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On the road: Australia eclipse trip, day 1

Posted 11 years ago by Michael Bakich

The first day of my trip to Australia for the November 14, 2012, total solar eclipse was a blast, despite the long trip before it. I'm here in the land Down Under as part of a group organized by Astronomical Tours. While my wife, Holley, and I were in the international terminal in San Francisco, she noticed that a couple people had luggage tags issued by Astronomical Tours. Naturally, I began to chat with them. One turned out to be Jim from Detroit, a really nice fellow who was on the 2009 ecli...

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Uwingu launches an extrasolar baby book of planet names for our galaxy

Posted 11 years ago by Karri Ferron

Posted on behalf of Geoff Marcy, Alan Stern, and Pamela Gay from Uwingu “This is where you come in, and make it possible for Uwingu to change the equation of space funding." It’s often been said the sky is full of stars, but hidden from our eyes are a myriad of planets at least as numerous as the stars themselves. Since 1995, more than 1000 potential exoplanets have been discovered orbiting alien stars.And last year, some of our fellow astronomers announced that they estimate that ...

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Off to Australia for the total solar eclipse

Posted 11 years ago by Michael Bakich

The big astronomy event of 2012 — and, in my opinion, an example of the most dramatic event you can witness — is only a week away. Next Wednesday, November 14, observers in the right locations will witness a total solar eclipse. That’s the good news. The bad news is that most of the path of the Moon’s shadow along Earth’s surface occurs over the waters of the South Pacific. Most, but not all.If you’re lucky enough to be under a clear sky in northeastern Austra...

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The rewards of being a citizen scientist

Posted 11 years ago by Karri Ferron

When Kim Hawtin of South Australia joined theSkyNet, a citizen science project headed by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), he wasn’t doing it to win anything. He just wanted to participate in a project that helped process radio astronomy observations and simulated data sets by letting theSkyNet use his computer when he wasn’t busy on it. But as the top contributor to the initiative in its first year, Hawtin received a special thank you from ICRAR: a trip ...

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On the road: Planetary Sciences in Reno, day 3

Posted 11 years ago by Rich Talcott

The 44th annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society continued on Wednesday in Reno, Nevada (my final full day at the conference). Among the many talks were ones discussing the latest activities of the Curiosity rover on Mars, which recently scooped up some martian soil and delivered it to the chemical analysis instruments onboard, and the ongoing discoveries of the MESSENGER spacecraft after 1.5 years in orbit around Mercury. Today also saw D...

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On the road: Planetary sciences in Reno, day 2

Posted 11 years ago by Rich Talcott

The 44th annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society continued Tuesday in Reno, Nevada. Science talks ranged from studies of the atmospheres of planets as close as Mars and Jupiter to those hundreds of light-years away circling other stars, and to the latest results from Dawn’s mission to the asteroid Vesta. But two of the most interesting stories came during a noontime press conference. In the first, Ellen Stofan of Proxemy Research in Gaith...

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Outreach from Wisconsin to Tanzania

Posted 11 years ago by Bill Andrews

There must be something about the fall weather that inspires astronomical outreach. Not only is it time again for Astronomy’s 2012 Out-of-this-world Award to begin accepting applications, but I’ve also just heard about another program that will soon start up again: the Telescopes to Tanzania project. The founders and managers are Chuck and Susan Ruehle, two amateur astronomers who conduct education programs in southeastern Wisconsin. I’ll let Chuck, also a Galileo Teacher Train...

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On the road: Planetary sciences in Reno, day 1

Posted 11 years ago by Rich Talcott

The 44th annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society started with a bang October 15. Planetary scientists from around the world are gathering at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada, this week. No doubt many of the non-scientists here hope to strike it rich at the slot machines or poker tables. But the researchers at the conference feel like they’ve already hit the scientific jackpot. Perhaps the two most exciting discoveries an...

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Astronomy becomes art

Posted 11 years ago by Karri Ferron

Astronomy enthusiasts have long thought their favorite subject represents the most beautiful science. All celestial targets, from Saturn’s spectacular rings to the Andromeda Galaxy’s magnificent spiral arms, put true natural splendor on display in photographs. And now, the art community is beginning to agree.For the first time, a major exhibition is examining astroimaging as an artistic genre. Now through December 15, the headliner at the Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston, Main...

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A cosmic scale crosses the U.S.

Posted 11 years ago by Bill Andrews

Most of us are pretty aware, at least on an intellectual level, of how big the universe is. Even light, traveling at the fastest possible speed something can go, takes eight minutes to reach Earth from the Sun’s surface. And that distance is nothing compared to the scales of the outer solar system and the nearest stars. It’s always a challenge to think of ways for people to “get” just how big our cosmic neighborhood is on a gut level, though. Humans aren’t naturall...

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I’m off to PATS

Posted 11 years ago by Michael Bakich

I’m once again headed to Pasadena, California, to attend the fifth annual Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS). This manufacturers show, to be held Saturday and Sunday, September 22–23, at the Pasadena Convention Center, exists on three levels. First, it gives lots of visitors the chance to look at and discuss the latest astronomy gear. The newest telescopes, mounts, cameras, eyepieces, and accessories all will be on display — and for sale. And each booth will have up to...

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Let the games begin

Posted 11 years ago by Bill Andrews

I’m just going to come right out and say it: I don’t like the Olympics. The incessant coverage, the ridiculous posturing, the overt commercialization, the faux patriotism (oh, yeah, you really cared about the American badminton team five months ago) — pretty much everything about the mindless displays in London left me cold, however physically impressive they might have been. But, like so much else sports-related, I’ve just learned to tolerate the games every four years. ...

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Watch online as an asteroid passes Earth

Posted 11 years ago by Michael Bakich

On August 26, the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona discovered a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) that now has the designation 2012 QG42. This space rock measures approximately 1,000 feet (300 meters) across.Astronomers classify any asteroid as a PHA if it has a diameter greater than 100 meters and approaches to within 0.05 astronomical units (4.65 million miles [7.5 million kilometers]) of Earth. One astronomical unit equals the average Earth-Sun distance, about 93 million miles (149.7 million...

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Search for Jupiter’s latest scars

Posted 11 years ago by Bill Andrews

Well, Jupiter’s done it again. The biggest planet in the solar system was the site of a bright impact early Monday morning, similar to collisions in the summers of 2010 and 2009. Scientists and observers aren’t sure exactly what hit Jupiter — most likely a stray comet or asteroid — but if the impact leaves behind a break in the planet’s cloud tops, it’ll shed some light on what kind of object created it.The news apparently broke with a post from Dan Petersen o...

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Discover the Universe: Santa Barbara, California

Posted 11 years ago by Bill Andrews

One of the reasons Astronomy chose the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (SBAU) as its 2010 Out-of-this-world Award winner was its clear dedication to outreach. That’s why I was happy, but not surprised, to see the group’s interest in joining Astronomy’s Discover the Universe program, which resulted in a recent success story. SBAU President Ruben Gutierrez elaborates: On August 11, the SBAU helped the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History put on a special event — not jus...

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A staff of talented jugglers

Posted 11 years ago by Ron Kovach

Magazine editors can be excused if they sometimes can be heard muttering aloud, “If our readers only knew what went into making this issue.” That thought has occurred often to me in the last two months after I came over from The Writer magazine to become Astronomy’s managing editor.Astronomy has a complex workflow process that is intimidating to the newcomer, but in time starts to make sense. In brief, the staff is always juggling three issues at once — all in varying sta...

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Help "Cosmic Adventures" rock (even more)

Posted 11 years ago by Bill Andrews

As fellow Associate Editor Liz Kruesi and I approach our 20th episode of Liz and Bill's Cosmic Adventures, we feel like it’s a great occasion for a new title sequence. By the time it airs, we’ll have been using the same music and goofy walking sequence for nearly two years! (Wow, that suddenly made us feel old.)So, to help us keep up that youthful, fresh appearance, we’re asking for the help of musically inclined viewers. Have you always wanted to create your favorite program&r...

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Check out the Search for Life Project

Posted 11 years ago by Michael Bakich

Sheldon Reynolds, who for 14 years was the lead guitarist for the legendary band Earth, Wind & Fire, has always moved in astronomy-related directions. His latest venture is a fundraising effort for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. And he needs your help.Reynolds is hoping to raise $15,000 for SETI by September 9 at 11:59 p.m. PDT to produce the second in a series of DVDs. His first disk, Images of Life, was a photographic trip through the universe set to music.T...

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Fun observing at the Northwoods Starfest

Posted 11 years ago by Michael Bakich

For the second year in a row, I spent a great weekend in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. The organizers of the 25th annual Northwoods Starfest — led by Jon Dannehy — once again asked me to speak, so my wife, Holley, and I made the four-hour drive northwest of Milwaukee. This year, the star party occurred during New Moon, Friday through Sunday, August 17–19, at Hobbs Observatory, which is part of the Beaver Creek Reserve.My talk, “Star Death,” began at 8 p.m. Friday. It went ...

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“Junior astronomers” brings kids under the stars

Posted 11 years ago by Bill Andrews

We here at Astronomy are all about outreach. Not only is it fun to share the skies with someone who’s never really noticed them before, but it’s also a good idea to make sure people will still want to observe the heavens after we’re gone. Timothy E. Kent agrees. He’s a Starlab Resource Teacher for the Baltimore County Public Schools, so he gets to show elementary school kids the night skies as part of his day job via portable planetariums. More than 135,000 students have...

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On my way to the Northwoods Starfest

Posted 11 years ago by Michael Bakich

This year, the organizers of the Northwoods Starfest have once again asked me to be a featured speaker. That’s two years in a row. You’d think they’d learn!This annual three-day star party — 2012 marks the 24th year — takes place in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, at Hobbs Observatory, which is about a four-hour drive from my home in Milwaukee.The observatory, which is part of the Beaver Creek Reserve, has two domes. One contains a 24-inch f/5 reflector on a massive 5-inch n...

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Celebrate 100 years of cosmic expansion knowledge

Posted 11 years ago by Liz Kruesi

On September 17, 1912, American astronomer Vesto Melvin Slipher changed the study of the universe when he measured the first velocity of a “spiral nebula” from its light spectrum. As an object moves toward us, its light shifts to shorter, and thus bluer, wavelengths; as it moves away from us, its light shifts to longer, and thus redder, wavelengths. (This “Doppler effect” is also responsible for the change in pitch you hear as an ambulance or train passes you.)Slipher obt...

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TAAS helps bring the stars to local museum

Posted 11 years ago by Bill Andrews

I’ve always been a fan of science, especially space (my bedroom in Puerto Rico featured a pretty nifty mural of the solar system), and science museums played a big part in developing that interest. Whether it was at the Parque de las Ciencias in Bayamón, the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale, or the simply named Museum of Science in Boston, the local institution devoted to furthering and inspiring knowledge in the natural world...

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See any Perseids?

Posted 11 years ago by Michael Bakich

The peak of the Perseid meteor shower occurred August 11/12, and I was wondering if any of our readers took the opportunity to head out and observe it. If so, please email a brief report to me at mbakich@astronomy.com.My wife, Holley, and I received a nice invitation from our friends Jim and Tammy Rufener, who live north of Milwaukee in Slinger, Wisconsin.“You going anywhere to observe the meteor shower?” they asked. “Come on up to where it’s dark, and we’ll watch w...

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Cosmic cookies

Posted 11 years ago by Bill Andrews

Here at Astronomy world headquarters, we make no secret about our love of food. Perhaps it was with us in mind, then, that the good people at Oreo sent us a few examples of their ad campaign that incorporates recent events using their iconic cookies in honor of the brand’s 100th birthday.In particular, they drew our attention to examples celebrating this week’s landing of the Mars rover Curiosity and last week’s Full Moon. Not only is it cool to see these as a general fan of co...

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Ravinia, revisited

Posted 11 years ago by Liz Kruesi

The Ravinia “Music and astronomy under the stars” program Tuesday, July 31, went wonderfully. We had lots of people — and hoards of children — stop by our table to chat. Somebody asked us about NASA’s future plans regarding human transport. A number of other people asked what to look for when buying their first telescope. The most popular question was when is the Mars Science Laboratory getting to the Red Planet. It was great to see so many people excited about plan...

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Curiosity’s landing – imaged!

Posted 11 years ago by Liz Kruesi

I just stumbled across this awesome action shot of the Curiosity rover’s landing! The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard the Mars Renaissance Orbiter captured this picture of the rover’s deployed parachute. The HiRISE team then stretched the image to avoid desaturation, to show even more detail (that’s the view shown in the inset). This image shows the rover about one minute prior to landing. At this time, it was traveling a few hundreds of miles per h...

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Calling all space and car geeks …

Posted 11 years ago by Ron Kovach

If you’re a space geek AND a car geek, Ford Motor Co. has put together a little graphic about the imminent landing (we hope) of Curiosity on the surface of Mars that you might find interesting. Yes, it’s a promotional thing, but not without some fun factoids. Ron Hall, who works in Ford communications, reports in an email to us, “Like your readers, the space geeks at Ford (and there are more than a few of us here) have been following the journey of the Mars rover Curiosi...

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Pairing a bicycle and a telescope

Posted 11 years ago by Liz Kruesi

A great way to get beginners interested in astronomy and stargazing is to set up a telescope in a public location and attract passersby. Some observers have taken to street corners, others to central parks, but in Geneva, New York, one amateur astronomer and telescope maker has a novel idea: pair an ultra-light scope with a cargo bicycle and set up spontaneous star parties across his city.Last year, Doug Reilly began organizing regular observing events in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New Y...

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Oshkosh air show tops half a million

Posted 11 years ago by Michael Bakich

On Friday, July 27, Astronomy Editor David J. Eicher and I made the 1½-hour drive from Waukesha to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture show. And we weren’t alone.This year, AirVenture, which ran July 23–29, recorded an official attendance of 508,000, with 71 countries represented. EAA President and CEO Rod Hightower said, “We are pleased that attendance has topped one-half million again. That is a tremendous total consider...

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