Space and astronomy news
Wormholes are a mainstay in science fiction, providing our heroes with a quick and easy way to instantly travel around the Universe. Enter a wormhole near the Earth and you come out on the other side of the galaxy. Even though science fiction made them popular, wormholes had their origins in science – distorting spacetime …
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! The week might begin with a full Moon, but we’ll have plenty to explore as we learn about the anti-twilight arch and the “Belt of Venus”. We’ll watch as the Moon occults Antares, locate globular clusters, visit the planets and pinpoint asteroids. The weekend brings early dark skies along with challenges for all observers, so get ready to grab a comet by the tail, because…
Here’s what’s up!
Think astronomy is a boring task of poring over data or staring at star chart after start chart? Sometimes, it can get downright exciting, like when a worldwide alert goes off signifying a new gamma ray burst in the sky. Monday, May 9, 2005 saw not one, but two, gamma ray bursts as NASA’s HETE-2 and SWIFT x-ray satellites each managed to sound the alarm from low-earth orbit. One of these events may prove to be just the breakthrough needed to help astrophysicists better understand just how such highly explosive events actually come about. But they’ve really got to hustle to get the objects imaged before they fade away, and take all their secrets with them.
Skywatchers are in for a treat tonight as the eta Aquarid meteors will be putting on a show. Observers in the southern hemisphere should be able to see 15-60 meteors an hour depending on the darkness of the skies. Those in the northern hemisphere won’t be so lucky, seeing only about 10 meteors an hour. Look to the constellation of Aquarius, towards the East in the early morning of May 6, and you should see a more than a few meteors. Be patient, dress warmly, and bring a friend or two..
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers.This week’s early dark skies will promote plenty of deep space action as we view the M51, M94, M53, and M64. Mid-week will provide some excitement as the reliable children of Comet Halley streak across our atmosphere during the peak of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. In two months, Deep Impact will have reached Comet Tempel 1 – but why wait until then to view it? You can see it now! The call goes out to observers to help in scientific study and the week ends with a special treat. So grab your binoculars and telescopes and head out under dark skies…
Because here’s what’s up!
There’s going to be a partial lunar eclipse on Sunday, April 24; unfortunately, the Moon will only pass through the faint penumbral shadow, and only dim slightly. Most observers would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. The eclipse gets going at 0955 UT (5:55 am EDT) and ends about 2 hours later. Observers in the Americas should be able to see the eclipse, with the best view for folks in the West.
Researchers from UC Berkeley have looked into the past to confirm that a fundamental aspect of the Universe – the fine structure constant, or alpha – has remain unchanged for at least 7 billion years. This constant shows up in many formulae dealing with electricity and magnetism, and helps describe how radiation is emitted by atoms. This conflicts with a recent announcement from Australian researchers that described a change in alpha over time.
Thanks to data collected by NASA’s WMAP probe in 2001 and 2002, plus the hard work of astrophysicists, we now know that the Universe is 13.7 billion years of age – give or take a few hundred million years. And thanks to the way distant galaxy clusters interacted with the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) some 7 billion years ago, we may soon be able to peel away layers of time and better understand irregularities in the shape of the universe as it is today.
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! As another month ends and a new one begins, let’s celebrate the early evening dark and “set the skies on fire” by studying AE Aurigae! Want a challenge for the big scope? We’ll check out southern galactic clusters for binoculars and telescopes and learn the location of several comets. It’s North America’s turn as the Moon occults not one – but two stars in the same night! And right when you thought you could sleep late, the moments before dawn will offer a morning conjunction worth waking up for! So mark your calendars and hope for clear skies because here’s what’s up!
Experienced observers tend to think its all so very simple. Buying a scope, setting it up, and using it for the first time lies well behind them on the learning curve. But if you really think about it learning to use an astronomical telescope is no trivial matter. So after being prompted by one UT reader, Astro.Geekjoy’s Jeff Barbour decided to set down in word’s how to go about making a start of our High Art and Science. Sometime’s things aren’t as simple as they seem…