September, 2004

Thursday, September 30th, 2004
Massive Cosmic Train Wreck?
Abell 754 as imaged by the Keck Observatory

In what astronomers are describing as The Perfect Cosmic Storm, a vast collection of galaxies known as Abell 754 are piling up in the largest, most energetic collision ever detected. Captured in this Keck Observatory image are some of the roughly 1300 galaxies involved in the pile up. Checkout CNN.com/SPACE for more details.

Wednesday, September 29th, 2004
Asteroid Fly-By
Asteroid Toutatis as imaged by Goldstone

Asteroid 4179 Toutatis, a 3 mile long peanut-shaped rock, makes its closest pass of Earth this evening... a mere 1,000,000 miles away. This is only about 4x the Earth-Moon distance... a virtual near miss in astronomical terms. The 9th magnitude rock will be an easy target in amateur telescopes. Click here for more info.

SpaceshipOne Seeks X Prize
 SpaceShipOne returns from its historic flight with the title of the first-ever commercial manned spaceflight

Californian-based Scaled Composites will attempt to claim a $10 million prize by putting a privately financed manned craft into sub-orbital space. The first of two flights is scheduled to take off later today. Checkout CNN.com/Technology for more information.

Tuesday, September 28th, 2004
Harvest Moon Tonight
A full moon rising as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

We'll be under a Harvest Moon tonight. Be sure to head out side around sunset... and look towards the east! 

Sunday, September 26th, 2004
Fall Colors for Park City
Park City Mountain Resort wearing its fall colors in this image by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

Fall is in the air.. and in the leaves. This gorgeous shot captures the fall colors at The Park City Mountain Resort. 

Saturday, September 25th, 2004
Ring Herding?

Prometheus herds Saturn's F ring

Saturn's moon Prometheus is seen shepherding the inner edge of Saturn's F ring. This was captured in a close-up view by the orbiting Cassini spacecraft.

Friday, September 24th, 2004
Hubble Images Oldest Star-Forming Galaxies
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field

Astronomers have found what may be the oldest star-forming galaxies in the universe. Working with data from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, the galaxies they've found existed when the universe was less than 5% of its current 13.7 billion year age. Checkout Space.com for all the details. 

Thursday, September 23rd, 2004
Park City Moonrise
A waxing gibbous moon as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

We had a beautiful moonrise this evening up here in Park City. This is how it looked through the telescope.

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2004
Autumnal Equinox

Northern autumn begins today at 1630 UT (10:30 a.m. MDT). Interestingly, autumn is the best time of year to see aurora :-)   Checkout Science@NASA to find out why.

Tuesday, September 21st, 2004
Meet Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz)
Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) as imaged by Peter Birtwhistle (Great Shefford Observatory, England)

On August 27th, amateur astronomer Donald Machholz of Colfax, California discovered his 10th comet... Officially designated as Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz), this looks to be a naked eye object in December and January. Checkout Space.com to find out how he did it... and Cometography.com to monitor its progress through the sky.

Monday, September 20th, 2004
Large Binocular Telescope To Be Dedicated
The new Large Binocular Telescope (LBT)

On October 15th astronomers will dedicate the new Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). When fully operational in 2005, the LBT will be the most technically advanced ground-based telescope in the world. The LBT is constructed with twin 8.4-meter (27.6 foot) "honeycomb" mirrors and will be able to acquire images that are 10x sharper than those obtained from The Hubble Space Telescope. Visit the Large Binocular Telescope website for more information.

Saturday, September 18th, 2004
Delicate Rings and Shadows
Saturns rings cast shadows across the planets body in the Cassini image

Saturn's beautiful rings crisscross the shadows they cast in this beautiful image by the orbiting Cassini Spacecraft. Saturn is now an easy target for early risers... sitting high and towards the east before sunrise.

Thursday, September 16th, 2004
Volcanic Io
The Prometheus plume as imaged by Galileo

Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Look closely at this image taken by the Galileo Spacecraft (click for a larger view). On the left edge is a towering plume of Volcanic dust... thrust over 85 miles above the surface. Interestingly, some of the dust doesn't fall back down to Io... it speeds out into space... at ever increasing speeds. What could cause such strange behavior? Checkout Science@NASA to find out.

Wednesday, September 15th, 2004
Saturn Family Portrait
Saturn as imaged by Cassini

How's this for an awesome family portrait? The orbiting Cassini Spacecraft captured Saturn along with 5 of its moons using its wide angle camera. The image was taken on August 1st, 2004 from a distance of just over 4 million miles. Saturn is currently an easy target... high and towards the east before sunrise.

Tuesday, September 14th, 2004
Venus and The Beehive
Venus and The Beehive Cluster as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

Early risers can see a beautiful alignment involving the brilliant planet Venus and Utah's namesake deep sky object, M44, The Beehive Star Cluster. For the next several mornings, look for the two rising in the east around 3:00am and climbing until first light puts the Beehive to bed. Venus will be easily visible until almost sunrise... and... if you know where to look... even beyond that! The pairing looks awesome in binoculars. Checkout examples of other similar alignments.

Monday, September 13th, 2004
Aurora Watch
A large CME as imaged by SOHO

A Coronal Mass Ejection swept by Earth a few hours ago. It has not yet sparked aurora, but.. conditions are ripe. Stay tuned... and keep an eye on Spaceweather.com for the latest details.

Venus and The Beehive
Venus and The Pleiades Star Cluster as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

Early risers can see a beautiful alignment involving the brilliant planet Venus and Utah's namesake deep sky object, M44, The Beehive Star Cluster. For the next several mornings, look for the two rising in the east around 3:00am and climbing until first light puts the beehive to bed. Venus will be easily visible until almost sunrise... and... if you know where to look... even beyond that! Pictured here is Venus meeting with The Pleiades Star Cluster in April. Checkout examples of other similar alignments.

First Ever Extrasolar Planet Photographed
The first ever photo of an extrasolar planet

A group of European astronomers have released what may be the first-ever photograph of an extrasolar planet. The other 120 or so extrasolar planets have all been detected by the wobble they put on their host stars orbit. This is the first direct image of such a planet. Check out CNN.com/SPACE for more info. 

Sunday, September 12th, 2004
Aurora Watch
The northern lights as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

A solar flare erupted near sunspot #672 and hurled a coronal mass ejection into space. There is a good chance that it was Earth-directed. If so, we could be in for a treat on Monday or Tuesday. Checkout our aurora page... Stay tuned... and keep an eye on Spaceweather.com for the latest details.

Park City Lightning
A summer light show as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

The skies lit over Park City lit up big time this evening.

Wednesday, September 8th, 2004
More on the Genesis Mission's Status
NASA image of the partially buried Genesis capsule

The Genesis capsule was damaged and there has been an "unquantified science degradation" as the capsule slammed into the Utah desert at more than 190 miles per hour due to a parafoil deployment failure. The capsule will be retrieved and taken to the Dugway clean room for analysis of damage and preparation for the eventual shipment of the payload to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The latest news on the mission is available from NASA's Genesis website.

Wednesday, September 8th, 2004
Genesis Sample Return Capsule Hits the Ground
NASA image of the partially buried Genesis capsule

The Genesis capsule has returned to earth, though not as planned. It appears that the reentry parafoil failed to deploy, resulting in the capsule's impact with the Utah desert. There will be a NASA news briefing at noon MDT on NASA TV.

Tuesday, September 7th, 2004
Genesis Returns
An artists version of Genesis' return

On Wednesday morning (9/8), skywatchers in the northwestern part of the United States will be treated to one heck of a fireball meteor. Ok... its not really a meteor, but it will certainly look like the best one you've ever seen. At 8:52am over Bend, Oregon a blazing fireball will appear in the sky. This will be the re-entry of the returning Genesis spacecraft. It'll travel a path taking it just south of Wendover NV/UT. Check out Science@NASA for more info. 

Friday, September 3rd, 2004
Hurricane Frances Approaches Florida
Hurricane Frances approaching Florida as imaged by the orbiting GOES-12 satellite

The orbiting GOES-12 satellite took this incredible shot of Hurricane Frances. This monster of a storm is larger than the state of Florida and packing 140mph winds. Checkout CNN.com/Weather for more info. 

Thursday, September 2nd, 2004
Cassini Reveals Saturn's Cool Rings
Temperature measurements of Saturn's Rings as imaged by the Cassini Spacecraft

The orbiting Cassini Spacecraft has made the most detailed temperature measurements of Saturn's rings. Each color represents a different temperature... red being warmer (only -260*)... and blue being colder... (an atom freezing -330*). Interested in how they took the measurements? Checkout the Cassini-Huygens Website for more details.

Wednesday, September 1st, 2004
New Class of Extrasolar Planet Discovered

Astronomers announced the discovery of a new class of extrasolar planets. The planets are roughly 10-20x the mass of Earth... far smaller than any previously detected. Checkout NASA.gov for more details..