On September 11, 2013 a meteor about the size a Smart Car and weighing about 400 kg, travelling at 38,000 mph vaporized in a brilliant flash as it hit the Moon. This is the longest and brightest confirmed impact flash ever observed on the Moon. The meteor exploded with the equivalent of about 15 tons of TNT and it’s estimated that the resulting crater could be about 40 meters in diameter.

Prof. José M. Madiedo from the University of Huelva in Spain was operating two telescopes that are part of the Moon Impacts Detection and Analysis System (MIDAS) which monitors the moon’s surface for these events. At 20:07 GMT on September 11, 2013 he witnessed an unusually long and bright flash in Mare Nubium. The event lasted for about 8 seconds as the bright flash slowly faded. Watch the video above for complete details on the MIDAS project and see the actual video of the impact.

Poll

SAP Poll – What should the U.S. space program and NASA be focused on?

February 15, 2014 Scott

What’s your opinion? Make a selection and vote below.

Satellites, Spacecraft

Spotting Earth Orbiting Satellites

February 12, 2014 Scott

Interest in watching for satellites has really increased over the past decade mainly due to the International Space Station being assembled in orbit, growing in size and brightness, etc. The amount of hardware orbiting over head has also increased. With all this stuff circling around above, your chances of seeing one of these spacecraft glide across the pre-dawn or evening sky only increases. Perhaps you’ve seen a “moving star” yourself and wondered what it might be? An airplane perhaps? But wait, there were no navigation lights blinking to give it away. Maybe it was a UFO? Chances are what you saw was a satellite silently sweeping across the sky, and possibly looking down at you.

Continue reading Spotting Earth Orbiting Satellites →

Asteroids, Spacecraft

Hitch a ride on the OSIRIS-REx Mission to Asteroid Bennu

February 9, 2014 Scott

The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) planetary science mission is scheduled for launch in September 2016. This is the third mission in the New Frontiers Program, along with Juno and New Horizons. OSIRIS-REx will study and return a sample of asteroid 101955 Bennu to Earth in 2023. Material returned is expected to enable scientists to learn more about the time before the formation and evolution of the Solar System, initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds which led to the formation of life.

After traveling about two years, the spacecraft will rendezvous with asteroid Bennu and start to surface map that object at a distance of approximately 3 miles for about a year and half. Interestingly, the spacecraft will be guided down close enough to Bennu to extend its robotic arm to reach out and collect a sample of the asteroid. That sample will be returned to Earth in a capsule ultimately landing in Utah in 2023. The capsule will then be transported to the Johnson Space Center for processing and research.

You can tag alone with the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Well sort of. NASA and The Planetary Society are inviting you to submit your name for a round-trip ride to asteroid Bennu. Your name will hitch a ride to the asteroid, spend 500 days there, and return in the Sample Return Capsule. Plus your name will be on the spacecraft, which will remain in space long after returning the sample return capsule to Earth. Sound like fun?

Contest

Astronomy Magazine’s 2014 Youth Essay Contest

February 5, 2014 Scott

Do you know someone under 17 years of age who loves to write and has a passion for astronomy? If so, you might want to let them know about the Astronomy magazine 2014 Youth Essay Contest. The prompt is “What I love best about astronomy” but you had better hurry! The magazine is accepting entries now through February 14, 2014.

The winner and a parent or guardian will earn a trip to the 2014 Northeast Astronomy Forum in Suffern, New York. The forum runs April 12 to 13, 2014 and as the essay winner you’ll be the special guest of Astronomy Magazine.

All entries must include the writer’s name, address, age, and a parent or guardian’s telephone number and email address. Entrants must be 17 years of age or younger on May 1, 2014. The Astronomy staff will judge the entries. The winner will be announced on the Astronomy.com website February 28. Visit Astronomy Magazine’s web site for complete contest rules.

So sharpen your pencil and tell Astronomy what you love best about the hobby and you just might be picked for a special trip to the “big apple” where you’ll hobnob with the astroriffic at NEAF.

Star Party

TSU Observatory Star Party, Friday Feb. 28th

February 3, 2014 Scott

Where: Tarleton Observatory on Hunewell Ranch near Stephenville, TX.
When: Friday evening February 28, 2014 beginning @ 5:30 p.m.
Who: Open to the Public
Questions: Planetarium 254-968-0523
Directions: Click here for map to the observatory.

Have you ever peered through a 32” research grade telescope? If not, here is your chance.
There will be a star party that is open to the public at Tarleton University’s observatory on February 28, 2014. Party goers will be able to look through the big scope in the dome and through scopes provided by attendees. TSU is encouraging you to bring your own telescope if you have one to share the view with others. The alternative date will be March 7, 2014 if weather does not permit.

Solstice

Winter Solstice

December 20, 2013 Scott

So what is the Winter Solstice? Well, put simply, its that point in time when the Sun reaches it southern most point in the sky when measured from the north pole. Saturday, December 21, 2013 the Northern Hemisphere will experience the fewest hours of sunlight of the year. Specifically, the Winter Solstice takes place at 11:11 p.m. CST. Here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area we’ll have just 9 hours, 58 minutes and 28 seconds of daylight, and that will most likely be degraded due to the rainy weather meteorologists currently have forecast.

It’s important to note here that the length of the day (24 hours) is not changing but the hours of daylight during the days are fluctuating over the period from the Winter Solstice on to the Summer Solstice. The Summer Solstice, which will occur on June 21, 2014, in contrast, will enjoy almost 14 and a half hours of daylight.

"The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand 
still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is,
the seasonal movement of the Sun's path (as seen from Earth) comes to a stop 
before reversing direction."

So at the moment occupants of the Northern Hemisphere have the Winter Solstice the Southern Hemisphere has their Summer Solstice. The opposite is true with regard to the length of sunlight hours in the Southern Hemisphere at this time. Put another way, while we’re making snowmen and enjoying hot chocolate the good folks in the Southern Hemisphere are slippin’ another prawn on the barbie and pulling a tinny out of the cooler.

You can picture the north pole being tipped 23° away from the Sun while the south pole is aimed 23° toward the Sun. However, don’t make the mistake of assuming that since the hours of sunlight are less and the Sun is at it’s lowest point in the sky of any time during the year that the temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere will also be at their lowest. Typically the coldest days of the winter occur later in the season and not on the solstice.

So embrace the darkness or celebrate the promise of illumination. You decide. But above all relish the fact that you are a living being on a dynamic celestial body hurtling through the cosmos.

Sundog

October and November Sundogs

November 24, 2013 Scott

Sundogs are always a thrill for me. I was lucky enough to see a couple in October and November and took a few pictures with my cellphone. These are not the highest quality images but they did turn out pretty good, if I do say so myself, for just quick snapshots. I’ve added these images to others I have on my Sundog page on my web site. I hope you enjoy them. Stay on the lookout for sundogs in the late afternoon hours. They are more prevalent in the winter months around these parts.

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Comets

Comet ISON: Boom or Bust?

November 4, 2013 Scott

When Comet ISON, or more accurately C/2012 S1 ISON, was first discovered on September 21, 2012 it presented itself in images taken with a 16-inch telescope belonging to the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON). This group is made up of several observatories around the globe specialized in finding asteroids. Comet ISON was found 625 million miles from the Earth (roughly 6.5 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun) and was extremely faint at magnitude +18.

For over a year now since it was discovered it has continued to venture into the inner solar system on course to having a close encounter with the Sun. It will reach perihelion on November 28, 2013, at a distance of only 1.1 million miles from the Sun. By comparison the planet Mercury (the closest planet to the Sun) can get as close as 28.5 million miles from the Sun. So ISON will get extremely close to the Sun and for all intents and purposes it will be a sun-grazing comet.

At this posting ISON is currently magnitude +9.5 and only brightened slightly over the month of October. The hope is that trend will change as the comet continues to get closer to the Sun. If Comet ISON survives its close encounter with the Sun on November 28, 2013, it could emerge glowing extremely bright! In fact there is the possibility that the comet could easily be visible near the Sun in broad daylight. If the comet’s nucleus breaks apart just after perihelion much more material (ice, dust and gas) will be exposed to the intense solar radiation and it will be spread over an even larger area meaning it’s brightness will increase even more. But there is really no way to know or predict what it will do. That in itself is part of the fun and fascination of observing comets. You just never know what the next day may bring. Comets may brighten suddenly or fizzle and fade or they can even break apart into a string of pearls.

Comet ISON has the potential to become a bright and memorable comet such as Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 but most astronomers thought it would be brighter than it currently is given its location so close to the Sun. Only time will tell. Comet ISON might just have a few tricks up it’s sleeve. So when will be the best time to see the comet? December should be the best time to view comet ISON. The comet will emerge into the morning sky early in the month but by mid-December the comet will then be visible at both dawn and dusk! It will be visible from the eastern horizon just before sunrise and low in the west soon after sunset. By Christmas the comet will make its closest approach to Earth, Comet ISON will be a circumpolar object. It will stay visible all night, 20° above the northwestern horizon in the early evening and 60° high in the northeast just before dawn. Get ready for a winter/holiday comet display that could be full of surprises.

Planets

Venus & Saturn at Sunset

August 31, 2013 Scott

Looking West at sunset you can find brilliant Venus and the ringed planet Saturn. Venus is often mistaken for an airplane or weather balloon it’s so bright. Venus also goes through phases as seen from our vantage point and this is easily decernable when viewed through a telescope.

Saturn’s rings are aways a treat to view and often the favorite of those new to observing through a telescope. It’s quickly dipping down sunward so look while you can.