Astronomy

My First

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:41:02 GMT

Hey, I did look around as much as I could, but I couldn't find a good answer to this.

If I want to see the August 1 eclipse here in New York (as much of it as I can), when should I be looking up? At least a small part of it will be visible here, true?

Thanks,
Ryan

NASA asks for donations of... urine

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:31:13 GMT

The NASA contractor developing the space capsule which will take astronauts back to the moon is asking workers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas to donate their urine.

They say they need 30 liters a day (8 gallons) in order to design and test the new capsule's toilet.

[link]

NASA and Internet Archive Launch Centralized Resource for Images

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:13:52 GMT

[from my e-mail]

NASA and Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library based in San Francisco, made available the most comprehensive compilation ever of NASA's vast collection of photographs, historic film and video Thursday. Located at http://www.nasaimages.org the Internet site combines for the first time 21 major NASA imagery collections into a single, searchable online resource. A link to the Web site will appear on the http://www.nasa.gov home page.

The Web site launch is the first step in a five-year partnership that will add millions of images and thousands of hours of video and audio content, with enhanced search and viewing capabilities, and new user features on a continuing basis. Over time, integration of www.nasaimages.org with www.nasa.gov will become more seamless and comprehensive.

"This partnership with Internet Archive enables NASA to provide the American public with access to its vast collection of imagery from one searchable source, unlocking a new treasure trove of discoveries for students, historians, enthusiasts and researchers," said NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale. "This new resource also will enable the agency to digitize and preserve historical content now not available on the Internet for future generations."

Through a competitive process, NASA selected Internet Archive to manage the NASA Images Web site under a non-exclusive Space Act agreement, signed in July 2007. The five-year project is at no cost to the taxpayer and the images are free to the public.

"NASA's media is an incredibly important and valuable national asset. It is a tremendous honor for the Internet Archive to be NASA's partner in this project," says Brewster Kahle, founder of Internet Archive. "We are excited to mark this first step in a long-term collaboration to create a rich and growing public resource."

The content of the Web site covers all the diverse activities of America's space program, including imagery from the Apollo moon missions, Hubble Space Telescope views of the universe and experimental aircraft past and present. Keyword searching is available with easy-to-use resources for teachers and students.

Internet Archive is developing the NASA Images project using software donated by Luna Imaging Inc. of Los Angeles and with the generous support of the Kahle-Austin Foundation of San Francisco.

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:19:03 GMT

Can anyone recommend any good stargazing software for the Mac?

I don't need anything particularly fancy: just something that's going to show me what's in the sky where I am at any given moment, because my stellar geography is made of almost epic fail (I know like 4 constellations).

I'd rather it was freeware or shareware, ideally. So Starry Night is out.

Comet W1 & J1 Boattini

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:20:47 GMT

Hi Folks
Here is my set of photos of W1 & J1 Boattini taken a few nights back

C/2007/W1 Boattini

http://www.slooh.com/data/teide/onedegree/2008/07/18/20080718_004220_1137.jpg

http://www.slooh.com/data/teide/planet/2008/07/18/20080718_004246_1962.jpg

C/2008 J1 Boattini

http://www.slooh.com/data/teide/onedegree/2008/07/18/20080718_011736_5490.jpg

http://www.slooh.com/data/teide/planet/2008/07/18/20080718_011708_1303.jpg

The Slooh Dome 2 Telescope (www.slooh.com)

Technical Details ;

Teide 2 High Mag
Telescope TypeSchmidt-Cassegrain
Aperture14" (355.6 mm)
Focal Length3904 mm
Focal Ratiof/11
Field of View13.1' × 8.8'

CCD ChipKodak KAF-3200ME
Array Size2184 × 1472
CCD Size14.9 × 10 mm
Total Photosites3.2 Million
Photosite Size6.8 × 6.8 microns square

Teide 2 Wide Field
Telescope TypeApochromatic Refractor
Aperture85 mm
Focal Length480 mm
Focal Ratiof/5.6
Field of View1.4° × 1.1°

CCD ChipKodak KAI-2020M
Array Size1600 × 1200
CCD Size11.8 × 8.9 mm
Total Photosites2 Million
Photosite Size7.4 × 7.4 microns square
I want to thank the Slooh Team for making these wonderful instruments available

Astronomy saved my life, potentially

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:39:23 GMT

Last night, while traveling down a road I have driven a thousand times before in my residential area, I was glancing every so often at Saturn, because of how bright it was (along with Jupiter and the moon, a little less than 180 deg. away, and I was planning to look at them with my telescope when I got home). Soon, one of the times I started looking at Saturn (out the left window), NOT Jupiter/moon, a dumbass kid had pulled out of a cul-de-sac very fast and nearly hit me from the same side (nearly t-boned) but I saw him first and was able to swerve away. If I had been looking straight ahead, I would have only seen a flash of headlights on my window, not the car itself, and would have thought nothing of it. So... thank you Saturn!

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:43:05 GMT

Astronomers analyzing the first images captured by the new Hubble Space Kaleidoscope, which went online Tuesday, announced that they've acquired the first concrete evidence that the universe is in a constant state of total weirdness.

something crossed scorpio

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:32:26 GMT

ok so i was outside just now. i saw something like the size of a smaller star with a magnitude of like 2.5-ish crossing scorpio from its right hand to its tail. it lasted for like a good one minute and after it left scorpio's tail its magnitude gradually decreases and then poof, gone. so i got really curious and and went back inside to check stellarium. went back to 8:55-8:58pm when it happaned. nothing. any ideas? i am in phoenix, arizona btw.

p.s. i am very sure it is not a plane or fireworks or anything obnoxious like that.

"Kyoto At Midnight"

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:18:36 GMT

I'm not sure if this has been covered before in the past in this community, but while I was looking at LJ's custom layout themes, I noticed that there is a physical impossibility in one of the themes.

The theme is called "Kyoto at Midnight," or something to that effect. It features the Kyoto skyline silhouetted against a full moon on the horizon.

Unless you're at the north or south pole, the full moon should never be on the horizon at midnight. (Correct me if I'm wrong...)

They screwed that one up, didn't they? Still, it's very pretty, even if misnamed.

U.S. Finds It's Getting Crowded Out There

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:54:46 GMT

An in-depth article on how many nations, including China, Japan, India, Israel, South Korea, and the 17-nation European Space Agency are massively out-gaining NASA.

[article]

Watch out for exploding asteroids!

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:16:37 GMT

Exploding Asteroid Theory Gains Evidence

About 13,000 years ago, woolly mammoths roamed the North American continent and the first known human society in that region, known as the Clovis civilization, lived there as well. But geologic and archeological evidence shows they both suddenly disappeared, and scientists have long debated the mystery of the mass extinction of both animals and humans about 12,900 years ago. At that time, climatic history suggests the Ice Age should have been drawing to a close, but instead rapid climate change initiated an additional 1,300 years of glacial conditions. But scientists couldn't agree on the cause of the sudden change in climate. However, about two years ago geophysicist Allen West proposed that an asteroid or comet exploded just above the earth’s surface at that time over modern-day Canada, sparking a massive shock wave and heat-generating event that set large parts of the northern hemisphere ablaze, setting the stage for the extinctions. Another scientist set out to prove West wrong, but ended up finding evidence to support the exploding asteroid/comet theory.

I've always favored the Martian big game hunter model. But that's just me.

Mercury

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:13:51 GMT

NASA Solves 30-Year Mystery

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:27:46 GMT

At the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California, within the big moon exploration room, a display asks people to fill out cards offering their opinions on whether it's a good idea to send people into space.

Rosalie, whom I'm going to guess is 8 or 9, said, "It's dangerous, but probely the coolest thing you could ever do in your life."

I think I chortled with delight.

"Calibration" now in print

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:32:40 GMT

The July issue of Nature Physics has been released, and my story "Calibration" is in it. (To be precise, it's at volume 4, number 7, page 580.)

This is the story I wrote with the help of expert advice from people in the "Astronomy" community. Thanks to all of you, once again.

One can find the story listed at the journal's web site, www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v4/n7/index.#fut, but at the moment it look like you'd have to pay to read it online.

Daytime FireBall

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:37:29 GMT

Wow. About 45 minutes ago I saw the biggest, brightest fireball I have ever seen. And this is daytime! It was at 10:43am pdt according to my clock. I was driving north on a canyon road and it appeared just a couple of inches above a mountain range. It was going almost straight down and a little easterly. From Southern California, it appeared to be NNE. I am certain it will make the news. It was amazingly bright and large. But, I haven't seen anything in the news yet or heard anything on local radio.

It disappeared quickly, but the image seemed to be seared into my vision for a few moments later. I wouldn't be surprised if this thing was as big as a house, or that it made an impact. It is hard to guess the distance. it could have been 500 miles or more. I am eager to hear some news. My heart is still racing. If anyone hears anything, please post more information here. Thank You.

The Drake Equation

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:04:42 GMT

Is there a web site where anyone's doing "best guess" on the Drake equation, keeping it up to date with things like the likelihood of planets around stars (something that was generally an unknown when Drake came up with it, but for which we have a much better guess now)?

“The Moon Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite” (1874)

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:51:04 GMT

…a comprehensive text on the Moon, including a full series of photographic plates of her surface.

The only problem was that photography was still relatively new and nowhere near powerful enough to take pictures of the lunar surface. Therefore, Nasmyth did the next best thing: created a set of plaster dioramas based on his and Carpenter's observations of the Moon. These were lit and photographed accordingly, standing in for Diana's craggy and crater-riddled surface.

It's hard to believe when looking at them, however…

Hi! I'm new.... haha

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:13:31 GMT

I'm new and have been looking around for sometime. I haven't had the guts to ask you guys (mostly out of fear) for help.

I know I want to do something revolving around Astronomy. Either Astronomy itself or a branch of it. But the thing is, I'm not sure how to get there. I'm still young with a year of High school ahead of me, and I want to get on the road there while I still can. I'm not sure what classes to take, books to read, knowledge to become aware of.
I'm basically asking you guys what I need to do to finally feel like I am doing what I love =/
I know if anyone could tell me, people here would be the ones to ask!

Satellite or Planet?

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:16:21 GMT

Hi, i'm from Singapore. Last night, i was looking at the sky with my friends. We saw a bright star-like object in the sky that does not blink. I was taught by my lecturer in school that the bright object is either Venus or Jupiter. However my friend said that her lecturer taught her that the bright objects in the sky that do not blink are satellites. So my question is is the bright star-like object satellite or a planet? They are not stars cos they do not blink, right?

Good introduction to astronomy/astrophysics

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:47:16 GMT

Hey everyone, I just finished my first year at UC Santa Cruz as an astrophysics major. I haven't yet taken any astronomy classes yet and I really don't feel like I know a whole lot about astrophysics at all; I know classical physics at this point and that's about it. What are some good books on general astrophysics or even astronomy? The only book that I have is The Stars by H.A. Rey, which I got when I was about seven.

reminiscing

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:53:52 GMT

Today's APOD cracks me up (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/). Good times...

Now the backstory:

Astrophysics 1 with Dr. Perlman here at FIT blew. We all hated it, and most hated the man, and needless to say we were always bored and causing disruptions in the class. One fateful day, he was blathering on about supernovae and for some reason he put this picture up on the giant screen behind him for a good 20 minutes (I say for some reason since the Homonculus Nebula is of unknown origin and is not a verified SNR).

First, one person giggled. Then another. Soon the entire class was barely containing their hysterical, contagious laughter. I don't think it's that the picture was really THAT amusing, we were just in a unique state of mind that arose from our usual stupor. Then Perlman was demanding to know what was so funny while laughing nervously (obviously thinking this was about him or something he did or said).

He never did find out. To this day, Eta Carinae is something of a running gag among my graduating class (which in our tiny department was only a dozen people...oh, the inside jokes we had...).

For the slow-witted (or more mature) among us, it looks like testicles, for the record. "God's Balls". And note the small, shaft-like projection emerging from between the spheres. Yeah.

So that concludes the most immature post to this forum yet, as far as I know. I just wanted to share that little anecdote. Thanks APOD.

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:08:40 GMT

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Fill out the survey at: www.gpac.org/GENIUS2008survey, and make sure that we have data for as many schools as possible. Your voice will help us continue to work towards a safe and welcoming environment for every student.

*While we greatly appreciate the interest taken in GENIUS by students, staff, and faculty at academic institutions outside of the United States, at this time GENIUS is only able to track schools based in the U.S.

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:25:18 GMT

Remember the astronomers kidnapped in Chile and taken into Bolivia?

Well, it can be dangerous in California, too.

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:01:21 GMT

OK, folks...especially you professional folks...need your help on this...

Apparently there's this story going around that our solar system is not native to the Milky Way Galaxy and actually got pulled from the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy...

Now, I've already found Bad Astronomy's blog entry on this...but apparently it's not enough for some.

Can anyone give me a link to a credible, professional, peer reviewed article debunking this myth?

Thanx in advance!

NASA EDGE Question

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:32:09 GMT

First off, those guys are hilarious!

So...

I happened to miss the ep. of Mike & Mike in the Morning where they appeared and was wondering if it was floating around on the 'net somewhere?

Thanks.