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Friday, November 4th, 2005
Hubble Views A Martian Dust Storm
The orbiting Hubble Space Telescope
recently took this exquisite shot of Mars at closest approach to Earth. Centered
in the image is the large dust strom that's been raging on the martian surface
for the last several weeks. On nights of steady seeing, the dust storm is
visible to backyard astronomers through their own telescopes.
Checkout the Hubble Site for more information.
Thursday, November 3rd, 2005
Fireball Meteor Sightings
Earth is currently passing through a swarm of orbiting space debris that is
producing a larger than normal number of fireball meteors. People around the
world have been seeing them for the last several evenings. In fact, a pair were
sighted right here in Park City last night!. Skywatchers are encouraged to spend
some extra time outside over the next several nights... and remain alert. Who
knows... you just might be in for a real treat! Checkout
Science@NASA for more details.
Neutron Star Found Where a Black Hole Was Expected
A very massive star collapsed to form a
neutron star and not a
black hole as
anticipated, according to new results from NASA's
Chandra X-ray Observatory.
This discovery shows
that nature has a harder time making black holes than previously thought. Check
out the Chandra
press
release for more info.
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005
Radio from Sgr A
Scientists from the Shanghai
Astronomical Observatory report that they've detected radio waves emitted
just beyond the edge of the mysterious object, known as
Sagittarius A. The
researchers suggest that the source is a super-massive black hole at the center
of the Milky Way. See the Reuters
article for more information.
Early Light?
Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space
Telescope say they have detected light that may be from the earliest objects
in the universe. If confirmed, the observation provides a glimpse of an era more
than 13 billion years ago. Check out the NASA
press release and Nature's
article
for more info.
Tuesday, November 1st, 2005
NASA FUSE Find Eta Carinae Companion Star
Scientists using NASA's Far Ultraviolet
Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite
made the first direct detection of a companion star of
Eta Carinae. Eta
Carinae is one of the most massive and
unusual stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The detection was made possible by
the high temperature of the companion star and the unique sensitivity of the
satellite at the shortest ultraviolet wavelengths. Check out NASA's
press release and this
interesting article from Sky and Telescope, Australia for more details.
Monday, October 31st, 2005
Charon Plus Two?
Using NASA.s Hubble Space Telescope to view
the
ninth planet in our solar system, astronomers discovered Pluto may have not
one, but
three moons. If confirmed, the
discovery of the two new moons could offer insights into the nature and
evolution of the Pluto system, Kuiper Belt Objects with satellite systems, and
the early Kuiper Belt. Check out
NASA's press release and that of
HubbleSite for more details.
Sign of the Season
If you have the proper filter, attach it to your optics and take a look at Mars
to see a sign of the season -- Happy Halloween!
(move your mouse over the above image to see...)
Halloween Moonrise
This All Hallows Eve began
with a beautiful 2 percent, waxing-crescent moonrise. In this
larger image,
Virgo's
brightest star, Spica,
can be seen a few moon-diameters below the
slender crescent.
Sunday, October 30th, 2005
The Planet Mars Peaks Tonight
The
planet Mars will be at its closest to Earth tonight! Look for the red planet
to be rising in the east shortly after sunset... and climbing high overhead by
midnight. Best views, for those of you with a telescope should occur within a
few hours of rising.
Checkout Sky and Telescope for more information on Mars' closest pass for
the next 13 years.
Saturday, October 29th, 2005
Maximum Mars
The
planet Marss will be at its closest to Earth this weekend. That means it will
also be its biggest and brightest. Checkout the red planet. You'll find it
rising in the east shortly after sunset... and climbing high overhead by
midnight. As an added bonus, there's a sizable dust storm brewing that can be
seen in larger scopes on nights of good seeing. Checkout this sweet shot taken
by Mark Schmidt which captures the
progress of the storm.
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