Sunday, January 31, 2010
Spleen Guy - Chapter 2 - Page 2
Spleen Guy Chapter 2 Page 2, click to embiggenSpleen Guy Rides again! This is the second chapter of MiddleOnes Web comic, it's the story of a spleen. This is the second page.
It should be read right to left Manga style, except when it's left to right (like this starting page) or out of sequence. The right side bar is usually the last panel (anyone who has read "Fruits Basket" will recognise the style). Spelling and punctuation mostly as in original.
SPLEEN GUY: BM OM
SPLEEN GUY: So this is hamburger ... Looks preety normal ... Wha! ... WOah!
HEART GUY: ha! ha! Ha!
HEART GUY: heh. I missed, but you wont be lucky next time...FOR I AM THE HEART!
SPLEEN GUY: I thought hearts looked like this.
HEART GUY: that doesn't matter! ... I'm gonna kill you with my staple gun!
SPLEEN GUY: another weird gun?
HEART GUY: its NOT weird!
Labels: Spleen Guy, Webcomics
Blue Moon from Hot Earth
If you though the Full Moon last Staurday night (30 January, 2010) was big, it was. The Moon was the biggest we will see this year, due to the full Moon falling on the night of the Moons closest approach to Earth.It was also a "Blue" Moon, the second full Moon of the Month. This year, we will have a second "Blue" Moon in March.
Labels: astrophotography, Blue Moon, Moon
Opposition of Mars, January 30 2010, Observed.
Left Image: Mars as sketched through my 4.5" Newtonian Reflector. Right Image: Mars earthward facing side at the same time as I was sketching, via the JPL Solar System Simulator.
The opposition of Mars for 2010 was last night. It was never going to be an auspicious opposition, Mars having the smallest diameter since 2003 and the opposition being in Summer here, Masr never gets far above the horizon, where murk and turbulence interfere with viewing.
Given that it was 36 degrees C during the day, and still 25 degrees in the middle of the night, turbulence was going to be a big problem. Also given that it was eldest sons bithday party (he is a prime number old, which is the sum of MiddleOnes age (an even number) and half SmalestOnes age (his full age is an even number and half is age is a prime)) with kids rushing around it was not going to be a good time to get out Don the 8" Newtonian and my astrophotography gear.
Still, I was able to get out my unguided 4.5" Netwonian and combine my youth watching duties with observing the red world. I even got the kids to have a look at Mars, the "Blue" Moon and Saturn.
Despite the viewing being shocking, through my 6.5 mm Plosell lens the bright white polar cap was clearly visible. There were also sufficient moments of stillness where I could see some darker markings, and I got them down. Satisyingly, despite the conditions my sketch is in good agreement with the surface marking that were visible at that time. Not bad, seeing as the smaller circle in my sketch is approximately the size Mars looked like through my 6.5 mm lens.
Mars will still be good for most of February, so why not get out and have a look?
Labels: Mars, Observational Astronomy, Opposition, sketch
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Sun From Other Planets
Sol as seen from a hypothetical planet around alpha Centauri A (Click to embiggen). Last week I looked at what the Southern Cross would look like from planets circling other stars. The week before that I made a stereogram of the Southern Cross by overlapping the view of the Southern Cross seen from Earth with that seen from Alpha Centauri A, only 4 light years away.This week I'm looking at what our Sun, Sol would look like from the "surface" of alien planets.
To answer this I've used Celestia yet again, to travel to exoplanet locations and see what Sol woul look like in their skies. As with last week, most of these planets are "hot Jupiters" and the concept of surface is problematic, so I've shown the view from orbit. From a hypothetical planet around alpha Centauri A, Sol is a bright magnitude 0.5 star (almost as bright as Acrux) situated between Perseus and Cassiopeia. I wonder how aliens would incorporate Sol into their mythology of the skies? Would they merge the constellations?
Sol from from Epsilon Eridani B, 10.5 light years away. Sol is a 2.3 magnitude star, moderately bright (like Gacrux, gamma Crucis), in the constellation of Serpens. It would fit right in.
Sol as seen from the super earth Gliese 581 d, 20 light years away. Sol is a faint, 3.8 magnitude star (like epsilon Crucis, the fifth, dimmer star of the Cross), between the highly distorted constellations of Taurus and Cetus.Labels: celestia, constellations, exoplanet, extrasolar planet, Sun
Friday, January 29, 2010
Opposition of Mars (and a blue Moon), Saturday January 30 2010
The "Blue" Moon and Mars, looking north-east at 10:00 pm local daylight saving time as seen from Australia.This Saturday Mars is at opposition, where it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth. It is also the night of the "Blue" Moon, and the Moon this night will have the largest apparent diameter of the year. So all in all a good night.
Mars will be easy to spot, it rises not long after the Moon and will be the bright red object left of the Moon.
Mars through binoculars. A few nights after opposition, Mars and the beautiful Beehive Cluster will be within the same binoculars filed of view.Most of you remember the Mars Hoax email back in August, whch has circulated every two years since the Great opposition in 2003, which claimed that Mars would look as big as the Moon. Well, as you can clearly see tomorrow night it is not, Mars will just be a bright dot next to the Full Moon.
In binoculars (see image left) Mars will still be a bright dot. You will only see Mars as a disk in a telescope, and then you will need a medium to large telescope to see any detail. Still, even if you are just seeing a small disk, you are looking at an alien world, sister to our own, where robots are ceaselessly braving the harsh environment to gain knowledge. That's got to be impressive.
Mars as seen at this opposition through a 6" telescope with a 12 mm eyepiece.So why is the opposition of Mars so rubbish this year. Basically because Mars is nearly at its furthest from the Sun, and Earth is nearly at its closest. Amongst other things it means light takes nearly 9 hours to reach Earth from Mars, while in 2003, it took only 5 hours.
Yeah, Okay you say, but why does it vary, why isn't Mars at the same distance each opposition? Because Mars's Orbit is not a whole number of earth orbits long, so the dates of perihelion and aphelion for Mars and Earth drift with respect to each other. (see the Hoax page for a more detailed description and this page for a better description).
So the upshot is that 2010 and 2012 are pretty poor oppositions, and we have to wait until 2018 fro a really good one (although 204 and 2016 won't be too bad).
Labels: Blue Moon, Mars, Opposition
Thursday, January 28, 2010
So that's Why They are Searching for a Ring Around the Moon
I recently mused about why one of the most popular search terms to find my blog was "ring around the Moon". I think I may have found the answer, people are looking for reports of the Annular Eclipse of of 15 January.
A Table of Delights for Exoplanet Fans
Exoplanets.org have a new, interactive table system for their exoplanet data. You can sort, filter* and search the tables for orbital period, mass etc. The tables have hot links to publications and orbital data, which makes a Celestia fan like me really happy. There is also a plotting page, where you can graph statistical features of known exoplanets. Okay, so I'm a geek and nerd and find this sort of stuff cool.
* Which I can't make work eg name = "WASP-2 b" should return the planet WASP-2 b, but the filter just sits there and looks at me. But for some reason name > "epsilon" sort of works
* Which I can't make work eg name = "WASP-2 b" should return the planet WASP-2 b, but the filter just sits there and looks at me. But for some reason name > "epsilon" sort of works
Labels: exoplanet, extrasolar planet
Big Aussie Star Hunt Summer Sky Tours
The Big Aussie Star Hunt is now doing Summer Sky Tours! They have Skymaps, and audio guide with Fred Watson (AO), fast facts and more. Go on over and check it out. The Big Aussie Star Hunt is in the running for a Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) Award so you know it is good.
Labels: constellations, miscelaneous, unaided eye observation
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Fred Watson gets Honoured
Astronomer, author* and science communicator Fred Watson, Astronomer-in-Charge of the Anglo-Australian Observatory, was appointed a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia on Australia Day. His award was for services to astronomy, in particular the promotion and popularisation of space science through public outreach. This is a great honour for Fred and recognition for his work to bring science to everyone (Many of you may have heard his voice on the radio). More details at ABC News in Science. Hearing Fred speak is inspirational (hearing him sing, not so much , but the kids love it).
*I loved his book "Stargazer, Life and Times of the Telescope" and have been a fanboi ever since. "Why is Uranus Upside Down" is pretty good too.
*I loved his book "Stargazer, Life and Times of the Telescope" and have been a fanboi ever since. "Why is Uranus Upside Down" is pretty good too.
Labels: miscelaneous
Who can work out why ...
... "ring around the Moon" is currently my second most accessed post? And is currently the 83rd most popular search term (mildly hot) at the moment? Why are all these people searching using the term "moon January 25", what's so special about that (actually, I think they are looking for information on the occulttaion of the Pleiades)? And the person trying to find their homework answer to "Explain why scorpius would not be visible in the "real" sky at 10:15 am on December 28" by just Gooogling the phrase, good luck.
Labels: miscelaneous
Carnival of Space #138 is here.
Carnival of Space #138 is now up at Nancy Atkinsons' blog. There's alien worlds (inspired by Avatar), controling HiRise, Astronomy on a budget, weird objects found by the Kepler telescope and much, much more. Fly on over and have a look.
Labels: carnival of space
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monckton on the Radio
While picking the kids up from the various places they have been sequestered at while I and the BEW have been working, I listened to an interview with Lord Monckton, visiting climate change denier, on ABC news radio.
In it he claimed that "Temperatures have not increased significantly in the past 15 years" and "there has been global cooling in the past 9 years". Would you believe he is wrong? Look at the graph to the left, see also here and here. 2009 tied for the second warmest year since records were kept, and the decade 2000-2009 was the warmest of all decades.
UPDATE: The Australian has an article on Lord Monckton, which is largely fact-free. A bit of research by that paper would find that his claims about climate forcings are wrong as well, (see also here). Most humorous moment in the article ""I'm boring, I check things," he says happily." Hmm, how about here, and here and here. Seriously, why does The Australian never bother to ask real scientists about these things?
UPDATED UPDATE: How did I miss this? "But that won't stop the torrent of claims and statistics and scientific data that pours out of Lord Monckton". Lord Moncktons' out put of scientific data is almost negligible, I can only find one actual scientific publication ( Christopher Monckton: "Climate Sensitivity Reconsidered", Physics and Society, 37, issue 3, p. 6 (2008) which is comprehensively refuted here) which is mostly just wrong-headed modelling not data, and his "stream" of statistics is rehashes of simplistic statistics with cherry-picked data (see here again). Again, journalists should have noticed this early on.
Labels: Climate Change, global warming sillyness
The Sky This Week - Thursday January 28 to Thursday February 4
The Full Moon is Saturday January 30. This is a "Blue" Moon. Jupiter is the brightest object low in the western twilight sky. Mars is now the brightest object in the late evening sky and is closest to Earth on January 30. In the morning, Mars and Saturn are easily seen above the northern horizon near the bight stars Regulus and Spica. The Moon is close to Saturn February 2. Mercury is low in the morning twilight.
Morning sky looking South-east showing Mercury at 5:30 am local daylight saving time (4:30 am non-daylight saving) on Saturday January 30. Click to embiggen.
The Full Moon is Saturday January 30. This is a "Blue" Moon, the second full Moon of the month, there will be another "Blue" Moon in March and a "Blue" Last Quarter Moon in October.
Saturn is visible in the morning sky between the bright stars Regulus and Spica. On February 2 (morning February 3) the Moon is close to Saturn. Saturn is actually rising before 11 pm daylight saving time, but is still best seen in the morning and worth a look in a telescope.
The asteroid Vesta is visible in binoculars not far from Regulus and will become visible to the unaided eye in February.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight, and passes close to some of the brighter stars of Sagittarius. On Saturday January 30 Mercury is almost on top of omicron Sagittarii (see image above)
Bright white Venus is invisible the twilight glow and will not reappear until February.
North-eastern horizon showing Mars and the Moon at 10:00 pm local daylight saving time (9:00 pm non-daylight saving) on Saturday January 30, click to embiggen.
Jupiter is the brightest object very low in the western twilight sky. Jupiter's proximity to the horizon makes telescopic observation very difficult, and will get progressively more difficult this week with just over an hour between sunset and when Jupiter sets.
In the evening Mars can be seen from around 10:00 pm local daylight saving time low in the north-eastern sky as the brightest (and clearly red) object in the sky. Mars is at opposition this week on January 30, and now is a good time to look at our sister world in a telescope. Mars is a distinct nearly full disk in a small telescope, although somewhat small. Larger telescopes will be needed to distinguish surface features. On January 30 the Full Moon is near Mars. Red Mars is in the constellation of Cancer and from January 31 is within a binocular field of the Beehive cluster.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ADST, Western sky at 10 pm ADST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Morning sky looking South-east showing Mercury at 5:30 am local daylight saving time (4:30 am non-daylight saving) on Saturday January 30. Click to embiggen.The Full Moon is Saturday January 30. This is a "Blue" Moon, the second full Moon of the month, there will be another "Blue" Moon in March and a "Blue" Last Quarter Moon in October.
Saturn is visible in the morning sky between the bright stars Regulus and Spica. On February 2 (morning February 3) the Moon is close to Saturn. Saturn is actually rising before 11 pm daylight saving time, but is still best seen in the morning and worth a look in a telescope.
The asteroid Vesta is visible in binoculars not far from Regulus and will become visible to the unaided eye in February.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight, and passes close to some of the brighter stars of Sagittarius. On Saturday January 30 Mercury is almost on top of omicron Sagittarii (see image above)
Bright white Venus is invisible the twilight glow and will not reappear until February.
North-eastern horizon showing Mars and the Moon at 10:00 pm local daylight saving time (9:00 pm non-daylight saving) on Saturday January 30, click to embiggen.Jupiter is the brightest object very low in the western twilight sky. Jupiter's proximity to the horizon makes telescopic observation very difficult, and will get progressively more difficult this week with just over an hour between sunset and when Jupiter sets.
In the evening Mars can be seen from around 10:00 pm local daylight saving time low in the north-eastern sky as the brightest (and clearly red) object in the sky. Mars is at opposition this week on January 30, and now is a good time to look at our sister world in a telescope. Mars is a distinct nearly full disk in a small telescope, although somewhat small. Larger telescopes will be needed to distinguish surface features. On January 30 the Full Moon is near Mars. Red Mars is in the constellation of Cancer and from January 31 is within a binocular field of the Beehive cluster.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ADST, Western sky at 10 pm ADST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Labels: weekly sky
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Moon and Pleiades January 25, 2009
While the Moon didn't occult the Pleiades from Adelaide, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try my various combinations of binoculars and telescopes to see if I could get some good images of the Moon near the the Pleiades.The binoculars (10x50, with an adaptor mount to attach them to my camera stand so they didn't wobble around while viewing) gave the best view, lots of little crisp craters and I could see the whole of the Pleiades in the binocular field of view along with the Moon.
In terms of photography, it was shocking. The Moon was grossly overexposed (as seen above) although the stars are okay and you can clearly see the shape of the Pleiades almost touching the Moon.The view through the telescope (4.5" Newtonian) didn't get all of the Pleiades in, even on the smallest eyepiece. Still the detail in the craters was good, and it was nice seeing the Smaller Pleiades hovering above the Moon.
But even in the scope the Moon was vastly over exposed (not really surprising). but the Pleiades show up okay.
What the Moon looks like when not over exposed (click to embiggen, true for all the images). Not bad at all if I say so myself. All images taken with the help of my favourite toy.
Labels: astrophotography, Moon, Occultation, Pleiades
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Spleen Guy - Chapter 2 - Page 1
Spleen Guy Chapter 2 Page 1, click to embiggenSpleen Guy Rides again! This is the second chapter of MiddleOnes Web comic, it's the story of a spleen. This is the first page.
It should be read right to left Manga style, except when it's left to right (like this starting page) or out of sequence. The right side bar is usually the last panel (anyone who has read "Fruits Basket" will recognise the style). Spelling and punctutation mostly as in original.
SPLEEN GUY LA LA LA ... Food Time ... HMMM .. Wots wrong
RANDOM GUY: The Evil Hamburger, That's what.
SPLEEn Guy: the wha?
RANDOM GUY: Its a burger somebody bit it and died!
SPLEEN GUY: Maybe it just tasted really bad!
RANDOM GUY: its not funny
SPLEEN GUY/RANDOM GUY:: is so ...is not! ... is so .... is not
SPLEEN GUY: Wait let me check something
RANDOM GUY: Okay but help us!
SPLEEN GUY: Yeah hes dead
SPLEEN GUY: What does this have to do with a spleen anyway
RANDOM GUY: uuuum ... spleen can be put into burgers!
SPLEEN GUY: ARE you gonna eat me!
RANDOM GUY: NO! SPLEEN GUY:phew ... okay onto the case ... RANDOM GUY : good
Labels: Spleen Guy, Webcomics
Occultation of the Pleiades, Monday January 25, 2010
The Moon in front of the Pleiades as seen from Darwin, facing north at around 8:00 pm ACST on Monday January 25. While impressive to the unaided eye, it will be even better in binoculars or a small telescope.In the early evening of Monday January 25 the Moon passes in front of (occults) the beautiful Pleiades star cluster as seen from northern and Eastern Australia, South-East Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Australia will see the occulation from around 9:00pm AEDT (8:00 pm non-daylight saving time) with best views in the north of the Northern territory and Far North Queensland (where they will see bright Taygeta occulted). The rest of us will make do with 18 Tauri.
More information and local timings for the event is at http://home.mira.net/~reynella/skywatch/ssky.htm#Occult . Even in the west and central states, where we miss out on an occulattion, the sight of the Pleiades close to the Moon will be very lovely.
The over all best views will be in South-east Asia, the Philippines and New Guinea, for timings (Universal Time) in these locations set this IOTA table.
Visibility of the occultation of Taygeta, image credit IOTA.Labels: Occultation, Pleiades
The Southern Cross from Other Planets
Last week I made a stereogram of the Southern Cross by overlapping the veiw of the Southern Cross seen from Earth with that seen from Alpha Centauri A, only 4 light years away.The Cross didn't look that much different, but how far would you have to go for the skies to begin to look strange? What would you see from the surface of alien planets?
To answer that I've used Celestia again, to travel to exoplanet locations and see what their skies would look like. As most of these are "hot Jupiters" the concept of surface is problematic, and I've shown the view from orbit.
The Southern Cross from Epsilon Eridani B, 10.5 light years away. The Cross is very distorted, but still recognisably a cross. Gacrux is only 88 light years away, compared to 320 Ly for Acrux, 352 Ly for Mimosa (beta Crucis) and 364 for delta Crucis, so Gacrux moves the most. Rigel Kentaurus (alpha Centauri) at only 4 Ly moves out of the frame.
The Southern Cross from Gliese 674 b, 14 light years away. The cross is very distorted now, despite being not much further away then Epsilon Eridani b.
The Southern Cross from the super earth Gliese 581 d, 20 light years away. The Cross is unrecognisable. In fact, the only recognisable part of any constellation from Gliese 581 d (assuming the atmosphere was transparent enough for you to see through) is the head of the constellation Scorpio, all else is distorted beyond recognition.Labels: celestia, constellations, exoplanet, extrasolar planet
Friday, January 22, 2010
Another Comet Death Dive
Remember this nice bright Kreutz comet that passed through the STEREO spacecraft's H1A camera's field of view on the 2nd of January?Well it didn't survive passage of the Sun (see animation here, via Spaceweather).
Another Sungrazer which I still have to analyse also did a death dive today and vaporized (see animation here). As I mentioned before there's a lot of Kerutz comets about at the moment (CometAl found another one just recently), so maybe I have a chance to catch one.
Labels: comets, Stereo Satellite, sungrazer
Thursday, January 21, 2010
So it Begins
SOHO MIDI MagnetogramEven though a new solar cycle (cycle 24) has begun, there has not been much sunspot or aurora action, in fact, 260 days of last year were spotless and there has been very little flare activity.
That changed yesterday (Jan 20), with a series of C and M class flares were blasted out by sunspot 1041 (on the edge of the Suns image bottom left). Two of the flares were the biggest seen for years (M2 & M1.7). See Spaceweather for an image of the large zone from the STEREO spacecraft. The Sun may finally be climbing from solar minimum.
Unfortunately for aurora watchers, even thought coronal mass ejections were produced, these are aimed away from Earth and will not provide any aurora. However, if 1041 remains active, there is a good chance of aurora, at least at high latitudes, in the coming week. For amazing images of colliding aurora, see here.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Carnival of Space #137 is here.
Carnival of Space #137 is now up at One Astronomers Noise. Cure the Avatar blues, get a commemorative shuttle patch, relive Gallieio's discovery of Jupiters' Moons, Ios' volcanoes pure Martian Awesomeness and lots, lots more. Pop over and have a read.
Labels: carnival of space
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Sky This Week - Thursday January 21 to Thursday January 28
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday January 23. Occultation of the Pleiades Monday January 25. Jupiter is the brightest object low in the western twilight sky. Mars is now visible low in the late evening sky. In the morning, Mars and Saturn are easily seen above the northern horizon near the bight stars Regulus and Spica. Mercury is low in the morning twilight.
Morning sky looking South-east showing Mercury at 5:30 am local daylight saving time (5:30 am non-daylight saving) on Sunday January 14. Click to embiggen.
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday January 23.
In the morning, Mars is readily visible in the northern sky. Red Mars is in the constellation of Cancer this week. Mars is a distinct nearly full disk in a small telescope, and becomes bigger and brighter during the week in the lead up to opposition on January 30th. In the evening Mars can be seen from around 10:oo pm local daylight saving time low in the north-eastern sky.
Saturn is visible in the morning sky between the bright stars Regulus and Spica.
The asteroid Vesta is visible in binoculars not far from Regulus and will become visible to the unaided eye in February.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight, and passes close to some of the brighter stars of Sagittarius.
Bright white Venus is invisible the twilight glow and will not reappear until February.
North-eastern horizon showing Mars and the Moon at 10:00 pm local daylight saving time (9:00 pm non-daylight saving) on Sunday January 24, click to embiggen.
Jupiter is the brightest object low in the western twilight sky. Jupiter's proximity to the horizon makes telescopic observation very difficult, and will get progressively more difficult this week with less than an hour between twilight and when Jupiter sets.
The Moon in front of the Pleiades as seen from Darwin, facing north at around 8:00 pm ACST. While impressive to the unaided eye, it will be even better in binoculars or a small telescope.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ADST, Western sky at 10 pm ADST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Morning sky looking South-east showing Mercury at 5:30 am local daylight saving time (5:30 am non-daylight saving) on Sunday January 14. Click to embiggen.The First Quarter Moon is Saturday January 23.
In the morning, Mars is readily visible in the northern sky. Red Mars is in the constellation of Cancer this week. Mars is a distinct nearly full disk in a small telescope, and becomes bigger and brighter during the week in the lead up to opposition on January 30th. In the evening Mars can be seen from around 10:oo pm local daylight saving time low in the north-eastern sky.
Saturn is visible in the morning sky between the bright stars Regulus and Spica.
The asteroid Vesta is visible in binoculars not far from Regulus and will become visible to the unaided eye in February.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight, and passes close to some of the brighter stars of Sagittarius.
Bright white Venus is invisible the twilight glow and will not reappear until February.
North-eastern horizon showing Mars and the Moon at 10:00 pm local daylight saving time (9:00 pm non-daylight saving) on Sunday January 24, click to embiggen.Jupiter is the brightest object low in the western twilight sky. Jupiter's proximity to the horizon makes telescopic observation very difficult, and will get progressively more difficult this week with less than an hour between twilight and when Jupiter sets.
In the early evening of Monday January 25 the Moon passes in front of the beautiful Pleiades star cluster from around 9:00pm AEDT (8:00 pm non-daylight saving time)in northern and eastern Australia. More information and local timings for the event is at http://home.mira.net/~reynella/skywatch/ssky.htm#Occult
The Moon in front of the Pleiades as seen from Darwin, facing north at around 8:00 pm ACST. While impressive to the unaided eye, it will be even better in binoculars or a small telescope.Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ADST, Western sky at 10 pm ADST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Labels: weekly sky
Monday, January 18, 2010
A nice comet in STEREO H1A
This is a nice bright Kreutz comet that passed through the STEREO spacecraft's H1A camera's field of view on the 2nd of January (click to embiggen). You can see that the tail is not quite straight, and in the animation below you can see it twist over 24 hours of its passage. Comet Al has a much better animation here.There has been a veritable stream of Kreutz comets passing the H1 imager in January. A nice one is visible in pictures from the 14th at the moment. I may try and animate it tomorrow if I have time after the blogging panel at RiAus.
Labels: comets, Stereo Satellite
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Don't Forget - Science Blogging Discussion at RiAus January 18
"Blogito ergo sum". This Monday (18 January) the first 2010 meeting of the Adelaide branch of the Australian Science Communicators will be held in the Royal Institute Australia's newly refurbished home in the old Exchange Building. There will be a panel discussion on Science Blogging. As well as myself there will be Corey Bradshaw: Conservation Bytes http://conservationbytes.com/,
I represent the wrinkly old "I remember when we used punchcards" school of blogging, and with my fellow (younger and hipper) bloggers, we should have a very lively discussion about why science blogging is the best thing since thin sliced bread, and how you can be involved too. Afterwards you can watch Jupiter next to the crescent Moon as you walk home.
Where: The Science Exchange, Exchange Place, Adelaide
When: Monday 18 January, 6.00pm - 8.00pm
Cost: free ASC or RiAus members, $5 students, $10 non-members.
Bookings: http://ascscienceblogging.eventbrite.com/
I represent the wrinkly old "I remember when we used punchcards" school of blogging, and with my fellow (younger and hipper) bloggers, we should have a very lively discussion about why science blogging is the best thing since thin sliced bread, and how you can be involved too. Afterwards you can watch Jupiter next to the crescent Moon as you walk home.
Where: The Science Exchange, Exchange Place, Adelaide
When: Monday 18 January, 6.00pm - 8.00pm
Cost: free ASC or RiAus members, $5 students, $10 non-members.
Bookings: http://ascscienceblogging.eventbrite.com/
Labels: Science Blogging, science communicators, science matters
Spleen Guy - Page 6
Spleen Guy Page 6, click to embiggenThis is MiddleOnes Web comic, it's the story of a spleen. This is the final page.
It should be read right to left Manga style, except when it's left to right (like this starting page) or out of sequence. The right side bar is usually the last panel (anyone who has read "Fruits Basket" will recognise the style).
Labels: Spleen Guy, Webcomics
Friday, January 15, 2010
My New Project
This diorama is a clue to my new project (click to embiggen). If you can guess a) where the diorama is set, b) who the dude without the spacesuit is and c) what the overall theme of the project is, you will win a cartoon featuring yourself and spacesuits.You can make your own diorama by downloading this PDF file. Print it and glue it to a sheet of card (DON'T use old Pizza boxes for backing, like I did). Cut out, assemble and colour your diorama, and send me a photo. The best diorama will be featured on the blog and you will also win a umm, err, ahhh.
A prize of some sort anyway. Go to it!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Haitian Earthquake - donating to Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières
As the horrific images from the Haitian earthquake cross our screens, we feel helpless in the face of such destruction. We can help though, by donating to the Red Cross or Médecins Sans Frontières or Oxfam.
Labels: miscelaneous
Carnival of Space #136 is here.
Carnival of Space #136 is now up at Simoastronomy. Packed with loads of New year astronomical goddies. Zoom over and take a look.
Labels: carnival of space
The Southern Cross in Stereo
Space is big, very, very big. And the stars are very far away. Even though the stars are all different distances from the earth, they are so far away that they all look as if they are painted on a dome.The get the same sort of change in perspective that we would get looking at ordinary objects if we moved just one meter, you need to move light years.
To demonstrate this, with the aid of Celestia, I've made a cross-eyed stereo image of Crux, the Southern Cross (the red-green anaglyph didn't give a strong stereo effect). Stare at the picture and cross your eyes until the x of Crux aligns, and the stereo version will pop out at you (you can click on the image to embiggen and get a higher definition view).
I made this by taking an image of Crux as seen from Earth using Celestia, then moved to Alpha Centuari A, 4 light years away, for the second image of Crux. Then I cropped and assembled the images in the Gimp for optimal stereo effect.
4 ligt years. For most objects, you can get perspective effets by hopping from one foot to the other, hopping 4 light years is a bit more difficult.
Labels: Astronomy, stereograms
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Face of Betelguese
Head over to Astronomy Picture of the Day for an amazing image of the surface of the red giant star Betelgeuse. It's got spots!
Labels: astrophotography
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
SA Science Communicators - Science Blogging - Jan 18
Below are the details of the SA Science Communicators first event for 2010. It's going to be an interesting evening, and I'm one of the panel members! Come along for some interesting disscussion and practical blogging tips.
Science blogging - who and why?
"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." A. J. Liebling of the New Yorker.
Bookings: http://ascscienceblogging.eventbrite.com/
Science blogging - who and why?
"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." A. J. Liebling of the New Yorker.
In the age of blogging, anyone can make themselves heard. Science blogs can communicate science in a way that few other media can. You can read about the latest research that you may not have access to without a journal subscription, or hear the daily gripes and grumbles of lab life, or follow detailed analysis of policy development or breaking news stories. The best part is blogging is open to anyone to give it a try and join the discussion. At this event we'll hear from several Adelaide-based science bloggers about why they do what they do, and where blogging fits in the spectrum of science communication.
Where: The Science Exchange, Exchange Place, Adelaide
When: Monday 18 January, 6.00pm - 8.00pm
Cost: free ASC or RiAus members, $5 students, $10 non-members.
Bookings: http://ascscienceblogging.eventbrite.com/
Labels: Science Blogging, science communicators
The Sky This Week - Thursday January 14 to Thursday January 21
The New Moon is Friday January 15. Jupiter is the brightest object low in the western evening sky and is close to the crescent Moon on the Monday January 18. In the morning, Mars and Saturn are easily seen above the north-eastern horizon near the bight stars Regulus and Spica. Mercury returns to the morning sky and is close to the Moon January 14.
Morning sky looking South-east showing the thin crescent Moon and Mercury at 5:00 am local daylight saving time (4:00 am non-daylight saving) on Thursday January 14. Click to embiggen.
The New Moon is Friday January 15.
In the morning, Mars is readily visible in the eastern sky. Red Mars is in the constellation of Cancer this week. Mars is a distinct nearly full disk in a small telescope, and becomes bigger and brighter during the week in the lead up to opposition on January 30th. In the evening Mars can be seen rising just as Jupiter is setting (around 10:15 local daylight saving time)
Saturn is visible in the morning sky between the bright stars Regulus and Spica.
The asteroid Vesta is visible in binoculars not far from Regulus and will become visible to the unaided eye in February.
Mercury returns to the morning twilight, and is close to the thin crescent Moon on the morning of January 14 (although you will need a clear level horizon to see this).
Bright white Venus is invisible the twilight glow and will not reappear until February.
South-Western horizon showing Jupiter and the Moon at 21:00 pm local daylight saving time (20:00 pm non-daylight saving) on Thursday January 18, click to embiggen.
Jupiter is the brightest object low in the western early evening sky. Jupiter's proximity to the horizon makes telescopic observation very difficult, and will get progressively more difficult this week with only an hour between twilight and when Jupiter sets. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars or a small telescope. Jupiter is close to the crescent Moon on the 18th.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ADST, Western sky at 10 pm ADST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Morning sky looking South-east showing the thin crescent Moon and Mercury at 5:00 am local daylight saving time (4:00 am non-daylight saving) on Thursday January 14. Click to embiggen.The New Moon is Friday January 15.
In the morning, Mars is readily visible in the eastern sky. Red Mars is in the constellation of Cancer this week. Mars is a distinct nearly full disk in a small telescope, and becomes bigger and brighter during the week in the lead up to opposition on January 30th. In the evening Mars can be seen rising just as Jupiter is setting (around 10:15 local daylight saving time)
Saturn is visible in the morning sky between the bright stars Regulus and Spica.
The asteroid Vesta is visible in binoculars not far from Regulus and will become visible to the unaided eye in February.
Mercury returns to the morning twilight, and is close to the thin crescent Moon on the morning of January 14 (although you will need a clear level horizon to see this).
Bright white Venus is invisible the twilight glow and will not reappear until February.
South-Western horizon showing Jupiter and the Moon at 21:00 pm local daylight saving time (20:00 pm non-daylight saving) on Thursday January 18, click to embiggen.Jupiter is the brightest object low in the western early evening sky. Jupiter's proximity to the horizon makes telescopic observation very difficult, and will get progressively more difficult this week with only an hour between twilight and when Jupiter sets. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars or a small telescope. Jupiter is close to the crescent Moon on the 18th.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ADST, Western sky at 10 pm ADST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Labels: weekly sky
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Spleen Guy - Page 5
Spleen Guy Page 5, click to embiggenThis is MiddleOnes Web comic, it's the story of a spleen. Seen here every Sunday.
It should be read right to left Manga style, except when it's left to right (like this starting page) or out of sequence. The right side bar is usually the last panel (anyone who has read "Fruits Basket" will recognise the style).
Labels: Spleen Guy, Webcomics
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
The Sky This Week - Thursday January 7 to Thursday January 14
The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday January 7. Jupiter is easily seen as the brightest object low in the western evening sky. In the morning, Mars and Saturn are easily seen above the north-eastern horizon near the bight stars Regulus and Spica. Mercury returns to the morning sky and is close to the Moon January 14.
Morning sky looking north-east showing the Moon, Mars, Saturn, Regulus and Spica at 3:00 am local daylight saving time (2:00 am non-daylight saving) on Friday January 8. Click to embiggen.
The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday January 7.
In the morning, Mars is readily visible in the eastern sky. Red Mars enters the constellation of Cancer this week. Mars is a distinct nearly full disk in a small telescope, and becomes bigger and brighter during the week in the lead up to opposition on January 30th. In the evening Mars can be seen rising just as Jupiter is setting (between 10-10:30 local daylight saving time)
Saturn is visible low in the morning sky between the bright stars Regulus and Spica. Mars, Regulus, Saturn and Spica from a nice line-up with the Moon on January 8.
Note the location of Vesta, which is visible in binoculars and will become visible to the unaided eye in February.
Mercury returns to the morning twilight, and is close to the thin crescent Moon on the morning of January 14.
Bright white Venus is invisible the twilight glow and will not reappear until February.
South-Western horizon showing Jupiter at 21:00 pm local daylight saving time (20:00 pm non-daylight saving) on Thursday January 7, click to embiggen.
Jupiter is easily seen as the brightest object low in the western early evening sky. Jupiter is big enough to be appreciated in even the smallest telescope but its proximity to the horizon makes seeing surface features difficult, and will get progressively more difficult this week. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars or a small telescope.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ADST, Western sky at 10 pm ADST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Morning sky looking north-east showing the Moon, Mars, Saturn, Regulus and Spica at 3:00 am local daylight saving time (2:00 am non-daylight saving) on Friday January 8. Click to embiggen.The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday January 7.
In the morning, Mars is readily visible in the eastern sky. Red Mars enters the constellation of Cancer this week. Mars is a distinct nearly full disk in a small telescope, and becomes bigger and brighter during the week in the lead up to opposition on January 30th. In the evening Mars can be seen rising just as Jupiter is setting (between 10-10:30 local daylight saving time)
Saturn is visible low in the morning sky between the bright stars Regulus and Spica. Mars, Regulus, Saturn and Spica from a nice line-up with the Moon on January 8.
Note the location of Vesta, which is visible in binoculars and will become visible to the unaided eye in February.
Mercury returns to the morning twilight, and is close to the thin crescent Moon on the morning of January 14.
Bright white Venus is invisible the twilight glow and will not reappear until February.
South-Western horizon showing Jupiter at 21:00 pm local daylight saving time (20:00 pm non-daylight saving) on Thursday January 7, click to embiggen.Jupiter is easily seen as the brightest object low in the western early evening sky. Jupiter is big enough to be appreciated in even the smallest telescope but its proximity to the horizon makes seeing surface features difficult, and will get progressively more difficult this week. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars or a small telescope.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ADST, Western sky at 10 pm ADST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Labels: weekly sky
Monday, January 04, 2010
Animations of Jupiter
Jupiter and its Moons as seen on September 5, 2009. The only decent view of got of Jupiter this year due to lousy weather (sob), and my image sequence was cut short by clouds. Click to embiggen. The Moons are a bit hard to see. Ganymede is to the left of Jupiter, and Io and Europa are close together on the right. This animated GIF (or AVI if you prefer) shows the rotations of the cloud bands nicely. This AVI is overexposed to show the moons movements clearly. Images taken as AVI sequences with Don my 8" Newtonian using a Philips ToUCam, sequences aligned with registax then assembled in The Gimp.
Labels: astrophotography, Jupiter
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Spleen Guy - Page 4
Spleen Guy Page 4, click to embiggenThis is MiddleOnes Web comic, it's the story of a spleen. Seen here every Sunday.
It should be read right to left Manga style, except when it's left to right (like this starting page) or out of sequence. The right side bar is usually the last panel (anyone who has read "Fruits Basket" will recognise the style).
Labels: Spleen Guy, Webcomics
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