Archive for the ‘About Astronomy’ Category
December 27th, 2008
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While many of these stone henges, including the famous Stonehenge, were used as burial grounds and sacrificial sites, almost all of them have some element related to astronomy. It’s sometimes argued whether or not these stone formations were built for astronomy first, but there’s no doubt of building skill and scientific know how that went into erecting them. The elements that have to do with astronomy include the markings of important dates, such as the summer or winter solstice, when the sun would rise at a point marked exactly by a stone placement. This might include the sun being viewable through a tiny window at sunrise from a point at the center of a circle. Stonehenge has an amazing array of astronomical measures built into the circle. It really doesn’t matter if they were the purpose for the site or added later. They’re still amazing.
A lesser known but no less spectacular henge is the Avebury Henge located in Wiltshire. The henge neighbors a number of other smaller stone circles, and encompasses the entire town of Avebury. It is believed that this henge had astronomical purposes as many of its stones, now mostly fallen, had positions that corresponded with key phenomenon. But it also had a relationship to ancestral and gender worship as the stones come in two main types ? tall, slender stones and short, squat stones ? that may have represented female and male archetypes. Some archaeologists dispute this, however, claiming the stones were chosen for no other reason than their beauty and size.
It may be a compelling idea to grab an authentic astronomy henge stone to set up in your living room. Aside from the fact that many of these weigh many tons, they completely lose their significance when removed from the earthen circle. Instead, set up your own stone henge at home.
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December 27th, 2008
How can there be a whole discussion of a constellation and its astronomy? A constellation isn’t just some figure in the night sky. Every constellation contains a number of interstellar objects and phenomenon including stars, nebulae, and even entire galaxies. Pisces, for example, contains very few bright stars but does contain a unique galaxy from our point of view. M74, also known as galaxy NGC 628, is a face on spiral galaxy. That means we see it from the top, from a perspective that shows its spiral arms reaching out into space. It looks like a spiral to observers from Earth, in other words. Not with the naked eye, of course. And through most amateur telescopes it would appear as little more than a blurry spot. But with a telescope of 12 inches aperture or more the spiral details will be visible.
Another unique feature of Pisces is that an important part of the Sun’s path passes through Pisces today, where it did not when the constellations were first mapped. The first point of Aries is the point where the sun crosses the equator on its way North. This happens at the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring for the Northern hemisphere of the planet. When the First Point of Aries was established in ancient times it was east of Pisces. But over the years it has moved west into Pisces. This is an example precession, the movement of stars and objects in relation to Earth. It happens, of course, because none of these objects are stationary, and neither is the Earth. Our sun and our galaxy are moving at incredible speeds. The sun and solar system, for example, move at about 220 kilometers per second around the center of the galaxy. In all of human history, the solar system has moved 1/1250th of a complete revolution. Not only is the solar system moving, but so is the galaxy itself as well as every object in the night sky. So the constellations are always moving and changing. Pisces and the First Point of Aries are a great example of this.
See how interesting Pisces constellation astronomy can be?
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December 26th, 2008
Astronomy magazine is a great source of astronomy news. One of the stories it covered was NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft. Just as weathermen examine fronts and the interaction of hot air with cold air and dry air with wet air, IBEX is interested in such fronts and their interaction in outer space. Specifically it’s the interaction of the solar winds with the relatively cold space beyond the solar system. IBEX is also set to map the boundaries of our solar system.
More astronomy news covered by Astronomy magazine is the discovery of a new aurora on Saturn that’s unlike any other known aurora in the solar system. An aurora is formed when charged particles stream along planetary magnetic field. Earth’s aurorae come from charged particles from the solar wind. Jupiter’s aurorae come from interactions within Jupiter’s own magnetic field. But Saturn’s new aurora, seen in the infrared spectrum, is something completely new which could teach scientists a lot about the solar wind and magnetic fields.
Universe today is another source of astronomy news. On November 13, 2008 it carried the story of contact reestablished with the Mars rover. The rover had lost contact after running through a massive dust storm. But the Rover named Spirit recovered from a near catastrophic low power period. Its solar panels couldn’t get sun in the dust storm, and scientists feared it would go into a low power coma-like mode from which it would not wake. But it did, and now it’s back to work on the distant red planet.
Another piece of astronomy news on Universe today is the stunning expectation that the new Allen Telescope Array, part of the SETI project, will find intelligent life in about two dozen years. The array currently is made up of 42 antennas, but will expand over time to include 350 small radio antennas that search the sky for signals that mean intelligence. When it finally includes 350 antennas, by 2025, scientists involved with the project say it will reach far enough into space to finally pull in signals from intelligent extraterrestrials.
If that intelligent life is contacted, that will be some big astronomy news.
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December 25th, 2008
Astronomy in general is a huge subject, as vast as the universe it describes. Star astronomy is just one part of the overall science and hobby. There are ample phenomenon and objects in just our own solar system to keep someone bust for an entire life time. Many people decide, then, to specialize, to focus their attention on the brightest objects that are often the first space objects that peak people’s interest in astronomy ? the stars.
Star astronomy begins about 94 million miles from Earth, with our own sun. Its heat is staggering when the amount of heat the earth receives from it over that great distance is realized. Our own sun contains just over 98% of the total mass in the solar system. That’s compared to all the planets, moons, space rocks and other material. It would take 109 Earths to span the sun’s disk, and over 1.3 million Earths would fit within the sun. The heat is generated from a nuclear reaction in the sun’s core where the pressure is 340 billion times the pressure on Earth and temperatures reach 27,000,000F. That would burn a pizza in a second.
Since it’s so close to Earth, relatively compared to other suns, the Sun is the most thoroughly studied star. It’s about 250,000 times closer to Earth than the next known star. But the interesting part of star astronomy is there’s so much to work with beyond our own solar system. From the Earth about 5,000 stars, every one in our own Milky Way galaxy, can be seen with the naked eye. With telescopes many more of the over 1 x 10^22 stars in the universe (that’s an estimate) can be seen. By the way, that’s a 1 followed by 22 zeros. In fact, even a small telescope opens the eyes of an amateur star astronomy enthusiast to hundreds of thousands of stars. Imagine that! Larger telescopes can see other galaxies that contain an estimated total of over 200 billion stars. It’s a project of generations just to count each one.
Star astronomy experts have now proven that many other stars have planets. They know this first through measuring the wobble caused to stars by planets and other objects orbiting them. And in late 2008 astronomers finally took the first pictures of planets orbiting other stars, and even of entire solar systems. That means yet another step taken towards verifying the existence of other intelligent life out there somewhere in the universe.
Will Vulcans or Klingons visit us tomorrow? Probably not. But star astronomy and its study of our own Sun and all the stars in the universe will continue. Maybe it also continues somewhere on another planet!
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December 23rd, 2008
Astronomy today is a popular and enjoyable hobby as well as a vital science making new discoveries every day. From new space objects to new images, from new tools and techniques to new discoveries made with them, from new space missions to reviving and reviewing data from the old ones, keeping up with astronomy can certainly be a full time job. It’s a lot of fun too. So here are a few of the latest and greatest astronomy facts, figures and happenings.
On any day meteors are a key element of astronomy today for that day. The last half of 2008 was no different as meteors were certainly on the menu. In November the Taurids and Leonids were active in the night sky. The Gemenids had their peak in mid December, but unfortunately during a full moon phase that would make them difficult to see. But people need not worry. Meteor shower peaks may happen during full moons, but meteors are on display for up to two weeks both before and after the peaks. So there’s a lot of clear time to view these falling chunks of space debris.
Astronomy today in 2008 was often a matter of discussing a return to the moon by 2015. The talk is of this as a world wide effort rather something any one country or agency would endeavor to accomplish. The goal may be to establish a moon base or even a colony on the moon. Imagine that. Minus the aliens and hopefully the moon set adrift by an explosion, the TV series ?Space 1999? could soon become a reality only 16 years too late.
2008 was a year of a lot of astronomy news. For much of the year many astronomy today columns were filled with news of some space garbage ? a colling ammonia tank from the space station. It had been discarded into space where it orbited for many months. But eventually its orbit decayed. There was some worry that large chunks would fall, or that some parts would strike in populated areas. But it broke up into very small pieces which mostly fell into the ocean near Australia.
Now for perhaps the biggest news of Astronomy today in 2008, it’s all about the Hubble. First the telescope was damaged when some instrument control and data formatting modules failed in September. Those were brought back on line in October. Then the Hubble took the first ever visible light image of a planet orbiting another star. What a busy year for one piece of technology.
Astrology today is more vibrant than ever. Keep up with everything on the Internet.
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December 22nd, 2008
For many people astronomy is an interesting science filled with many astronomy fun facts. Everything from the size and temperature of our own star, the Sun, to the makeup of distant planets is recorded. All of this information can be recalled to entertain and enlighten people.
The Sun is a great source of astronomy fun facts. Our own star that supplies our heat and light is between 91 and 94.5 million miles from Earth. It’s not that nobody knows for certain. It’s that the Earth orbits the sun in an elliptical, uneven, orbit. The distance varies depending on where the Earth lies in that orbit.
The sun is only average size for a star, yet it’s size is another terrific source of astronomy fun facts. As average as it is it accounts for about 98% of all the matter in the solar system. Even with Jupiter on our side, we’re still a measly 2% of non ?the sun? stuff. It would take about 100 Earths to make it across this average sun. The solar wind produced by the sun extends to about 50 times the distance from the Earth to the sun from the sun. In other words those solar winds go out about 50 AU’s, with an AU being the distance from the Earth to the sun. That’s amazing.
What about astronomy fun facts that don’t have to do with the sun? How about the moon? It’s the only non-Earth object upon which man has walked. And one human man actually traveled to the moon but never left it. Dr. Eugene Shoemaker loved the moon but was rejected as an astronaut. After his death he was cremated and his ashes scattered over the moon by the Lunar Prospector spacecraft in 1999.
There are more astronomy fun facts about the moon. It’s the site of what may become the oldest footprint. Neil Armstrong’s ?giant leap for mankind? left a print in the moon dust that will like still be there in 10 million years. Many people, in fact about 13% of those asked in 1988, still believe the moon is made of cheese. And finally the suits worn by the moon walking astronauts weighed 180 pounds on Earth but only 30 pounds on the moon. Talk about an instant diet.
Astronomy fun facts aren’t limited to our close neighbors. Looking at stars is like looking into the past. Some of the stars we see today in the night sky are so far away that light takes a million years to reach us from them. Some of those stars you see may really be images of stars a million years old that aren’t even there in the present. There are over 1 x 10 ^22 stars in the universe. That’s a 1 followed by 22 zeros. The number is staggering.
Astronomy fun facts can go on forever. But this article can’t. So get out there and learn about astronomy.
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December 21st, 2008
Galileo Galilei Astronomy
Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy in the late 1500’s. He eventually became a mathematics teacher despite having no degree, and it was here that his famous future was first hinted. Galileo the math teacher made his first step into Galileo Galilei astronomy when he demonstrated to his students that Aristotle was wrong about object of different weights falling at different speeds. He wasn’t invited back to teach, and so moved to a position at the University of Padua. His entry into astronomy would come to fruition there.
In Padua, Galileo invented the compass and began studying physics. He discovered the law of falling bodies and the parabolic path of projectiles. These became very important in astronomy, later. But at the time Galileo claimed to have no interest in the subject other than that he believed the work of Copernicus rather than that of Aristotle and Ptolemy. Copernicus had proposed that the solar system is heliocentric, that is that the planets rotate around the sun. Aristotle and Ptolemy held that the solar system was centered around the Earth, and even the sun rotated around our home. The model Copernicus proposed for the order of planets around the sun has been proven. And today we know Copernicus was completely correct.
When the spyglass was invented in Holland, Galileo learned of it and made his own telescope which he turned to the sky. With a magnification of 20, this telescope helped Galileo discover mountains and craters on the moon. He also learned that the milky way was made up of individual stars. He went on to discover Jupiter’s four largest moons. He published his findings and became the court mathematician in Florence. With time freed from teaching duties, he could really get to work. It took him only 9 months to discover Saturn’s phases. This further contradicted Ptolemy while proving that Copernicus was right.
Galileo’s original dispute was with Aristotle’s teachings. Many scientists agreed with Galileo, and so published his findings. But Aristotle was popular with the church because an Earth centered solar system put man’s home, and thus man, at the center of things. In 1614 a priest in Florence denounced Galileo Galilei Astronomy. Galileo responded by writing a letter proclaiming the bible irrelevant to science. In 1616 the church censored Galileo’s books, and a cardinal instructed him to stop teaching that the Earth moves. Galileo complied, continuing his study of falling objects, comets, and methods to determine longitude at sea based on the phases of Jupiter’s moons. It is said that Galileo had one comment after signing an agreement that the Earth does not move. “I would say here something that was heard from an ecclesiastic of the most eminent degree; “And yet … it moves.”
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December 20th, 2008
How many astronomy facts are there for all the objects and phenomenon in the entire universe? Consider that there are somewhere around 1 x 10 ^22 stars in the universe, that’s a one followed by 22 zeros. Then consider that many of those stars have planets surrounding them. Then consider all the moons that orbit the planets, the comets and asteroids, the galaxies these stars form, the nebulae and black holes and everything else out there. The number of facts and amount of data is staggering. This article, which presents astronomy facts, certainly won’t contain every fact. But these are interesting facts.
Let’s take a look at this subset of astronomy facts ? the brightest stars as seen from Earth. That’s discounting the Sun which is about 250,000 times closer than the next nearest star. It’s so bright as seen from Earth that it washes out all the other stars in the sky during a phenomenon called ?daylight.? Keep in mind that in the scale for the magnitudes given, lower numbers are brighter. The sun would be about -26.73, while the full moon is -12.6. With that in mind, here are the top 5.
#5 is Vega, which means eagle or vulture in Arabic. It’s about 25 light years away from the Earth, with a magnitude of .03. When looking at these astronomy facts remember that brightest from Earth doesn’t mean largest or brightest. The Sun is not the largest or brightest star in the universe or even the galaxy, yet it appears so bright because it is so near compared to other stars.
#4 is Rigel Kentaurus, that’s Arabic for foot of the centaur. It’s about four light years from Earth with a magnitude of -.01.
At #3, remember this is set in stone as one of the many astronomy facts we have, is Arcturus. The name means guardian of the bear in Greek. This star is 37 light years from us.
Canopus comes in at #2. Of these top five Canopus, a Greek name for the pilot of the vessel Argo made famous in the stories about Jason and the Argonauts, is the brightest. But it’s 313 light years from Earth so it’s just second on this list as seen from Earth. It has a -.62 magnitude as seen by humans on this planet.
#1 is Sirius, meaning scorching in Greek. It’s also called the Dog Star because it’s the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (the Big Dog.) It’s only 9 light years from Earth. That’s second closest of these top five. But from Earth it has a magnitude of -1.44. That makes it easily the brightest star as seen in the night sky.
This information doesn’t even scratch the surface of astronomy facts. But it’s something to consider next time you look into the sky.
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December 19th, 2008
Astronomy, at times, can be like a sport. It’s fun to watch what’s going on day after day, reading the magazines and web sites for all the current events in astronomy. Big things happen nearly every day. That includes new images brought in from satellites and telescopes, new discoveries about the nature of planets and stars and other objects, as well as breakthroughs and just every day small progress in the tools and techniques used to make these discoveries.
One of the best places to keep up with current events in astronomy is NASA’s web site. Not only does NASA make a lot of the news, but it constantly keeps its site updated with news of the latest and greatest about space and objects within it. A quick look at NASA’s web site in mid November revealed some pretty big current events in astronomy.
One of the most important current events in astronomy NASA discussed in November was the late month launch of the shuttle Endeavour. It’s mission was to re-supply and repair the International Space Station. This included a number of space walks to perform routine maintenance on the outside of the station. Such space walks aren’t only immediately important for the goals they accomplish, but important in the development of techniques and experiences that apply to future missions. While some might argue that the space station is more space related than necessarily astronomy related, there is a lot of science going on there, including observations of outer space which definitely falls under the heading of astronomy.
Another of the current events in astronomy discussed by NASA in November was a staggering discovery made by the Hubble Telescope. For the first time in history, a telescope took a visible light image of a planet orbiting another star. The effort dates way back to the 1980’s when NASA’s IRAS, an infrared telescope, discovered dust around the star. That was a tell tale sign that planets might orbit this star located about 25 light years away from our own little planet.
This one, still one of the current events in astronomy, is all about the past. NASA announced details of a Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project designed to restore images of the moon taken by five Lunar Orbiter spacecraft that visited the moon in 1966 and 1967. Much of the data was removed from the tape drives in the 1980’s, but stored as analogue images and only partially restored. NASA has already released some of these restored historic images.
Astronomy is a huge field. Current events in astronomy could cover volumes each day. Keep looking into the universe!
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December 18th, 2008
Astronomy Software
Many people love Astronomy. Some are serious scientists who study it for a living, or who even teach it. Some are enthusiasts who delve into the stars as a hobby. Some of these hobbyists have even made important discoveries at times. It used to be that astronomy required a telescope or at least binoculars. But now thanks to astronomy software, everyone with a computer can take part in this interesting and at times exciting endeavor. Here are some of the programs available.
One of the most well known programs is SETI@Home. Launched in May of 1999 this was a project to create a virtual supercomputer, made up of large numbers of Internet connected home computers. Before SETI@Home the SETI radio telescope, SETI meaning Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, scanned the heavens for radio signals that would indicate a pattern, an intelligence behind them. Supercomputers on site were used to analyze the data. But now it’s all being done during the spare cycles on people’s computers at home and the office. There won’t be some kind of alert if intelligent life is found. But if SETI ever does find intelligence, then everyone who was part of SETI@Home can say they played a role.
A simple type of astronomy software is the 3D screen saver. These programs kick in when a PC is idle, and show various space objects rendered in spectacular 3D computer graphics. This can include simple views as well as navigable planets, solar systems or other objects that the user can explore from any angle and distance. Search ?3D Space Tour? on Google or Yahoo to find some of these fun programs.
Most people don’t know about F.I.T.S. It’s Flexible Image Transport System, which is a NASA and IAU endorsed format to store and deliver not only images but spacial data and multi-dimensional arrays such as 2-D and 3-D images. There are a variety of programs that can read and display this type of data. These include free ware FITSview and AVIS to for sale programs like AstroArt and AIP. A wide selection of FITS viewers can be found with a simple Internet search. Some are listed at Duke University’s web site: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~kolena/imagepro.html
Software such as Aberrator allows an amateur astronomer to view images of stars through various telescopes with aberrations in the lens. By comparing the image seen through the telescope with the image displayed in the software, the user can make adjustments to gain the best possible view of these vastly distant objects.
There is a lot more astronomy software out there in the world. Web search for it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
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December 17th, 2008
Astronomy is a serious science and a popular hobby all over the world. As with any other hobby there are tons of articles and a lot of information written for enthusiasts, but also to chronicle the happenings in the ?professional? arena. An astronomy magazine can be a wealth of information including amazing imagery, and guides to help with home telescope use. Now that these magazines are online, it’s an even better world for amateur astronomers.
A top astronomy magazine in the UK is ?Astronomy Now?. It’s been around for 20 years and caters to both hobbyists and the pros. The magazine regularly includes features on everything to do with the science, and focus articles that go further in depth into a particular subject or aspect of Astronomy. This is in addition to monthly regular features which include star charts, book reviews, images submitted by readers and all sorts of guidance. The web site includes most of this information including a much better presentation of the sky chart than can be delivered in any paper magazine. The sky can be shown for any month, period of the month (early or late,) time and at various magnifications. It’s a real help to anyone with a telescope.
Sky and Telescope is another excellent astronomy magazine. It describes itself as having an astronomy expert at your side. Imagine gazing up at the stars while Carl Sagan, rest his soul, stood ready to deliver important tips and information. Of course the magazine not only focuses on this important information, but includes stunning imagery of outer space objects and phenomenon. One exciting piece of imagery Sky and Telescope delivered in November of 2008 was images of a planet orbiting another star. If these images hold up, it would be the first time astronomers have taken images of a planet in another star system.
It’s likely that the first web site anyone finds when searching for information on Astronomy is that of the world’s best selling astronomy magazine, ?Astronomy?. The latest information presented by this publication, online via its web site, is truly stunning. It includes the first images ever taken of another solar system. Also posted is an audio tour, in the form of a podcast, of the constellation Cassiopeia. The site also has constant, permanent information such as a guide to the night sky for beginners, tips and information for kids who want to delve into astronomy, equipment guides, and guides to astronomy in an urban sky. It’s a great magazine to have, and a great web site to visit.
Admitting to being cheap, the author admits to sticking to web sites instead of purchasing any astronomy magazine. But online or in print, these are priceless guides.
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December 16th, 2008
Astronomy is a science that goes back thousands of years. In the beginning it was very connected to astrology, but as time went by astronomy became more and more scientific, relying on observation, measurement and the scientific theory to develop a knowledge of the universe outside our own planet and solar system. Astronomy is something too many people ignore, but those who keep their eyes on current happenings in astronomy find a wealth of interesting information.
In early November of 2008 NASA nearly bombed Australia with a 1400LB Ammonia tank jettisoned from the International Space Station. This coolant tank was thrown over board because it became too volatile to keep on board. It broke up on reentry to chunks no larger than 15 pounds, and it was expected that most of those chunks would land in water. Australians were told that ammonia vapor could make their windows cleaner, but advised them to remove the residue with newspapers and some elbow grease. Paul Hogan, the famous actor who played Crocodile Dundee, was unharmed. Unfortunately, according to the Daily Mail in the UK, Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, remained deceased after this incident.
In September of 2008 China sent up its third successful manned space mission that included the first space walk by Chinese astronauts in history. Unfortunately for China it was revealed that ?live video? of the successful launch and flight into orbit had actually been released before the craft left the ground. The flight did take place. It was just a case of overzealous PR people.
Also from China, a huge telescope has been commissioned for construction near Beijing, site of the 2008 summer Olympics. This new telescope is unique because instead of the whole telescope moving to find and follow objects in the sky, only two mirrors move. This gives the telescope a unique look. It’s not a dome but rather something like a an uneven arch or pi symbol. Leave it to the Chinese to come up with something out of the ordinary.
In Kazakhstan of all places a new satellite was launched in early November of 2008. Satellite Astra-1M will be used for telecommunications. It was launched on a carrier called Proton-M. The satellite was designed and built in Europe.
For computer users who enjoy astronomy, Worldwide Telescope is a must have program. It was designed by Microsoft. It’s a windows application that interfaces servers all over the world to deliver stunning images of the universe. It’s like an observatory on a desktop. The only downfall is that no new discoveries can be made, because it’s all pre-compiled astrological data and images.
Now you know some of the current happenings in astronomy.
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December 15th, 2008
Recent astronomy articles appear all over the Internet and in magazines dedicated to the science and the hobby. When new images are taken, people write about it. When space agencies announce missions, people write. Every new discovery and piece of information generates a tremendous amount of discussion. Here’s just some of the most recent astronomy articles.
Something as simple as bumpy space dust generated a great deal of interest and a lot of the recent astronomy articles. Why is this important? Scientists have long known that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. But hydrogen has to bond to form the larger molecules observed in the universe. In the cold of space it takes the right medium to complete the bond. Bumpy molecules provide that medium, so now scientists have verified a theory on how hydrogen forms molecules in space. Bumpy dusty, who would have thought it.
One of Saturn’s moons is called the ?Death Star.? It looks like the Star Wars space station, with a huge crater on one side. In August 2008 it became a subject of many recent astronomy articles when the Cassini spacecraft passed near the moon, Mimas. Some stunning images and a lot of new data resulted. And, of course, many people read all about it. One hope scientists have is that this new data will reveal information about the number of crater creating objects fly through the Saturn system. This can give new insight into how busy our solar system is as far as impact capable objects, as well as reveal the true extent of how other planets, like Saturn, serve as object scrubbers in our solar system.
It’s long been known that dark matter exists in the universe. It contributes to the expansion of the universe, but scientists don’t really know how. In 2008 a number of the recent astronomy articles were dedicated to the search for and analysis of dark matter. SNAP, the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe, was planned to help solve dark matter by examining many distant supernovae. Dark matter makes up about 70% of the matter in the universe, so learning about it is important.
Before our sun was really a star it was a condensing mass of space matter called a protosun. But scientists wondered if this protosun emitted any heat or light or a solar wind enough to effect the formation of life on Earth. Recent astronomy articles answer this question with a resounding yes. Scientists have used new techniques to discover that the protosun did indeed emit ultraviolet and other particles in an early form of the solar wind. These emissions helped form life on Earth even before the sun was a sun.
For any astronomy enthusiast it’s important to keep up on recent astronomy articles.
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December 14th, 2008
Astronomy Picture of the Day
The study of space objects such as planets, galaxies and stars is Astronomy. It’s important science, but for many people an enjoyable hobby. That’s why when a web site or magazine offers an astronomy picture of the day it’s likely to garner a great deal of attention. There are plenty of such pictures to choose from, and plenty of interesting objects out there to keep people looking.
NASA of course is a primary source for an astronomy picture of the day. Their web site, nasa.gov, presents a new photo every day. It also has a multimedia center with video and images. These could be great sources for a person to create their own site that offers a new image each day. On November 5, 2008, NASA’s picture of the day was a close view of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus. It was taken by the Cassini space craft as it passed about 1,700 kilometers from the surface. The image is so detailed that features about the size of a bus are viewable. One interesting feature of the ice on Enceladus is that it reflects 99% of the light that falls onto it. Talk about snow blind. The moon is so interesting that Cassini will continue to fly by for more images later in its mission.
NASA maintains an archive of all the astronomy photos of the day dating all the way back to June 16 of 1995. That image was of Earth as if it had the density of a neutron star. The image is a computer generation. The most interesting feature is that the constellation Orion is visible twice. The reason is that a Neutron star is so dense that light, even from behind the star, is visible as it is pulled around by the intense gravity. This distortion causes double images of some objects.
September 8, 1995 brought a very interesting image of the central part of our own Milky Way galaxy from the NASA COBE Satellite. This image would normally not be visible because the dust in the galaxy obscures it in the visible spectrum. But COBE scans in infrared, so produced the amazing image of our very symmetrical galaxy.
January 1, 2000 and January 1, 2001 shared the same image, a drawing really, of the universe as defined in the last millennium. The reason both dates shared this image is that most people considered the year 2000 as the first year of the third millennium. In reality January 1, 2001 was the beginning of millennium #3. NASA decided to just go with both. The image found at http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010101.html shows the progression of our picture of the universe from orbs that rotate around the Earth all the way to the big bang event creating an ever expanding cosmos.
NASA has a lot more days with their own astronomy picture of the day. Visit the web site, NASA.gov, to see them.
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December 13th, 2008
Astronomy for Kids
Astronomy is a serious science. And as with many things, even very serious things, people often get an early start. There are a lot of resources for astronomy for kids who are interested in the planets, the solar system, the universe and everything else that’s part of this exciting science. A number of astronomy subjects interest kids. These include the solar system, planets, comets, meteorites, asteroids, stars, the sun, galaxies and of course our closest neighbor in space, the moon.
The moon is Earth’s only satellite. It orbits our planet once every 27.3 days. Because it is so close, it is the only space object that a human has ever walked on, other than Earth of course. The moon is important for the Earth because it causes the tides through gravitational forces between the Earth and the moon. It’s one of the first objects that can spark a kid’s interest in astronomy because it can be clearly seen with the human eye.
Let’s move to the sun. Earth is quite far from the sun. The distance varies between about 146 million kilometers and 152 million kilometers. That’s because Earth’s orbit around the sun isn’t a circle, it’s an ellipse. Without the sun there would be no life on Earth. The sun provides both light and heat to the planet. A little known fact is that the sun contains about 98% of the mass in the solar system. Talk about the big bully on the block.
Our own galaxy is the Milky Way. Like all other galaxies it’s a collection of gas, dust, stars and planets. Most of the area in a galaxy is filled with nothing, just empty space. That’s a lot of nothing because our galaxy is 100,000 light years across and 3,000 light years deep. Our sun is over 30,000 light years from the center of the galaxy. Even with all that space there are about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way. In fact the galaxy takes its name from the appearance of the band of stars that shine from the main section of the galaxy. It looks like a pool of liquid, thus the name ?Milky Way.? It’s a spiral galaxy, one of four major types of galaxies in the universe. The others are elliptical, lenticular and irregular.
There is a lot of information about astronomy for kids on the Internet. From dictionaries and encyclopedic references, to programs that show different planets, solar systems and objects right on the computer, there’s more information than a kid would ever read.
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