Archive for September, 2009

Water Molecules Discovered on the Moon

Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 10:19 pm  
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NASA scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon. Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small. Hydroxyl, a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, also was found in the …

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MESSENGER Prepares for Final Pass by Mercury

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 11:46 pm  
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Messenger at Mercury. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

NASA’s Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft known as MESSENGER will fly by Mercury for the third and final time on Sept. 29. The spacecraft will pass less than 142 miles above the planet’s rocky …

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New Sunspots (Finally!)

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 11:00 pm  
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In a year when the sun has been utterly blank 80% of the time, the sudden emergence of two large sunspots in a single day is a noteworthy event. Today is such a day. NASA satellites and amateur astronomers are monitoring a pair of growing sunspots, both apparently members of …

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AAVSO Alert Notice 404: Supernova 2009ig Has Brightened

Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 12:17 pm  
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AAVSO Alert Notice 404:
Supernova 2009ig has brightened
September 21, 2009

Event: Type-Ia Supernova 2009ig in NGC 1015 has brightened

Discovered By: I. Kleiser, S. B. Cenko, W. Li, and A. V. Filippenko, University of California (LOSS discovery on unfiltered KAIT images)

Discovery Date: Aug. 20.48 UT

Discovery magnitude:
- …

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Polar Aligning and a Stupid Mistake

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 1:05 pm  
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Having got a clear night where I was available, I decided to Polar Align the polar scope in the EQ6 mount. The instruction manual has a rigmarole to go through to ensure the reticle in the polar scope is correctly aligned (i.e. how its rotated in the scope). As it …

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LCROSS Reveals Target Crater for Lunar South Pole Impacts

Saturday, September 12th, 2009 at 7:35 pm  
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Close up image of crater Cabeus A near the moon‘s south pole and show crater elevation. Yellow represents lower elevations. Credit: NASA/JPL

NASA has selected a final destination for its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, after a journey of nearly 5.6 million miles that included several …

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First Images From Rejuvinated Hubble Space Telescope

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 4:20 pm  
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September 9, 2009: Astronomers have declared NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope a fully rejuvenated observatory with the release of observations from four of its six operating science instruments. Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland unveiled the images today at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

“This marks a new beginning for Hubble,” said …

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The EQ6 Mounted on the Pier

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 11:38 am  
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Here’s a quick pic of the EQ6 mounted on the pier in the observatory. I haven’t had much time to do anything with the setup the last couple of weeks, but now that the nights are closing in, the impetus to get moving on the setup is back.

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Telescope Accessory