August, 2004

Tuesday, August 31st, 2004
Conjunction: Venus and Saturn
Venus and Saturn as imaged by Anthony Arrigo
Early risers were treated to a beautiful conjunction this morning (Tuesday 8/31) as brilliant Venus posed alongside the ringed planet Saturn among the stars of Gemini. Click here for an annotated version.

Monday, August 30th, 2004
Conjunction: Venus and Saturn
Venus and Jupiter as imaged by Anthony Arrigo
Early risers will get to a beautiful conjunction tomorrow morning (Tuesday 8/31) as brilliant Venus poses alongside the ringed planet Saturn. The pair, separated by a mere 2°, will rise together about 3:00am and climb above the eastern horizon until the light of the Sun ends the show. Click here for a map. Pictured above is a previous encounter between Venus and Jupiter.

Friday, August 27th, 2004
Almost Full Moon Rising
An almost full moon rising as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies
Yet another beautiful moonrise for the residents of Pack City. This "almost full moon" was seen rising above the foothills just east of town.

Moon in The Belt of Venus
 The Moon and The Belt of Venus as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies
On the first clear night in some time, The Moon was found rising in The Belt of Venus. With clear skies forecast for the next several nights... this scene should repeat itself throughout the weekend. Just look towards the southeast around sunset. 

Thursday, August 26th, 2004
Earth-like Planet Found
An Earth-like planet orbits a distant star
Astronomers have announced the discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting a star much like our Sun. Checkout CNN.com/SPACE for more details.


Robots To Rescue Hubble Telescope?
The amazing Hubble Space Telescope
NASA is developing plans to send a robotic mission up to fix the ailing Hubble Space Telescope. Space Agency officials say they hope to have the details of the endeavor finalized by next summer. Without such a mission, Hubble will stop functioning some time in 2007 or 2008. Click here for more details.

Wednesday, August 25th, 2004
Cassini Readies For Titan Flyby
Titan as imaged by Cassini
The orbiting Cassini Spacecraft fired its main engines for 51 minutes yesterday to increase its orbital distance from Saturn. The move will keep it from flying through Saturn's rings... and sets the stage for an extremely close flyby of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The October 26 flyby will be a mere 750 miles above Titan with the spacecraft "dipping it's toe" into its atmosphere. Checkout SpaceDaily.com for more info.

Tuesday, August 24th, 2004
Small Scope... Big Planet
Astronomers using a 4" telescope have discovered a giant planet orbiting a distant star. 4", in case you're wondering, is a common size for backyard telescopes. The astronomers measured the dimming of the distant star caused by the passing of the planet in front of the star. The new planet, called TrES-1, is a gas giant about the size of Jupiter, located in the constellation Lyra.  Checkout Reuters.com for more information.

Sunday, August 22nd, 2004
Lunar Corona
The Moon surrounded by a lunar halo as imaged by Anthony Arrigo
Moisture from an impending storm seemed to surround the moon on Saturday night. Checkout Atmospheric Optics to find out about the Lunar Corona.

Saturday, August 21st, 2004
Views From Gusev Crater
A view of Gusev Crater from the Mars Spirit Rover
Stretching beyond the outcropping dubbed Longhorn are the plains of Gusev Crater as imaged by the Mars Spirit Rover. Each new bit of information reveals more of Mars' watery past. Checkout the Mars Rover Website for more information.

Friday, August 20th, 2004
Park City Moon Pillar
A Park City Moon Dog as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies
A Moon Pillar appeared shortly after moonset on Friday evening. Not sure what that is? Checkout Atmospheric Optics for all the details.

Thursday, August 19th, 2004
Five New Moons For Neptune
The Cerro Tololo observatory sits beneath a blanket of stars
As if trying to share in the lime light of discovery, the planet Neptune has revealed 5 more moons of its own. A team of astronomers using the 4m Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory and the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii telescope announced the discovery of 5 new moons... and a possible 6th. The accompanying image shows the Cerro Tololo Observatory. How'd you like to observe under conditions like this? Pretty sweet, huh? Checkout this BBC News/Science article for all the details.

Wednesday, August 18th, 2004
Galaxy's Age Determined
Globular Star Cluster NGC6397 as imaged by ESO
Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope have pushed back the hands of time. By studying the Beryllium content of stars in Globular Star Cluster NGC6397, they determined the cluster to have formed within 200-300 million years of the galaxy's first stars. Checkout the ESO press release for more information.

Tuesday, August 17th, 2004
Cassini Discovers Two New Moons Orbiting Saturn
Saturn's two newest moons as imaged by Cassini
Making the most of the sharpest images ever taken of Saturn, astronomers using the orbiting Cassini Spacecraft have discovered two new, ultra-tiny moons orbiting the ringed planet. Measuring between just 2 and 2.5 miles in diameter, these moons are by far the smallest in the Saturnian system. The discovery brings to 33, the number of moons orbiting the giant planet.

Monday, August 16th, 2004
Genesis Fires Thrusters
An artists conception of the Genesis Spacecraft at work
The returning Genesis Spacecraft fired its thrusters early Monday morning (8/9) as part of a trajectory adjustment designed to bring it successfully back to Earth. In a novel landing approach, it will be plucked from the sky as it descends over Utah. Genesis was launched in August of 2001 on a mission to catch particles or the solar wind.  Click here to read all about it.

Thursday, August 12th, 2004
Perseids Deliver The Goods
The Moon along with Venus, Saturn and the stars of Gemini as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies
The 2004 Perseid Meteor Shower peaked in the wee hours this morning. All I can say is... "they rocked!" Hundreds of meteors were seen throughout the night... with a peak burst (around 4am) of about 5 meteors per minute. Then towards the end... we were joined by The Moon and the planets Venus and Saturn among the stars of Gemini. If you missed the event... it will continue for the next several nights in a somewhat subdued manner.

Wednesday, August 11th, 2004
The Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight!
A Perseid Meteor flashes across the sky
The 2004 Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks tonight and into tomorrow morning! Will it be good? Will it be great? Will it be awesome? We'll just have to wait and see. One things for sure... the tiny waning crescent moon won't put a damper on the event this year. Check out our Perseids Page for more info. 

Venus, The Moon and Saturn
The crescent Moon poses alongside Venus in this image by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies
While you're out looking for Perseid Meteors, be sure to checkout the beautiful conjunction between the tiny Crescent Moon, and the Planet Venus. If you're really good, you'll even spot the Planet Saturn due east of the Moon. The trio will be due east before sunrise. Check out our Conjunctions Page to view past such events.. 

Monday, August 9th, 2004
Cassini Reveals Titan's Atmosphere
Saturn' moon Titan as imaged by Cassini
The orbiting Cassini Spacecraft took this shot as it passed by Saturn's moon Titan. Imaged in ultraviolet light, it clearly shows two distinct atmospheric layers surrounding the solar systems second largest moon. What would cause such a phenomenon? Click HERE to find out. 

Saturday, August 7th, 2004
Spectacular Saturn!
Saturn as imaged by Cassini
Yesterday's headline ended with a question mark. Today's undoubtedly deserved an exclamation point. This shot of the ringed planet was taken on July 17th while Cassini was still 3.6 million miles away. Pretty sweet, huh?

Friday, August 6th, 2004
Saturn's... South Pole?
Saturn's south pole as imaged by Cassini
We've grown used to amazing shots of Saturn's Ring System, right? Well... this incredible shot taken by the orbiting Cassini Spacecraft shows some beautiful detail in Saturn's south polar region as well. Checkout SpaceFlightNow.com for more information.

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004
Liftoff
Messenger lifts off aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket
A Boeing Delta II rocket carrying the Messenger Spacecraft had a picture perfect launch early this morning. It will travel almost 5 billion miles before arriving at its destination... the planet Mercury. Checkout the Messenger Website for more information.

Monday, August 2nd, 2004
Messenger Launch Postponed
The Mercury Dual Imaging System
Due to unfavorable weather conditions the launch of NASA's Messenger Spacecraft has been postponed until Tuesday morning. Messenger is headed for the innermost planet, Mercury. Mercury... a land of extremes with 1100° temperature swings... between a blistering 800° during daylight hours and a frigid -300° at night. Messenger will take 7 years to reach Mercury... and then spend a year orbiting the tiny, rocky world. Checkout the Messenger Website for more information.

Sunday, August 1st, 2004
Blue Moon Rises... Orange???
A blue... err... orange moon as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies
Well... I guess you only get blue moons... well.. once in a blue moon. Saturday nights blue moon rose a ruddy shade of orange. Maybe next time?