May, 2004

Sunday, May 30th, 2004

Waxing Gibbous Moon

What a difference a week makes. The moon was 84% illuminated last night. A huge difference from a week earlier when it was only 7% illuminated. Scroll down to see the dramatic change.

Thursday, May 27th, 2004

Terrestrial Planet Finder

You know the old saying 'two heads are better than one'. Well, the same holds true for telescopes, only in this case it could be 'many telescopes are better than one'. NASA has decided to make this type of telescope, known as an interferometer, available to members of the Terrestrial Planet Finder Project. A team whose mission is to image (for the first time ever) planets orbiting another star. Checkout Space.com for more information on this promising approach.

Monday, May 24th, 2004

Crescent Venus and Crescent Moon

More than a few people mistook the telescopic view of crescent Venus for that of the crescent moon this weekend.

Thursday, May 16th, 2004

Shedding Light on Dark Energy

Astronomers using the orbiting Chandra X-Ray Observatory have made some startling discoveries about the expansion rate of the universe. It seems that a theorized form of energy known as dark energy is actually causing the expansion to accelerate. Find out more.

Sunday, May 16th, 2004

Sizeable Sunspots

Sunspot activity on our star has jumped considerably in the last several days. Highlighted in the breakout are sunspots #606, 609 & 612. Each of these is larger than planet Earth... with the biggest of these, #609 being larger even than the planet Jupiter. If you'd like to view the sun, be sure to use safe solar viewing techniques.

Friday, May 14th, 2004

Comet NEAT and The Beehive Cluster

Comet (C/2001 Q4) NEAT is an easy binocular target in the western sky after dark. Simplifying the task of finding NEAT is the fact that it is right next to another easy target... Cancer's Beehive Star Cluster (M44). The two were easily visible in the same telescope view. Click for an annotated version.

Wednesday, May 12th, 2004

Crescent Venus

Venus is in a very distinct crescent phase now. At the time of this photo, Venus was only 19% illuminated... and shrinking rapidly. Venus will be only 10% illuminated next Friday night (5/21/04). By the end of May, Venus will have shrunk to a tiny 3% crescent. In the process though, it will have grown substantially in apparent diameter... from 43" to 55". This will peak on 6/3, when Venus is only 1% illuminated... but a whopping 57" in diameter. Checkout Venus each night in the western sky. But don't wait to long. As Venus shrinks in phase... it will also be plunging towards the Sun.

Friday, May 7th, 2004

Venus, Twins, and a Charioteer

As Venus approached it maximum relative brightness this week, as seen from the Earth, Don Brown captured this picture of Venus setting over Starvation Reservoir, UT.  Visible in the image are the planets Saturn, Mars, and Venus (with its reflection on the water), and the constellations Gemini and Auriga.  Click on the image for an annotated view!

Wednesday, May 5th, 2004

Opportunity Shows Endurance

NASA's Opportunity Rover recently snapped this awesome picture of Endurance Crater. With almost 100 sols (martian days) under its belt, Opportunity is showing no signs of letting up. Checkout the full-sized image or the 3-D version (requires 3-D glasses - sold separately :)

Saturday, May 1st, 2004

A Comet and A Galaxy

Comet Bradfield continues its journey through the predawn sky. It is currently heading towards a rendezvous with a distant celestial neighbor... The Andromeda Galaxy. If you'd like to view the pair, they can be found to the east, northeast about 2 hours before sunrise. Just sweep the horizon with binoculars or a small telescope and you should find them both.