Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Comet LINEAR Suddenly Brightens with Outburst: How to See It

Comet LINEAR Suddenly Brightens with Outburst: How to See It:
Comet C/2012 X1 LINEAR as imaged by Howes, Guido & Nicolini on Monday, October 21st. (Credit: remanzacco.blogspot)
Comet C/2012 X1 LINEAR as imaged by Howes, Guido & Nicolini on Monday, October 21st. (Credit: remanzacco.blogspot).
It’s swiftly becoming an “all comets, all the time” sort of observing season. The cyber-ink was barely dry on our “How to Spot Comet 2P/Encke” post this past Monday when we were alerted to another comet that is currently in the midst of a bright outburst.
That comet is C/2012 X1 LINEAR. Discovered on December 8th, 2012 by the ongoing Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) survey based in Socorro, New Mexico, Comet X1 LINEAR was expected to peak out at about +12th magnitude in early 2014.(...)
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Sunday, October 6, 2013

Super-Earth’s Probable Water Atmosphere Revealed In Blue Light

Super-Earth’s Probable Water Atmosphere Revealed In Blue Light:
Artist's conception of GJ 1214 b passing across its host star, as viewed in blue light. Credit: NAOJ
Artist’s conception of GJ 1214 b passing across its host star, as viewed in blue light. Credit: NAOJ
Playing with the filters on a telescope can show us amazing things. In a recent case, Japanese astronomers looked at the star Gilese 1214 in blue light and watched its “super-Earth” planet (Gliese 1214 b, or GJ 1214 b) passing across the surface from the viewpoint of Earth. The result — a probable detection of water in the planet’s atmosphere.
(...)
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See Venus and the Moon Together in the Sky on September 8

See Venus and the Moon Together in the Sky on September 8:
See Venus and the Moon Together in the Sky on September 8
A close conjunction of Venus and the crescent Moon as seen on February 27th, 2009. Over exposed slightly, to bring out Earthshine on the dark limb of the Moon. (Photo by author).
Sky watchers worldwide are in for a treat Sunday evening September 8, 2013 as the waxing crescent Moon passes near the dazzling planet Venus. And for a select few, the Moon will actually pass in front of Venus, in what is known as an occultation.(...)
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Supermassive Black Holes Keep Galaxies From Getting Bigger

Supermassive Black Holes Keep Galaxies From Getting Bigger:
Radio telescope image of the galaxy 4C12.50, nearly 1.5 billion light-years from Earth. Inset shows detail of location at end of superfast jet of particles, where a massive gas cloud (yellow-orange) is being pushed by the jet. (Credit: Morganti et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF)
Radio telescope image of galaxy 4C12.50, nearly 1.5 billion light-years from Earth. Inset shows detail of location at end of superfast jet of particles, where a massive gas cloud (yellow-orange) is being pushed by the jet. (Credit: Morganti et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF)
It’s long been a mystery for astronomers: why aren’t galaxies bigger? What regulates their rates of star formation and keeps them from just becoming even more chock-full-of-stars than they already are? Now, using a worldwide network of radio telescopes, researchers have observed one of the processes that was on the short list of suspects: one supermassive black hole’s jets are plowing huge amounts of potential star-stuff clear out of its galaxy.
(...)
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Watch Live on September 29: Orbital’s Cygnus Capsule Rendezvous with ISS

Watch Live on September 29: Orbital’s Cygnus Capsule Rendezvous with ISS:
Artist rendering of Cygnus spacecraft approaching the International Space Station. Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.
Artist rendering of Cygnus spacecraft approaching the International Space Station. Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.
NASA and Orbital Sciences Corporation have announced a new date and time for the targeted arrival and berthing of the Cygnus spacecraft for its demonstration cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. All the action will now take place on Sept. 29, a week later than originally planned, after a software glitch on the first rendezvous attempt, and a subsequent scheduling conflict due to the arrival of a Soyuz spacecraft with additional crew.
You can see the schedule of events below, as well as watch live on NASA TV’s UStream feed:
(...)
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First Cloudy Alien Planet Spotted From Earth

First Cloudy Alien Planet Spotted From Earth:
Cloud map of Kepler-7b (left) in comparison to Jupiter (right). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT
Artist’s conception of a cloud map of Kepler-7b (left) in comparison to Jupiter (right). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT
Call it cloudy with a low chance of meatballs. The alien world Kepler-7b — a very reflective world in big telescopes — has clouds in its upper atmosphere. And scientists have actually been able to map those out, despite the planet’s great distance from Earth (at least 1,000 light-years away.)
It’s the first time scientists have been able to map out clouds on a world outside of the solar system. If we can see clouds, then we can begin to think about what a planet’s climate will be, making this an important milestone in understanding the conditions on other worlds.
(...)
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What Does The Government Shutdown Mean For NASA?

What Does The Government Shutdown Mean For NASA?:
The MAVEN missions ‘Going to Mars’ campaign invites the public to submit names and poems which will be included on a special DVD. The DVD will be adhered to the MAVEN spacecraft and launched to Mars on Nov. 18, 2013. Credit: NASA/GSFC
The MAVEN Mars mission launch is among those activities that could be affected by the U.S. federal government shutdown. Credit: NASA/GSFC
A forthcoming NASA launch to Mars could be in danger of losing its launch window should a shutdown in the United States federal government that began today (Oct. 1) continue for a while. That’s just one of the ways in which NASA is affected amid a lapse of funding that is affecting all government agencies and an untold number of government contractors.
(...)
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This Very Old Cosmic Light Has A Bend To It

This Very Old Cosmic Light Has A Bend To It:
Artist's impression of how huge cosmic structures deflect photons in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration
Artist’s impression of how huge cosmic structures deflect photons in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration
Leftover radiation from the Big Bang — that expansion that kick-started the universe — can be bent by huge cosmic structures, just like other light that we see in the universe. While the finding seems esoteric at first glance, scientists say the discovery could pave the way for finding a similar kind of signal that indicate the presence of gravitational waves in the moments after the universe was born.
(...)
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Overnight Aurora Sets Sky On Fire, More Possible Tonight

Overnight Aurora Sets Sky On Fire, More Possible Tonight:
At around 10 p.m. last night, the northern sky was alive with colorful auroral patches and arcs. Details: 15mm lens at f/2.8, ISO 800 and 25 second exposure. Credit: Bob King
At around 10 p.m. last night, the northern sky was alive with colorful auroral patches and arcs. Details: 15mm lens at f/2.8, ISO 800 and 25 second exposure. Credit: Bob King
I’m writing this at 1:30 a.m. running on what’s powering the sky over northern Minnesota right now – auroral energy. Even at this hour, rays are still sprouting in the southern sky and the entire north is milky blue-white with aurora borealis. Frankly, it’s almost impossible to resist going out again for another look.
(...)
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This Planetary Nebula Comes With a Twist

This Planetary Nebula Comes With a Twist:
This Planetary Nebula Comes With a Twist
Planetary nebulae imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.
From the Cat’s Eye to the Eskimo, planetary nebulae are arguably among the most dazzling objects in the Universe. These misnamed stellar remnants are created when the outer layers of a dying star blows off and expands into space. However, they can look radically different from one another, revealing complicated histories and structures.
But recently, astronomers have argued that some of the most exotic shapes are the result of not one, but two stars at the center. It is the interaction between the progenitor star and a binary companion that shapes the resulting planetary nebula.
(...)
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Keck Spots A Galaxy Fueled With Ancient Gas

Keck Spots A Galaxy Fueled With Ancient Gas:
Image of a galaxy with rendering showing a stream of inflowing gas, as rendered in a supercomputer. Credit: MPIA (G. Stinson / A.V. Maccio)
Image of a galaxy with rendering showing a stream of inflowing gas, as rendered in a supercomputer. Credit: MPIA (G. Stinson / A.V. Maccio)
“Primordial hydrogen” sounds like a great name for a band. It’s also a great thing to find when you’re looking at a galaxy. This ancient gas is a leftover of the Big Bang, and astronomers discovered it in a faraway star-forming galaxy that was created when the universe was young.
(...)
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Double Star Fomalhaut May Actually Be A Triplet!

Double Star Fomalhaut May Actually Be A Triplet!:
This false-color composite image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the orbital motion of the planet Fomalhaut b. Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley and SETI Institute)
This false-color composite image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the orbital motion of the planet Fomalhaut b. Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley and SETI Institute)
Fomalhaut is a really cool place to study. The naked-eye star (the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus) has a planet, Fomalhaut b, that once appeared dead but rose again in science circles. It is the site of a comet massacre. Now it’s getting even more interesting: Scientists have believed for years that Fomalhaut is a double star, but a new paper proposes that it is actually a triplet.
(...)
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Here’s Your Chance To Help Blend Earth And Mars Rocks

Here’s Your Chance To Help Blend Earth And Mars Rocks:
The official poster of the World Space Week Association 2013 campaign. Credit: World Space Week Association
The official poster of the World Space Week Association 2013 campaign. Credit: World Space Week Association
The organizers of the World Space Week Association are working to create an “Earth Master Sample”, and they want your help. Anyone worldwide can send the association a fist-sized rock from their locale.
Next will come the interplanetary recipe magic: Once the samples arrive, a tiny bit of each rock will be procured and ground into a powder. The powder will be mixed together, with a dash of Mars meteorite added in. Next, a crystal company (Swarovski) will melt down the combination into 100 crystals.
(...)
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LADEE Set to Enter Lunar Orbit on Oct. 3 in Midst of Government Shutdown

LADEE Set to Enter Lunar Orbit on Oct. 3 in Midst of Government Shutdown:
NASA’s LADEE lunar orbiter will firing its main engine on Oct. 6 to enter lunar orbit in the midst of the US government shutdown. Credit: NASA
NASA’s LADEE lunar orbiter will firing its main engine on Oct. 6 to enter lunar orbit in the midst of the US government shutdown. Credit: NASA

NASA’s trailblazing LADEE lunar spacecraft is set to ignite its main engine and enter lunar orbit on Sunday morning, Oct. 3 – if all goes well – following the spectacular Sept. 6 night launch from NASA’s Virginia spaceport.
And in a happenstance no one could have foreseen, the critical engine firing comes smack in the midst of the political chaos reigning in Washington D.C. that has shut down the US government, furloughed 97% of NASA’s employees, and temporarily threatened the upcoming launch of NASA next mission to Mars – the MAVEN orbiter.
However, orbital mechanics waits for no one!
A source indicated that LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) mission operations are continuing.(...)
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Awesome Photo: Aurora, Airglow, City Lights and Shining Stars

Awesome Photo: Aurora, Airglow, City Lights and Shining Stars:
Photo taken by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano on Sept. 5, 2013 (ESA/NASA)
Photo taken by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano on Oct. 5, 2013 (ESA/NASA)
Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano shares a lot of fantastic photos taken from his privileged position 260 miles up aboard the Space Station, orbiting the planet 16 times a day. This is his latest, a stunning view of nighttime city lights spread out beneath a glowing dome of ghostly airglow and shimmering aurorae, with a backdrop of brightly shining stars. The dark silhouette of a solar array is in the foreground at right.
And in case you were wondering, yes, astronauts certainly can see stars while in space. A lot of them, in fact. (Except up there, they don’t twinkle.)
“Every time we look into the sky and we admire the same stars, we share the same experience with all those who still know how to dream.”
– Luca Parmitano
(...)
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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Could Cassini See You On “The Day The Earth Smiled?”

Could Cassini See You On “The Day The Earth Smiled?” :

The face of Earth aimed toward Cassini during imaging on July 19, 2013
The face of Earth aimed toward Cassini during imaging on July 19, 2013
So along with the rest of the world, you smiled. You waved. You went outside on July 19, wherever you were, and looked upwards and out into the solar system knowing that our robotic representative Cassini would be capturing a few pixels’ worth of photons bouncing off our planet when they eventually reached Saturn, 900 million miles away. But did Cassini actually capture any photons coming from where you were? The image above will tell you.
Assembled by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo (where the enormous 305-meter radio telescope is located) this image shows what side of Earth was facing Cassini when its “pale blue dot” images were obtained, at approximately 22:47 UTC (Cassini time.)
Didn’t make it into Cassini’s photo? That’s ok… maybe MESSENGER had already caught you earlier that very same day:
(...)
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Comet ISON is Spewing Out Carbon Dioxide and Dust

Comet ISON is Spewing Out Carbon Dioxide and Dust :

These images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of C/2012 S1 (Comet ISON) were taken on June 13, when ISON was 310 million miles (about 500 million kilometers) from the sun. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHUAPL/UCF
These images from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope of C/2012 S1 (Comet ISON) were taken on June 13, when ISON was 310 million miles (about 500 million kilometers) from the sun. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHUAPL/UCF
As part of the Comet ISON Observing Campaign, the Spitzer Space Telescope was used to “stare” at the comet for 24 hours on Jun 13, 2013. Images from Spitzer’s “ISON-a-thon” indicate that carbon dioxide and dust are spewing out of the comet at a fairly large rate.
“We estimate ISON is emitting about 2.2 million pounds (1 million kilograms) of what is most likely carbon dioxide gas and about 120 million pounds (54.4 million kilograms) of dust every day,” said Carey Lisse, leader of NASA’s Comet ISON Observation Campaign and a senior research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
(...)
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Near-Earth Asteroid 2003 DZ15 to Pass Earth Monday Night

Near-Earth Asteroid 2003 DZ15 to Pass Earth Monday Night :

The currnet orbital position of asteroid 2003 DZ15. (Created by the author using JPL's Small-Body Database Browser).
The current orbital position of asteroid 2003 DZ15. (Created by the author using JPL’s Small-Body Database Browser).
The Earth will get another close shave Monday, when the 152 metre asteroid 2003 DZ15 makes a pass by our fair planet on the night of July 29th/30th at 3.5 million kilometres distant.  This is over 9 times the Earth-Moon distance and poses no threat to our world.(...)
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Russian Meteorite Bits Will Be Used In Some 2014 Olympic Medals

Russian Meteorite Bits Will Be Used In Some 2014 Olympic Medals:

The two main smoke trails left by the Russian meteorite as it passed over the city of Chelyabinsk. Credit: AP Photo/Chelyabinsk.ru
The two main smoke trails left by the Russian meteorite as it passed over the city of Chelyabinsk. Credit: AP Photo/Chelyabinsk.ru
Going for gold in the Sochi Winter Olympics could earn athletes some out-of-this-world rocks.
Athletes who top the podium on Feb. 15, 2014 will receive special medals with pieces of the Chelyabinsk meteor that broke up over the remote Russian community on that day in 2013, according to media reports.
(...)
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Pretty Picture from Space: Thunderstorms Over Southern California

Pretty Picture from Space: Thunderstorms Over Southern California :

Early morning lightning storms, inland of LA and San Diego, on July 21, 2013, as seen from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Early morning lightning storms, inland of LA and San Diego, on July 21, 2013, as seen from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Astronaut Karen Nyberg shared this image on her Twitter feed, showing the view from the International Space Station on July 21, 2013 with thunderstorms brewing over Los Angeles and San Diego, California. City lights are peering through the clouds, while lightning brightens the dark storm clouds. A solar array from a Russian spacecraft docked to the ISS appears at the bottom of the image.
Incredible view.
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Watch for the Delta Aquarid Meteors This Weekend

Watch for the Delta Aquarid Meteors This Weekend :

The Southern Delta Aquarid radiant, looking southeast at 2AM local from latitude 30 degrees north on the morning of July 30th. (Created by the author in Starry Night).
The Southern Delta Aquarid radiant, looking southeast at 2AM local from latitude 30 degrees north on the morning of July 30th. (Created by the author in Starry Night).
The meteor shower drought ends this weekend.
The northern summer hemisphere meteor season is almost upon us. In a few weeks’ time, the Perseids — the “Old Faithful” of meteor showers — will be gracing night skies worldwide.
But the Perseids have an “opening act”- a meteor shower optimized for southern hemisphere skies known as the Delta Aquarids.(...)
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Isotopes May One Day Aid In Planet Search

Isotopes May One Day Aid In Planet Search 

Modeling results show where the injected gas and dust ended ups only 34 years after being injected at the disk’s surface. It was injected 9 astronomical units from the central prostar and is now in the disk’s midplane. The outer edge shown is 10 astronomical units from the central prostar. Mixing and transport are still underway and the underlying spiral arms that drive the mixing and transport can be seen. Image courtesy of Alan Boss.
Modeling results show where the injected gas and dust ended ups only 34 years after being injected at the disk’s surface. It was injected 9 astronomical units from the central prostar and is now in the disk’s midplane. The outer edge shown is 10 astronomical units from the central prostar. Mixing and transport are still underway and the underlying spiral arms that drive the mixing and transport can be seen. Image courtesy of Alan Boss.
When we consider samples from the solar nebula, we think about comets and meteorites. These materials come from our solar system’s beginning, but the clues they give to formation don’t always mesh neatly. Thanks to a new study done by Carnegie’s Alan Boss, we’re now able to take a look at the Sun’s formation through a set of theoretical models. This work could not only help explain some of the differences we’ve discovered, but could also point to habitable exoplanets. (...)
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Another Possible Bright Supernova Discovered In Spiral Galaxy M74

Another Possible Bright Supernova Discovered In Spiral Galaxy M74:

One of the first photos of the possible new supernova in the nearby galaxy M74 taken by the Italian Supernova Search Project. The object is located 93
One of the first photos of the possible new supernova (at tick marks) in the nearby galaxy M74 taken by the Italian Supernova Search Project. The object is located 93″ east and 135″ south of the galaxy’s center. Click to learn more about the search group. Credit: Fabio Martinelli
I love this galaxy. Not only does M74 display a near perfect spiral form but if this latest supernova is confirmed, it will be the third to “go boom” in the galaxy in just 11 years. The new object, designated PSN J01364816+1545310, was discovered blazing near 12.4 magnitude by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search at Lick Observatory near San Jose, Calif. “PSN” stands for “possible supernova” and the long string of numbers give the object’s position in the sky using the celestial equivalents of latitude and longitude.
(...)
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Astronomers See Snow … In Space!

Astronomers See Snow … In Space! :

Artist's conception of the snow line in TW Hydrae. Credit: Bill Saxton/Alexandra Angelich, NRAO/AUI/NSF
Artist’s conception of the snow line in TW Hydrae. Credit: Bill Saxton/Alexandra Angelich, NRAO/AUI/NSF
There’s an excellent chance of frost in this corner of the universe: astronomers have spotted a “snow line” in a baby solar system about 175 light-years away from Earth. The find is cool (literally and figuratively) in itself. More importantly, however, it could give us clues about how our own planet formed billions of years ago.
(...)
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Whimsical and Beautiful New Timelapse: Borrego Stardance

Whimsical and Beautiful New Timelapse: Borrego Stardance :

A still from the new timelapse, 'Borrego Stardance' by Gavin Heffernan/Sunchaser Pictures.
A still from the new timelapse, ‘Borrego Stardance’ by Gavin Heffernan/Sunchaser Pictures.

Just outside of Borrego Springs, California monsters lurk. Life-size metal statues of dinosaurs, dragons, and wooly mammoths stand among giant insects, birds and several other creatures. But the 600,000 acrea Anzo-Borrego State Park is also an astronomer’s dream, since it is one of four communities in the world to be classified a “Dark Sky Community” by the International Dark Sky Association.
Timelapse maven Gavin Heffernan from Sunchaser Pictures has now combined these monsters and the beautiful dark sky for his latest astronomical timelapse video, Borrego Stardance. It’s an unusual and fanciful look at the night sky –- where else can you see dragons and star trails at the same time? Watch below — and crank the volume for added effect!
(...)
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