Most people know how to find two constellations: the Big Dipper, and Orion the Hunter. You can teach a small child to find Orion, and at the right time of year, they’ll find it in seconds. There’s so much going on in this spectacular constellation, from the star formation in the Orion Nebula to mighty red supergiant Betelgeuse, ready to explode. Let’s learn about the history and science of the constellation Orion.
Will Gater from the BBC’s Sky at Night Magazine shared this great video with us that shows some of the celestial sights that are you can see from your own backyard during the summer months. The video includes locator charts for all of the objects too, so you can see exactly where to find what you are looking for.
Noctilucent Cloud display with the bright star Capella over West Berkshire UK Credit: Adrian West
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Noctilucent Clouds are finally here! Well, at least they were for me at about 3:00am on the 29th of June.
I have heard that there have been some sightings, but for me, this mornings display heralds the new NLC season – a month later than usual?
Conditions were amazingly warm, and the night was still and magical as I looked northwards from my home in West Berkshire UK. I couldn’t help but notice a burning bright star almost due North and quite low, Capella in the constellation of Auriga! This is when I spotted the first faint wisps of noctilucent cloud.
Capella isn’t always in the North, but it is this time of year and it usually makes a guest appearance during morning noctilucent cloud displays.
Noctilucent clouds are very rare and tenuous clouds on the edge of space and occur at altitudes of around 76 to 85 kilometers (47 to 53 miles).
They are only seen when conditions are just right (still not fully understood) after sunset or before sunrise. They are illuminated by the sun, which is still way below the horizon from the observers location. Due to their very delicate nature, noctilucent clouds can only be seen at these times. More info on what NLC’s are, can be found here
How the transit of transit of the dwarf planet Haumea by its moon, Namaka would have looked if we could have seen it directly. Credit: Mike Brown
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Back when I first started using Twitter in 2008, I never would have guessed this social media outlet could be used as a conduit for engaging the public about science. But it is facilitating open science in several ways. For example, if you follow Mike Brown on Twitter (@plutokiller) you may have seen a flurry of Tweets from him last weekend as he live-Tweeted his observations of a transit of dwarf planet Haumea by its moon, Namaka. While Brown was at the 4-meter William Herschel telescope on La Palma in the Canary Islands, he explained the process and released multiple plots showing in real time how Haumea dimmed as Namaka passed in front. “This event was particularly live-tweet friendly,” he said on Thursday during a Q&A (again on Twitter) about how he shared his observations live. “We’d know a clear result instantly. Given the chance, I will def[intely] do it again!”
The observations were a success and “spectacular,” Brown said, but it was a little risky in that the transit wasn’t exactly a sure thing, and he might have suddenly — and publicly — had to report that he and his team had incorrectly predicted the transit. But it worked out – after a little hitch – and Brown said that live Tweeting the event gave people a chance to see how science really works in real time. “Normally people would just see the finished paper… the fun part of live tweeting the event was that people could follow as the data came in and hypotheses changed.” (The initial data was much different than expected).
“One main reason to watch transit was to measure size & shape of Haumea, since it is so weird,” Brown Tweeted, and said that he’ll be spending the summer analyzing the data he got during the transit to learn more about the football-shaped, spinning dwarf planet.
If you missed the live-Tweeting, you can look back at Brown’s Twitter page), and Nature Blogs has archived the Tweeted Q&A the blog sponsored with Brown on Thursday, June 16, 2011.
It’s science in action.
You can follow Universe Today senior editor Nancy Atkinson on Twitter: @Nancy_A. Follow Universe Today for the latest space and astronomy news on Twitter @universetoday and on Facebook.
The ISS and space shuttle Endeavour as seen from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania at 4:50am EDT on May 30, 2011. Credit: Beth Katz
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UPDATE: And we have a sighting! Beth Katz from Pennsylvania in the US sent us this image,an 8 second exposure of the ISS and Endeavour taken early this morning. “We observed them seeming even further apart and then closer as they moved away from us,” Beth said via email.
Space shuttle Endeavour will undock from the ISS just before midnight EDT on Sunday night/Monday morning at 11:55 pm EDT (3:55 UTC) and depending where you live, you might have an opportunity to see the two spaceships flying in tandem. People in Europe might have the chance to see the two spaceships right after they separate in the early morning hours, and people in the US/Canada/Mexico might be able to see the two flying close to each other. This is an incredible sight, and will be the last opportunity to see Endeavour in orbit, as she will be retired after she lands and completes the STS-134 mission. The station and shuttle will appear in the night or early morning sky as a closely-spaced pair of bright lights. The ISS is bigger, so will appear as the brighter object trailing the smaller Discovery as they move across the sky.
On Monday night/Tuesday morning, there will be another chance to see the two ships, although they will be widely separated.
To find out if you’ll be able to see the two spaceships in your area, there are a few different sites to check out:
NASA has a Skywatch page where you can find your specific city to look for satellite sighting info.
Spaceweather.com, has a Satellite Tracker Tool. Just put in your zip code (good for the US and Canada) to find out what satellites will be flying over your house.
Heaven’s Above also has a city search, but also you can input your exact latitude and longitude for exact sighting information, helpful if you live out in the country.
Seeing the two spacecraft flying closely in tandem is a very unique and thrilling sight. Good luck! If you manage to capture any images, send them to Nancy.
Soon you may see an eerie spectacle on clear summer nights if you are located at latitudes between 50° and 70° north and south of the equator: Noctilucent Clouds.
These ghostly apparitions are a delight to see and are quite rare. It is incredibly difficult to predict exactly when they will appear, but we do know they should begin to appear soon.
The season for Noctilucent Clouds (Noctilucent = Latin for “Night Shining”) starts early June and continues into late July. They are seen just after dusk, or before dawn and an apparition can last around an hour.
These mysterious clouds, with their bizarre tenuous wispy shapes reminiscent of ripples in sand or the changing surface of a pool of water, spread like a glowing web across the northern sky. Colours can range from brilliant whites, with tinges of blue, pink and orange.
Formed by tiny ice crystals, they are the highest clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere, located in the mesosphere at altitudes of around 76 to 85 kilometers (47 to 53 miles) almost at the edge of space.
They are normally too faint to be seen, and are visible only when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon, while the lower layers of the atmosphere are in the Earth’s shadow. Noctilucent clouds are not fully understood and are a recently discovered meteorological phenomenon, only being recorded for about 120 years.
Noctilucent clouds can only form under very restrictive conditions, and their occurrence can be used as a guide to changes in the upper atmosphere. Since their relatively recent classification, the occurrence of noctilucent clouds appears to be increasing in frequency, brightness and extent.
There is evidence that the relatively recent appearance of noctilucent clouds and their gradual increase, may be linked to climate change. Another recent theory is that some of these bright displays come from particulates and water vapour in the atmosphere left over from Space Shuttle launches.
How can you see them? Over the next couple of months look north during dusk and dawn and try and spot this mysterious and elusive phenomenon. They are best seen when the sun is between 6 and 16 degrees below the horizon, and seem to occur more frequently in the Northern hemisphere than the Southern.
Good luck!
Noctilucent clouds over Blair, Nebraska, USA. Credit: Mike Hollingshead
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During the month of May, four bright Planets will grace the morning sky just before dawn.
The planets Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and Mars will be involved in a series of conjunctions (close together) and will finally be joined by the thin crescent moon at the end of the month.
Twice during May some of the planets will converge to form a trio, where 3 planets will fit in an imaginary circle roughly 5 degrees across.
On the 11th Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will be within 2.5 degrees of each other, forming a very tight trio and on the 21st another trio will be formed by Mercury, Venus and Mars.
Dawn Planets 21st May Credit: Adrian West
On the 29th, 30th, and 31st, the waning crescent moon will arrive, moving past Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury stretched out in a line across the eastern sky.
Dawn 29th May. Credit: Adrian West
Unfortunately, these gatherings will be a challenge especially for observers in high latitudes, as the ecliptic in May is very shallow and low to the horizon. But if all you need is a challenge to get you out observing, then here’s your chance!
Venus and Jupiter should be easy objects to see, but Mercury and Mars will be very difficult, along with the crescent moon due to the onset of daylight.
Be careful as you will be viewing objects close to the sun. Never ever look at the sun with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope as this will permanently damage your eyes or blind you. Viewing the sun can only be done with specialist solar telescopes and equipment.
Nanosail-D Pass Credit: Vesa Vauhkonen, Spaceweather.com
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Over the next few weeks, skywatchers will have excellent viewing opportunities for the NanoSail-D solar sail.
The satellite is coming to the end of its 95-day mission to test the viability of de-orbiting decommissioned satellites or space debris. NanoSail-D is now de-orbiting and slowly losing altitude in the Earths thin upper atmosphere.
As the satellite descends, viewing opportunities will improve.
To see NanoSail-D pass over, you will need to know exactly when it will be visible from your location. To do this, go to Heavens-above.com or Spaceweather.com where star charts with times and pass details will be displayed after you enter your observing site.
Once you know the time and location in the sky of the pass of the satellite, make sure you are able to get a good view of the part of the sky where the satellite due to appear. Give yourself plenty of time, go outside and get ready. I always set a 30 second reminder on my watch or cell phone, so I don’t have to fumble around or guess the time.
To enjoy the NanoSail-D passes:
• Make sure you know the right place in the sky and the time of the pass, by checking on the web.
• Make sure you will be able to get a clear view of it from your viewing location.
• Set an alarm or get ready for the pass as it only lasts a few seconds.
• NASA expects NanoSail-D to stay in orbit through May 2011.
• If you are an astrophotographer, don’t forget, NASA and SpaceWeather.com are having an imaging contest of NanoSail-D. Find out more here.
• Most of all, get your friends and family outside with you to watch NanoSail-D and enjoy!
Artist concept of Nanosail-D in Earth orbit. Credit: NASA
2011 GP59 imaged remotely from the GRAS Observatory. Credit: Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero
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A newly discovered asteroid could provide one of the best recent viewing opportunities for amateur astronomers, according to the British Astronomical Association. “This is the best NEO close approach these past few years and is bright enough to be observed visually in large (>20cm., or 8-inch) aperture telescopes when on the night of Thursday 14th it will appear as a faint slow-moving star,” writes Richard Miles, the director of the BAA’s Asteroids and Remote Planets Section.
UPDATE: See a new picture of asteroid 2011 GP59 from Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero taken on April 14, 2011, below.
2011 GP59 imaged remotely from the GRAS Observatory. Credit: Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero
Guido & Sostero sent us a note that they imaged 2011 GP59 early on April 14, remotely from the GRAS Observatory (near Mayhill, New Mexico USA) through a 0.51-m, f/6.9 reflector + CCD.
“It’s a single unfiltered exposure of 600 seconds, showing 2011 GP59 as trail with brightness fluctuations clearly evident,” they said.
(end of 4/14 update)
2011 GP59 was discovered just a few days ago and will make its closest approach to the Earth on April 15 at 19h UT at 1.39 lunar-distances. But it will be brightest at an average magnitude of 13.2 around 00h UT on the night of April 14/15 when Miles says it will be very favorably placed in the sky for observers worldwide.
The asteroid is approximately 60 meters in diameter and appears to be rotating very quickly, about once every 7.35 minutes. Its oblong in shape and rotation will vary the object’s brightness every 4 minutes or so.
Miles reported that David Briggs observing with the Hampshire Astronomy Group’s 0.4-m instrument on the evening of April 11 commented, “This is probably the fastest rotator I’ve seen so far in that it completely disappears from view every 3 to 4 images.”
This object was discovered on the night of April 8/9 by the Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca (OAM) using a 0.45-m f/2.8 reflector at their La Sagra facilities (J75) in Andalusia, Spain (see http://www.minorplanets.org/OLS/ ). The observers involved were S. Sanchez, J. Nomen, R. Stoss, M. Hurtado, J. A. Jaume and W. K. Y. Yeung.
The British Astronomical Association is also seeking observations of the Moon on Friday, April 15, between 19:00 and 21:00 UT, when the Aristarchus and Herodotus area of the Moon will match the same illumination, to within +/- 0.5 degrees, as that observed during the famous Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLP) seen by Greenacre and Barr from Flagstaff observatory back on Oct. 30, 1963.
TLPs are very short changes in the brightness of patches on the face of the Moon, which can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours and can grow from less than a few to a hundred kilometers in size. This phenomenon has been observed by hundreds of amateur and professional astronomers, but how and why this occurs is not understood. Some astronomers believe that they are the outcome of lunar outgassing, where gas is being released from the surface of the Moon, but most commonly astronomers think it could be an effect from Earth’s own atmosphere.
If you want to help understand TLPs and perhaps observe an event like this for yourself, the BAA Lunar Section is looking for high resolution monochrome, or especially color, images of this area during this time period,, which favors observers in Europe.
