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Space and Astronomy Thread
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tiger2000
13-11-2012
The last Total Eclipse for over two years takes place in a couple of hours time. The only places it will be visible from are Northern Australia and a a few pacific Islands. There is a live video feed in the link below, the eclipse starts at 20:35 GMT.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/26738...www.ustream.tv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=4EL4ddw-uKc

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/panaso...-solar-power-1
atg
14-11-2012
Originally Posted by albertd:
“Apparently a new comet has just been discovered which may become quite bright towards the end of 2013. There is not enough information yet available for them to make any definitive predictions so we will have to wait and see.”

After the Comet Kohoutek fiasco you'd think they would know better than say this.

Hale-Bopp and Holmes have been brilliant in the last 15 years, not to mention that other one that was only visible from Australia, can we hope for another one so soon?
atg
14-11-2012
2013 Yearbook arrived today. I like the new hardback only format although it does mean finding larger shelf space. £12 on Amazon btw.
TelevisionUser
18-11-2012
Originally Posted by OhWhenTheSaints:
“Very good thread. When I help run church camps in the summer, they're in the country side and we get the clearest skys around there! Just beautiful.”

Last month, we had a very successful Star Gazing talk (now in it's fourth year) but unfortunately it was completely cloudy after the talk so there was no outdoor observation session with telescopes unlike in previous years. Hopefully, next year will be better.

Originally Posted by atg:
“2013 Yearbook arrived today. I like the new hardback only format although it does mean finding larger shelf space. £12 on Amazon btw.”

That reminds me, if anyone wants to get into astronomy then Christmas is the time to get a book on binocular astronomy since binoculars are cheap and they can show star colours, double stars, star clusters, etc. Planispheres are relatively cheap too and here are some interesting objects to view in the night sky:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_Catalogue
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldwell_catalogue
http://www.deepskypedia.com/wiki/Kemble%27s_Cascade
http://www.deepskypedia.com/wiki/Kemble_2

...and now for some astro news:

'Rogue planet' spotted 100 light-years away
Astronomers have spotted a "rogue planet" - wandering the cosmos without a star to orbit - 100 light-years away. Recent finds of such planets have suggested that they may be common, but candidates have eluded close study.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20309762

Europe shapes Moon lander design

European industry has outlined the basic design for a robotic probe that could be dispatched to the Moon's south pole in 2018. The 800kg craft would demonstrate fully automated landing technologies and place some environmental experiments on the surface, including a mini-rover.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20069663

Scientists find super-Earth planet 42 light-years away

Astronomers have discovered a super-Earth planet orbiting a star in our own cosmic neighborhood, and it lies in the Goldilocks zone, where conditions are just right to sustain liquid water and an Earth-like climate. The planet is located about 42 light-years from Earth around a stable sun-like dwarf star.
http://www.astronomynow.com/news/n1211/08superearth/

Curiosity sniffs Martian air
Scientists on Friday reported the Curiosity rover's first whiffs of the Martian atmosphere have turned up no sign of methane, an object of fascination from many scientists due to its ramifications on the search for life on Mars.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/msl/121102methane/

SpaceX, NASA scrutinize anomalies from cargo flight
Engineers are combing through data from SpaceX's October cargo mission to the International Space Station, examining a rocket engine failure, electronics glitches from suspected radiation, and a power loss that could have imperiled precious medical samples returned from the outpost, NASA officials said Wednesday.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon.../#.UKj3l2dy1uY
TelevisionUser
24-11-2012
Outer ice world Makemake has no atmosphere
Astronomers have obtained an important first look at the dwarf planet Makemake - finding it has no atmosphere. One of five such dwarfs in our Solar System including former planet Pluto, Makemake had until now eluded study. But in April 2011, it passed between the Earth and a distant star, and astronomers used seven telescopes to study how the star's light was changed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20426114

European Space Agency and Roskosmos to jointly explore Mars
Europe and Russia are cementing their plans to explore Mars together. European Space Agency member states have approved the agreement that would see Russia take significant roles in Red Planet missions in 2016 and 2018. The former is a satellite that will look for methane and other trace gases in the atmosphere; the latter will be a surface rover.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20407902

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spots fresh impact crater
A high-resolution telescope mounted on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has uncovered the scarred impact site formed when a rocky bolide struck the Martian surface.
http://www.astronomynow.com/news/n1211/12impact/

European Space Agency funds Orion service module
Buoyed by a surprise investment from Britain, the European Space Agency secured approval from its member states on Wednesday to develop a service module for NASA's Orion deep space exploration vehicle, giving the continent a stake in human missions beyond low Earth orbit.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1211.../#.ULD8ASAlL_k

Can life emerge on planets around cooling stars?
Astronomers find planets in strange places and wonder if they might support life. One such place would be in orbit around a white or brown dwarf. While neither is a star like the sun, both glow and so could be orbited by planets with the right ingredients for life.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Ca...stars_999.html

Google's '100000 Stars' project brings the stellar neighborhood closer to home
Ready for a mind-blowing trip? Google‘s got you covered with its “100,000 Stars” Chrome experiment, visualizing our stellar neighborhood in a way you’ve never seen. Using either your mouse or a trackpad, “100,000 Stars” lets you fly around in a sophisticated 3D graphic of our galaxy, taking a close look at the stars that are relatively close to Earth. Try zooming way out, where you can peer at the edge of the Milky Way, and see if it makes you feel like we did, finding ourselves wishing we could zoom out even farther.
http://mashable.com/2012/11/17/google-100000-stars/
TelevisionUser
04-01-2013
...starting off with the Quadrantid meteor shower which should be on display under clear skies.

The planet Jupiter is shining brightly next to the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters. The four largest moons of Jupiter should be visible in small telescopes.

Not too far away for the star Aldebaran in Taurus, we have the minor planet Vesta which should be visible in binoculars. The great craters of Tycho and Copernicus can also be seen this month on the Moon.

Finally, mention must be made of the distinct constellation of Orion with its many bright stars and objects of interest such as Betelgeuse, Rigel, Orion's Belt and the Orion Nebula.
TelevisionUser
03-02-2013
This year might see two bright comets visible in the night sky. Comet C/2011 L4 - PANSTARRS could be bright in March and Comet C/2012 S1 - ISON could be bright in November. Comets can be decidedly variable so a good display cannot be guaranteed. More here: http://www.eagleseye.me.uk/Sky/Wordpress/?p=1887

The years 1995 and 1996 saw two bright comets in succession in the form of Comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake. For more on comets, their composition and orbits, there's this article here and this programme here.

PS The Sky at Night returns this evening on BBC1 at 11.55pm.
tiger2000
03-02-2013
Originally Posted by TelevisionUser:
“The years 1995 and 1996 saw two bright comets in succession in the form of Comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake. For more on comets, their composition and orbits, there's this article here and this programme here.”

Hale-Bopp was spacatular, the best coment I've seen with the naked eye.
atg
03-02-2013
Originally Posted by tiger2000:
“Hale-Bopp was spacatular, the best coment I've seen with the naked eye.”

Yes it was quite something. But who remembers comet Holmes, of 2007? The one that suddenly flared up after it passed the orbit of Mars and suddenly became a naked eye object, although it didn't look much like a comet.
TelevisionUser
03-02-2013
Originally Posted by atg:
“Yes it was quite something. But who remembers comet Holmes, of 2007? The one that suddenly flared up after it passed the orbit of Mars and suddenly became a naked eye object, although it didn't look much like a comet.”

I concede I did forget that one but as I recall it wasn't overly prominent and there was less press attention. Hopefully, this year's comets will put on better displays and generate some interest in astronomy.

I can't wait for Betelgeuse to blow up and for the light to reach Earth because that'll certainly get everyone's attention when that happens. It'll reach magnitude −12 thus rivalling the Moon at its brightest and Betelgeuse should be visible in broad daylight. The Betelgeuse supernova show will last for a few months before fading.
atg
03-02-2013
Originally Posted by TelevisionUser:
“I concede I did forget that one but as I recall it wasn't overly prominent and there was less press attention. Hopefully, this year's comets will put on better displays and generate some interest in astronomy.

I can't wait for Betelgeuse to blow up and for the light to reach Earth because that'll certainly get everyone's attention when that happens. It'll reach magnitude −12 thus rivalling the Moon at its brightest and Betelgeuse should be visible in broad daylight. The Betelgeuse supernova show will last for a few months before fading.”

It might happen close enough to the sun for both to be visible together in daylight. Imagine them setting together, possibly with Venus and the Moon thrown in! We can only hope.
HenryGarten
03-02-2013
Not forgetting Comet McNaught in 2007

Mind you there are about 50 Comet McNaughts.

Other images for comet McNaught
Caldari
09-02-2013
Weird metallic object found on Mars and photographed by Curiosity.

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-ima...000E1_DXXX.jpg

I'm going with it being a meteorite fragment that hasn't corroded due to the Martian atmosphere. Either that or the tip of a Martian tripod, but the chances of that are a million to one.
HenryGarten
10-02-2013
Cuiosity takes a sample of bedrock. See Curiosity Mars Rover takes historic drill
tiger2000
12-02-2013
I was a kid during the Apollo era and remeberer Reg's reports from the US in the build up and during the missions, he was also the first journalist to get wind that someting was wrong with the Apollo 13 mission.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21430057
VOICEINTHENIGHT
12-02-2013
Originally Posted by MadgeBishop:
“Nice pics!

I love anything to do with astrology and space.

I regularly look up the Nasa web site, it's got some good stuff on there. I particularly like watching the shuttle launches.”

Astronomy surely, this is the study of the stars,
astrology is using the stars to pridict peoples' future events. this isn't a science.
Elissa Richards
12-02-2013
Originally Posted by TelevisionUser:
“I concede I did forget that one but as I recall it wasn't overly prominent and there was less press attention. Hopefully, this year's comets will put on better displays and generate some interest in astronomy.

I can't wait for Betelgeuse to blow up and for the light to reach Earth because that'll certainly get everyone's attention when that happens. It'll reach magnitude −12 thus rivalling the Moon at its brightest and Betelgeuse should be visible in broad daylight. The Betelgeuse supernova show will last for a few months before fading.”

Yeah you might be waiting a little longer then a year or two, maybe 1 year, maybe a 1000....nobody knows!! There's supernova's occuring relatively frequently (couple of times per year) and you can often pick them out from home with a modest telescope. I wouldn't go worrying or placing bets on when Betelgeuse will go up, it may look pretty for a few days but it'll very quick rack off observers as it'll effectively obscure that part of the sky for some time.
cal4751
12-02-2013
Has anyone mentioned the Asteroid 2012 DA14 passing by earth this Friday?
Eddie Badger
12-02-2013
Originally Posted by tiger2000:
“I was a kid during the Apollo era and remeberer Reg's reports from the US in the build up and during the missions, he was also the first journalist to get wind that someting was wrong with the Apollo 13 mission.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21430057”

I remember Reg well from the Apollo days. One of the old school of reporters - knowledgeable, calm, clear and totally professional in his presentations.

As they say, he had a good innings and was still mentally sharp up to the end. RIP
HenryGarten
15-02-2013
How to spot the asteroid tonight. See Society for Popular Astronomy
balthasar
15-02-2013
I will miss seeing this so hopefully any good reports will be posted here, just in case any of the other threads you know, go a bit off topic.
TelevisionUser
15-02-2013
Originally Posted by balthasar:
“I will miss seeing this so hopefully any good reports will be posted here, just in case any of the other threads you know, go a bit off topic.”

No worries, balthasa, because this asteroid will be featured on next month's BBC Sky at Night and, by tomorrow, there should be plenty of pictures and videos available on the internet.
Caldari
15-02-2013
Close escape in Russia.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21468116
atg
15-02-2013
Originally Posted by Caldari:
“Close escape in Russia.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21468116”

I have heard that this came from the wrong direction to be associated with 2012 da14, so I'm guessing the chances of these both happening so close together are approaching the astronomical

Also that must have been terrifying, and we should be glad nobody has been killed there. There must have been a moment when they thought it was a wayward Korean bomb.
Sad_BB_Addict
15-02-2013
I'm watching on NASA TV
http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv
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