Local Group - Astronomy Magazine - Interactive Star Charts, Planets, Meteors, Comets, Telescopes

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The power of Hubble

Posted 16 years ago by Liz Kruesi

I’m a sucker for pretty astronomical images, and the Hubble Space Telescope does not disappoint. In fact, early images from Hubble are a major part of what got me so excited about astronomy in the first place. I was quite bummed when Hubble was down last month, but you can imagine my excitement now that it’s up and running.As you’ve probably heard by now, the fifth (and final) Hubble servicing mission launch date has been pushed back again. Two months ago it was scheduled for October 14. Then, i...

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The Phoenix sleeps

Posted 16 years ago by Daniel Pendick

OK, I admit it: I’m a Marsaholic. We’ve been following the mission and writing about it for the magazine. You’ve probably seen the various headlines: Phoenix lands safely; Phoenix confirms water in martian soil; Phoenix detects perchlorate chemicals in martian soil; and, finally, Phoenix runs low on power and shuts down. So what’s this all going to come to? When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, dreams of future Mars exploration inspired and excited a lot of people, including me....

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Astronomy inventions make Time's top 50 of 2008

Posted 16 years ago by Megan McChain

The November 10 issue of Time featured an article titled, “The 50 best inventions of the year.” Among the top 50 are four astronomy-related inventions — three even made the top 10.At 18 is the Mars Science Laboratory (pictured at right). Set to launch in the fall of 2009, the robotic explorer will possibly determine if Mars was ever able to support microbial life.Number nine, the Orbital Internet, is new to me. Scientists are working on a connection that can be maintained in orbit. The connectio...

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Touring the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

Here's the transcript to our latest constellation tour podcast. In this one, we take a tour of Cassiopeia the Queen. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate some of this week's key targets. Under "Options," on the right, be sure to click "Display," then select "Constellations." Then, click on "Show Names" and select "Constellations." Astronomy magazine subsc...

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Animation of Chandrayaan-1 flight to the Moon

Posted 16 years ago by Daniel Pendick

India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe will fire a rocket Saturday, November 8, to insert itself into orbit. As I sat down to prepare a magazine news article about the mission earlier this week, I found myself lacking a decent piece of space art of the probe. A web search led me not to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which lofted the craft, but to a talented space enthusiast in England named Doug Ellison. He kindly provided the image of Chandrayaan-1 you will see in a future issue of A...

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Update: Young Astronomers Video Contest

Posted 16 years ago by Matt Quandt

I asked Astronomy magazine’s Circulation Manager Paul Daniel for an update on our first Young Astronomers Video Contest. Here’s what he shared: UPDATED: "We now have 14 entries in the Young Astronomers Video Contest and they are looking great. They have come from New York, Michigan, and Oklahoma. Matter of fact, seven of them came from Oliver Middle School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Boy, are they overachievers! Most recently, we have received lots of questions about schools that are wrap...

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Voting from the International Space Station

Posted 16 years ago by Karri Ferron

In the United States, the first Tuesday of November (this year, November 4) is a very important day in politics — Election Day (and the day the political ads finally come to an end … Hooray!). For those of you who have some random reason as to why you couldn’t vote early or can’t make it to your voting location on Election Day, NASA has ruined your “good” excuse. How? Well, even the two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station cast their ballots in early voting November 3. Yup, th...

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October 31, 2008-November 7, 2008: Constellation Lacerta, Pinwheel Galaxy, and Mirach’s Ghost

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see the constellation Lacerta, Pinwheel Galaxy, and Mirach's Ghost. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate some of this week's key targets. Astronomy magazine subscribers have access to a slew of cool functions with StarDome PLUS. --Start transcript-- Hello, I’m Astronomy magazine senior editor Michael Bakich. Each week, I highlight three differen...

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Arizona Sky Village trip video, blogs, and images

Posted 16 years ago by Matt Quandt

Astronomy magazine Editor David J. Eicher (pictured blogging from the road at right) and Senior Editor Michael Bakich returned from their trip to Arizona Sky Village earlier this week. Now that they're back, we're uploading videos they took while at ASV. The first of the videos is up on Astronomy.com. Check it out! We'll be posting more clips in the coming days. And in case you missed them earlier, you can find out more about their trip by reading the blogs below. Be sure to peruse ...

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Cosmic jazz inspired by astronomy

Posted 16 years ago by Daniel Pendick

I recently received a telephone call from a jazz musician, Michael Roach. He explained to me that he and the other members of the trio TEN27 have created seven original compositions inspired by astronomy and cosmology. As it turns out, a news article I wrote about the galaxy I Zwicky 18 for the February 2008 issue inspired one of their songs. The trio is holding an event this week called "The Black Book Project." It is a multimedia-live performance combining original jazz compositions...

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2008 Chiefland Star Party, part three

Posted 16 years ago by Matt Quandt

Paul Atkinson filed his third report from the 2008 Chiefland Star Party. Take it away, Paul! Monday night was pretty cold for Florida, and an unexpected cold front pushed through. The sky was clear, and the humidity all but disappeared. The seeing degraded from the front blowing through, and it caused the stars to dance quite a bit. On the field, the die-hard imagers continued while others decided to use the night to observe visually. A tripod with 150 mm Fujinon binoculars was drawing atten...

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Mercury turns its other cheek

Posted 16 years ago by Rich Talcott

Earlier today, planetary scientists discussed preliminary findings from the MESSENGER spacecraft’s second flyby of Mercury. The October 6 encounter revealed about 30 percent of the planet previously unseen by spacecraft — an area larger than South America.MIT researcher Maria Zuber spoke about results from the laser altimeter used to measure topography. Her biggest surprise: The thin strip of area surveyed seen during the January flyby.Brian Anderson from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics...

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Cosmologists issue challenge

Posted 16 years ago by Liz Kruesi

Are you good with statistics and interested in cosmology? Well, astronomers have issued a challenge to aid in the understanding of dark matter and dark energy — the mysterious stuff that makes up roughly 95 percent of our universe. Thirty-eight astronomers from 19 international institutions are issuing this challenge, called the GRavitational lEnsing Accuracy Testing 2008 (GREAT08). Neither dark matter nor dark energy is directly visible — both seem to interact via gravity only. So, astronome...

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On the road: Arizona Sky Village, day three

Posted 16 years ago by David Eicher

The final day in New Mexico and Arizona, traveling to the Arizona Sky Village (ASV) with Senior Editor Michael Bakich, was terrific. We enjoyed the hospitality of ASV founder Gene Turner and his girlfriend Loy Guzman, and we visited with an array of observers who spend time at the site. What a wonderful time we had as guests of David and Cathy Johnson at their home near Playas, New Mexico. Afterward, we readied for our third night of observing with Gene’s 30-inch Starmaster telescope under an ...

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December 2008 issue subscriber extras

Posted 16 years ago by Karri Ferron

Now that the December issue has been mailed out, we’ve updated Astronomy.com with our newest Web extras that give subscribers complementary information to the articles in the magazine. This month, we have a cool video of some extreme organisms; some great images of both land and sky from Athens, Greece; and an in-depth look at an image from “Reader gallery.”If you subscribe to Astronomy, make sure you’re registered with Astronomy.com so you can access these great extras.Here are this month’s hig...

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2008 Chiefland Star Party, part two

Posted 16 years ago by Matt Quandt

Paul Atkinson sent us another report from the 2008 Chiefland Star Party. Thanks, Paul! Live from Chiefland Star Party 2008, here is the on-field report for Sunday night’s observing and Monday’s activities. Sunday night was an awesome observing experience. The site was abuzz with lots of activity right from dusk with reports of multiple attendees going until 5 a.m. or later! The seeing just seemed to get better as the night progressed. Estimations were as follows: seeing 7.5 and transparency ...

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Special report from the 2008 Chiefland Star Party, part one

Posted 16 years ago by Matt Quandt

In addition to Astronomy magazine Editor David J. Eicher's reports from his trip to Arizona Sky Village with Senior Editor Michael Bakich, we're also privileged to have updates from the 2008 Chiefland Star Party, in Chiefland, Florida. Chiefland Astronomy Village (CAV) hosts this star party. Like Arizona Sky Village, CAV is an astronomy-friendly community. According to its web site, "The Chiefland Astronomy Village is basically an astronomical retirement community where astronomers ...

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On the road: Arizona Sky Village, Day Two

Posted 16 years ago by Matt Quandt

Astronomy magazine Editor David J. Eicher filed this report from his trip to Arizona Sky Village: Friday opened up great adventures on our journey to the Arizona Sky Village (ASV). Senior Editor Michael Bakich and I continued our stay at Rancho Hidalgo, the newest development of ASV creator Gene Turner and his associates. The ranch lies just across the New Mexico border from ASV near the little town of Animas. Gene and his girlfriend, Loy Guzman, have opened their house to us and provided spec...

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On the road: Arizona Sky Village, Day 1

Posted 16 years ago by David Eicher

“The skies on our first night did not disappoint. Armed with the group’s 30-inch f/4.4 Starmaster Dobsonian reflector and a computer-controlled database, we went after dozens of deep-sky objects.”After flying from Milwaukee to Denver to Tucson, Senior Editor Michael Bakich and I arrived at the eastern arm of the Arizona Sky Village (ASV) yesterday and immediately began an on-the-spot star party with a group of ASV owners. Instead of going to the main ASV site near Portal, Arizona, however, we st...

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Orionid meteor video from John Chumack

Posted 16 years ago by Karri Ferron

Noted astrophotographer and Astronomy contributor John Chumack sent us a cool video of the 2008 Orionid meteor shower ... this on the heels of a stunning Orionid image from magazine columnist Stephen James O’Meara. Both express a lot of enthusiasm for this year’s display. Read John’s comments below, then watch the video on Astronomy.com. You can see O’Meara’s image and read his comments in “Orionid meteor image.” An unbelievable year for the Orionid meteors. I’m blown away by the number of...

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October 24-31, 2008: constellation Triangulum, Double Cluster in Perseus, and NGC 891

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see the constellation Triangulum, double star in Perseus, and NGC 891. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate some of this week's key targets. Astronomy magazine subscribers have access to a slew of cool functions with StarDome PLUS. --Start transcript-- The constellation Triangulum, the Double Cluster in Perseus, and NGC 891 are visible in the next f...

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Orionid meteor image

Posted 16 years ago by Matt Quandt

Astronomy magazine columnist Stephen James O'Meara sent us an image he took while observing the Orionid meteor shower. Here's the message he sent along with the image: "Despite the last-quarter Moon on October 21st, the Orionid meteor shower put on a good show over Hawaii. Between 2:30 am and 3:30 am Hawaiian standard time, I counted 20 meteors. They ranged from magnitiudes –1 to 4th. Many were colorful (yellows and blues), and the activity came in waves. The most memorable momen...

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On the road: Arizona Sky Village preview

Posted 16 years ago by David Eicher

Later today I’m heading west, along with Senior Editor Michael Bakich, to a desolate area southeast of Tucson, Arizona, to visit the Arizona Sky Village (ASV). Michael and I will spend the next few days observing, observing, and observing. We’ll be fortunate enough to be guests of Gene Turner, founder of the ASV. The Arizona Sky Village is a development project near Portal, Arizona, tucked at the base of the Chiricahua Mountains, and it offers a community of sorts where amateur astronomers are ...

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Chandrayaan-1 nuggets from James Oberg

Posted 16 years ago by Daniel Pendick

India’s lunar probe Chandrayaan-1 finally blasted off last night. Make that one more space-faring nation on its way back to the Moon. One of Astronomy magazine’s columnists, James Oberg, sent the information below out to the various media interests he writes for and agreed to let me share it with you. In case you don’t know who Jim Oberg is, he is one of the world's leading popularizers and interpreters of space exploration. His classic Red Star in Orbit is THE authoritative book on the R...

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A leader in astronomy outreach

Posted 16 years ago by Karri Ferron

In the past few days, I’ve had the pleasure to learn about a woman in Chicago who is truly taking the ideals of astronomy outreach and education to heart. Her name is Audrey Fischer, and she’s a member of the Chicago Astronomical Society. Currently, Audrey is working on two proposals to help spread astronomy education and get children excited about this science. And she’s allowed me to share with you one idea that I find just fascinating.It’s called StarParks, and it’s a program for Boy and Girl...

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Arecibo — saved by the bell!

Posted 16 years ago by Daniel Pendick

For a couple of years, the giant Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has been under threat of closure because of budget cuts proposed by the National Science Foundation. It appears the budget axe will not fall on Arecibo’s valley-spanning disk just yet. Here is some communication we just received from Emily Schoenfelder of Edelman Public Relations in Washington, D.C.: “The future of the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope and site for some of our nation’s most important astronomical ...

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October 17-24, 2008: Piscis Austrinus, globular cluster M2, and the Saturn Nebula

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see the constellation Piscis Austrinus, globular cluster M2, and the Saturn Nebula. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate some of this week's key targets. Astronomy magazine subscribers have access to a slew of cool functions with StarDome PLUS. --Start transcript-- The constellation Piscis Austrinus, globular cluster M2, and the Saturn Nebula are visi...

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A few upcoming conferences of note

Posted 16 years ago by Liz Kruesi

Interested in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)? Well, you’re definitely not alone. GRB astronomers from more than 25 countries will be in Huntsville, Alabama, this coming Monday through Thursday (October 20 to 23) for the Sixth Huntsville Gamma-Ray Burst Symposium. Special emphasis will be on early results from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which launched June 11, 2008. The symposium will also cover Swift observations, GRB cosmology, magnetars, and other related GRB topics.As part of the symposium...

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Special update from the 2008 Division for Planetary Sciences meeting

Posted 16 years ago by Matt Quandt

In this exclusive to Astronomy.com, science writer Lauren Cahoon shares the sights and sounds of the 2008 Division for Planetary Science meeting. Take it away, Lauren: It’s been an eventful 5 days at the 40th Division for Planetary Sciences meeting, with roughly 800 astronomers from all over the world convening in the small town of Ithaca, New York. While there have been hundreds of intriguing talks, I’ve been forced to select a sample that looked particularly enticing, which included updates...

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Winner of the 2008 Out-of-this-World Award for public programming

Posted 16 years ago by Matt Quandt

Astronomy magazine selected the Cincinnati Observatory Center (COC) as the winner of the 2008 Out-of-this-World Award for outstanding programming. COC separated itself from the pack with its “40 Telescopes” program. They intend to present forty 8-inch Dobsonian telescopes to local science teachers and high-school students. To receive a telescope, a teacher or student must submit an essay of how the telescope will be used, go through at least two training sessions with COC staff, and participa...

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