In the Sky This Week – January 14, 2020
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Mars appears near the star Antares in the southeastern horizon before dawn this week; a waning crescent Moon joins them on January 20th.
The Moon appears near Mars and the star Antares in the southeastern sky before sunrise on Jan. 20th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon appears near the star Regulus at midnight on January 13th, and near the star Spica on January 17th.
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- The Moon appears near the star Regulus in the eastern sky at midnight on Jan. 13th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
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- The Moon appears near the star Spica in the southeastern sky at midnight on Jan. 17th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Venus appears high and bright above the southwestern horizon at dusk this week.
Venus appears in the southwestern sky at dusk this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon is a waning gibbous, rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise.
The third quarter moon occurs on January 17th, rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise.
After January 17th, the Moon will be a waning crescent, visible low to the east before sunrise.
The Moon from 2020-01-14 - 2020-01-20. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News
Impact craters come in many sizes. In this image, the crater on the top left, called Milichius A, is 5.6 miles (9 km) across. You can also see plenty of craters just a few yards wide. #MoonCrushMonday #MCM https://t.co/iGk1h5mGyQ pic.twitter.com/pgNA7qaYWN
— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) January 6, 2020
The descent stage of the #Apollo10 LM "Snoopy" may still be orbiting the moon today. That's what a randomized trial of 50 simulations of the initial stage orbit suggest. All 50 remained in orbit after 10 years... pic.twitter.com/8qT5RUixX5
— Roger Twank (@RogerTwank) January 11, 2020
The Sun has been spot-free for 3 days; coronal holes appear at both poles, and a large coronal holes appears north of the equator.
The Sun seen in 193 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) Jan. 13, 2020:
Light prominence activity over the last couple days - except for that large prominence in the upper right side of the video below:
The Sun seen in 304 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) Jan. 13, 2020:
You can view the Sun in near real-time, in multiple frequencies here: SDO-The Sun Now.
You can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.
Facebook: SolarActivity
Solar Corona
Solar wind speed is 299.5 km/sec (↓↓), with a density of 0.4 protons/cm3 (↓↓) at 1100 UT.
Near real-time animation of the corona and solar wind from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech-SOHO
Sun News
Researchers used NASA supercomputers to model how Sun-like star Kappa Ceti could erupt in a gigantic superflare — one as powerful as our Sun’s famous 1859 Carrington superstorm. More from @NASA_NCCS: https://t.co/44VVqa9ecv pic.twitter.com/4mGQ8gDNw2
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) January 13, 2020
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 2018 (last updated Oct. 1, 2019)
Total Minor Planets discovered: 921,902 (+8,850)
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2020 AO |
2020-Jan-14
|
9.3 LD
|
19.5
|
49
|
| 2011 EP51 |
2020-Jan-15
|
19.6 LD
|
7.1
|
32
|
| 2017 RZ15 |
2020-Jan-15
|
12.1 LD
|
7.4
|
14
|
| 2020 AZ1 |
2020-Jan-16
|
8.3 LD
|
4
|
17
|
| 2019 YD3 |
2020-Jan-16
|
6.9 LD
|
4.8
|
22
|
| 2010 AE30 |
2020-Jan-17
|
11.9 LD
|
12.3
|
68
|
| 2019 YG1 |
2020-Jan-17
|
17.5 LD
|
4.5
|
32
|
| 2019 YQ3 |
2020-Jan-17
|
18.2 LD
|
3.1
|
19
|
| 2020 AD1 |
2020-Jan-17
|
9.1 LD
|
4.5
|
20
|
| 2020 AH1 |
2020-Jan-18
|
15.9 LD
|
8
|
45
|
| 2009 BH2 |
2020-Jan-18
|
14.6 LD
|
17.9
|
118
|
| 2019 YA5 |
2020-Jan-19
|
11.7 LD
|
5.2
|
22
|
| 2020 AQ1 |
2020-Jan-20
|
10.6 LD
|
27.6
|
135
|
| 2013 DU |
2020-Jan-20
|
14.9 LD
|
6.4
|
56
|
| 2019 TF2 |
2020-Jan-23
|
16.2 LD
|
1.6
|
19
|
| 2018 BM5 |
2020-Jan-23
|
13.1 LD
|
8.6
|
12
|
| 2018 AL12 |
2020-Jan-30
|
18.2 LD
|
17.7
|
39
|
| 2017 AE5 |
2020-Feb-01
|
13.6 LD
|
9
|
123
|
| 2018 BU1 |
2020-Feb-02
|
19.4 LD
|
10
|
41
|
| 163373 |
2020-Feb-15
|
15.1 LD
|
15.2
|
589
|
| 2018 CW2 |
2020-Feb-17
|
6 LD
|
10.2
|
28
|
| 2019 BE5 |
2020-Feb-20
|
13.9 LD
|
14.8
|
34
|
| 2011 DR |
2020-Feb-23
|
14.7 LD
|
5.8
|
25
|
| 2016 CO246 |
2020-Feb-23
|
18.4 LD
|
5.9
|
25
|
| 2012 DS30 |
2020-Feb-26
|
12.3 LD
|
5.4
|
22
|
| 2015 BK509 |
2020-Feb-28
|
18.3 LD
|
12.5
|
118
|
| 2017 BM123 |
2020-Mar-01
|
10.5 LD
|
8.1
|
65
|
| 2018 RF6 |
2020-Mar-10
|
11.2 LD
|
12.6
|
36
|
| 2008 UB95 |
2020-Mar-11
|
18.5 LD
|
7.6
|
41
|
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Red highlighted entries are asteroids that either pass very close, or very large with high relative velocities to the Earth. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Asteroid News
Meet Lucy, currently in development. The Lucy spacecraft will travel to the Trojan asteroids, near Jupiter.
“The #LucyMission will transform our understanding of solar system evolution.”#NASALucy pic.twitter.com/yHj35hCvCZ
— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) January 13, 2020
On Jan. 13, 2020, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 10 fireballs.
(9 sporadics, 1 beta Sextantid)
In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). From: Spaceweather.com
Fireball News
Check out this amazing photo of the first meteor shower of the decade courtesy of @NASA astronaut @Astro_Christina. https://t.co/cXKXpuyz9n pic.twitter.com/qgSI5LAUbE
— Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike) January 13, 2020
Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system:
Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, 2020-01-14. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Mars News: New Crater Candidate
Candidate new impact site formed between December 2007 and May 2008 - https://t.co/UXUXg1GWkW pic.twitter.com/3NpKXaEL11
— HiRISE Bot (@HiRISEBot) January 14, 2020
Position of the planets and a couple bodies in the middle solar system:
Position of the planets in the middle solar system, 2020-01-14. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Jupiter News: Amazing Citizen Scientist Image Processing!
Jupiter: Exotic Marble
"A mind of limits, a camera of thoughts" is the name of this contribution from citizen scientist Prateek Sarpal. Jupiter inspires artists and scientists with its beauty!
Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing by Prateek Sarpal pic.twitter.com/6qZZO2Mfrr
— Universal-Sci (@universal_sci) January 14, 2020
Position of the planets in the outer solar system - the orbit of transneptunian object (38083) Rhadamanthus is highlighted:
Outer Solar System 2020-01-14 - Orbit of transneptunian object (38083) Rhadamanthus is highlighted - vertical lines show distance above and below the plane of the ecliptic. Credit: JPL Small Body Database Browser / Bob Trembley.
(38083) Rhadamanthus
38083 Rhadamanthus is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO). It was discovered in 1999 by the Deep Ecliptic Survey. It was originally thought to be a plutino but no longer is.
Rhadamanthus was discovered on 17 April 1999 by the Deep Ecliptic Survey.
Rhadamanthus is named after the Greek mythological figure. The name was announced in the circular of the Minor Planet Center of 24 July 2002, which stated "Rhadamanthus was a son of Zeus and Europa. Because of his just and upright life, after death he was appointed a judge of the dead and the ruler of Elysium, a blissfully beautiful area of the Underworld where those favored by the gods spent their life after death. The name was suggested by E. K. Elliot. - Wikipedia
NASA's Interactive Real-Time Web-based Orrery:
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission
My first rehearsal for sample collection is in April. I’ll practice leaving orbit, maneuvering to a checkpoint 420 ft (125 m) above Nightingale, and returning to orbit. In the second rehearsal I’ll fly even closer to Nightingale, hovering just 164 ft (50) m above Bennu’s surface. pic.twitter.com/MwO6YR27dF
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) January 9, 2020
International Space Station: Spacewalk Tomorrow
.@Astro_Christina and @Astro_Jessica are getting ready for Wednesday's spacewalk as the rest of the crew works a variety of @ISS_Research today. Read more... https://t.co/Q6EREcFnzy pic.twitter.com/PCWvksv3Pe
— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) January 13, 2020
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
The final speaker of the #AAS235 @NASA_TESS splinter session is Eliza Kempton. She highlighted how many of the exoplanets being discovered by TESS are prime targets for @NASAWebb - JWST can be used to reveal the properties of the atmospheres of exoplanets! pic.twitter.com/e3r199OeWn
— NASA_TESS (@NASA_TESS) January 7, 2020
Man! I have GOT to attend some of these conferences!
Hubble Space Telescope: 30 Years!
Soon to arrive on your doorstep — yes, it’s been 30 years now for the great Hubble Space Telescope. Read all about it! pic.twitter.com/NWHkMuQE37
— David Eicher (@deicherstar) January 13, 2020
ASTERIA Cubesat: Goes Silent
I’ve gone quiet 🛰☹️
My team misses me, but we did great work for 2+ years - 8x my planned 90 day mission!https://t.co/0ynnCkJSCy— ASTERIA (@ASTERIA_CubeSat) January 6, 2020
Climate: Arctic Sea Ice Decline Animation
Source: Annual Arctic Sea Ice Minimum 1979-2019 with Area Graph
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
* Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS refers to the number planets that have been published in the refereed astronomical literature.
* TESS Project Candidates refers to the total number of transit-like events that appear to be astrophysical in origin, including false positives as identified by the TESS Project.
* TESS Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed refers to the number of TESS Project Candidates that have not yet been dispositioned as a Confirmed Planet or False Positive.
Congratulations to France's Alpes Azur Mercantour for being designated as an International Dark Sky Reserve! This makes the Alpes Azur Mercantour the third International Dark Sky Reserve in France, joining Pic du Midi and Cévennes National Park!https://t.co/awSWj10OSe
— IDA Dark-Sky (@IDADarkSky) January 8, 2020
City lights, oh so bright, deep at night, all around the world...
New York City 🇺🇸
Dammam, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
Winnipeg, Canada 🇨🇦
Bucharest, Romania 🇷🇴 pic.twitter.com/97NkWcDulo— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) January 8, 2020
I think I need to print this image of star cluster R136 as a 3 foot poster, so I can stare at it for hours!
The central region of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The young and dense star cluster R136 can be seen at the lower right of the image. This cluster contains hundreds of young, blue stars, among them the most massive stars detected in the universe so far. Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope were able to conduct a detailed imaging and spectroscopic study of the central and most dense region of this cluster. Here they found nine stars with masses greater than 100 times the mass of the sun. The cluster is located 170,000 light-years away from Earth. Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Crowther (University of Sheffield)
The Local Stellar Neighborhood
I read a LOT of science fiction - much of that deals with space travel, in one form or another. A couple books I've read recently deal with sending probes to nearby stars and several star names keep coming up, so for the next several weeks, I thought I'd take readers on a visual tour of nearby stars and their systems.
Stars up to ten light-years from the Sun. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star that is likely a part of the Alpha Centauri star system and is the closest star to the Sun at a distance of 4.22 light-years (3.99×1013 km; 2.48×1013 mi). It is in the constellation of Centaurus.
Proxima Centauri was found to share the same proper motion as Alpha Centauri in 1915 by Robert Innes while he was Director of the Union Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In 1951, Harlow Shapley said that Proxima Centauri was a flare star. Recorded photographs showed that the star became measurably brighter about 8% of the time, making it the most active flare star then found.
Red dwarfs are usually far too faint to be seen with the naked eye, that means without a telescope. Proxima Centauri has an apparent magnitude of 11 while its absolute magnitude is a very dim 15.5. Even from Alpha Centauri A or B, Proxima would only be seen as a 5th magnitude star.
Proxima Centauri has been the closest star to the Sun for about the last 32,000 years. Barnard's Star will make its closest approach to the Sun around AD 11,700, when it approaches to within about 3.8 light-years. However, at that time, it will not be the nearest star, since Proxima Centauri will then have moved even closer to the Sun.
In 2016, a exoplanet was found by the European Southern Observatory around Proxima Centauri, Proxima Centauri b (or Proxima b). It was found in the habitable zone, and was thought to be Earth-like, with an ESI of 0.87. While being Earth-like, it may not be habitable on the surface, since Proxima Centauri gives off strong solar flares and high solar winds, which could strip away parts of the atmosphere of the planet, making it less habitable.
In October of 2016, scientists at France's CNRS research institute said that the planet may have oceans on its surface, and a thin atmosphere. If this idea is true or not is not known. - Wikipedia
Proxima Centauri System. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
Artist's conception of Proxima Centauri seen from above exoplanet Proxima b - Alpha Centauri is the bright star to the left of Proxima. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
Apps used for this post:
NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission simulator - free for the PC /MAC. I maintain the unofficial NASA Eyes Facebook page.
Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. It's a great tool for planning observing sessions. A web-based version of Stellarium is also available.
Universe Sandbox: a space simulator that merges real-time gravity, climate, collision, and material interactions to reveal the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Includes VR support.
SpaceEngine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for Windows. Steam version with VR support available.
Section header image credits:
The Sky - Stellarium / Bob Trembley
Observing Target - Turn Left at Orion / M. Skirvin
The Moon - NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Sun - NASA/JPL-Caltech
Asteroids - NASA/JPL-Caltech
Fireballs - Credited to YouTube
Comets - Comet P/Halley, March 8, 1986, W. Liller
The Solar System - NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Spacecraft News - NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Exoplanets - Space Engine / Bob Trembley
Light Pollution - NASA's Black Marble
The Universe - Universe Today