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

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NASA creates an astro-buzz

Posted 16 years ago by Daniel Pendick

Have NASA astronomers discovered the black hole in the Milky Way’s center where lost socks turn into X rays? Tune in next week to find out. Ute Kraus (Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik) NASA has found something amazing in our galaxy. Unfortunately, it’s not saying just what it has found — until next week, when it collects enough reporters for a press conference. Or, if you want it from the horse’s mouth, here is the exciting, taunting first paragraph of a pithy press release from...

0

The Lake County Astronomical Society recognizes Shutan

Posted 16 years ago by Anonymous

Marlon Cowart (right) presents Bob Shutan with the the LakeSky Star Award. LCAS The Lake County Astronomical Society (LCAS) is based in northeastern Illinois, just across the border from Astronomy’s home state of Wisconsin. The group’s outreach efforts have helped reveal the mysteries of the universe to the general public in both states. Through its LakeSky Star Award, the LCAS recognizes “individuals and/or organizations that make a distinctive contribution to the promotion of astronomy.” Rec...

0

There’s a recession?

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

Astrodon Filters supplies precision imaging filters to astrophotographers worldwide. Here, founder Don Goldman explains a new product to a NEAF attendee. Michael E. Bakich Today is Saturday, the first day of the 2008 Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF). I’ve been looking forward to seeing the many manufacturers registered for this year’s NEAF. Here, at the largest annual astronomy expo, you can expect some surprises, and this year was no exception. The organizers hold the meeting at Rockland Commu...

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Education at NEAIC

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

Today is Friday, the second day of the 2008 Northeast Astro Imaging Conference (NEAIC) at Rockland Community College, in Suffern, New York. Because the college’s classes are still in session, NEAIC annually asks one of the participants to lecture to one or two classes about an astronomical subject. This year, conference organizers asked Astronomy Contributing Editor Mike D. Reynolds to give one of the lectures. And what a great choice it was! In the past, invited speakers have lectured about th...

1

Carter W. Roberts (1946-2008)

Posted 16 years ago by Anonymous

We received sad news last night that Carter Roberts passed away about a long battle with colon cancer. Roberts was one of the true heavyweights of West Coast astronomy. He served on the board of Oakland’s Chabot Space and Science Center since 1994 and as president of the Eastbay Astronomical Society since 1988. He was also instrumental in coordinating events like the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference and Astronomy Day in Northern California. In 2007, the Western Astronomical Association n...

7

Stephen Hawking and the Big Brain fallacy

Posted 16 years ago by Daniel Pendick

Yesterday on the Daily Galaxy blog, I read something about renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking that reminded me of the bewitching power of scientific expertise. Just check this out: At an event marking the 50th anniversary of NASA on Monday, Stephen Hawking, Newton's heir as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, answered the question, “Are we alone?” His answer is short and simple: probably not! Next question: How does Hawking know that and why...

0

Imaging with an attitude

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

Today, I’m blogging from Suffern, New York, site of the 2008 Northeast Astro Imaging Conference (NEAIC). More than 100 of the world’s best astrophotographers have gathered here to renew old friendships, share techniques, and see the latest hardware. NEAIC is an outgrowth of the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), which will begin on Saturday. I’m happy to be here because I’ve already run into several long-time image contributors to Astronomy I’d never met in person. It’s nice to put faces to the ...

0

Tracking the giant

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

One of the real celestial treats through any size telescope is the giant planet Jupiter. Even a 2-inch scope will let you view its main markings and four largest moons. By watching the moons change their positions night after night, you can experience “real-time” astronomy. That would be a good start. If, however, you want to go deeper into Jupiter observations, I recommend Jupiter and How to Observe It by John W. McAnally (Springer, 2008). Even before I started reading the chapters, I knew th...

0

Child's play

Posted 16 years ago by Anonymous

People love to jump on NASA when things aren’t going so hot for the space agency. Do you remember the reaction of some when the Hubble Space Telescope had its early hiccups? This is the same crowd that ignores NASA’s amazing successes, such as the twin rovers on Mars, Stardust catching a comet, Cassini revealing the saturnian system, and years of amazing images from Hubble. Recently, the media picked up a story about a 13-year-old German student who identified a miscalculation in NASA’s estimat...

0

See a star die

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

Today, I wrote a web-news story about a “new star” in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. In a bit of cross-promotion, I’d like to share the information as a blog. Late at night on Thursday, April 10, Japanese amateur astronomers Koichi Nishiyama and Fujio Kabashima discovered a possible nova in the Swan. Astronomers initially catalog such events as variable stars. This one received the label V2491 Cygni. Follow-up observations by other astronomers confirmed the object was a nova. Recent estimat...

0

John Archibald Wheeler (1911–2008)

Posted 16 years ago by Francis Reddy

Best known to astronomical trivia buffs as the man who coined the term “black hole,” University of Texas physicist John A. Wheeler died this morning at the age of 96. Wheeler “was legendary for his way with words, coining such terms as wormholes, quantum foam, black holes, and the wave function of the universe,” writes Wheeler’s former student and current University of Chicago physicist Daniel Holz over at Cosmic Variance. Wheeler’s scientific resume extended from quantum mechanics — he collabo...

0

007 at Atacama

Posted 16 years ago by Anonymous

Actor Daniel Craig, director Marc Forster, and actor Mathieu Amalric on the Atacama Desert set. Sony Pictures/ESO When astronomy and cinema come together, you may think of the space views presented in 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien. Astronomy and movies also mix on Earth. Filmmakers use observatories, planetaria, and other astro-facilities in their productions. One of the most popular astronomical locations used is Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Griffith played host to angst-ridden Jame...

0

All about darkness at noon

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

The greatest natural occurrence you can witness — bar none — is a total solar eclipse. If one of these spectacular events is in your future, you owe it to yourself to pick up Martin Mobberley’s new book, Total Solar Eclipses and How to Observe Them (Springer, 2007). Mobberley has packed this book with specific information on this topic. This book comprises two sections. Part 1, “Eclipse Mechanisms, Statistics and Tracks,” contains six chapters. Part 2, “Observing and Traveling to Total Solar Ec...

1

The Moon joins the Seven Sisters

Posted 16 years ago by Rich Talcott

On Tuesday evening, April 8, you can experience one of the most beautiful events the sky can deliver. Head outside no later than an hour or so after sunset (around 8:30 P.M. local daylight time) and look to the west. Your eyes should land immediately on the slender crescent Moon, oriented with its cusps standing nearly straight up from the horizon. Point your binoculars at the Moon to reveal a stunning sight: the bright Pleiades star cluster (M45) sparkling like a clutch of tiny diamonds ac...

0

Must-see TV

Posted 16 years ago by Anonymous

I have something to look forward to on the idiot box. OK, Battlestar Galactica returns this week with the launch of season four, so two things, actually. The other: PBS will rerun Timothy Ferris’ 60-minute masterpiece on stargazing, Seeing in the Dark, June 11 (check your local listing for times). When the special first ran last November, I didn’t know PBS aired a high-definition broadcast. Imagine, scanning deep-sky images on a crystal-clear, big-screen HDTV. Oops, one problem: I stil...

0

Yakking to the Midwest

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

On Sunday night, Astronomy teamed up with St. Louis radio station KMOX for the first in an ongoing monthly series of informal chats about the night sky, the space program, and other happenings in the universe. The program is “Reality Check,” and its host, Jon Grayson obviously loves astronomy. We had a wide-ranging discussion on a variety of topics. The first item we talked about was the recent space-shuttle mission and its results. Later, we reviewed discoveries made by the Cassini spacecraft...

0

Outreach in a digital age

Posted 16 years ago by Anonymous

Outreach programs sustain the hobby of astronomy. Typically, these have been hands-on activities at brick and mortar locations. Dedicated volunteers visit classrooms and hold open houses at venues ranging from observatories to planetaria to nature centers. Old school outreach still thrives, but some groups are popularizing astronomy through new media. Search the Internet and you’ll find dozens of groups that provide general web sites, blogs, podcasts, and videos that introduce web surfers to th...

2

Encounters with Arthur C. Clarke

Posted 16 years ago by Francis Reddy

On Saturday, March 22, friends and family bid farewell to science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who died March 19 at his home in Sri Lanka. Best known for the novel and screenplay 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Clarke wrote fiction that often juxtaposed themes as audacious as humanity’s destiny with prophetic visions of coming technology. Little wonder that his work influenced generations of scientists and engineers. “All of us who have been entertained and inspired by Sir Arthur Clarke's...

2

What do I look at next?

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

In September 2001, I attended the Great Plains Star Party in Scopeville, Kansas. One night, as I was walking across the observing field, a friend called down from the top of his observing ladder. “Hey, Michael, I’ve run out of things to look at. Got any suggestions?” As I looked up, I realized he was using a brand-new 24-inch Starmaster Dobsonian-mounted reflector. He had the telescope, but he didn’t have a plan. Someday, you may find yourself in the same situation. The sky is clear and dark, ...

3

You can fool some of the people all of the time ...

Posted 16 years ago by Anonymous

If there is a hoax involving anything in the sky, Astronomy staff members will receive questions about it. Do you remember the “Mars as big as the Full Moon” prank? Lately, I’ve received a few inquiries asking if “moonvertising” is real. This comes from recent billboard and web advertising from the firm Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. This tongue-in-cheek campaign claims Latrobe Brewery Co. will use a ginormous laser to place the Rolling Rock Brewery logo on the next Full Moon. Will you s...

2

Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008)

Posted 16 years ago by David Eicher

Arthur C. Clarke, one of the world’s most renowned science-fiction author, passed away March 19 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Most people know Clarke from his book, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Beyond its literary value, his work greatly influenced public interest in space exploration during the 1950s and '60s. Recently, Clarke was excited about what he viewed as a golden age of space travel: the birth of commercial space flight. It is unfortunate he passed away before he could see ordinary folks — like...

3

Visit an astro-software goldmine

Posted 16 years ago by Francis Reddy

There’s no better place to find astronomy related software than the web archive created by Astro Events Group of Ostend, Belgium. “Our compilation will actually never be complete,” says Patrick Jaecques, a member of the group. “We have updates about every week. It’s also the only part of our Dutch web site that is translated into French, German and English.” There you’ll find hundreds of programs for a wide variety of computing environments, including Java, Pocket PC, Palm, and — the usual susp...

0

Stars that shoot and fall

Posted 16 years ago by Michael Bakich

In previous blogs, I’ve written about my love for meteorites, including my trip to the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University. I also have a small but enjoyable meteorite collection. As an observational astronomer, I enjoy viewng meteor showers. A recently published book combines these interests and adds a lot more. Meteors and Meteorites: Origins and Observations by Martin Beech (The Crowood Press, 2006) begins in space with Chapter 1, “The Particulate Sea.” Beech’s writing s...

1

Space hardware, the name game, and famous dead white guys

Posted 16 years ago by Daniel Pendick

As NASA engineers prepare the gamma-ray observatory GLAST for launch in mid-2008, the agency has put out a call for help from the public: Please think of a better name for the high-tech space telescope. “Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope” aptly describes the satellite’s function, but doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue. “We’re looking for name suggestions that will capture the excitement of GLAST’s mission and call attention to gamma-ray and high-energy astronomy,” according to S. Alan Stern...

1

In need of some respect

Posted 16 years ago by Rich Talcott

It seems to me that Saturn’s moon Rhea is a leading candidate for Rodney Dangerfield of the solar system. I tell you, it doesn’t get much respect. Even in the Saturn system, where Rhea is the second-largest moon, it ranks pretty low. You hear about Titan, with its thick atmosphere and methane lakes. Enceladus is known for its liquid-water geysers and Iapetus for its strange black and white hemispheres. Even tiny Mimas, with its cute “Death Star” crater, gets more ink than Rhea. Maybe all R...

0

Out-of-this-world HDTV

Posted 16 years ago by Rich Talcott

On November 7, Japan’s SELENE spacecraft captured this high-definition image of Earth rising over the Moon’s north pole. JAXA/NHK If prime-time television, National Geographic specials, and sports programming don’t get you pumped for seeing TV at the highest-possible resolution, then what else is there? Television may not be the “vast wasteland” it once was claimed to be, but you could make a good case that seeing incredible detail in TV’s moving images isn’t worth the exorbitant cost. Check tha...

0

Not seeing the light

Posted 16 years ago by Anonymous

One of the most flattering tribute you can pay to an invention is, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It comes close to a backhanded compliment, but the praise acknowledges the practicality, efficiency, and solution provided. I recently tested a product that provided that slap-in-the-forehead moment. Manufacturer i-Cuffs has created eyecups specifically for binoculars and telescopes. Eyecups are nothing new to optics, but these stand out. I took two i-Cuffs and my Oberwerk 10x50 binoculars to an o...

5

Light, mirrors, gravity!

Posted 16 years ago by Francis Reddy

Yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran a nice summary of efforts by the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee to detect gravitational waves. The article focuses on NEMO, the $1.8 million, 1,560 CPU, Beowulf-class computing cluster built and operated by the school’s gravitational-wave group. (Ah, I love that kind of talk.) NEMO was commissioned in 2006. Since then, it’s been chugging through data produced by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatories (LIGO) in Hanford, Washingto...

2

Skygazers go into the wild

Posted 16 years ago by Anonymous

What’s your idea of roughing it? Staying in a 5-star hotel and NOT ordering room service? Or climbing inside a dead camel’s carcass to stay warm, like Bear Grylls of Discovery Channel’s “Man vs. Wild”?If you lean closer to Grylls’ side and are into the night sky, I have your next vacation plan. Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS) offers a low-tech, back-country hiking experience with its “7-Day Desert Astronomer” course. In late May 2008, students will hike through the wilderness of south-cen...

1

Titan: The solar system’s gas tank. Hummer drivers, God loves you

Posted 16 years ago by Daniel Pendick

This just in from the hydrocarbon desk at Astronomy.com: Titan’s surface lakes and methane-ice-laden dune seas collectively hold hundreds of times Earth’s bounty of hydrocarbons (oil and gas). It’s a Texas oilman’s dream: hydrocarbons rain from the sky on Titan. To my mind, this could solve a lot of problems. Planetary scientists have been competing with NASA’s fantastically expensive manned space program for decades. Word on the aerospace street is that the critically important sample-return m...

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