This weekend’s full Moon has a special name – the Harvest Moon. It’s the full moon closest to the northern autumnal equinox (Sept. 22). In earlier times, farmers depended on the light of the Harvest Moon to gather ripening crops late into the night. Now we appreciate it mainly for its beauty. Go outside this weekend and enjoy the moonlight.… Read the rest of this article
See the Harvest Moon This Weekend
October 3, 2009
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AAVSO Alert Notice 405: Request for Observations of NSV 99 (Khi Peg) in Support of HST Observations
October 2, 2009
AAVSO Alert Notice 405:
Request for observations of NSV 99 (khi Peg) in support of HST observations
October 2, 2009
Request for observations of NSV 99 (khi Peg) in support of HST observations
October 2, 2009
Dr. Brian Espey (Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland) has requested Read the rest of this article
photoelectric photometry and bright star CCD photometry of the semiregular variable NSV 99 (= khi Peg) beginning immediately. These observations are in support of ultraviolet spectroscopy to be obtained with the …
NASA Launches IBEX Mission to Outer Solar System
October 2, 2009
NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer mission, or IBEX, successfully launched from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean at 1:47 p.m. EDT, Sunday. IBEX will be the first spacecraft to image and map dynamic interactions taking place in the outer solar system.
The spacecraft separated from the third stage of its Pegasus launch vehicle at 1:53 p.m. and immediately began powering … Read the rest of this article
Water Molecules Discovered on the Moon
September 24, 2009
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 lunar soil. The findings were published in Thursday’s edition of the … Read the rest of this article
MESSENGER Prepares for Final Pass by Mercury
September 23, 2009
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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 surface for a final gravity assist that will enable it … Read the rest of this article
New Sunspots (Finally!)
September 22, 2009
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 long-overdue Solar Cycle 24. The emergence of these active regions … Read the rest of this article
AAVSO Alert Notice 404: Supernova 2009ig Has Brightened
September 21, 2009
AAVSO Alert Notice 404:
Supernova 2009ig has brightened
September 21, 2009
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: Read the rest of this article
– 17.5 on KAIT images on Aug. 20
– brightened as …
Polar Aligning and a Stupid Mistake
September 16, 2009
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 turns out, after reading the EQ6 forum, reticle alignment … Read the rest of this article
LCROSS Reveals Target Crater for Lunar South Pole Impacts
September 12, 2009
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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 orbits around Earth and the moon. The mission team announced Wednesday … Read the rest of this article
First Images From Rejuvinated Hubble Space Telescope
September 9, 2009
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 Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “The … Read the rest of this article
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The Sun And Aurora Now
The Sun Now (Visible light)
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The Sun Now (H-Alpha light)
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Aurora Oval
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Aurora Oval
(Southern Hemisphere) |
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