David Dickinson, Author at Universe Today

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022 by David Dickinson

Unistellar’s Plans for Science and Astronomy in 2022

Unistellar’s eVscope has proven its ability to do serious astronomy, with more to come in 2022.

There’s a revolution underway in how amateur astronomers contribute to modern astronomy. Smartscopes—telescopes controlled remotely via tablets or smartphones—are making there way into the modern amateur telescope market and out into the field. These have the ability to not only bring deep-sky astronomy to light-polluted urbanites, but to lower the bar for entry into deep-sky astrophotography. One of the leading manufacturers of smartscopes is Unistellar. First offered as a Kickstarter project in 2017, Unistellar’s line now includes the eVscope eQuinox, and the new eVscope2.

January 17, 2022January 17, 2022 by David Dickinson

Look Up and Watch Asteroid 1994 PC1 Fly Past Earth This Week

This week’s apparition of asteroid 1994 PC1 offers observers a chance to see a space rock moving in real time.

In a slow moving universe, asteroids give us a rare chance to see things moving in real time. We have such a chance coming right up on the evening of Tuesday, January 18^th, when 1.1-kilometer asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1 passes 1.23 million miles (1.98 million kilometers) from the Earth. This is about five times the distance from the Earth to the Moon, and just a shade over the distance to the anti-sunward Earth-Sun Lagrange 2 point, soon to be the home of the James Webb Space Telescope.

December 29, 2021December 14, 2022 by David Dickinson

Astronomy 2022: Top Skywatching Events for the Coming Year

Meteor showers, eclipses and a fine opposition of Mars top out astronomy 2022.

2022 offers another fine sky watching year. 2021 brought us a remote Antarctic total solar eclipse, a surprise Christmas comet C/2021 A1 Leonard, and a return of solar activity with solar cycle Number 25. 2022 promises more of the same, as the solar cycle heads towards an active maximum in 2025. But there’s lots more in store in the sky in 2022. Alas, no ‘red nova’ is expected in 2022.

December 10, 2021December 10, 2021 by David Dickinson

Brrrr: Bundle Up For the 2021 Geminid Meteors

One of the best annual meteor showers of the year, the Geminids top off 2021.

Ready to brave the cold? If you’re like us, you haven’t wasted an early clear sky morning to get out and see Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard before it heads southward. The coming days offer another early AM celestial sight: the Geminid meteors. To be sure, 2021 sees the Geminid meteors transpire under somewhat challenging conditions. But fear not: with a little planning and patience, you too can witness the ‘Tears of the Twins.’

December 2, 2021December 2, 2021 by David Dickinson

Our Guide to the Only Total Solar Eclipse of 2021

During this weekend’s total solar eclipse, the shadow of the Moon graces the Earth one last time for the year.

Saturday’s total solar eclipse literally spans the ends of the Earth.

The final eclipse for 2021 and the only total solar eclipse of the year occurs on Saturday, December 4^th, as the Moon’s shadow sweeps across a remote segment of the Antarctic continent.

November 24, 2021November 24, 2021 by David Dickinson

Comet A1 Leonard Brightens in December

Now is the time to start tracking Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard, as it starts its dawn dive sunward.

The days following New Year’s 2021 saw a comet discovery with potential. On the night of January 3^rd, exactly one year to the day prior to perihelion, astronomer Gregory J. Leonard working at the Mount Lemmon Observatory near Tucson Arizona discovered the first long-period comet of the year, C/2021 A1 Leonard. Shining at magnitude +19 and 5 Astronomical Units (AU) distant (about the distance of Jupiter from the Sun) at the time of discovery, early indications hinted that comet A1 Leonard might prove to be something special, come the end of 2021.

November 15, 2021November 15, 2021 by David Dickinson

Our Complete Guide to November’s ‘Almost Total’ Lunar Eclipse

Friday morning’s partial lunar eclipse will flirt with with totality, as the longest for more than a century.

If you’re like us, we never miss a chance to catch a lunar eclipse, be it penumbral, partial or total. Lunar eclipses are a great time to catch the surety of the clockwork Universe at its best, as the Moon slides into and then exits the Earth’s shadow.

First the bad news: Friday morning’s eclipse in the early hours of November 19^th isn’t completely total. However, the good news is that at its maximum around 9:04 Universal Time (UT)/4:04 AM Eastern Time (EST) the eclipse narrowly misses totality, at 97.5% partial.

October 28, 2021October 28, 2021 by David Dickinson

Proposed Centaur Mission Could Catch Comets in the Act of Formation

A recent plan would send a Centaur mission to Jupiter’s orbit and follow a comet through formation.

From Mercury to the depths of the distant Kuiper Belt, there aren’t many unexplored corners of the solar system out there. One class of object, however, remains to be visited: the transitional Centaurs out beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Now, a new study out from the the University of Chicago recently accepted in The Planetary Science Journal looks at the feasibility of sending a mission by mid-century to intercept, follow and watch a Centaur asteroid as it evolves into a mature inner solar system comet.

October 13, 2021October 13, 2021 by David Dickinson

LOFAR Sees Strange Radio Signals Hinting at Hidden Exoplanets

LOFAR sees ‘exoplanet aurorae’ near distant red dwarf suns.

A powerful new method may help to detect exoplanets, via the aurorae they induce on their host star. The finding was announced recently from ASTRON’s Low Frequency Array radio telescope (LOFAR), based out of Exloo in the Netherlands, and sprawled across sites in Europe.

October 5, 2021October 5, 2021 by David Dickinson

Arid Meteor Outburst in the Works This Week?

The new Arid meteor shower may be making itself known in early October 2021.

It’s not every day that we witness an outburst from a new meteor shower gracing the skies of the Earth. But that’s just what may be in store this week for fortunate observers deep in the southern hemisphere, with the advent of the Arid meteors.