigae is a bright Cepheid that is located roughly halfway between Epsilon Geminorum and Theta Aurigae. This perfect example of a pulsating star follows a precise timetable of 3.728 days and fluxes by close to one magnitude. Located 1600 light-years away, RT was first discovered in 1905 by T. H. Astbury of the British Astronomical Association. Like all Cepheids, it expands and contracts rhythmically - for reasons science is not completely sure of. Yet, we do know that it takes about 1.5 days for it to expand to its largest and brightest and 2.5 days for it to contract, cool, and dim.

Saturday, December 17 - Want a challenging double this evening? Then let's have a look at Theta Aurigae located on the east side of the pentagonal shape of this constellation. Located about 110 light-years away, 2.7 magnitude Theta is a four star system, whose members range in magnitude from 2.7 to 10.7. Suited even to a small telescope, the brightest member - Theta B - is itself a binary at magnitude 7.2, and was first recorded by Otto Struve in 1871. The pair moves quite slowly, and may take as long as 800 years to orbit each other at their separation of about 110 AU. The furthest member of this system was also noted by Struve as far back as 1852, but it is not a true member - the separation only occurring thanks to Theta's own proper motion. While you are there, be sure to note Theta's unusual color. While it will appear "white," look closely at the diffraction caused by our own atmosphere which acts much like a prism... You'll notice a lot more purple and blue around this star than many others of the same spectral type. Why? Theta is a silicon star!

Sunday, December 18 - Tonight let's head for Alpha Persei (Mirfak). While there's nothing particularly interesting about this 570 light-year distant star, what is incredible is the field in which it resides! Take a look at lowest power with a rich field telescope or binoculars and be prepared to be blown away... This is the Alpha Persei moving group - a fantastic field of main sequence stars that contains a little over 100 members. Even though it will take 90,000 years before any perceptible change is seen in this bright collection, they are happily moving at a pace of about 16 kilometers per second towards Beta Tauri! Enjoy this fine group also known as Melotte 20...

Monday, December 19 - Tonight is the peak of the Delta Arietid meteor shower. While most showers are best after midnight, this is an early evening shower that must be viewed before the radiant sets. The fall rate is modest - about 12 per hour. Today marks the founding of Mt. Wilson Solar Observatory. It officially opened its doors in 1904. We also celebrate the birth of Walter S. Adams on this date. Born in 1876, Adams was the astronomer at Mt. Wilson who revealed the nature of Sirius B, the first known white dwarf star. Sirius B was first seen by Alvan Clark in 1862 and most recently, the Hubble Space Telescope precisely measured the mass of B for the first time.

While Sirius is far too low at an early hour to study its white dwarf, we can have a look at a similar star when we view Omicron 2 Eridani located roughly a handspan west of Rigel. As the southernmost of the Omicron pair, it is sometimes known as 40 Eridani, and you'll find it to be an interesting multiple star system that's very worthy of your time. Discovered by William Herschel in 1783, this 16 light-year distant system is the eighth nearest of the unaided visible stars. Well spaced from the primary, the companion star is also a double for high powers and will reveal a red dwarf discovered by Otto Struve. Now, look closely at the 9th magnitude B star. This is the only white dwarf that can be considered "easy" for the backyard telescope. Its diameter is only about twice the size of Earth and its mass is about that of our Sun. Power up and locate the 11th magnitude companion - for it's one of the least massive stars known! And this white dwarf may be the smallest stellar object visible in an amateur telescope - it would be like spotting a tennis ball...on the Moon!

Tuesday, December 20 -While we're out tonight, let's have a look at one of the best known double stars in the night - Gamma Arietis (RA 01 53 31.81 Dec +19 17 37.9). Also known as Mesarthim, this combined magnitude 4 beauty was unintentionally discovered in 1664 by Robert Hooke who was following a comet. While no real change has been spotted in the more than 343 years since that time, there has been a slight difference detected in the components' radial velocities. Roughly 160 light-years away, you'll enjoy this almost matched-magnitude pair of white stars - but look carefully: in 1878, S. W. Burnham found a third star nearby that might not be a physical member, but is also a double!

Wednesday, December 21 - Up early? Fantastic! In the pre-dawn hours of this morning, I have a treat for you - the Ursid meteor shower! Cruising around the Sun about every thirteen and a half years, Comet 8P/Tuttle sheds a little skin. Although it never passes inside of Earth's orbit, some six years later we pass through its debris stream. Not so unusual? Then think again, because it takes as much as six centuries before the meteoroid trail is affected enough by Jupiter's gravitation to deflect the stream into our atmosphere. With little interference from the Moon while watching this circumpolar meteor shower, the hours before dawn could see activity of up to 12 per hour. By keeping watch on the constellation of Ursa Major, you just might spot one of these slow moving, 600 year old travelers that make their path only halfway between us and Selene!

Today marks Winter Solstice - for the northern hemisphere, the shortest day and the longest night of the year - and the point when the Sun is furthest south. Now is a wonderful time to demonstrate for yourself our own movements by choosing a "solstice marker." Anything from a fence post to a stick in the ground will suffice! Simply measure the shadow when the Sun reaches the zenith and repeat your experiment in the weeks ahead and watch as the shadow grows shorter...and the days grow longer!

Thursday, December 22 - Tonight we’ll look at a tremendous star as we head 150 light-years away to Menkar... Better known as Alpha Ceti, you'll find this nearly second magnitude giant orange beauty just west of Orion's "bow" (RA 03 02 16.77 Dec +04 05 23.0). With even a small telescope, you will also see 5th magnitude 93 Ceti in the eyepiece as well! Although they are not a true physical pair (the blue 93 is 350 light-years further away), they make a wonderful color contrast which is well worth your time. Just think... If 93 were as close as Menkar, it would be 250% brighter. But up the magnification and see if you can spot another true double in the field!

Until next week? May all your journeys be at light speed...

Product Spotlight - The Celestron Green Laser Finderscope Kit

2011-12-12T02:35:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Now here's a product that's simple, easy-to-use and really adds to your relaxing observing nights. If you're like I am, you have a star chart imprinted in your head, but sometimes it's hard to aim your telescope at exactly where it needs to be. Sure, a red dot finder is nice, so are ones with an illuminated reticle. But there are times when I just can't get my head at the right angle to see through them - or the guide stars I need to use aren't bright enough to show up well. An optical finderscope has been my best companion over the years, but even with this time-honored method, I can run up against some problems - like too many stars in the field of view! Of course, I can always rely on setting circles or a computer program, but that's not what I want. What I want is to be able to point my telescope to a certain area in the sky - just like pointing my finger at exactly where I know something is at.

Enter the Celestron Green Laser Finderscope...

Just like using the green laser to point out certain stars, this clever device takes the place of your finderscope and delivers with point and shoot ease. When you take the time to line it up accurately, it will give you back amazingly accurate results. For example, if you know where M11 is located, just switch on the laser, put the beam on the mark and you're there. Not only does this aid you in pointing your telescope, but others around you can utilize your finding beam... from smaller telescopes using an optical finder, to someone using binoculars.

The Celestron Green Laser Finderscope is small, neat and clean. It's not any larger than your average supplied finderscope and close to the same weight. It comes with a supplied bracket that fits almost any standard dovetail mount and one for your SCT, too. What's more, it can be detached and handheld for those moments when you need it. And yes, the "Off/On" switch is a little stiff, but it's worth it as a safety precaution. The battery life is about the same as a red dot finder and it is bright enough to cut through most situations. All in all, it's a fine product at a modest investment - and one that will make your observing nights - and aiming your telescope - a lot more pleasant!

You can get a Celestron Green Laser Finderscope at OPT today!

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast - December 9-15, 2011

2011-12-09T06:22:00.001-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Are you prepared for a great week of astronomy observations? Then you're going to enjoy meteors showers, a lunar eclipse, astronomy history, colorful stars and much, much more! When you're ready, let's head out to the backyard...

Friday, December 9 - If you are out stargazing, look for the peak of the Monocerid meteor shower. Its fall rate is around one per hour and its radiant point is near Gemini. While the bright Moon will interfere with this faint shower, you never know when you might catch a “shooter”!

Tonight is Full Moon and it has been given names such as the “Cold Moon” or “Long Nights Moon.” This is the time of winter cold and nights have become long and dark. In some cultures, this is also called the “Moon before Yule.” No matter what it’s called, early winter nights are indeed long and cold. Look for Luna moving high across the sky, opposite the now low Sun.

Saturday, December 10 - For Central and West Coast observers, don’t forget this is eclipse morning! Be sure to check our previous blog entry for more information!

On this date in 1863, Annie Jump Cannon was born. She was a United States astronomer who created the modern system for classifying stars by their spectra. Why not celebrate this achievement by coming along with me and viewing some very specific stars that have unusual visual spectral qualities! Let's grab a star chart, brush up on our Greek letters and start first with Mu Cephei.

Nicknamed the "Garnet Star," this is perhaps one of the reddest stars visible to the unaided eye. At around 1200 light-years away, this spectral type M2 star will show a delightful blue/purple "flash." If you still don't perceive color, try comparing Mu to its bright neighbor Alpha, a spectral type A7, or "white," star. Perhaps you'd like something a bit more off the beaten path? Then head for S Cephei about halfway between Kappa and Gamma toward the pole. Its intense shade of red makes this magnitude 10 star an incredibly worthwhile hunt.

To see an example of a B spectrum star, look no further than the Pleiades... All the components are blue white. Want to taste an "orange?" Then look again at Aldeberan, or Alpha Tauri, and say hello to a K spectrum star. Now that I have your curiosity aroused, would you like to see what our own Sun would look like? Then choose Alpha Aurigae, better known as Capella, and discover a spectral class G star that's only 160 times brighter than the one that holds our solar system together! If you're enjoying the game, then have a look at a star with one of the most unusual spectra of all - Theta Aurigae. Theta is actually a B class, or a blue/white, but instead of having strong lines in the helium, it has an abnormal concentration of silicon, making this incredibly unusual double star seem to glitter like a "black diamond."

Still no luck in seeing color? Don't worry. It does take a bit of practice! The cones in our eyes are the color receptors and when we go out in the dark, the color-blind rods take over. By intensifying the starlight with either a telescope or binoculars, we can usually excite the cones in our dark-adapted eyes to pick up on color.

Tonight is also the peak of the Sigma Hydrid meteor stream. Its radiant is near the head of the Serpent and the fall rate is also 12 per hour - but these are fast! I wish I could take away the Moon “shine” for you, but you just might spot one despite the light!

Sunday, December 11 - Today in 1961, OSCAR-1 was launched. The project started in 1960; the name stands for Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. OSCAR-1 operated in orbit for 22 days, transmitting a signal in Morse Code - the simple greeting "Hi." The success of the mission helped to promote interest in amateur radio which still continues to this day!

Tonight before the Moon interferes with fainter studies, let's head far north for one of the oldest galactic clusters in our visible sky - NGC 188.

Hovering near Polaris (RA 00 44.5 Dec +85 20) this circumpolar open cluster also goes by other names: Collinder 1 and Melotte 2. Discovered by John Herschel on November 3, 1831, this 8th magnitude collection of faint stars will require a telescope to resolve its 120 members. At one time, it was believed to be as old as 24 billion years, later updated to 12 billion; but it is now considered to be around 5 billion years old. No matter how old it may truly be, it is one of the time-honored great studies and is also number one on the Caldwell list!

Monday, December 12 - Today in 1920, the first stellar diameter was measured by Francis Pease with an interferometer at Mt. Wilson. His target? Betelgeuse!

Tonight will being be one of the most hauntingly beautiful and most mysterious displays of celestial fireworks all year - the Geminid meteor shower. First noted in 1862 by Robert P. Greg in England, and B. V. Marsh and Prof. Alex C. Twining of the United States in independent studies, the annual appearance of the Geminid stream was weak initially, producing no more than a few per hour, but it has grown in intensity during the last century and a half. By 1877 astronomers realized a new annual shower was occurring with an hourly rate of about 14. At the turn of the century, it had increased to over 20, and by the 1930s up to 70 per hour. Only eight years ago observers recorded an outstanding 110 per hour during a moonless night... And, unfortunately, the Moon will soon interfere with observations. But no worries! We have a while yet to watch. Let’s talk…

So why are the Geminids such a mystery? Most meteor showers are historic - documented and recorded for hundred of years - and we know them as being cometary debris. When astronomers first began looking for the Geminids' parent comet, they found none. It wasn't until October 11, 1983 that Simon Green and John K. Davies, using data from NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite, detected an orbital object (confirmed the next night by Charles Kowal) that matched the Geminid meteoroid stream. But this was no comet, it was an asteroid.

Originally designated as 1983 TB, but later renamed 3200 Phaethon, this apparently rocky solar system member has a highly elliptical orbit that places it within 0.15 AU of the Sun about every year and half. But asteroids can't fragment like a comet - or can they? The original hypothesis was that since Phaethon's orbit passes through the asteroid belt, it may have collided with other asteroids creating rocky debris. This sounded good, but the more we studied the more we realized the meteoroid "path" occurred when Phaethon neared the Sun. So now our asteroid is behaving like a comet, yet it doesn't develop a tail.

So what exactly is this "thing?" Well, we do know that 3200 Phaethon orbits like a comet, yet has the spectral signature of an asteroid. By studying photographs of the meteor showers, scientists have determined that the meteors are denser than cometary material and not as dense as asteroid fragments. This leads us to believe that Phaethon is probably an extinct comet that has gathered a thick layer of interplanetary dust during its travels, yet retains the ice-like nucleus. Until we are able to take physical samples of this "mystery," we may never fully understand what Phaethon is, but we can fully appreciate the annual display it produces!

Thanks to the wide path of the stream, folks the world over get an opportunity to enjoy the show. The traditional peak time is tonight as soon as the constellation of Gemini appears around mid-evening. The radiant for the shower is right around bright star Castor, but meteors can originate from many points in the sky. From around 2 am tonight until dawn (when our local sky window is aimed directly into the stream) it's possible to see about one "shooting star" every 30 seconds. The most successful of observing nights are ones where you are comfortable, so be sure to use a reclining chair or pad the ground while looking up. Please get away from light sources when possible - it will triple the amount of meteors you see. Enjoy the incredible and mysterious Geminids!

Tuesday, December 13 - Today was a very busy day in astronomy history. Tycho Brahe was born in 1546. Brahe was a Danish pre-telescopic astronomer who established the first modern observatory in 1582 and gave Kepler his first job in the field. In 1962, Mariner 2 made a flyby of Venus and became the first successful interplanetary probe.

With some time before before Moonrise, let’s journey to a sparse portion of the Milky Way now high in the north just after skydark. Start by locating the two circumpolar constellations Cepheus and Cassiopeia and split the distance between Beta Cassiopeiae and Delta Cephei. Notice the stepping stones of 5th and 6th magnitude stars connecting them. Halfway between our two marker stars, go due south half a fist’s width. This brings us to a region of some 5 degrees in diameter devoid of stars brighter than magnitude 6.5. Sweep the area with binoculars or a telescope. Any suggestions as to why a 20 square degree area of the Milky Way would be so deficient in visible stars? Think obscure…

Wednesday, December 14 - Today in 1970, the Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 registered a first as it made a successful soft landing on Venus, and so went into the history books as the first craft to land on another planet.

Now let's travel 398 light-years away as we have a look at AR Aurigae - the centermost star in a brilliant collection. It is about one-third the distance from southern Beta to northern Alpha (Capella). AR is an eclipsing binary which consists of two main sequence white dwarf stars. About every 4.1 days, this pair will make a slight magnitude drop. While both are chemically peculiar, neither fills its Roche Lobe - meaning they are not stripping material from each other to cause these unusual abundances. Recent studies have shown the possibility of a third, unseen companion! But even binoculars will see that AR resides in a great field of stars and is worth a little of your time...

Thursday, December 15 - Today we celebrate the birthday of Edward Emerson (E. E.) Barnard. Born in 1857, Barnard was an American observational astronomer and an absolute legend. He led a very colorful life in astronomy, and his sharp skills have led to a multitude of discoveries. His life was a very fascinating one: Barnard was often known to simply set the scope on one point in the sky and just watch for new objects as the field moved! Tonight let's take a look at a bright star that has Barnard's touch, as we explore Beta Aurigae - Menkalinan.

First identified as a spectroscopic binary by A. Maury in 1890, Beta itself is part of a moving group of stars that includes Sirius, and is an Algol-type variable. While you won't see changes as dramatic as those of the "Demon Star," it has a precise drop of 0.09 magnitude every 3.96 days. This system contains almost identical stars which are more than two and a half times the size of our Sun, but they orbit each other at a distance of less than 0.1 AU! While Menkalinan's 10th magnitude optical companion was first spotted by Sir William Herschel in 1783, only E. E. Barnard noticed the 14th magnitude true tertiary to this incredible multiple system!

Until next week, ask for the Moon, but keep on reaching for the stars! ~Tammy

Total Lunar Eclipse - Saturday, December 10, 2011

2011-12-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Are you ready for some good, old-fashioned observing fun? Although you might not want to get up early, it's going to be worth your time. This Saturday, December 10, 2011, marks the last total lunar eclipse event for the western portion of the Americas until 2014. While a solar eclipse event has a very small footprint where it is visible, a lunar eclipse has a wide and wonderful path that encompasses a huge amount of viewers. “We’re all looking at this together,” says Sky & Telescope senior editor Alan MacRobert.

If you live in the eastern portion of the Americas, sorry... You'll miss out on this one. In the Central time zone, the Moon will be setting while it is partially eclipsed. However, beginning in a line that takes in Arizona and the Dakotas you'll be treated to the beginning of the lunar eclipse, totality, and it will set as it is beginning to come out of eclipse. If you live in the western portion of the US or Canada? Lucky you! You'll get to enjoy the Moon as it goes through the initial states of eclipse, see totality and even might catch the phases as it slips out of Earth's shadow again - just as the Sun begins to rise. For Skywatchers in Hawaii, Australia, and East Asia, you'll have it better. Seen from there, the whole eclipse happens high in a dark sky from start to finish. For Europe and Africa, the eclipsed Moon will be lower in the east during or after twilight on the evening of the 10th.

When exactly does the event begin? The lunar eclipse will be total from 6:05 to 6:57 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. The partial stage of the eclipse begins more than an hour earlier, at 4:45 a.m. PST. Be sure to watch the southern lunar edge, too. Because the Moon will be skimming by the southern edge of the Earth's shadow, it will remain slightly brighter and add to the dimensional effect you'll see. Enjoy the coppery colors from the refracted sunlight! The Moon won't be black - but it will most certainly be a very photogenic experience.

“That red light on the Moon during a lunar eclipse comes from all the sunrises and sunsets around the Earth at the time,” explains Sky & Telescope editor in chief Robert Naeye. “If you were an astronaut standing on the Moon and looking up, the whole picture would be clear. The Sun would be covered up by a dark Earth that was ringed all around with a thin, brilliant band of sunset- and sunrise-colored light -- bright enough to dimly illuminate the lunar landscape around you.”

May clear skies be yours!

Original News Source: Sky and Telescope News Release. Image Credits: Sky and Telescope. Be sure to visit Universe Today for the best in space news!

Staking Out Vampire Stars

2011-12-07T16:18:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

How do you peer into the dark heart of a vampire star? Try combining four telescopes! At ESO’s Paranal Observatory they created a virtual telescope 130 metres across with vision 50 times sharper than the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and observed a very unusual event... the transfer of mass from one star to another. While you might assume this to be a violent action, it turns out that it's a gradual drain. Apparently SS Leporis stands for "super slow".

“We can now combine light from four VLT telescopes and create super-sharp images much more quickly than before,” says Nicolas Blind (IPAG, Grenoble, France), who is the lead author on the paper presenting the results, “The images are so sharp that we can not only watch the stars orbiting around each other, but also measure the size of the larger of the two stars.”

This stellar duo, cataloged as SS Leporis, are only separated by slightly more than one AU and have an orbital period of 260 days. Of the two, the more massive and cooler member expands to a size of about Mercury's orbit. It's this very action of being pushed closer that draws the hot companion to feed on its host - consuming almost half of its mass. Weird? You bet.

“We knew that this double star was unusual, and that material was flowing from one star to the other,” says co-author Henri Boffin, from ESO. “What we found, however, is that the way in which the mass transfer most likely took place is completely different from previous models of the process. The ‘bite’ of the vampire star is very gentle but highly effective.”

The technique of combining telescopes gives us an incredibly candid image - one which shows us the larger star isn't quite as large as surmised. Rather than clarifying the picture, it complicates. Just how did a red giant lose matter to its companion? Researchers are guessing rather than streaming material from one star to another, that stellar winds may have released mass - only to be collected by the companion vampire star.

“These observations have demonstrated the new snapshot imaging capability of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer. They pave the way for many further fascinating studies of interacting double stars,” concludes co-author Jean-Philippe Berger.

Where's van Helsing when you need him?

Original Story Source: ESO Press Release For Further Reading: An Incisive Look At The Symbiotic Star SS Leoporis. Image Credit: Credit: ESO/PIONIER/IPAG

Product Spotlight - Celestron Digital Weather Stations

2011-12-05T06:21:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Interested in the weather? Want to monitor observing conditions in your location? Do you like fun, science-oriented equipment? Then you need to check out the Celestron Digital Weather Stations for your home, office, cabin, observatory, or other location. These handy - and affordable - gadgets come loaded with features which are not only useful, but educational as well. Curious? Then read on...

For those who make astronomical observations, we know there's a lot of information that needs to be included in a report and how many times have you wished you could get it all in one easy place? Now you can with the Celestron Compact Weather Station....

This ingenious little device measures only 3.1" x 1.8" x 5.6" (79mm x 46mm x 142mm) and weighs just 5 ounces. One look at the display screen of the Celestron Compact Weather Station and you'll instantly know the moon phase, time, date, temperature displays indoor and outdoor in either F or C, humidity both indoors and out and cloud cover. Other features include a weather forecast, digital quartz alarm clock with snooze, alert for minimum and maximum indoor temperature... and even a calendar that displays month, day, day of week!

For astrophotographers and astronomers, there's nothing more important than having all your weather information and so much more handy before a night's observing. Why clutter up your work space with several gadgets when you can have them all in one neat, compact unit? Check out all the features of the Celestron Compact Barometric Weather Station! The Celestron Compact Barometric Weather Station offers up a temperature sensor that displays indoor and outdoor in either F or C, a built-in hygrometer that gives you a readout of indoor humidity, and built-in barometer which provides indication of current weather and atmospheric pressure. But that's not all...

Time is important and the built-in quartz clock provides accuracy along with an alarm and snooze feature. The internal calendar displays month, day, day of week - along with moon phase and tide information. There's even an alert feature for minimum and maximum for indoor and outdoor temperature!

The Celestron Deluxe Weather Station simply rocks. In just this little unit you'll get all the information you need, such as indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, weather forecast, wind chill, speed, gust and direction, ice alert, dewpoint, heat index and more. It even provides rainfall and rainfall history! The built-in hygrometer provides you with accurate information on humidity both indoors and out, while the internal barometer on the Celestron Deluxe Weather Station gives a weather forecast indication of current weather along with atmospheric pressure display. You'll even know the Heat Index - the combined effects of temperature and humidity - as well as the Dew Point - the saturation of the air to get condensation. But the features don't stop there... When the wind blows, you'll know Wind Speed and Direction - information received from supplied Anemometer... Wind Gust - average gusts and alarm function... and even Wind Chill - combination of temperature and wind speed and has alarm function. The digital quartz clock will provide accurate time and even has alarm and snooze functions for those long nights!

The Celestron 4 Color LCD Weather Station is more than information... It's an eye-catching work of art! The 4-color LCD displays information like temperatures and humidity both indoors and out in bright, vibrant colors. You'll enjoy a Weather Forecast indication of current weather with built-in barometer, as well as a Heat Index (the combined effects of temperature and humidity and Dew Point (measures saturation of the air to get condensation). But that's not all.... The Celestron 4 Color LCD Weather Station also has a built-in digital quartz, snooze-equipped alarm clock for accurate time and a calendar which displays month, day, day of week. What's more, the Celestron Color Weather Station tells you the moon phase, too! The Celestron 4 Color LCD Weather Station is not only pretty to look at, but compact as well - measuring only 2.8" x 2.5" x 8.4" (71mm x 64mm x 213mm) and weighing in at 10 ounces. There's even an AC Adapter included! What are you waiting for? It would look great in your observatory!

The very best part about all of the Celestron Digital Weather Stations is Celestron quality and affordability. We're not talking about a cheap toy here... These are rugged little pieces of scientific equipment that are meant to "weather" the conditions they need to perform under - and do it inexpensively. The Celestron Digital Weather Stations have a starting point of $20 ranging through $90. Not only are these weather stations a very cool conversation piece, but the functionality for an observatory puts them at the head of the class. You won't be disappointed in the investment.

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast - December 3-9, 2011

2011-12-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Friday, December 3 - Today in 1971, the Soviet Mars 3 became the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the red planet, and two years later on this same date the Pioneer 10 mission became the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter. One year later on this same date? Pioneer 11 did the same thing!

Tonight is a wonderful chance for binoculars and small telescopes to study the Moon. Craters Aristotle and Eudoxus to the north will be easily apparent, along with the Caucasus and Apennine mountain range. Are you looking for a slight telescopic lunar challenge? Then look no further than the Valles Alpes. More commonly known as the “Alpine Valley” this deep gash cut across the northern surface will be easily visible and the lighting conditions will be just right to explore its 1.6 km to 20.9 km (1-13 mile) wide and 177 km (110 mile) long expanse.

Now let's familiarize ourselves with the vague constellation of Fornax. Its three brightest stars form a shallow V just south of the Cetus/Eridanus border and span less than a handwidth of sky. Although it's on the low side for northern observers, there is a wealth of sky objects in this area.

Try having a look at the easternmost star - 40-light-year distant Alpha. At magnitude 4, it is not easy, but what you'll find there is quite beautiful. For binoculars, you'll see a delightful cluster of stars around this long-term binary - but telescopes will enjoy it as a great golden double star! First measured by John Herschel in 1835, the distance between the pair has narrowed and widened over the last 172 years and it is suspected its orbital period may be 314 years. While the 7th magnitude secondary can be spotted with a small scope - watch out - because it may also be a variable which drops by as much as a full magnitude!

Saturday, December 4 - Today in 1978, the Pioneer/Venus Orbiter became the first spacecraft to orbit Venus. And in 1996, the Mars Pathfinder mission was launched!

Tonight one of the most sought-after and unusual features will be visible to small telescopes in the southern half of the Moon near the terminator – Rupes Recta! Also known as “The Straight Wall”, this 130 km (75 mile) long, 366 meter (1200 ft.) high feature slopes upward with the steepest angle on the lunar surface at 41 degrees. It will be a challenge under these lighting conditions, but look for triple ring craters Ptolemy, Alphonsus and Arzachel to guide you. The “Straight Wall” will appear as a very thin line stretching across the edge of Mare Nubium.

A star for all seasons is Polaris. Take the opportunity to see what magnification gives the best view of its 8.9 magnitude companion. This one can be tough for small scopes during Full Moon, so try for the right magnification to balance things like sky contrast and image scale. This teaches lots of lessons that really make a difference in resolving even more desperate disparates!

Sunday, December 5 - Let’s begin this evening with some lunar exploration as crater Copernicus becomes visible to even the most modest of optical aids. Small binoculars will see Copernicus as a bright “ring” about midway along the lunar dividing line of light and dark called the “terminator”. Telescopes will reveal its 97 km (60 mile) expanse and 120 meter (1200 ft.) central peak to perfection. Copernicus holds special appeal as it’s the aftermath of a huge meteoric impact! At 3800 meters (12,600 feet) deep, its walls are around 22 km (14 miles) thick and over the next few days, the impact ray system extending from this tremendous crater will become wonderfully apparent.

Now let’s have a look at a splendid set of colors – 1 Arietis. Because this pair is faint, you will need to apply “stellar geometry” to track it down. To find it, start with Alpha and Beta and form a right triangle whose third point is less than a finger-width northwest of Beta. Center the scope at moderate powers on that locale, then use the finder to pick out the nearest 6th magnitude star – 1 Arietis. Look for a 7.8 magnitude green companion south-southeast of the 5.8 magnitude white primary.

Monday, December 6 - It’s a “Moon Gazer’s” night as our nearest astronomical neighbor continues to light up the night sky. Even from 383,000 km (238,000 miles) away! Don’t put away your telescopes and binoculars thinking there will be nothing to view, because one of the most “romantic” features on the lunar surface will be highlighted tonight.

The Sinus Iridium is one of the most fascinating and calming areas on the Moon. At around 241 km (150 miles) in diameter and ringed by the Juras Mountains, it’s known as the quiet name of “The Bay of Rainbows” but was formed by a cataclysm. Science speculates that a minor planet around 201 km (125 miles) in diameter once impacted our forming Moon with a glancing strike and the result of that impact caused “waves” of material to wash up to a “shoreline” forming this delightful C-shaped lunar feature. The effect of looking at a bay is stunning as the smooth inner sands show soft waves called “rilles”, broken only by a few small, impact craters. The picture is complete as Promentoriums Heraclides and LaPlace tower above the surface at 1800 meters (5900 ft.) and 3000 meters (9900 feet) respectively and appear as distant “lighthouses” set on either tip of Sinus Iridum’s opening.

For northern observers clamoring for brighter stellar action, look no further tonight than the incredible "Double Cluster" about four fingerwidths southeast of Delta Cassiopeiae. At a dark sky site, this incredible pair is easily located visually and stunning in any size binoculars and telescopes.

As part of the constellation of Perseus, this double delight is around 7000 light-years away and less than 100 light-years separates the pair. While open clusters in this area are not really a rarity, what makes the "Double Cluster" so inviting is the large amount of bright stars within each of them. Well known since the very beginnings of astronomy, take the time to have a close look at both Chi (NGC 884) and H Persei very carefully. Note how many colorful stars you see, and the vast array of double, multiple and variable systems!

Tuesday, December 7 - Today is the birthday of Gerard Kuiper. Born 1905, Kuiper was a Dutch-born American planetary scientist who discovered moons of both Uranus and Neptune. He was the first to know that Titan had an atmosphere, and he studied the origins of comets and the solar system.

Take the time tonight to once again return to the Moon and explore with binoculars or telescopes the area to the south around another easy and delightful lunar feature, the crater Gassendi. At around 110 km (70 miles) in diameter and 2010 meters (6600 feet) deep, this ancient crater contains a triple mountain peak in its center. As one of the most “perfect circles” on the Moon, the south wall of Gassendi has been eroded by lava flows over a 48 km (30 mile) expanse and offers a great amount of details to telescopic observers on its ridge and rille covered floor. For those observing with binoculars? Gassendi’s bright ring stands on the north shore of Mare Humorum… An area about the size of the state of Arkansas!

Wednesday, December 8 - Today in history (1908) marks "first light" for the 60" Hale Telescope at Mt. Wilson Observatory. Not only was it the largest telescope of the time, but it ended up being one of the most productive of all. Almost 100 years later, the 60" Hale is still in service as a public outreach instrument.

The waxing Moon will dominate the early evening skies, but tonight is an excellent opportunity for binoculars and telescopes to explore crater Tycho. Named for Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe, this fantastic impact crater will be very impressive in even the most modest of optical aids. Spanning 85 km (56 miles), this lunar feature is very prominent and unmistakable in the southern hemisphere of the Moon. Tycho’s highly conspicuous ray systems support its impact crater theory and span hundreds of kilometers across the lunar surface. Tycho is also one of the youngest of the major features at an astounding age of only 50 million years old!

On January 9, 1968 Surveyor 7 (the last lunar robot of its kind) landed quietly on Tycho’s slopes at sunrise. Because previous Surveyor missions had provided the Apollo program with all the data necessary to their goals, Surveyor 7′s presence was scientific only. Two weeks later, when the Sun set on the landing site, Surveyor 7 had provided over 21,000 photographs, determined physical and chemical properties associated with the Southern Highland area and recorded the laser beams aimed toward it from two separate Earth observatories.

Thursday, December 9 - Southern Hemisphere viewers, you're in luck for a meteor shower. This is the maximum of the Puppid-Velid meteor shower. With an average fall rate of about 10 per hour, this particular meteor shower could also be visible to those far enough south to see the constellation of Puppis. Very little is known about this shower except that the streams and radiants are very tightly bound together. Since studies of the Puppid-Velids are just beginning, why not take the opportunity to watch? Viewing will be possible all night long and although most of the meteors are faint, this one is known to produce an occasional fireball.

Tonight the very gibbous Moon will command the skies and give unaided observers an opportunity to use their imaginations. Since the dawn of mankind, we have been gazing at the Moon and seeing fanciful shapes in the lunar features. Tonight as the Moon rises is your chance to catch “The Rabbit In The Moon”. The “Rabbit” is a compilation of all the dark maria. The Oceanus Procellarum forms the “ear” while the Mare Humorum makes the “nose”. The “body” is Mare Ibrium and the “front legs” appear to be Mare Nubium. Mare Serentatis is the “backside” and the picture is complete where Mare Tranquilitatus and Mare Fecunditatis shape the “hind legs” with Crisium as the “tail”.

See the Moon with an open mind and open eyes — and find the “Rabbit”!

For telescopes and binoculars, the lunar surface will provide a bright but superior view of crater Grimaldi. Named for Italian physicist and astronomer, Francesco Grimaldi, this deep grey oval is one of the darkest albedo features on the Moon – only reflecting about 6% of the light. Approximately 430 km (140-145 miles) long, it’s easy to spot along the terminator and just slightly south of the center of the lunar limb. Tonight is the best time to view its mountained walls, for they will disappear and Grimaldi will take on the appearance of a small mare in the light of the full Moon.

Until next week, may all your journeys be at light speed! ~Tammy

"Star Wars" Laser Methods Help Detect Greenhouse Gases

2011-11-30T07:45:00.001-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

It may have looked like a futuristic scene from Star Wars, but ESA's latest technique for aiding space exploration might shed some "green light" on greenhouse gases. A recent experiment involving the Spanish Canary Islands was conducted by shooting laser beams from a peak on La Palma to Tenerife. The two-week endeavor not only increased the viability of using laser pulses to track satellites, but increased our understanding of Earth's atmosphere.

Known as infrared differential absorption spectroscopy, the laser method is an accurate avenue to measure trace gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. It is accomplished by linking two Earth-orbiting satellites - one a transmitter and the other a receiver - and examining the atmosphere as the beam passes between the two. As satellites orbit, they both rise and set behind Earth and radio occultation occurs. It's a time-honored way of employing microwave signals to measure Earth's atmosphere, but new wave thinking employs shortwave infrared laser pulses. When the correct wavelength is achieved, the atmospheric molecules impact the beam and the resultant data can then be used to establish amounts of trace gases and possibly wind. By different angular repetitions, a vertical picture can be painted which stretches between the lower stratosphere to the upper troposphere.

While it all sounded good on paper - the proof of a working model is when it is tested. Enter ESA’s optical ground station on Tenerife - a facility built on a peak 2390 meters above sea level and part of a larger astronomical installation called the Observatorio del Teide run by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC).With equipment placed on two islands, the Tenerife location offered the perfect setting to install receiver hardware grafted to the main telescope. The transmitter was then assigned to a nearly identical peak on La Palma. With nothing but 144 kilometers of ocean between them, the scenario was ideal for experimentation.

Over the course of fourteen days, the team of researchers from the Wegener Center of the University of Graz in Austria and the Universities of York and Manchester in the UK were poised to collect this unique data.

While the infrared beam wasn't visible to the unaided eye, the green guidance laser lit up the night during its runs to record atmospheric turbulence. Gottfried Kirchengast from the Wegener Center said, “The campaign has been a crucial next step towards realising infrared-laser occultation observations from space. We are excited that this pioneering inter-island demonstration for measuring carbon dioxide and methane was successful.”

Armin Loscher from ESA’s Future Mission Division added, “It was a challenging experiment to coordinate, but a real pleasure to work with the motivated teams of renowned scientists and young academics.” The experiment was completed within ESA’s Earth Observation Support to Science Element.

Nice shootin'!

For the best in space and astronomy news, be sure to visit Universe Today! Original Story Source: ESA News Release. Image Credits: ESA.

Product Spotlight - Meade Series 4000 Eyepiece and Filter Set

2011-11-28T06:55:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Are you itching to add some accessories to your telescope - but don't know where to start? Then you should really check out the Meade Series 4000 Eyepiece and Filter Set. It's more than just a collection of "stuff"... It's well thought-out quality. Come over here and let's talk for a minute...

To begin with, Meade Series 4000 eyepieces have a long-running reputation as excellent optics. While they don't posses the widest field of view or the most superior eye relief, they will match up - and surpass - any other eyepiece in their class and price range. The bottom line is the Meade Series 4000 eyepiece performs. In this kit you'll get the focal lengths you'll find yourself using the most: 40mm and 32mm for extended views, 15mm and 12.4mm for the intermediate magnification you'll need for larger deep sky objects that require some magnification, and 9.7mm and 6.4mm for high magnification when needed for double star, lunar and planetary objects. What's more, a 2X barlow lens is also included to "fill in" every possible focal length you might want or need. For example, your 40mm would become a 20mm - or a 15mm a 7.5mm with great eye relief! These Meade eyepieces are just the right combination for every working situation.

But that's not all... There's filters, too. To be honest, you won't find yourself using filters for visual work all that often - but when you do want one, it's pretty specific. One highly needed example is a moon filter - and that's #1 on the included list. Yellow, Light Red, Green and Blue are also included in the kit, and you'll find yourself using these to help draw out lunar details and specific features on Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. You also might surprise yourself by using many of these filters in "combinations" to reveal things like the phases of Venus and Mercury... or to add details to white light solar filters. The Meade Series 4000 filters are also quality and match perfectly with the eyepieces.

Last, but not least is the 1.25" barrel size. This is an absolute standard for most telescopes. While there are many telescopes that have 2" focusers, 2" eyepieces are quite an investment and there may be times when you'd hesitate to use them for daily observing or public outreach work. The answer is just to adapt them - and almost all 2" focusers have a 1.25" adapter included. The Meade Series 4000 Eyepiece and Filter Set will take the hesitation factor of using a good eyepiece for grunt observations out of the equation. They give outstanding images, improve the view of less expensive telescopes and are absolutely so durable that they'll stand up to cleaning and the kind of abuse that you need "work horse" eyepieces to provide. I can say this because I own Meade Series 4000 eyepieces and I use them extensively.

So what's the final word on the Meade Series 4000 Eyepiece and Filter Set? Do the math. Buying just a couple of these eyepieces or filters as stand-alone adds up to the total package price - and that means you're getting extra equipment for free and a dandy aluminum storage case to protect your investment besides. Even if you own a fairly inexpensive telescope, you'll be delighted with the performance of a Meade Series 4000 eyepiece and - if properly cared for - they'll last a lifetime.

If you're interested in purchasing a Meade Series 4000 Eyepiece and Filter Set, they're currently available at OPT!

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast - November 26 - December 2, 2011

2011-11-25T09:46:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Friday, November 26 - Today in 1965 marked the launch of the first French satellite - Asterix 1. Today is also the seventh anniversary of the discovery of the meteorites SAU 005 & 008: the "Mars Meteorites." These meteorites are known to be of Martian origin because of gases preserved in the glassy material of their interior. They were hurled into space some 600,000 years ago when a probable asteroid impact on Mars tossed them high enough to escape the planet's gravity, and they were captured by our gravity these many thousands of years later. They are just two of the 32 meteorites found on Earth which have been positively determined from their chemical compositions to be of Martian origin.

Tonight let's return again to Cassiopeia and start at the central-most bright star, Gamma. Four degrees southeast is our marker for this starhop, Phi Cassiopeiae. By aiming binoculars or telescopes at this star, it is very easy to locate an interesting open cluster, NGC 457, because they will be in the same field of view.
This bright and splendid galactic cluster has received a variety of names over the years because of its uncanny resemblance to a figure. Some call it an "Angel," others see it as the "Zuni Thunderbird;" I've heard it called the "Owl" and the "Dragonfly," but perhaps my favorite is the "E.T. Cluster," As you view it, you can see why! Bright Phi and HD 7902 appear like "eyes" in the dark and the dozens of stars that make up the "body" appear like outstretched "arms" or "wings." (For E.T. fans? Check out the red "heart" in the center.)

All this is very fanciful, but what is NGC 457, really? Both Phi and HD 7902 may not be true members of the cluster. If 5th magnitude Phi were actually part of this grouping, it would have to have a distance of approximately 9300 light-years, making it the most luminous star in the sky, far outshining even Rigel! To get a rough of idea of what that means, if we were to view our own Sun from this far away, it would be no more than magnitude 17.5. The fainter members of NGC 457 comprise a relatively young star cluster that spans about 30 light-years. Most of the stars are only about 10 million years old, yet there is an 8.6 magnitude red supergiant in the center. No matter what you call it, NGC 457 is an entertaining and bright cluster that you will find yourself returning to again and again. Enjoy!

Saturday, November 27 - Tonight let's take advantage of early dark and venture further into Cassiopeia. Returning to Gamma, we will move towards the southeast and identify Delta. Also known as Ruchbah, this long-term and very slight variable star is about 45 light-years away, but we are going to use it as our marker as we head just one degree northeast and discover M103. (And speaking of degrees, today is also the birthday of Anders Celsius - born in 1701.)

As the last object in the original Messier catalog, M103 (NGC 581) was actually credited to Mechain in 1781. Easily spotted in binoculars and small scopes, this rich open cluster is around magnitude 7, making it a prime study object. At about 8000 light-years away and spanning approximately 15 light-years, M103 offers up superb views in a variety of magnitudes and colors, with a notable red in the south and a pleasing yellow and blue double to the northwest.

Viewers with telescopes and larger binoculars are encouraged to move about a degree and half east of M103 to view a small and challenging chain of open clusters, NGCs 654, 663 and 659! Surprisingly larger than M103, NGC 663 is a lovely fan-shaped concentration of stars with about 15 or so members that resolve easily to smaller aperture. For the telescope, head north for NGC 654, (difficult, but not impossible to even a 114mm scope) which has a bright star on its southern border. South of NGC 663 is NGC 659 which is definitely a challenge for small scopes, but its presence will be revealed just northeast of two conspicuous stars in the field of view.

Sunday, November 28 - Tonight we'll start off with binoculars in the northeast quadrant of the Moon for a more detailed look at Mare Crisium - the "Sea of Crises" - home to a gravitational anomaly called a mascon. This "mass concentration" could possibly be fragments of the asteroid or comet whose impact with the lunar surface created the basin buried beneath the lava flow. How do we know it is there? A mascon creates an area of high gravity and causes changes in the orbits of lunar probes. This excess gravity has even been known to cause low orbiting lunar satellites to either crash land or be flung out into space!

Once again utilizing early darkness, let's go back to Cassiopeia. Remembering Alpha's position as the westernmost star, go there with your finderscope or binoculars and locate bright Sigma and Rho (each has a dimmer companion). They will appear to the southwest of Alpha. It is between these two stars that you will find NGC 7789 (RA 23 57 24.00 Dec +56 42 30.0).

Absolutely one of the finest of rich galactic opens bordering on a loose globular, NGC 7789 has a population of about 1000 stars and spans a mind-boggling 40 light-years. At well over a billion years old, the stars in this 5000 light-year distant galactic cluster have already evolved into red-giants or super-giants. Discovered by Caroline Herschel in the 18th century, this huge cloud of stars has an average magnitude of 10, making it a great large binocular object, a superb small telescope target, and a total fantasy of resolution for larger instruments.

Tonight in 1659, Christian Huygens was busy at the eyepiece - but he wasn't studying Saturn. This was the first time any astronomer had seen dark markings on Mars! And speaking of the planets, did you notice just how close Jupiter is to tonight’s Moon? Keep watching as the planet moves to the other side tomorrow night!

Monday, November 29 - Today in 1961, Mercury 5 launched Enos the Chimp into fame!

We begin our binocular and small telescope explorations tonight by looking near the center of the lunar terminator to identify and take a closer look at Mare Fecunditatis. Its expanse covers 1463 kilometers in diameter. The combined area of this mare is equal in size to the Great Sandy Desert in Australia—and almost as vacant in interior features. It is home to glasses, pyroxenes, feldspars, oxides, olivines, troilite and metals in its lunar soil, which is called regolith. Studies show the basaltic flow inside of the Fecunditatis basin perhaps occurred all at once, making its chemical composition different from other maria. The lower titanium content means it is between 3.1 and 3.6 billion years old. Stretching out across an area about equal in size to the state of California, the Sea of Fertility’s western edge is home to features we share terrestrially – grabens. These down-dropped areas of landscape between parallel fault lines occur where the crust is stretched to the breaking point. On Earth, these happen along tectonic plates, but on the Moon they are found around basins. The forces created by lava flow increase the weight inside the basin, causing a tension along the border which eventually fault and cause these areas. Look closely along the western shore of Fecunditatis where you will see many such graben features. They are also bordered by parallel fault lines and are quite similar to such terrestrial features as Death Valley in the western United States.

Now aim towards the earthen shore of Mare Fecunditatus and identify the flat, bright oval of a previous study, Langrenus. This is an opportunity to challenge yourself by identifying two small craters just slightly northwest of the mare’s central point – Messier and Messier A – named for the famous French comet hunter – Charles Messier. Scan along the terminator over Mare Fecunditatis about 1/3 its width from west to east for a pair of emerging bright rings. These twin craters will be difficult in binoculars, but not hard for even a small telescope and intermediate power. The easternmost crater is somewhat oval in shape with dimensions of 9 by 11 kilometers.

At high power, Messier A to the west appears to have overlapped a smaller crater during its formation and it is slightly larger at 11 by 13 kilometers. For a challenging telescopic note, you’ll find another point of interest to the northwest. Rima Messier is a long surface crack which runs diagonally across Mare Fecunditatis’ northwestern flank and reaches a length of 100 kilometers. Keep the Messiers in mind, for in a few days you will see a pair of “rays” extending out from them.

Now how about journeying with me once again to Cassiopeia? We will start our studies with the western-most of the bright stars - Beta. Also known as "Caph," Beta Cassiopeiae is approximately 45 light-years away and is known to be a rapid variable. Viewers with larger telescopes are challenged to find the 14th magnitude optical companion to Caph at about 23" in separation. Tonight, using our previous study stars Alpha and Beta, we are going to learn to locate a Messier object with ease! By drawing an imaginary line between Alpha and Beta, we extend that line the same distance and angle beyond Beta and find M52.

Found on September 7, 1774 by Charles Messier, this magnitude 7 galactic cluster is easily seen in both binoculars and small telescopes. Comprised of roughly 200 members, this open cluster is roughly 3,000 light-years distant and spans approximately 10-15 light-years. Containing stars of several different magnitudes, larger telescopes will easily perceive blue components as well as orange and yellow. Also known as NGC 7654, M52 is a young, very compressed cluster whose approximate age is about the same as the Pleiades.

For those with large telescopes wanting a challenge? Try spotting a faint patch of nebulosity just 36' to the southwest. This is NGC 7635, more commonly known as the "Bubble Nebula." Best of luck!

Tuesday, November 30 - Just as a curiosity, on this day in 1954, Elizabeth Hodges was struck by a five kilogram meteorite in Alabama. Duck!

On the lunar surface tonight, let’s begin with a look at Mare Serenitatus – the “Serene Sea”. On its northeast shore, binoculars will have no trouble spotting the shallow ring of crater Posidonius. Almost flat from eons of lava flows, this crater shows numerous variations in texture along its floor in small telescopes. This huge, old, mountain-walled plain is considered a class V crater and could be as much as 3 billion years old. Spanning 84 by 98 kilometers, you can plainly see Posidonius is shallow – dropping only 2590 meters below the surface. Tonight it will resemble a bright, elliptical pancake on the surface to smaller optics with its ring structure remaining conspicuous to binoculars throughout all lunar phases. However, a telescope is needed to appreciate the many fine features found on Posidonius’ floor. Power up to observe the stepped, stadium-like wall structure and numerous resolvable mountain peaks joining its small, central interior crater. It has its own interior rimae that is especially prominent to the east and a smashing view of trio Posidonius O, I and B on the north crater rim. Adding crater Chacornac to the southeast makes things even more interesting! Did you spot the small punctuation of Daniell to the north?

Now, look a bit south of and east of Posidonius and almost parallel to the terminator for a curious feature known as the Serpentine Ridge, or more properly as Dorsa Smirnov and the accompanying Dorsa Lister. Can you detect the very tiny crater Very in its center? This thin, white line wanders across the western portion of Mare Serenitatus for a distance of about 134 kilometers. In some places it rises as high as 305 meters above the smooth sands. This lunar “wrinkle” is an amazing 10 kilometers wide! Power up in a telescope. The northern portion of the Serpentine Ridge is Dorsa Smirnov until it branches west and becomes Dorsa Lister. If the shadow play is good at your time, you might be lucky enough to resolve Dorsum Nicol, which connects the two. Only about 51 kilometers long, Dorsum Nichol will appear almost as a circular, crater-like feature – but it isn’t. As part of the Mare Serenitatis / Mare Tranquilitatis border, it’s not much more than a just an area where the two distinct lava flows cooled and contracted, causing the surface to heave up, but you’ll also find it’s connected to the Rima Plinius as well.

Tonight when the Moon has sufficiently set, we will haunt Cassiopeia one last time - with studies for the seasoned observer. Our first challenge of the evening will be to return to Gamma where we will locate two patches of nebulosity in the same field of view. IC 59 and IC 63 are challenging because of the bright influence of the star, but by moving the star to the edge of the field of view you may be able to locate these two splendid small nebulae. If you do not have success with this pair, why not move on to Alpha? About one and a half degrees due east, you will find a small collection of finderscope stars that mark the area of NGC 281 (RA 00 52 25.10 Dec +56 33 54.0). This distinctive cloud of stars and ghostly nebulae make this NGC object a fine challenge!

The last things we will study are two small elliptical galaxies that are achievable in mid-sized scopes. Locate Omicron Cassiopeiae about 7 degrees north of M31 and discover a close galactic pair that is associated with the Andromeda group - NGC 185 (RA 00 38 57.40 Dec +48 20 14.4) and NGC 147 (RA 00 33 11.79 Dec +48 30 24.8).

The constellation of Cassiopeia contains many, many more fine star clusters, and nebulae - and even more galaxies. For the casual observer, simply tracing over the rich star fields with binoculars is a true pleasure, for there are many bright asterisms best enjoyed at low power. Scopists will return to "rock with the Queen" year after year for its many challenging treasures. Enjoy it tonight!

Wednesday, December 1 - Tonight on the lunar surface, all of Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis will be revealed, and so it is fitting we should take an even closer look at both the “Serene” and “Tranquil” seas. Formed some 38 million years ago, these two areas of the Moon have been home to most of mankind’s lunar exploration. Somewhere scattered on the basalt landscape on the western edge of Tranquillitatis, a few remains of the Ranger 6 mission lie tossed about, perhaps forming a small impact crater of their own. Its eyes were open, but blinded by a malfunction…forever seeing nothing. To the southwest edge lie the remnants of the successful Ranger 8 mission which sent back 7137 glorious images during the last 23 minutes of its life. Nearby, the intact Surveyor 5 withstood all odds and made space history by managing to perform an alpha particle spectrogram of the soil while withstanding temperatures considerably greater than the boiling point. Not only this, but it also took over 18,000 pictures!

Now let’s go to the southwest edge of Tranquillitatis and visit with the Apollo 11 landing area. Although we can never see the “Eagle” telescopically, we can find where it landed. For telescopes and binoculars the landing area will be found near the terminator along the southern edge of Mare Tranquillitatis. No scope? No problem. Find the dark round area on the lunar northeastern limb – Mare Crisium. Then locate the dark area below that – Mare Fecundatatis. Now look mid-way along the terminator for the dark area that is Mare Tranquillitatis. The bright point west where it joins Mare Nectaris further south is the target for the first men on the Moon. We were there! Telescopically, start tracing the western wall of Tranquillitatis and looking for the small circles of craters Sabine and Ritter which are easily revealed tonight.

Once located, switch to your highest magnification. Look in the smooth sands to the east to see a parallel line of three tiny craters. From west to east, these are Aldrin, Collins, and Armstrong – the only craters to be named for the living. It is here where Apollo 11 touched down, forever changing our perception of space exploration.

“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Born today in 1811 was Benjamin (Don Benito) Wilson. He was the namesake of Mt. Wilson, California - home to what once were the largest telescopes in the world - the 60" Hale and the 100" Hooker. Later, three solar telescopes were added on the mountain - two of which are still in use - as well as the CHARA array and active interferometers. It was here that Edwin Hubble first realized the "nebulae" were distant galaxies and discovered Cepheid variables in them. As we approach the end of our SkyWatching year together, let us wait until the Moon sets and pretend the skies are still as dark as they were on Mt. Wilson as we aim our binoculars and telescopes towards one of the most elusive galaxies of all - M33.

Located about one-third the distance between Alpha Triangulum and Beta Andromedae (RA 01 33.9 Dec +30 39), this member of our Local Group was probably first seen by Hodierna, but was recovered independently by Messier some 110 years later. Right on the edge of visibility unaided, M33 spans about 4 full moon widths of sky, making it a beautiful binocular object and a prime view in a low power telescope.

Smaller than the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy, the Triangulum galaxy is about average in size, but anything but average to study. So impressed was Herschel that he gave it its own designation of H V.17 after having cataloged one of its bright star forming regions as H III.150! In 1926, Hubble also studied M33 at Mt. Wilson with the Hooker telescope during his work with Cepheid variables. Larger telescopes often "can't see" M33 with good reason - it overfills the field of view - but what a view! Not only did Herschel discover a region much like our own Orion Nebula, but the entire galaxy contains many NGC and IC objects (even globular clusters) that can be seen with a larger scope.

Although M33 might be 3 million light-years away, tonight it's as close as your own dark sky site...

Thursday, December 2 - The Moon will dominate the early evening hours, but why not enjoy its features as we scan the terminator in binoculars to enjoy the Caucasus Mountains and outstanding craters Aristillus and Autolycus to the north. Just south of this outstanding pair is a rather curious dark area known as Palus Putredinus, or the “Rotten Swamp”. On September 13, 1959 European observers witnessed the impact of Lunik 2 in this area.

Today in 1934, the largest mirror in telescope history began its life as the blank for the 200" telescope was cast in Corning, NY. The 200" would play another important role as Edwin Hubble continued on at Palomar Observatory. Thanks to his work there, we now understand "Hubble's Law" - the expansion of the Universe. Tonight – when the Moon has sufficiently set - let us honor that great mind as we take a look at a galaxy that's receding from us - NGC 1300.

Located about a thumb's width north of Tau4 Eridani (RA 03 19.7 Dec -19 25), this is probably the most incredible barred spiral you will ever encounter. At magnitude 10, it will require at least a 4.5" telescope in northern latitudes, but can probably be spotted with binoculars in the far south.

At 75 million light-years away, NGC 1300's central bar alone is larger than the Milky Way, and this galaxy has been intensively studied because the manner of its formation was so similar that of to our own. Although it is so distant, it is seen face-on - allowing us a look at how this formation occurs without looking through the gas and dust which block our own central view. Enjoy this one's fantastic structure!

Image Credits: NGC 457 - Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF, Serpentine Ridge - Peter Lloyd and "Lunar History" courtesy of Lunar Phase Pro. Thank you for sharing!

Product Spotlight - Orion Limited Edition SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Bundle

2011-11-21T02:32:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Are you looking for a very unusual telescope to add to your fleet? How about one that doesn't look like a cookie-cutter version of the dob next door? Then you have got to check out the ruby-red Orion Limited Edition SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope!

With 203mm (8") aperture, this classic reflector telescope is going to deliver a limiting stellar magnitude of 14.2. That means from your favorite dark sky site that you'll be calling up faint galaxies with ease! And the 1200mm focal length operating at focal ratio of f/5.9 means your favorite eyepieces are going to be comfortable here. What's more, the sweet, well-done optics of the Orion SkyQuest Limited Edition XT8 is offering up a 0.57 arc second resolution, too. Don't just look at a fuzzy... Look at a well resolved globular cluster, dustlanes and arm structure in distant galaxies and razor sharp images on lunar a planetary subjects when the atmosphere allows!

There's no worries when you choose this model. The reality check is the Orion Limited Edition SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope is a tried and true design with years of service under its astronomical belt. When it comes to buying a telescope that you'll have and use season after season, this one is it. And if it's your first telescope? Then don't worry about needing to add extras, the Orion LE SkyQuest XT8 comes ready to go out of the box and features a bundled package that includes a 2" Crayford focuser that accepts both 1.25" and 2" accessories, and Orion EZ Finder II reflex sight, a quick collimation cap, 35mm Orion DeepView telescope eyepiece (2"), Orion Shorty 2x Barlow lens (1.25"), 25mm Orion Sirius Plossl telescope eyepiece (1.25"), dust caps for the reflector telescope tube and focuser, and a special edition of Starry Night astronomy software and a SkyTheater DVD!

When it's all said and done, this is one great telescope for the beginner. The Orion Limited Edition SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope is extremely easy to assemble and the optical tube only weighs about 20 pounds, so it's light enough for the ladies and children. The 19" diameter base is also light, too... And also tips the scales at about 20 pounds. There's nothing complicated to learn about the mount - you just swivel, point and go! There's no computer programs to learn or complicated set up routines. It's just a pure, comfortable telescope that fits easily into smaller spaces - but gives some wide open views of space!

If you're interested in the Orion Limited Edition SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Bundle, it's currently in stock at OPT!

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast: November 19-25, 2011

2011-11-18T04:03:00.000-08:00

Written By Tammy Plotner

Friday, November 19 - Tonight let’s head less than a degree south-southeast of Delta Ceti (RA 02 43 40.83 Dec -00 00 48.4) to have a look at a galaxy grouping that features the magnificent M77.

Discovered on October 29, 1780 by Pierre Mechain, Messier cataloged it as #77 around six weeks later as a “nebulous cluster” – an accurate description for a small telescope. It wasn’t until 1850 when Lord Rosse uncovered its spiral nature that we began to view it as the grand structure seen in today’s modern telescopes.

Around 47 million light-years away, larger instruments will reveal its wide spiral arms where the older stars call home, and the concentrated core region where gigantic gas clouds move rapidly and new stars are being formed – a core which contains such a massive energy source that it emits spectrum of radio waves. After decades of study, the highly active nucleus of this Seyfert galaxy is known to have a mass equaling 10 million suns and a 5 light-year wide disc which rotates around it, which has intense star forming regions. This is one of the brightest known, and was cataloged by Arp as number 37 on his list of peculiar galaxies.

While even binoculars can spot the core, and modest scopes can reveal M77′s glory, larger telescopes will also spy 10th magnitude, edge-on NGC 1055 about half a degree north-northwest and 11th magnitude, face-on NGC 1073 about a degree north-northeast. Enjoy them tonight!

Saturday, November 20 - Today celebrates another significant astronomer's birth - Edwin Hubble. Born 1889, Hubble became the first American astronomer to identify Cepheid variables in M31 - which in turn established the extragalactic nature of the spiral nebulae. Continuing with the work of Carl Wirtz, and using Vesto Slipher's redshifts, Hubble then could calculate the velocity-distance relation for galaxies. This has become known as "Hubble's Law" and demonstrates the expansion of our Universe.

Tonight we're going to head just a little more than a fistwidth west of the westernmost bright star in Cassiopeia to have a look at Delta Cephei (RA 22 29 10.27 Dec +58 24 54.7). This is the most famous of all variable stars and the granddaddy of all Cepheids. Discovered in 1784 by John Goodricke, its changes in magnitude are not due to a revolving companion - but rather the pulsations of the star itself.

Ranging over almost a full magnitude in 5 days, 8 hours and 48 minutes precisely, Delta's changes can easily be followed by comparing it to nearby Zeta and Epsilon. When it is its dimmest, it will brighten rapidly in a period of about 36 hours - yet take 4 days to slowly dim again. Take time out of your busy night to watch Delta change and change again. It's only 1000 light-years away, and doesn't even require a telescope! (But even binoculars will show its optical companion...)

Sunday, November 21 - Tonight let's continue our stellar studies with the central-most star in the lazy "W" of Cassiopeia - Gamma...

At the beginning of the 20th century, the light from Gamma appeared to be steady, but in the mid-1930s it took an unexpected rise in brightness. In less than 2 years it jumped by a magnitude! Then, just as unexpectedly, it dropped back down again in roughly the same amount of time. A performance it repeated some 40 years later!

Gamma Cassiopeiae isn't quite a giant and is still fairly young on the evolutionary scale. Spectral studies show violent changes and variations in the star's structure. After its first recorded episode, it ejected a shell of gas which expanded Gamma's size by over 200% - yet it doesn't appear to be a candidate for a nova event.

The best estimate now is that Gamma is around 100 light-years away and approaching us a very slow rate. If conditions are good, you might be able to telescopically pick up its disparate 11th magnitude visual companion, discovered by Burnham in 1888. It shares the same proper motion - but doesn't orbit this unusual variable star. For those who like a challenge, visit Gamma again on a dark night! Its shell left two bright (and difficult!) nebulae, IC 59 and IC 63, to which we will return at the end of the month.

Monday, November 22 - Tonight’s astronomical adventure will be about exploring an ancient and well renowned star cluster — the Pleiades! Easily found from a modestly dark site with the unaided eye, the Pleiades can be spotted well above the north-eastern horizon within a couple of hours of nightfall. To average skies, many of the 7 bright components will resolve easily without the use of optical aid, but to telescopes and binoculars? The M45 is stunning…

First let’s explore a bit of history. The recognition of the Pleiades dates back to antiquity and it’s known by many names in many cultures. The Greeks and Romans referred to them as the “Starry Seven”, the “Net of Stars”, “The Seven Virgins”, “The Daughters of Pleione” and even “The Children of Atlas”. The Egytians referred to them as “The Stars of Athyr”, the Germans as “Siebengestiren” (the Seven Stars), the Russians as “Baba” after Baba Yaga, the witch who flew through the skies on her fiery broom. The Japanese call them “Suburu”, Norsemen saw them as packs of dogs and the Tonganese as “Matarii” (the Little Eyes). American Indians viewed the Pleiades as seven maidens placed high upon a tower to protect them from the claws of giant bears, and even Tolkien immortalized the stargroup in the “Hobbit” as “Remmirath”. The Pleiades have even been mentioned in the Bible! So, you see, no matter where we look in our “starry” history, this cluster of seven bright stars has been part of it.

Tuesday, November 23 - Tonight in 1885, the very first photograph of a meteor shower was taken. Also, the weather satellite TIROS II was launched on this day in 1960. Carried to orbit by a three-stage Delta rocket, the "Television Infrared Observation Satellite" was about the size of a barrel, testing experimental television techniques and infrared equipment. Operating for 376 days, Tiros II sent back thousands of pictures of Earth's cloud cover and was successful in its experiments to control the orientation of the satellite spin and its infrared sensors. Oddly enough, a similar mission - Meteosat 1 - also became the first satellite put into orbit by the European Space Agency, in 1977 on this day.

Where is all this leading? Why not try observing satellites on your own! Thanks to wonderful on-line tools from NASA you can be alerted by e-mail whenever a bright satellite makes a pass for your specific area. It's fun!

Wednesday, November 24 - Tonight let’s have a look at Beta Perseii – the most famous of all eclipsing variable stars. Now, identify Algol and we’ll learn about the “Demon Star”.

Ancient history has given this star many names. Associated with the mythological figure, Perseus, Beta was considered to be the head of Medusa the Gorgon, and was known to the Hebrews as Rosh ha Satan or “Satan’s Head”. 17th century maps labeled Beta as Caput Larvae, or the “Spectre’s Head”, but it is from the Arabic culture that the star was formally named. They knew it as Al Ra’s al Ghul, or the “Demon’s Head”, and we know it as Algol. Because these medieval astronomers and astrologers associated Algol with danger and misfortune, we are led to believe that Beta’s strange visual variable properties were noted throughout history.

Italian astronomer Geminiano Montanari was the first to note that Algol occasionally “faded” and its methodical timing was cataloged by John Goodricke in 1782, who surmised that it was being partially eclipsed by a dark companion orbiting it. Thus was born the theory of the “eclipsing binary” and it was proved spectroscopically in 1889 by H.C. Vogel. At 93 light years away, Algol is the nearest eclipsing binary of its kind and is treasured by the amateur astronomer for it requires no special equipment to easily follow its stages. Normally Beta Persii holds a magnitude of 2.1, but approximately every three days it dims to magnitude 3.4 and gradually brightens again. The entire eclipse only lasts about 10 hours!

Although Algol is known to have two additional spectroscopic companions, the true beauty of watching this variable star is not telescopic – but visual. The constellation of Perseus is well placed this month for most observers and appears like a glittering chain of stars that lay between Cassiopeia and Andromeda. To help further assist you, locate Gamma Andromedae (Almach) east of Algol. Almach’s visual brightness is about the same as Algol’s at maxima.

Thursday, November 25 - While Cassiopeia is in prime position for most northern observers, let's return tonight for some additional studies. Starting with Delta, let's hop to the northeast corner of our "flattened W" and identify 520 light-year distant Epsilon. For larger telescopes only, it will be a challenge to find this 12" diameter, magnitude 13.5 planetary nebula I.1747 in the same field as magnitude 3.3 Epsilon!

Using both Delta and Epsilon as our "guide stars" let's draw an imaginary line between the pair extending from southwest to northeast and continue the same distance until you stop at visible Iota. Now go to the eyepiece...

As a quadruple system, Iota will require a telescope and a night of steady seeing to split its three visible components. Approximately 160 light-years away, this challenging system will show little or no color to smaller telescopes, but to large aperture, the primary may appear slightly yellow and the companion stars a faint blue. At high magnification, the 8.2 magnitude "C" star will easily break away from the 4.5 primary, 7.2" to the east-southeast. But look closely at that primary: hugging in very close (2.3") to the west-southwest and looking like a bump on its side is the B star!

Dropping back to the lowest of powers, place Iota to the southwest edge of the eyepiece. It's time to study two incredibly interesting stars that should appear in the same field of view to the northeast. When both of these stars are at their maximum, they are easily the brightest of stars in the field. Their names are SU (southernmost) and RZ (northernmost) Cassiopeiae and both are unique! SU is a pulsing Cepheid variable located about 1000 light-years away and will show a distinctive red coloration. RZ is a rapidly eclipsing binary that can change from magnitude 6.4 to magnitude 7.8 in less than two hours. Wow!

Enjoy your observations and we'll see you next week!

Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks – November 17-19, 2011

2011-11-16T06:11:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Are you ready for a good, predictable meteor shower? Then break out your favorite skywatching gear because the 2011 Leonid meteor shower is already sparkling the skies…

In the pre-dawn hours on the mornings of November 17-19th, the offspring of Comet Temple/Tuttle will be flashing through our atmosphere at speeds of up to 72 kilometers per second - and enticing you to test your meteor watching skills against partially moonlit skies. Although the waning Moon will greatly interfere with fainter meteor trails, don’t let that stop you from enjoying early evening observations, or enjoying your morning coffee with a handful of "shooting stars" which will be emanating outward from the constellation of Leo.

Where in the skies do you look? For all observers the constellation of Leo is along the ecliptic plane and will be near its peak height during best viewing times. When? Because of the Moon, earlier evening observations are favored (before local midnight), but just a couple of hours before local dawn is the best time to watch. Why? Read on!

Although it has been a couple of years since Temple/Tuttle was at perihelion, don’t forget that meteor showers are wonderfully unpredictable and the Leonids are sure to please with fall rate of around 20 (average) per hour. Who knows what surprises it may bring! Each time the comet swings around our Sun it loses some of its material in the debris trail. Of course, we all know that is the source of a meteor shower, but what we don’t know is just how much debris was shed and where it may lay.

"The Moon is going to be a major interference, but we could see a rate of about 20 per hour," said Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "Some models, including ours, indicate that particles may encounter Earth on November 16 at around 5:30 p.m. EST [2230 GMT], where we could see anywhere from 100 to 200 meteors per hour. So, we could get a Leonid outburst, but unfortunately it is not favorably placed for viewing from the United States."

As our Earth passes through the dusty matter, it may encounter a place where the comet let loose with a large amount of its payload – or it may pass through an area where the “comet stuff” is thin. We might even pass through an area which produces an exciting “meteor storm” like the Leonids produced in 1883! For those in the know, the Leonid meteor shower also made a rather incredible appearance in 1866 and 1867 – dumping up to 1000 (not a typo, folks) shooting stars recorded even with a Moon present! It erupted again in 1966 and in 1998 and produced 3000 (yep. 3000!) video recorded meteors during the years of 2001 and 2002. But remember, human eyes may only be able to detect just a few. So what's a realistic guess?

According to Cooke; "We could see rates of about five meteors per hour," he explained. "If people want to see the Leonids, it might be good to watch the nights of November 16th and 17th. Instead of just going out one night, you might want to go out twice."

And to make this year's show twice as nice, you'll have a hard time not being distracted with the Moon and Mars being right on the radiant! You won't be able to miss the Red Planet as the Moon slides along south... First to Mars' west and then to the east on the nights of November 18th and 19th.

What a terrific show!

About the Images: (as seen at top) Leonid meteors seen from 39,000 feet aboard an aircraft during the 1999 Leonids Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign (Leonid-MAC). Comet Tempel-Tuttle provides the cometary debris for the Leonid meteor storm, which takes place in mid-November. Credit: NASA/ISAS/Shinsuke Abe and Hajime Yano. (as seen in text) Constellation Chart courtesy of Your Sky.

Happy Birthday, Sir William Herschel!

2011-11-15T06:18:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

On this day in 1738, an astronomy legend was born - Sir William Herschel. Among this British astronomer and musician's many accomplishments, Herschel was credited with the discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781; detecting the motion of the Sun in the Milky Way in 1785; finding Castor's binary companion in 1804 - and he was the first to record infrared radiation. Herschel was well known as the discoverer of many clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. This came through his countless nights studying the sky and writing catalogs whose information we still use today. Let's take a brief, closer look at just who he was...

Born as Frederick William Herschel, this Hanover, Germany native had nine brothers and sisters. During his teenage years, he and his brother, Jakob, were oboists in a military band. When war ensued, his father sent the pair to England to escape. Once there, Herschel continued his musical career by playing cello and harpsichord - eventually composing 24 symphonies, a handful of concertos and religious music. He continued to be a musician, with many appointments, until middle age. Most of his family also migrated to England, the most famous of which is his sister Caroline, who came to live with him in 1772.

But it wasn't music that was Herschel's passion. After he met English Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne, he began construction on his own reflector telescope, spending up to 16 hours a day grinding and polishing the speculum metal primary mirrors. By age 35 he'd began his astronomical journey in earnest - and a year later he began recording his observations from the Great Orion Nebula to the rings of Saturn. Sir William's interest was taken by the study of double stars and with a 160mm telescope of his own construction, he began a systematic search for binaries among "every star in the Heavens" in October, 1779 and continued listing discoveries through 1792, eventually compiling three catalogs.

During this time he continued to support himself and his sister with his music. In her biography, Caroline recounts how he would rush home between acts to scan the skies - and how she often had to clean pitch from mirror-making from his clothes to make him presentable. From 1782 to 1802, Sir William swept the skies, recording all he saw and sharing his discoveries with other astronomers. So devoted was he, that he even gave Caroline her own telescope in 1783, encouraging her to also make her own observations and discoveries. Herschel published his discoveries as three catalogues, a walloping 2400 entries, filled with distant nebulae and cosmic wonders. Over the time of his astronomical career, Herschel constructed more than four hundred telescopes - the most famous of which had an almost 50 inch diameter mirror and a 40 foot focal length!

In later years, he and Caroline moved on to Windsor Road in Slough... a residence which would eventually be come to known as "Observatory House". It was during this time he married and eventually had a son - John. Caroline also moved on, yet continued to be his secretarial assistant. Sir William's astronomical career was quite illustrious - so much so that this article only highlights a few of his accomplishments. He observed and recorded the satellites of his discovery, Uranus, along with more obscure moons belonging to Saturn. He did work with infrared radiation, popularized the term "asteroid", studied the martian polar caps - revealing them as seasonal - and may very well have been the first to discover the rings of Uranus. His lack of a formal "astronomical education" never slowed Sir William Herschel down!

"I have looked further into space than ever human being did before me. I have observed stars of which the light, it can be proved, must take two million years to reach the Earth."

Herschel's life ended at a ripe old age of 84... Passing on at his beloved Observatory House. His son, John Herschel, would carry on in his father's footsteps and also became a famous astronomer. While few of us will ever be able to match Herschel's passion for astronomy, at least we can take a moment to look at the stars and wish this astronomy "great" a very happy birthday!

Educator's Corner - Exploring the Moon Educator Guide

2011-11-14T01:58:00.001-08:00

Submitted by Tammy Plotner

Greetings, Educators!

Are you looking for some classroom material that you just can't find anywhere else? Then check out the "Exploring the Moon Educator Guide". It's designed for all audiences, but focuses on the curriculum requirements for grades 4-12.

The activities in this NASA Moon Guide promote problem solving, communication skills and teamwork. Earth and space science subjects include lunar geology and regolith, distance to the Moon, Apollo landing sites and life support systems.

Exploring the Moon Educator Guide [7MB PDF file]

Individual sections:

Cover
Introductory Materials
National Education Standards Charts
The Moon -- Gateway to the Solar System Teacher's Guide
Moon ABCs Fact Sheet
Rock ABCs Fact Sheet
Progress in Lunar Science
Nearside of the Moon -- Apollo Landing Sites
Pre-Apollo Activities
Distance to the Moon
Diameter of the Moon
Reaping Rocks
Learning From Apollo
The Lunar Disk
Apollo Landing Sites
Regolith Formation
Lunar Surface
Differentiation
Impact Craters
Clay Lava Flows
Lava Layering
Lunar Landing Sites
Lunar Roving Vehicle
Moon Anomalies
The Future
Lunar Land Use
Life Support Systems
Lunar Biospheres
Glossary

Product Spotlight - Vixen Ascot Super Wide 10X50 Binoculars - Porro Prism

2011-11-14T01:50:00.001-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Are you ready to be blown away? Then kick back and take a rocket ride to the stars with the new Vixen Ascot Super Wide Binoculars. Imagine yourself drinking in starlight along the Milky Way with an incredible 85.0° apparent field of view! See celestial scenery like you never have before... Capture wildlife in full panorama... Sweep the stars for comets... Indulge yourself!

These Vixen Ascot 10X50 Binoculars are the pefect size for astronomy applications. What's more, they're engineered with only the finest Bak 4 prisms and then fully-multicoated for bright, color-rich images without annoying reflections. The Vixen Ascot Binoculars weigh in at a healthy two pounds and measure 6x7x3 inches. This super-wide design is capable of a 25.0 brightness level and deliver 7mm of eye relief over a 8.5° true field. Central focus makes handling easy and tripod adaptability makes this great Vixen binocular series peform for your every whim...

From here on Earth - right up to the stars!

Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast: November 12-18, 2011

2011-11-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Saturday, November 12 - Wouldn't we all have loved to have been there in 1949 when the first scientific observations were made with the Palomar 5-meter (200-inch) telescope? Or to have seen what Voyager 1 saw as it made its closest approach to Saturn on this date in 1980? To watch Space Shuttle Columbia launch in 1981? Or even better, to have been around in 1833 - the night of the Great Leonid Meteor Shower! But this is here and now, so let's make our own mark on the night sky as we view the waning Moon.

This evening have a look at the lunar surface and the southeast shoreline of Mare Crisium for Agarum Promontorium. To a small telescope it will look like a bright peninsula extending northward across the dark plain of Crisium's interior, eventually disappearing beneath the ancient lava flow. Small crater Fahrenheit can be spotted at high power to the west of Agarum, and it is just southeast of there that Luna 24 landed. If you continue south of Agarum along the shoreline of Crisium you will encounter 15 kilometer high Mons Usov. To its west is a gentle rille known as Dorsum Termier - where the Luna 15 mission remains lie. Can you spot 23 kilometer wide Shapely further south?

While skies are fairly dark be sure to keep watch for members of the Pegasid meteor shower - the radiant is roughly near the Great Square. This stream endures from mid-October until late November, and used to be quite spectacular. Watch for the peak on November 17.

Sunday, November 13 - Today is the birthday of James Clerk Maxwell. Born in 1831, Maxwell was a leading English theoretician on electromagnetism and the nature of light. Tonight let's take a journey of 150 light-years as we honor Maxwell's theories of electricity and magnetism as we take a look at a star that is in nuclear decay - Alpha Ceti.

Its name is Menkar, and this second magnitude orange giant is slowly using up its nuclear fuel and gaining mass. According to Maxwell's theories of the electromagnetic and weak nuclear forces, W bosons must exist in such circumstances - this was an extremely advanced line of thinking for the time. Without getting deep into the physics, simply enjoy reddish Alpha for the beauty that it is. Even small telescopes will reveal its 5th magnitude optical partner 93 Ceti to the north. It's only another 350 light-years further away! You'll be glad you took the time to look this one up, because the wide separation and color contrast of the pair make this tribute to Maxwell worth your time!

Monday, November 14 - Ready to aim for a bullseye? Then follow the “Archer” and head right for the bright, reddish star Aldebaran. Set your eyes, scopes or binoculars there and let’s look into the “eye” of the Bull. Known to the Arabs as Al Dabaran, or “the Follower,” Alpha Tauri got its name because it appears to follow the Pleiades across the sky. In Latin it was called Stella Dominatrix, yet the Olde English knew it as Oculus Tauri, or very literally the “eye of Taurus.” No matter which source of ancient astronomical lore we explore, there are references to Aldebaran.

As the 13th brightest star in the sky, it almost appears from Earth to be a member of the V-shaped Hyades star cluster, but this association is merely coincidental, since it is about twice as close to us as the cluster is. In reality, Aldebaran is on the small end as far as K5 stars go, and like many other orange giants, it could possibly be a variable. Aldebaran is also known to have five close companions, but they are faint and very difficult to observe with backyard equipment. At a distance of approximately 68 light-years, Alpha is “only” about 40 times larger than our own Sun and approximately 125 times brighter. To try to grasp such a size, think of it as being about the same size as Earth’s orbit! Because of its position along the ecliptic, Aldebaran is one of the very few stars of first magnitude that can be occulted by the Moon.

This evening on the Moon we will be returning to familiar features Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina. Why not take the time to really power up on them and look closely? Curving away just to the southwest of Catharina on the terminator is another lunar challenge feature, Rupes Altai, or the Altai Scarp. Look for smaller craters beginning to emerge, such as Kant to the northwest, Ibn-Rushd just northwest of Cyrillus and Tacitus to the west.

Tuesday, November 15 - Today marks a very special birthday in history. On this day in 1738, my personal hero William Herschel was born. Among this British astronomer and musician's many accomplishments, Herschel was credited with the discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781, the motion of the Sun in the Milky Way in 1785, Castor's binary companion in 1804; and he was the first to record infrared radiation. Herschel was well known as the discoverer of many clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. This came through his countless nights studying the sky and writing catalogs whose information we still use today. Just look at how many we've logged this year! Tonight let's look towards Cassiopeia as we remember this great astronomer...

Almost everyone is familiar with the legend of Cassiopeia and how the Queen came to be bound in her chair, destined for an eternity to turn over and over in the sky, but did you know that Cassiopeia holds a wealth of double stars and galactic clusters? Seasoned sky watchers have long been familiar with this constellation's many delights, but let's remember that not everyone knows them all, and tonight let's begin our exploration of this Cassiopeia with two of its primary stars.

Looking much like a flattened "W," its southern-most bright star is Alpha. Also known as Schedar, this magnitude 2.2 spectral type K star was once suspected of being a variable, but no changes have been detected in modern times. Binoculars will reveal its orange/yellow coloring, but a telescope is needed to bring out its unique features. In 1781, Herschel discovered a 9th magnitude companion star and our modern optics easily separate the blue/white component's distance of 63". A second, even fainter companion at 38" is mentioned in the list of double stars and even a third at 14th magnitude was spotted by S.W. Burnham in 1889. All three stars are optical companions only, but make 150 to 200 light-year distant Schedar a delight to view!

Just north of Alpha is the next destination for tonight...Eta Cassiopeiae.

Discovered by Herschel in August of 1779, Eta is quite possibly one of the most well-known of binary stars. The 3.5 magnitude primary star is a spectral type G, meaning it has a yellowish color much like our own Sun. It is about 10% larger than Sol and about 25% brighter. The 7.5 magnitude secondary (or B star) is very definitely a K-type: metal poor, and distinctively red. In comparison, it is half the mass of our Sun, crammed into about a quarter of its volume and is around 25 times dimmer. In the eyepiece, the B star will angle off to the northwest, providing a wonderful and colorful look at one of the season's finest!

Wednesday, November 16 - Today in 1974, there was a party at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, as the new surface of the giant 1000-foot radio telescope was dedicated. At this time, a quick radio message was released in the direction of the globular cluster M13.

And now the annual Leonid meteor shower is underway! For those of you seeking a definitive date and time, it isn't always possible. The meteor shower itself belongs to the debris shed by comet 55/P Tempel-Tuttle as it passes our Sun in its 33.2 year orbital period. Although it was once assumed that we would merely add around 33 years to each observed "shower," we later came to realize that the debris formed a cloud that lagged behind the comet and dispersed irregularly. With each successive pass of Tempel-Tuttle, new filaments of debris were left in space along with the old ones, creating different "streams" that the orbiting Earth passes through at varying times, which makes blanket predictions unreliable at best.

Thursday, November 17 - If you didn't stay up late, then get up early this morning to catch the Leonids. Each year during November, we pass through the filaments of debris - both old and new - and the chances of impacting a particular stream from any one particular year of Tempel-Tuttle's orbit becomes a matter of mathematical estimates. We know when it passed... We know where it passed... But will we encounter it and to what degree?

Traditional dates for the peak of the Leonid meteor shower occur as early as the morning of November 17 and as late as November 19, but what about this year? On November 8, 2005 the Earth passed through an ancient stream shed in 1001. Predictions ran high for viewers in Asia, but the actual event resulted in a dud. There is no doubt that we crossed through that stream, but its probability of dissipation is impossible to calculate. Debris trails left by the comet in 1333 and 1733 look the most promising for this year, but we simply don't know.

We may never know precisely where and when the Leonids might strike, but we do know that a good time to look for this activity is well before dawn on November 17, 18 and 19th. With the Moon mostly out of the way, wait until the radiant constellation of Leo rises and the chances are good of spotting one of the offspring of periodic comet Tempel-Tuttle. Your chances increase significantly by traveling a dark sky location, but remember to dress warmly and provide for your viewing comfort.

On this day in 1970, the long running Soviet mission Luna 17 successfully landed on the Moon. Its Lunokhod 1 rover became the first wheeled vehicle on the Moon. Lunokhod was designed to function three lunar days but actually operated for eleven. The machinations of Lunokhod officially stopped on October 4, 1971, the anniversary of Sputnik 1. Lunokhod had traversed 10,540 meters, transmitted more than 20,000 television pictures, over 200 television panoramas and performed more than 500 lunar soil tests. We'll take a look at its landing site in the days ahead. Spaseba!

Friday, November 18 - If you got clouded out of the Leonids yesterday morning, there is no harm in trying again before dawn! The meteor stream varies, and your chances are still quite good of catching one of these bright meteors.

Tonight let's head toward an optical pairing of stars known as Zeta and Chi Ceti, a little more than a fistwidth northeast of bright Beta. Now have a look with binoculars or small scopes because you’ll find that each has its own optical companion!

Now drop south-southwest less than a fistwidth to have a look at something so unusual that you can’t help but be charmed – the UV Ceti System (RA 01 39 01 Dec -17 57 01).

What exactly is it? Also known as L 726-8, you are looking at two of the smallest and faintest stars known. This dwarf red binary system is the sixth nearest star to our solar system and resides right around nine light-years away. While you are going to need at least an intermediate-size scope to pick up these near 13th magnitude points of light, don’t stop observing right after you locate it. The fainter member of the two is what is known as a “Luyten’s Flare Star” (hence the “L” in its name). Although it doesn’t have a predictable timetable, this seemingly uninteresting star can jump two magnitudes in less than 60 seconds and drop back to “normal” within minutes – the cycle repeating possibly two or three times every 24 hours. A most incredible incident was recorded in 1952 when UV jumped from magnitude 12.3 to 6.8 in just 20 seconds!

Asteroid 2005 YU55 - Caught In The Act!

2011-11-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Were you clouded out last night for Asteroid 2005 YU55's closest approach? Then don't be disappointed... Just take a look at what we caught here in Ohio!

This awesome footage was captured by John Chumack. Says John...

"The little dash line in each image is the Near Earth Asteroid 2005 YU55 passing between the Moon and the Earth last night at a very close 201,700 miles. This was the closest one in 35 years.

This was captured with my homemade 16" scope & QHY8 CCD camera binned 2x2, These were 10 second exposures, from my observatories in Yellow Springs, Ohio Captured at 07:18 pm E.S.T. I had to ambush it, sit ahead of the track and wait until it enter the FOV as the Asteroid was running a few minutes ahead of JPL's published ephemeris schedule!

Thanks to my FAA friend Melchor from OKC who was here visiting my observatories, he helped a lot by repeatedly reading off jump coordinates quickly, so I could punch them into my telescope control software (The Sky) and ambush the Asteroid! The Asteroid was really moving fast and was out of my FOV in 1.5 minutes."

Amazing video... Thank you for sharing!

Asteroid 2005 YU55 Gets Closer to Earth; “No Chance of an Impact”

2011-11-08T17:55:00.000-08:00

Written by Jason Major

Yes, it's coming. Yes, it's big. Yes, it will be even closer than the Moon. And yes... we're completely safe. YU55, acquired in April 2010. Credit: NASA/Cornell/Arecibo.

The 400-meter-wide asteroid 2005 YU55 is currently zipping through the inner Solar System at over 13 km (8 miles) a second. On Tuesday, November 8, at 6:28 p.m. EST, it will pass Earth, coming within 325,000 km (202,000 miles). This is indeed within the Moon's orbit (although YU55's trajectory puts it a bit above the exact plane of the Earth-Moon alignment.) Still, it is the closest pass by such a large object since 1976... yet, NASA scientists aren't concerned. Why?

Because its orbit has been well studied, there's nothing in its way, and frankly there's simply nothing it will do to affect Earth.

Period.

2005 YU55's miniscule gravity will not cause earthquakes. It has no magnetic field. It will not strike another object, or the Moon, or the Earth. It will not come into contact with cometary debris, Elenin, a black dwarf, Planet X, or Nibiru. (Not that those last three even exist.) No, YU55 will do exactly what it's doing right now: passing through the Solar System. It will come, it will go, and hopefully NASA scientists – as well as many amateur astronomers worldwide – will have a chance to get a good look at it as it passes.

Scientists with NASA’s Near-Earth Objects Observation Program will begin tracking YU55 on Friday, November 4 using the 70-meter radar telescope at the Deep Space Network in Goldstone, California , as well as with the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico beginning November 8. These facilities will continue to track it until the 10th.

This close pass will offer a great opportunity to get detailed radar imaging of YU55, an ancient C-type asteroid literally darker than coal. Since these objects can be difficult to observe using visible light, radar mapping can better reveal details about their surface and composition.

To help inform the public about YU55 NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena recently hosted a live Q&A session on Ustream featuring specialists Marina Brozovic, a Goldstone Radar Team scientist, and Don Yeomans, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program. They fielded questions sent in via chat and Twitter... a recording of the event in its entirety can be seen below:

Video streaming by Ustream

Undoubtedly there will still be those who continue to spread misinformation about 2005 YU55. After all, they did the same with the now-disintegrated comet Elenin. But the truth is out there... and the truth is that there's no danger, no cover-ups, no "plots", and simply no cause for concern.

"It's completely safe... no chance of an impact."

– Don Yeomans, JPL

Read more about YU55 on our previous post or on NASA's Near-Earth Object Program site.

UPDATE: JPL has released a brief video about YU55 featuring research scientist Lance Benner, who specializes in radar imaging of near-Earth objects:

Although classified as a potentially hazardous object, 2005 YU55 poses no threat of an Earth collision over at least the next 100 years. However, this will be the closest approach to date by an object this large that we know about in advance and an event of this type will not happen again until 2028 when asteroid (153814) 2001 WN5 will pass to within 0.6 lunar distances. – Near-Earth Object Program, JPL

Product Review: The Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium

2011-11-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

My initial reaction to the Celestron SkyScout was why in heaven – and on Earth – would someone want a personal planetarium when they have the real deal at their disposal? Like most folks my age, I can’t resist new technology and the more I read and heard about what the Celestron Sky Scout could do, the more I wanted to examine one. Could a little piece of equipment provide as much information, knowledge and entertainment as a live astronomer? Could an electronic box take the place of a book? But most of all… What can the Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium really do?

When I saw the Celestron SkyScout in person, the young man who let me examine it told me, “Ma’am? You’d be much better off getting a book of star charts or finding someone to teach you about the stars.” Ultimately, I love it when someone doesn’t recognize me or simply sees the blond hair and doesn’t think there’s much going on underneath it. Although a secret part of me agreed with him, I simply flashed him my best vacant smile and gave him the line that all of us techno geeks use when we’re caught out buying a new toy… “It’s a present.”

Grinning wickedly, I snatched the box from him and hurried off where I could examine the SkyScout in private. On the way, I picked up a jumbo package of batteries and sat down to see how much of its operation was intuitive and how often I’d have to refer to the instructions. Surprisingly enough, anyone who has mastered an iPod and has at least a passing knowledge of the written English language would be well on their way to using a Celestron SkyScout. My second point of curiosity was its resemblance to a digital camcorder… Another techno-gadget I’m familiar with. After a quick consultation with the instructions, all I needed was dark.

Personal Planetarium? Snort. Show me what you can do…

Turn it on and GPS technology takes over. Within minutes, the Celestron Sky Scout had pinpointed my location on Earth and was aware of every movement in right ascension and declination of the unit. It knew where I was at, and it knew where it was pointed. Aiming the Celestron SkyScout is precisely like using a camcorder. Inside of its viewfinder you’ll see a red “bullseye” that’s adjustable in brightness so it doesn’t overpower dimmer stars. When you get the object you’re aiming at centered, you just push a button on top and it fixes the position and displays a screen of options as to what you’re looking at. Well, duh! I know it’s Mars… But when the soothing, melodic female voice started whispering stories in my ear? I knew I was hooked.

Needless to say, I took off on my own tour of the heavens with the Celestron SkyScout, happily eating up all of the information it gave me. Not all things have audio to accompany them, only 200. But, for many of us having RA, Dec, magnitudes and more at the push of a button is simply the cat’s asteroid. While you’ll never visually see all 6000 objects the Celestron SkyScout is capable of, what matters most is that it’s in there… And just waiting on you to release it.

Next up? Show me tonight’s “Must See” list. With the cool, calculated precision that only a data base could deliver, the Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium gave me a tour that even I would have been proud of. It virtually walked me star by star through constellation lessons that impressed even me. What’s best? I know that it can also tell me when the ISS is passing by or where the latest comet is located. How many friends can you carry around in a backpack that can tell you that? True. These are all things I know, things I present in astronomy outreach programs, but the Celestron SkyScout is much more than that.

For seasoned astronomers? Don’t laugh the Celestron SkyScout off. Instead, tell me how many times you’ve had difficulty distinguishing Pi and Xi Draconis from background stars. If you’re a star hopper, what would you give if you could just point a little box at the star in question and have it immediately tell you that it is indeed Delta Librae you’re aimed at and you’re ready to head to your charts? Ah… You’re getting the real picture now, aren’t you?!

But, I told you these Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium thingies were a lot more didn’t I? Yes. And I meant it. My teenage son once enjoyed telescoping with me, but there came an age when it simply wasn’t “cool” to be seen with Mom, and I understood. Yet, when I handed him the SkyScout, he and his girlfriend took off in the dark together and had a wonderful astronomy experience alone that I couldn’t give them. At star parties, I’ve handed the Celestron SkyScout to people that I knew were too afraid to ask questions… and hours later they’d hand it back with the most wonderful smiles on their faces. They’d tell me how much they enjoyed using it and how much they learned. Even the most hard-core astronomers I know have found something undeniably “cool” about this gadget.

So why the Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium and not some other type of electronic gadget that displays the night sky? Reality check. I use the astronomy equipment I buy and I use it hard. I buy the brands I want and I put them to the test. Over the years I’ve dropped, I’ve kicked, I’ve banged, I’ve slammed, I’ve traveled, I’ve shared, I’ve abused and I have absolutely loved and appreciated the long term durability and quality of Celestron products. Why should the Celestron SkyScout be any different? Eight months and countless hands later…

It’s still on the original batteries.

The Celestron SkyScout has the ability to have a green laser attached to it and external speakers so it can do a “show and tell” program for large groups... even a free download which will allow you to change languages! But the most awesome feature of all is the Celestron SkyScout really will put the Universe in your hands.

Why wait to order one for yourself or a family member? OPT has the Celestron SkyScout in stock now!

Product Spotlight: The Orion SteadyPix iPhone Adapter

2011-11-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Are you ready for a really cool, new product? Then you've got to check out the Orion SteadyPix iPhone Adapter! This dandy little piece of equipment is a felt-lined clamp which attaches right to any 1.25" eyepiece (and barrels up to 1.5") and works with the original iPhone, iPhone 3, 3GS, 4 or iPhone 4S. The bracket holds the iPhone camera lens directly over the "sweet spot" of your telescope's eyepiece and allows you to take great pictures of things like bright deep sky objects, the planets, the Moon and sunspots. Now you don't have to be a professional, or have a lot of expensive equipment to do some astrophotography!

The Orion SteadyPix Telescope iPhone Afocal Adapter even lets you display a live view of the image projected by your telescope on your iPhone screen so it acts like a "real time" monitor. This is a great idea for those who like to share the view with family and friends. The monitor mode is also great for outreach and allowing those with mobility issues to easily see what the telescope sees. What's more, the SteadyPix iPhone Adapter can even let you attach your iPhone to a photo tripod for wide-field pictures without a telescope.

Be the first kid on your block to have the Orion SteadyPix iPhone Adapter! Order yours at OPT today!

Weekend SkyWatcher's Forecast - November 5-6

2011-11-04T13:41:00.001-07:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! With a lovely gibbous Moon taking over the sky, now is the time to really enjoy some "high power" observations. Are you ready? Then let's take a look at what's happening this weekend...

Saturday, November 5 - Today in 1906, a man named Fred Whipple was born. If that name doesn’t ring a bell for you – it should. Thanks to Dr. Whipple’s work we have a clearer understanding of the orbital mechanics of comets and their relation to meteoroid streams. Not only that, but he founded the SAO observatory in Arizona, discovered six comets, made invaluable contributions to research in the upper atmosphere, and was the first to call a comet a “dirty snowball.” His guess about the outgassing properties of comets was proved true when the first flyby of Comet Halley was made!

To honor Dr. Whipple a bit, let’s have a look at a beautiful optical pair/multiple system as we journey to the southernmost star in the “Circlet” – Kappa Piscium (RA 23 26 55.9553 - Dec +1 15 20.189) - the "k" symbol on our map.

Easily split in even binoculars, this lovely green and violet combination of stars may have once belonged to the Pleiades group. 5th magnitude Kappa is a chromium star – one with unusual spectral iron properties – which rotates completely in around 48 hours. It shows lines of uranium, and the possibility of a very rare element known as holmium. Both the uranium and osmium content could be the result of a supernova explosion in a nearby star. Enjoy this colorful pair tonight!

Now aim binoculars towards Gamma – the “Y” symbol on our chart. Gamma is a yellow-orange giant star located about 130 light years distant. Oddly enough for a giant, it only puts out about 61 times more light than our Sun – but with good reason… it’s currently fusing it’s core to carbon. Right now, it is waiting to become a white dwarf, but that’s not what distinguishes Gamma – it is its speed. Apparently Gamma came from outside our Milky Way Galaxy altogether! According to its low metal content and cyanogen-weak spectral signature, Gamma had to have originated outside the galactic disc and it is still traversing the sky at over three-quarters of a second of arc per year!

Sunday, November 6 - "Now that she's back in the atmosphere, with drops of Jupiter in her hair..." Oh! Hey, there! Come on over and have a seat. Yeah, I really like that "Train" song, too. While the Moon is putting the brakes on deep sky observing, why don't you take a look though the magnificent eye of the 9" TMB refractor of Dietmar Hager and we world-wide friends can spend a little quality time together with Jupiter. (For a 3D impression, just look at the above image and cross your eyes. Focus on the image you'll see in the center... and you'll see 3D!)

Here... You look through the eyepiece of a little telescope for awhile and I'll tell you some of the things we know about this giant planet.

What's that you say? Yes. Jupiter is big... Big enough to hold the mass of 1,000 Earths and about 1/10 the size of our Sun. Its a heavy-weight, too... But, believe it or not, Jupiter's density is only about 1/4 of that of Earth's. Scientists think this means the giant planet consists mostly of hydrogen and helium around a core of heavy elements. That means Jupiter more closely resembles a sun instead of a planet! Yeah... It's hot there, too. As a matter of fact, Jupiter is putting out twice as much heat as it receives from Sol. Near the core temperature may be about 43,000 degrees F (24,000 degrees C)... Even hotter than the surface of the Sun. Hot enough to get a burn? Darn right. Those subtle tones of red and brown are chemical reactions much like what happens when we humans get a sunburn.

I see you smiling in the dark. Are you starting to notice details Jupiter's cloud bands? Even a small telescope shows these areas called "zones". This is where chemicals have formed colorful layers of clouds at different heights. The white belts are made of crystals of frozen ammonia and they are positioned much higher than the dark belts. Of course, you know all about the "Great Red Spot", but sometimes it's pretty hard to see unless you know when to look. Jupiter makes a complete rotation in about 10 hours, so even if you can't see something right now - you can wait awhile and it will come around.

Speaking of coming around, did you notice how close one of Jupiter's moon is getting to the edge of the planet? Then keep watching because we're about to see a transit happen. Jupiter has at least 60 moons, but 4 of them are bright and very easy to see even in binoculars. They were discovered by Galileo, and that's why you'll sometimes hear them called the "galiean moons". When they zip around behind Jupiter in their orbit, it's called a occultation - but when they go in front of the planet from our point of view, it's called a transit. The really fun part is that you can not only see the little moon going across the surface, but a few minutes later? You can see the shadow, too! Here's a little bit of magic from another friend of ours named Sander Klieverik.

Click on image to open a new window and start animation.

Isn't that just the coolest? You're going to be hearing a lot about Sander's work here in the near future. In the meantime, why don't you keep practicing timing galiean events and seeing them? Here's a handy Jupiter Moon Tool, and Sander has also prepared a Jupiter Almanac as well!

"But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet? Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day... And head back to the Milky Way? And tell me, did Venus blow your mind? Was it everything you wanted to find? And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?"

Now, quit bogarting that eyepiece... It's my turn!

Many thanks to the one and only Dietmar Hager, Jupiter Video courtesy of Northern Galactic and the up and coming Sander Klieverik's "AstronomyLive". Song lyrics - "Drops of Jupiter" are from the artist "Train" and thanks to Universe Today. Let's keep on rockin' the night!

The Galileoscope – Hands-On Learning For All Ages

2011-10-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

For many of us, the northern nights are getting longer and our minds and hands need something to keep them occupied. Star parties and public education nights are becoming fewer, but school is back in session and so is the opportunity to teach. In the south, warmer nights are coming up and so is the chance to share your knowledge of the skies and astronomy equipment with friends and family. It's just the right time of year to take a close look at a telescope that really serves a purpose - the Galileoscope.

My first experience with the Galileoscope was during the 2009 "Year Of Astronomy". I purchased one to be used in conjunction with outreach programs that dealt with history. Nothing more. Nothing less. In other words, I struggled to put the thing together, used it once or twice, and pretty much put it back in the box and put it away. I was too "busy" to really pay too much attention to it.

And that was a real shame on my part.

A couple of months ago it came to my attention that the Galileoscope was now readily available. When it first came out, it was a long waiting list - but not anymore. Now these basic replica telescope kits can be purchased by the case and be in your hands within weeks. Just seeing this advertisement was enough to motivate me to go on a search mission in my astronomy "stuff" and re-locate my own. A few boxes here, a couple of shuffles there and next thing you know, there it is. Still assembled and still in perfect condition. Now I didn't need to be afraid of it. If something happened? Hey! It could be replaced.

With the instructions missing from the box, the next step was to find out some very pertinent information - and personal thoughts - that I couldn't find on-line. Time to contact one of the Galilescope's designers, Rick Fienberg. As former Editor in Chief of Sky & Telescope magazine, he's an expert on astronomy education and popularization and is intimately familiar with the amateur-astronomy community, a critical component in the success of the Galileoscope... and a really nice guy, besides. What I needed to know was if it could be repeatedly assembled and disassembled without ruining it. After all, just one blown O-ring brought down a shuttle...

"The Galileoscope is designed to be disassembled and reassembled repeatedly. This feature is essential for a product intended (at least in part) for classroom use -- schools with limited funds are able to buy only a small supply of Galileoscopes and have to use them over and over again rather than let students take them home to keep." said Dr. Fienberg. "We always hoped that the Galileoscope wouldn’t end up as a one-shot, short-term product that would die at the end of IYA2009. We created something that simply didn’t exist before and for which there is a huge education-and-outreach need. The need remains, and the Galileoscope continues to fulfill it."

Feeling the outreach fire beginning to burn again, I carefully laid the scope out on the table and began the process of reverse engineering. Once apart, I walked away for awhile and came back nervous. However, I didn't need to be. All I needed to do was go over the Galileoscope Assembly Instructions and watch the Galileoscope Assembly Video. What I found this time wasn't what I was expecting. My first experience with the scope was hurry up, get it done, get it to a program... and not really use it. This time was different. This time I was really looking at the optics, understanding how to explain how they worked and impressed with the simplicity and quality of the kit as a whole. It made me think... Just as it made the people who designed it think.

"Advice on the design of the telescope came from a variety of people not connected with the project. Optical designers, amateur and professional astronomers, and educational developers all provided input on what makes an effective, yet inexpensive telescope kit. It was critical that the telescope kit be educationally useful as well as astronomically useful. Thus great consideration was given as to how the educational uses of the telescope could be maximized. However, before we embarked on a new telescope design we needed to understand the limitations of previous inexpensive telescopes." explains Fienberg. "The key optical requirements of the Galileoscope centered on usability and image quality. Since price was clearly going to be an issue, we needed a trim, justifiable set of requirements. The key imaging requirement was to be able to to create a “Wow” experience for kids, from nearly any location in the world."

While the Galileoscope team's original "Wow" intentions were meant to be visual - and meant for a younger audience - the real "Wow" happened for me when I realized exactly what I was doing as I put it together. It's more than just assembling a working model. It is a valuable lesson in optics. Of course, many of you are politely yawning behind your hand at this point, knowing this was also one of the original intentions behind the Galileoscope, but ask yourself this... Just how many of you have honestly put together a working eyepiece or examined how crown and flint works? Looking at a diagram of how an eyepiece design functions, or what makes a refractor telescope... well... refract is one thing. Holding a quality lens in your hands is another. It awakens a natural curiosity inside you and sparks a sense of wonder.

"Designs were made using both glass and plastic achromatic objectives. Although each would have worked well, we felt that the conservative manufacturing approach would be to use glass, even though it was considerably more expensive. We felt that we might jeopardize the overall system quality using plastic." says the Galileoscope team. "Because of the low price we were trying to achieve, we often relied on manufacturing practices and standards rather than manufacturing to tolerances. In this case we felt that the very mature refracting telescope industry could be counted on to manufacture a high-quality objective. Our testing of department store telescopes convinced us of this."

As I finished construction again, a lot of points were driven home to me that I had simply missed on the first go round. Thought and care had been given to internal baffling so the scope could be used near a bright light source, such as found in urban settings. Snap-type assembly features were not used so that they would not break after repeated assembly. The focal ratio, eyepiece design and even the inclusion of a barlow were carefully considered. The team even realized the display stand could be doubled as an optical bench where the tube is assembled in two halves, rather than in a nested design. In other words, the Galileoscope might be inexpensive, but it's certainly not cheap.

So how does it perform?

Well, at my age I have enough problem steadying a pair of 10X50 binoculars without assistance, so only the most brief of glimpses can had through using it in "hand-held" mode. Of course, the team had also taken this into account and the assembly comes with a quarter twenty fixture that allows it to be easily connected to any photo/video tripod. However, if you don't have - or can't afford - a tripod, it's an easy problem to solve. Somewhere at some point in time I had run across a clever idea where a person had used a sturdy Galileoscope Cardboard Box Mount as a simple alt-az configuration. Just weigh down the bottom of the box and pass the quarter twenty bolt through the side near the top. Sandwich the bolt on either side with a washer, and place a bolt on the inside to hold it. By loosening and tightening the bolt, you can control the up and down motion, and just turn the box for side to side. Aiming is acquired through a reflex "notch", much like a gun sight.

Simulated views of the Moon, Pleiades and Jupiter as seen through a Galileoscope. Created with Starry Nights and additional images by Rick Fienberg.

Once steadied, the view surpasses that of a "toy" telescope. While the Galileoscope isn't going to perform like a Takahashi refractor, it gives very suitable views of the Moon, does indeed reveal the rings of Saturn and brings the four primary satellites of Jupiter out to play. I found it gave very acceptable images of bright, easy to aim at objects like M8, M44, M6, M7 and - later in the year - the Andromeda Galaxy, the Double Cluster, M42 and M44. With some coaxing and patience, other deep space objects can be found, but aren't particularly impressive at this aperture. Here it's not the quality that's at fault, but image size and limited resolution. Mechanically, the Galileoscope is well crafted for a kit scope. While focusing is a "push - pull" arrangement, I found it easy to find good focus by twisting it slightly similar to using a helical focuser, while moving it in and out. The supplied 20mm eyepiece is also quite sufficient, with enough eye relief at 16mm to be comfortable and the included barlow lens is a lesson in itself!

All in all, the Galileoscope is a great experience. Through partnership programs like Galileo's Classroom and Teaching With Telescopes, the educator can find a wealth of resources just waiting to be used. There's even a Galileoscope Observing Guide! So where do you get the kits for your personal exploration or for your organization? At this point in time, the Galileoscope can be ordered through the Galileoscope Organization or through OPT as the Galileoscope Telescope Kit.

As for me, I can see future programs at the Observatory. On one side of the coin, I envision sharing how a telescope is made and what makes it work with children... On the other side I see an intimate group of adults, each working with their own Galileoscope and learning the principles behind the equipment they use in their hobby. After all, we weren't born with this knowledge spurting out of our ears.

We gotta' learn it some where.

My many thanks to Rick Fienberg of Galileoscope.org for patiently answering my questions and providing images and additional information for this article. When the original IYA project was in full swing, many Galileoscopes were donated to various classrooms around the world and it has been my pleasure to speak with some of those receipients over the months, ship them additional educational materials and watch their interest grow. When you have a moment, please check out Kodali AnilKumar:India: Astronomy Observation, where both students and teachers made great use of the Galileoscope!

GAIA - A Billion Eyes On The Skies

2011-10-21T02:21:00.000-07:00

Written By Tammy Plotner

It's name is GAIA and it's the perhaps the most ambitious project which has ever faced the European Space Agency. Scheduled to launch in 2013, this new breed of space telescope will stately progress to Lagrange Point 2, where it will spend the next five years. It's mission? To create the largest and most precise three dimensional chart of our Galaxy by providing unprecedented positional and radial velocity measurements for about one billion stars in our Galaxy and throughout the Local Group.

While this number represents perhaps only 1% of the Milky Way's stellar population, the GAIA mission will be "seeing" far more than just stars. Its astrophysical information data base will work hand-in-hand with on-board multi-color photometry... providing an information set which has the precision necessary to quantify the early formation, and subsequent dynamical, chemical and star formation evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy. As a result of its tracking capabilities, GAIA will also capture information on asteroids, comets, extra-solar planets and even low temperature, low mass objects. Its sensitive equipment will sweep over neighboring galaxies and reach out into space for a half million quasars. GAIA will push the boundaries of general relativity and cosmology to the limits.

What's inside? GAIA will carry twin telescopes complete with two camera arrays incorporating charge coupled devices - each one measuring 45.0mm by 59.0mm and encompassing 1,966 pixels by 4,500 pixels. "The mounting and precise alignment of the 106 CCDs is a key step in the assembly of the flight model focal plane assembly," said Philippe Gare, ESA's GAIA Payload Manager.

The diminutive sensors will be placed in rows across a silicon carbide framework and span an area just slightly under half a square meter. It's a billion little eyes ready to be turned towards the skies...

However, no optical telescope is complete without a mirror assembly and GAIA delivers. It is crafted with a set of 10 mirrors... alll with outstanding physical and optical characteristics. "Since the design process began in 2006, the GAIA team has learned how to produce a set of sintered silicon carbide mirrors which is not only extremely strong and ultra-stable – with about twice the rigidity of steel - but also lightweight and with a high thermal conductivity," said Matthias Erdmann, ESA's GAIA Payload Systems Engineer responsible for optics and ceramics.

"Although these are not the first silicon carbide mirrors that have been made for a space mission, no mirrors as large as the GAIA primary mirror have previously been coated using the CVD process," he added. "The degree of similarity of the mirror pairs is also quite unique. This is particularly important for GAIA , since each telescope must have similar optical capabilities, with diffraction limited viewing and minimal wavefront errors. Their outstanding optical characteristics achieve new standards that will be of great value to the development of future space observatories. As a result of this programme, the European industrial team has been able to master all of the processes required for making state-of-the-art space mirrors, and become the world leader in silicon carbide mirror technology."

But getting GAIA into space hasn't been an overnight process. From initial approval of the project to launch encompasses 13 years - and an additional 7 to 8 to analyze the resulting data. Just consider its downlink - about 5 Mbit/s during its daily passes. While that's comparable to a home broadband system, GAIA isn't doing it from home. It's transmitting from a million and a half kilometers away.

"The raw data that has to be collected is about 100 terabytes, and when all the data are processed in the archive we are talking about up to one petabyte," says Giuseppe Sarri, Esa's Gaia project manager. "For the analysis, a supercomputer will be needed to get out all the numbers."

Yet, Gaia is not the first space mission to chart the heavens. In 1989, ESA also took on Hipparcos - a catalog effort well known even to the amateur community. It produced a primary catalogue of about 118 000 stars, and a secondary catalogue, called Tycho, of over 2 million stars. Even these impressive numbers will pale next to GAIA, whose mirrors will collect thirty times more light and measure a star's position and motion two hundred times more accurately. At the end of its five-year mission, the information will fill over 30,000 CD ROMs - filled with 1000 million celestial objects - and be freely distributed to the astronomical community.

And we'll be waiting...

For Further Reading: GAIA Mission Pages.

Wake Up! The Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks On October 20...

2011-10-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

Do you hate to get up early? Then stay up late, because it's infrequent that both the northern and southern hemispheres have a chance to catch an annual meteor shower. Right now the Earth is heading into the complex Orionid stream, and while the skies won't be perfectly dark, they aren't going to be bad. Where and when do you watch? Follow me...

As the Earth slowly orbits the Sun, it passes into one of the debris streams left by Comet Halley and the material returns as the Orionid meteor shower. While it won't be a "meteor storm", what you can expect to see is one of the most predictable and reliable meteor showers of the year. Even if it's a few days early (or late), take advantage of any clear skies and begin your observations because activity is up.

The Orionids produce an average of 10-20 meteors per hour maximum, and best activity begins before local midnight on October 20th, and reaches its peak as Orion stands high to the south about two hours before local dawn on October 21st. With only partial slice of Moon in the late evening/early morning, this looks to be the year’s last, best meteor shower!

"Every year around this time Earth glides through a cloud of dusty debris from Halley's Comet," explains Bill Cooke of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "Bits of dust, most no larger than grains of sand, disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere and become shooting stars."

"It's not an intense shower," he says, "but it is a pretty one."

Although Comet Halley has now departed the inner Solar System, its debris trail remains well organized – allowing us to predict when this meteor shower will occur. The Earth first enters the stream at the beginning of October and does not leave until the beginning of November. This makes your chances of “catching a falling star” above average!

"Earth comes close to the orbit of Halley's Comet twice a year, once in May and again in October," explains Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Orionid meteoroids strike Earth's atmosphere traveling 66 km/s or 148,000 mph," he continued. These meteors are very fast, and although faint (average magnitude 3), occasional fireballs do leave persistent trails that shimmer in the upper atmosphere. It's the "Oooooh!" effect!

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For best success, get away from city lights. Face south-southeast in the northern hemisphere and almost overhead in the southern – then relax and enjoy the stars of the Winter Milky Way. The radiant is near Betelguese, but may occur from any part of the sky. When the Moon rises, try positioning yourself so a house, tree, or other obstruction helps to reduce the glare. The meteor watching experience is much more comfortable if you include a reclining lawn chair, blanket, and thermos of your favorite beverage. Nothing spoils watching quicker than "meteor neck".

Clouded out? Don’t despair. You don’t always need eyes or perfect weather to keep the watch. Tune an FM radio to the lowest frequency that doesn’t receive a clear signal. An outdoor FM antenna pointed to the zenith increases your chances – but isn’t essential. Simply turn up the static and listen. Those hums, whistles, beeps, bongs, and occasional snatches of signals are distant transmissions being reflected off a meteor’s ion trail!

About the NASA Image - Orionid Meteor Shower: The above image shows brilliant multiple meteor streaks that can all be connected to a single point in the sky just above the belt of Orion, called the "radiant." The Orionids take place in mid-October and the parent comet is Halley. Comet Halley is actually responsible for two known meteor showers: The other is the Eta Aquarids, which are visible every May. Image Credit and Copyright: Tunc Tezel

Observing Alert - Draconid Meteor Shower Could Unleash A Burst Of Activity On October 8!

2011-10-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

Written By Tammy Plotner

If you live in the Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East area, then keep watching the clock for 17-18:00 UTC when you may be in the right place at the right time for a burst of activity from the annual Draconid Meteor Shower. There's a possibility you might see up to 1,000 meteors an hour!

As always, meteor showers are unpredictable events - but that doesn't mean you can't be prepared or forewarned. While the gibbous Moon will put a damper on fainter meteor streaks, observers in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. are well situated to catch a strong pocket of activity.

"Meteor showers are as difficult to predict as rain showers. The Draconids have surprised us before, and they may do so again." says Canadian astronomer Paul Wiegert. "I’d encourage anyone outside on the night of October the 8 to look to the northern skies, just in case."

This isn't the first time the Draconid meteor shower has produced a brief storm. In 1933 and 1946 the activity reached an average hourly rate of 10,000. While that's pretty incredible, the same cometary debris trail left quite a show in the years 1952, 1985, and 1998 when it produced hundreds per hour. These remnants of Comet Giacobini-Zinner aren't the most dramatic of all showings - but knowing where the meteoroid stream is located makes such predictions valid.

When and where? In this case, start your observations just as soon as the sky gets dark. Since Draco is a northern constellation, those at high latitudes are move favored (sorry, southern hemisphere), so face toward the north and get comfortable. While the storm prediction will happen during daylight hours for North American observers, don't give up hope! It looks like clear skies for many of us and chances are above average for catching a shooting star.

When opportunity knocks, ya' gotta' be there to open the door...

And don't despair if you don't live in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, or if you get clouded out. You can still watch and listen to meteors enter the atmosphere on Spaceweather radio. Meteors reflect radio signals as they burn up and you can hear this as eerie whistles and pings.

A similar system, still employing the radio reflection method displays meteors coming in on your computer with a cool graph - The Meteorwatch Live View

And follow Universe Today's Adrian West on his Twitter feed, VirtualAstro and on his website MeteorWatch as he'll be providing updates on observed meteor rates in various parts of the world.

For Further Reading: Wiegert’s original announcement via Physorg.com. Meteor Burst photo courtesy of NASA.

Need an Excuse to Gaze at the Moon? International Observe the Moon Night is Coming!

2011-10-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Original Story by Nancy Atkinson

This photo of the Moon was taken on October 2, 2011 in Angera, Lombardy, IT. Credit: Milo.

Most of us space-minded folks don’t need an excuse to gaze upon the brightest object in the night sky – our own Moon. But just in case you need a reason or are hoping to convince some friends or family to take a look with you, there’s a special event coming up that encourages more people to take the time to take a gander at our closest and constant companion in space. Saturday, October 8, 2011 is the second annual International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN). Across the country and around the world, astronomy clubs, museums, observatories, parks, and schools will hold special events to introduce the public to the Moon. There will be telescopes to look through, activities to join, and presentations from experts in lunar science will be streamed to participating event locations.

“There will hundreds of events world-wide that will share the excitement of lunar science and explorations” said Brian Day, from the NASA Lunar Science Institute, who is one of the organizers of the event.

This photo of the Moon was taken on October 4, 2011. Credit: Amar Mainkar.

In a podcast for 365 Days of Astronomy and NLSI, Day said that right now an especially exciting time to engage the public in the Moon. (Listen to the podcast here.) A new generation of robotic probes has brought about a revolution in our understanding of our nearest neighbor in space. Our long-held view of a non-changing and dry Moon is now being replaced with an appreciation for the Moon as a dynamic body with significant deposits of water ice, a fascinating history, and a thin atmosphere that may play a role in a potential lunar water cycle. “It is indeed a New Moon!” Day said.

There’s excitement on the amateur front, as well. “Recent developments in technology have allowed amateur astronomers to image the Moon in detail that previously was only attainable from orbiting spacecraft,” Day said. “The work that they are doing and the imagery they are getting is just fantastic So, this is a great time to appreciate what is happening with the Moon on both the amateur and professional communities.”

The overall goal for InOMN is to engage lunar science and education communities, amateur astronomers, space enthusiasts, and the general public in what has become an annual lunar observation campaign.

“The Moon will be at a favorable phase, and we are going to be able to see some really magnificent features,” Day said, “so it is a good time to show up at an International Observe the Moon Night event and take a look at what is happening in the sky.”

This image of the Moon was taken on Oct. 5, 2011. Credit: Marcopic3000.

For more information and to find an InOMN event near you or to learn how to conduct your own InOMN event, visit http://www.observethemoonnight.org. The website includes information on events around the world, activities and downloadable information to allow you to host your own event, and much more.

The Crab Gets Cooked With Gamma Rays

2011-10-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

Written By Tammy Plotner

X-ray: NASA/CXC/ASU/J. Hester et al.; Optical: NASA/HST/ASU/J. Hester et al.; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF Image of the Crab Nebula combines visible light (green) and radio waves (red) emitted by the remnants of a cataclysmic supernova explosion in the year 1054. and the x-ray nebula (blue) created inside the optical nebula by a pulsar (the collapsed core of the massive star destroyed in the explosion). The pulsar, which is the size of a small city, was discovered only in 1969. The optical data are from the Hubble Space Telescope, and the radio emission from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and the X-ray data from the Chandra Observatory.

It's one of the most famous sights in the night sky... and 957 years ago it was bright enough to be seen during the day. This supernova event was one of the most spectacular of its kind and it still delights, amazes and even surprises astronomers to this day. Think there's nothing new to know about M1? Then think again...

An international collaboration of astrophysicists, including a group from the Department of Physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has detected pulsed gamma rays coming from the heart of the "Crab". Apparently the central neutron star is putting off energies that can't quite be explained. These pulses between range 100 and 400 billion electronvolts (Gigaelectronvolts, or GeV), far higher than 25 GeV, the most energetic radiation recorded. To give you an example, a 400 GeV photon is almost a trillion times more energetic than a light photon.

"This is the first time very-high-energy gamma rays have been detected from a pulsar - a rapidly spinning neutron star about the size of the city of Ames but with a mass greater than that of the Sun," said Frank Krennrich, an Iowa State professor of physics and astronomy and a co-author of the paper.

We can thank the Arizona based Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) array of four 12-meter Cherenkov telescopes covered in 350 mirrors for the findings. It is continually monitoring Earth's atmosphere for the fleeting signals of gamma-ray radiation. However, findings like these on such a well-known object is nearly unprecedented.

“We presented the results at a conference and the entire community was stunned,” says Henric Krawczynski, PhD, professor of physics at Washington University. The WUSTL group led by James H. Buckley, PhD, professor of physics, and Krawczynski is one of six founding members of the VERITAS consortium.

An X-ray image of the Crab Nebula and pulsar. Image by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA/CXC/SAO/F. Seward.

We know the Crab's story and how its pulsar sweeps around like a lighthouse... But Krennrich said such high energies can't be explained by the current understanding of pulsars. Not even curvature radiation can be at the root of these gamma-ray emissions.

“The pulsar in the center of the nebula had been seen in radio, optical, X-ray and soft gamma-ray wavelengths,” says Matthias Beilicke, PhD, research assistant professor of physics at Washington University. “But we didn’t think it was radiating pulsed emissions above 100 GeV. VERITAS can observe gamma-rays between100 GeV and 30 trillion electronvolts (Teraelectronvolts or TeV)."

Just enough to cook one crab... well done!

Original Story Source: Iowa State University News Release. For Further Reading: Washington University in St. Louis News Release.

Big Ol' Black Hole Jets

2011-09-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Written By Tammy Plotner

Some 20,000 light years away, a black hole named GX 339-4 has produced one of the most exciting visible events possible - a massive flare. This searing jet is an extraordinary occurrence and astronomers using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) were able to capture elusive data to further refine their studies of the extreme environments surrounding black holes.

Over the last several decades we've learned a lot about these incredible phenomenon, but there's always room for more. By studying the accretion disk, we know what feeds them and we've even seen jet activity through studies using X-rays, gamma rays and radio waves. However, until now, science has never gotten a clear look at the base of jet activity... and it's exciting more than just the material around it!

"Imagine what it would be like if our Sun were to undergo sudden, random bursts, becoming three times brighter in a matter of hours, and then fading back again. That's the kind of fury we observed in this jet," said Poshak Gandhi, a scientist with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). He is lead author of a new study on the results appearing in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "With WISE's infrared vision, we were able to zoom in on the inner regions near the base of the stellar-mass black hole's jet for the first time and the physics of jets in action."

GX 339-4 isn't particularly unique. It's about six times solar mass and astronomers have been studying its companion star as the material is being pulled into it. But it's what's escaping at nearly the speed of light that's making researchers sit up and take notice.

"To see bright flaring activity from a black hole you need to be looking at the right place at the right time," said Peter Eisenhardt, the project scientist for WISE at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "WISE snapped sensitive infrared pictures every 11 seconds for a year, covering the whole sky, allowing it to catch this rare event."

A variable jet? It would seem so. Thanks to NEOWISE, the same area of sky was repeatedly photographed - allowing the team to home in on the elusive base area. Just how elusive? Try to imagine an area the size of your thumbnail seen at the distance of the Sun! Its radius is approximately 15,000 miles (24,140 kilometers) with dramatic changes by as large as a factor of 10 or more. To see an event that lasted anywhere from 11 seconds to a few hours might seem incredulous, but these immense variations blasted through in infra-red.

"If you think of the black hole's jet as a firehose, then it's as if we've discovered the flow is intermittent and the hose itself is varying wildly in size," Poshak said.

But that's not all the data. This new information has given science the best to-date values on black hole magnetic fields - ones that are 30,000 times more powerful than those that belong to planet Earth. It's these fields that channels the flow of energy and accelerates it. But, there's still that curiosity factor of why it varies, isn't there?

We'll keep asking questions. After all... Science is WISE.

Original Story Source and Illustration: NASA News.

Even Small Galaxies Can Have Big Black Holes

2011-09-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

Written By Tammy Plotner

Astronomers detected supermassive black holes in 28 distant, low-mass galaxies, including the four shown in these Hubble Space Telescope images. Image credit: A. Koekemoer, Space Telescope Science Institute.

The Hubble Space Telescope has done it again. By utilizing a slitless grism, the Wide Field Camera 3 has uncovered evidence that supermassive black holes are right at home in some very small galaxies. Apparently these central black holes began their life when their host galaxies were first forming!

"It's kind of a chicken or egg problem: Which came first, the supermassive black hole or the massive galaxy? This study shows that even low-mass galaxies have supermassive black holes," said Jonathan Trump, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Trump is first author of the study, which has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.

It's another cosmic conundrum. As we've learned, large galaxies are host to central supermassive black holes and many of them are the AGN variety. But the real puzzle is why do some smaller galaxies contain them when most do not? By taking a closer look at dwarf galaxies some 10 billion light-years away, astronomers are reaching back in time to when the Universe was about an estimated quarter of its current age.

"When we look 10 billion years ago, we're looking at the teenage years of the universe. So these are very small, young galaxies," Trump said.

If your mind is still wondering what a "slitless grism" is, then wonder no more. It's part of Hubble's WFC3 infrared camera that provides spectroscopic information. Thanks to highly detailed information on the different wavelengths of light, the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) team could achieve separate spectra from each sector of the candidate galaxies and identify emissions from black hole sources.

"This is the first study that is capable of probing for the existence of small, low-luminosity black holes back in time," said coauthor Sandra Faber, University Professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz and CANDELS principal investigator. "Up to now, observations of distant galaxies have consistently reinforced the local findings--distant black holes actively accreting in big galaxies only. We now have a big puzzle: What happened to these dwarf galaxies?"

It's possible they are forerunners of the massive galaxies we see today. "Some may remain small, and some may grow into something like the Milky Way," Trump said. But this theory is a juxtaposition in itself. According to Faber, "To become big galaxies today, the dwarf galaxies would have to grow at a rate much faster than standard models predict. If they remain small, then nearby dwarf galaxies should also have central black holes. There might be a large population of small black holes in dwarf galaxies that no one has noticed before."

But these distant little dwarfs aren't quiet - they are actively forming new stars. According to Trump, ""Their star formation rate is about ten times that of the Milky Way. There may be a connection between that and the active galactic nuclei. When gas is available to form new stars, it's also available to feed the black hole."

But the Hubble wasn't the only instrument interested in the 28 small galaxy studies. The team also employed x-ray data acquired by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. To help refine their information on such small, faint objects, the data was combined to to improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

"This is a powerful technique that we can use for similar studies in the future on larger samples of objects," Trump said. "Together the compactness of the stacked OIII spatial profile and the stacked X-ray data suggest that at least some of these low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies harbor weak active galactic nuclei."

Original Story Source: University of Santa Cruz News. For Further Reading: A CANDELS WFC3 Grism Study of Emission-Line Galaxies at z~2: A Mix of Nuclear Activity and Low-Metallicity Star Formation.

NASA - Eyes On The Solar System

2011-09-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Tammy Plotner

Are you ready for a fascinating virtual experience? Then check out "Eyes on the Solar System"! This clever compilation of visualizations and real images takes you on a journey that's sure to keep you entertained for hours!

If you've had the chance to use high dollar astronomy software, you'll appreciate this free program. Inside is a 3-D environment full of real NASA mission data which let's you explore the cosmos from the comfort of your computer. You can choose exploring an asteroid, scouring around a planet or taking a look at Earth from above. Fly with NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft or join Casinni. You can even see the entire solar system moving in real time! Just check out a very small part of the features in this introductory video...

There's so much more there, too. Imagine the possibilities of Kepler, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Spitzer Space Telescope! Move forward and backward in time... You're in command of this space journey! According to the developers, the awesome modeling team is current working on a number of spacecraft models. In the near future, expect to see finished models of Phoenix (cruise), Mars Exploration Rovers (cruise), Mars Science Laboratory (cruise), Mars Odyssey, and Mars Express. There are many spacecraft in the pipeline, so be patient!

While NASA's "Eyes on the Solar System" is compatible with Windows and Mac OS X, the partially Java-scripted format has a certain dependence on what browser is used. Firefox is recommended for smoothest operation, but it also works with IE and Safari. (I personally use Opera and encountered no problems - but avoid Chrome.) Other than that? Grab and comfy seat and take flight!

Great Weekend For Observing!

2011-09-02T12:19:00.001-07:00

By Tammy Plotner

What an awesome weekend to have a small telescope or a pair of binoculars! There's lots of great things to observe and one of the best right now is Comet Garradd. You'll catch the bright - yet small - traveller cruising its way west out of Cygnus, not far from Beta. While you. As a matter of fact, why not stop at Albireo and enjoy this lovely binary's red and blue colors?! Head about 4 degrees south/south west and pick up another gem - Collinder 399 - better known as the "Coathanger" cluster. It will appear as an upside down "2" to a wide field view. Just check out the interaction with the comet that happened on August 1!

Need more? Then this is your chance to take in a supernova event, too. Let's give a listen to Dr.Peter Nugent, an astrophysicist from Lawrence Berkeley National Labs as he explains just how to find this star that exploded about 21 million light years away.

Still not enough? How about an occultation? On the evening of Saturday, September 3rd, the dark edge of the Moon will cover the 2.3-magnitude star Delta Scorpii from the eastern and southern U.S. Check with IOTA for specific times and locations.

So what are you waiting for? Get thee into the dark and enjoy!

Many thanks to John Chumack for the image of the "Comet and the Coathanger"!

Possible Type-Ia Supernova In M101

2011-08-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Tammy Plotner

Thankfully it's a mostly Moon-free set of observing nights ahead, because there a possible Type-Ia Supernova in M101! If you're scrambling your brains to remember where it's at - think circumpolar and read on...

According to AAVSO Special Notice #250 P. Nugent et al. reported in Astronomical Telegram #3581 that a possible Type-Ia supernova has been discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory shortly after eruption in the galaxy M101 and has been designated "PTF11kly". The object is currently at a magnitude of 17.2, but may well rise by several magnitudes. The object is well placed within M101 for good photometry, and observations of this potential bright SNIa are strongly encouraged.

There are currently no comparison stars available in VSP for this field; please indicate clearly the comparison stars that you use for photometry when reporting observations to AAVSO. Please retain your images and/or photometry for recalibration when comparison star magnitudes are available.

Need coordinates? The (J2000) coordinates reported for the object are RA: 14:03:05.81 , Dec: +54:16:25.4.

Charts for PTF11kly may be plotted with AAVSO VSP. You should select the DSS option when plotting, as the galaxy will not appear on standard charts. This object has been assigned the name "PTF11kly" for use with AAVSO VSP and WebObs; please use this name when reporting observations until it is conclusively classified as a supernova and a proper SN name is assigned.

Get those CCD camera out and best of luck!

Image of a supernova identified in the spiral galaxy M101. Credit: Palomar Transient Factory

Capture Comet C2009 P1 Garradd Now

2011-08-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

What are you waiting for? If it's an engraved invitation, the consider this your pass to get out and start looking for Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd! It's well within reach of average binoculars and it's even in a position that's easy for the average observer! Step on out here into the backyard and I'll show you...

At close to magnitude 8, Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd is currently grazing its way along the eastern line of the Summer Triangle. Even if you live in a moderately light polluted area, you should be able to make out the three bright stars, Deneb to the north, Vega to the west and Altair to the south. Just aim your binoculars roughly halfway between Altair and Deneb and look for a faint, fuzzy poofball just slightly east of that line which signifies the comet's presence. What you will see in binoculars will appear to be like a "fuzzy star" - while a telescope will reveal the beginnings of a tail.

Just check out the video taken by our friends at Bareket Observatory!

Did you catch the signature of a Perseid meteor in there, too? Good for you!

Now quit messing around on the computer and get out there and capture that comet!

Many thanks to Bareket Observatory for the images and to Heavens-Above.com for the finder chart!

2011 Perseid Meteor Shower Video

2011-08-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

Written by Tammy Plotner

In case you're clouded out, please enjoy this video of the 2011 Perseid Meteor Shower done with an All Sky Camera. Many thanks go to John Chumack of Galactic Images for sharing with us!