Utah Skies » Uncategorized

Remnants of a Firey Space Rock?

donb — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:41:55 +0000

Strangely beautiful dawn "clouds"

Just before dawn, curious clouds appeared on the horizon. They were strangely bright relative to the rest of the sky, and as the dawn progressed, other similar clouds became visible. Were they “contrails” from aircraft? A meteor’s smoke trail?

Later in the day, Anthony Arrigo, Utah Skies C0-Founder and President/CEO of Starry Night Lights brought to my attention the news of a giant fireball seen over the western US earlier in the morning, lending much credence to the theory that these “contrail clouds” were the smokey remnants of not just a bolide, but that of a small asteroid! (Image taken with a Canon 20D, ISO100, 1/8 sec, f5.6)

Taking Back the Night: New Zealand

bjolley — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:40:54 +0000

The little town of Tekapo, New Zealand (pop. 830) is fighting to preserve the night sky.

In 1965, officials of this pristine lakeside town recognized the importance of protecting the skies around the nearby Mount John Observatory and began putting controls on outdoor illumination. According to an AP report, the ordinances require that, “low-energy sodium lamps are shielded from above, and household lights must face down, not up.”

Their goal? To obtain designation from UNESCO designation as the world’s first starlight reserve. Currently, none of UNESCO’s world heritage sites include the sky.

Tekapo’s efforts to preserve dark skies has begun to generate “astro tourists,” people in search of the experience of seeing stars under genuinely dark skies. Current estimates suggest that more than 2/3 of Americans are unable to see the Milky Way from their homes as a result of careless outdoor lighting and over-illumination - itself responsible for approximately two million barrels of oil per day in energy wasted. In Europe, there are almost no places left where the sky reaches its natural darkness.

New Year, Leap Second

donb — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:12:17 +0000

Time

Thanks to the slowing spin of the Earth on its axis (don’t worry, there is no immediate peril associated with the fact), the official timekeepers of the world must adjust their atomic clocks by adding a second to them tonight - 11:59:59 will happen twice! Enjoy your celebrations of 2008, your anticipations for 2009, and revel in the fact that you get a little more time this year to raise a toast, find a moment, or linger in a kiss. Happy New Year with wishes of peace and clear skies from all at Utah Skies.

NORAD Keeps a Watchful Eye on Santa

donb — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:40:10 +0000

Norad Tracks Santa

Once again as Santa brings gifts to all the good girls and boys, North American Aerospace Defense Command - NORAD - is tracking his progress east to west. “NORAD manages to keep track of him with satellites, radar, and strategically placed ‘SantaCams’,” says Navy Petty Officer Shane Wolenda. For more than 50 years, NORAD has tracked Santa’s frenzied journey around the globe; thank you, NORAD!

Here at Utah Skies, we wish a Merry Christmas to all!

NASA Finds Direct Proof of Dark Matter

donb — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:54:47 +0000

Dark matter and normal matter have been wrenched apart by the tremendous collision of two large clusters of galaxies. The discovery, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, gives direct evidence for the existence of dark matter. "This is the most energetic cosmic event, besides the Big Bang, which we know about," said team member Maxim Markevitch of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. These observations provide the strongest evidence yet that most of the matter in the universe is dark. Despite considerable evidence for dark matter, some scientists have proposed alternative theories for gravity where it is stronger on intergalactic scales than predicted by Newton and Einstein, removing the need for dark matter. However, such theories cannot explain the observed effects of this collision. "A universe that’s dominated by dark stuff seems preposterous, so we wanted to test whether there were any basic flaws in our thinking," said Doug Clowe of the University of Arizona at Tucson, and leader of the study. "These results are direct proof that dark matter exists." Check out the complete NASA press release for more info on this fascinating discovery.

Jupiter Closest Tonight

donb — Sat, 06 May 2006 23:33:54 +0000

The planet Jupiter will be at the closest point in its orbit to Earth tonight… a mere 410 million miles away This makes Jupiter appear bigger and brighter than usual. Look for the giant planet to rise in the east around sunset. It is so much brighter than any other star-like object that you just can miss it. At this point, it is roughly 10 times brighter than the brightest stars around it. Jupiter is simply spectacular in a typical backyard telescope… so if you have one… be sure to break it out and point it towards Jupiter. Jupiter will put on a great show throughout the spring and into the summer… so check it out each opportunity you get. Checkout Science@NASA for more details.

Huge Solar Prominence Recorded

donb — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 14:30:45 +0000

Amateur astronomer Greg Piepol captured this enormous solar prominence along the southwestern limb of the Sun yesterday. Sunspot activity has been low for the last couple of weeks, but… that certainly doesn’t mean that our star is sitting quietly. Checkout Greg’s Sungazer.net website for more incredible images.