In the Sky This Week – August 20, 2019
I will be giving live demonstrations of NASA Eyes on the Solar System, Universe Sandbox, Kerbal Space Program and SpaceEngine at the Warren Public Library, Thursday August 22nd at 6:00 PM! I've given these demonstrations several times - I frequently hear "I had no idea these even existed!" from audience members. I lectured at this library a month ago, and mentioned I work for the VOF; afterwards, and audience member came up to me and showed me a picture on her phone of her with Br. Guy - taken overseas! Facebook event: [LINK].
Saturn and Jupiter continue to make excellent observing targets in the southern sky after sunset.
Saturn, Jupiter and Antares in the southern sky after sunset. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
By midnight, Saturn is high in the south-southwestern sky and Jupiter is near setting in the southwest.
Saturn and Jupiter in the southwestern sky at midnight on Aug. 20th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The eastern sky has some bright stars and the Pleiades star cluster at 3:00 AM.
The Pleiades, Aldebaran and several bright stars in the eastern sky at 3:00 AM this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
On Aug. 20th, the Moon is high and lonely in the sky from midnight to dawn.
A lonely Moon high in the southeastern sky at 3:00 AM on Aug. 20th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Summer Triangle sets in the west before sunrise all week.
The Summer Triangle near setting in the west-northwestern predawn sky this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Orion rises in the eastern predawn sky - a sure sign that fall is nearing.
Orion on the rise in the eastern predawn sky this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Mercury continues to head away from us in its orbit, and appears lower each morning in the eastern predawn sky.
Mercury in the eastern predawn sky on Aug. 20, 2019. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon appears near the star Aldebaran in the eastern sky early in the morning from Aug. 23-26th - very near on the 24th!
Moon near Aldebaran in the early morning from Aug. 23-26th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
M 23
Messier 23. Credit: Wikisky.
"Messier 23, also known as NGC 6494, is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 20, 1764. M23 can be found with binoculars or a modestly sized telescope. The cluster is positioned in front of "an extensive gas and dust network", although it is unclear if there is an association between the two. It is located near the ecliptic and thus is subject to lunar occultations.
The cluster is located 2,050 light years away. Estimates for the number of cluster members range from 169 up to 414, with a directly-counted mass of 1,206 M☉; 1,332 M☉ by application of the virial theorem. The cluster is around 330 million years old with a near-solar metallicity of [Fe/H] = −0.04.The brightest component (lucida) is of magnitude 9.3. Five of the cluster members are candidate red giants, while the variable VV Sgr is a candidate asymptotic giant branch star." - Wikipedia
Location of M 23 around 11:00 PM on Aug. 20, 2019. 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 August 23rd, rising around midnight, visible to the south after sunrise.
After August 23rd, the Moon will be a waning crescent, visible low to the east before sunrise
The Moon from Aug. 20-26, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News
We are going to the Moon — to stay.
Our #Artemis program will lay the groundwork for a sustainable infrastructure to support missions to Mars and beyond. This is what we’re building. This is what we’re training for. We are going.
Explore: https://t.co/Uk5tVT4xC9 pic.twitter.com/98tl1PQQa0
— NASA (@NASA) August 19, 2019
We're looking for industry to help deliver supplies to the Gateway, which is @NASA's lunar outpost. 🌙
The first supply mission supports landing the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 as part of our #Artemis program: https://t.co/o2QznRg4KX pic.twitter.com/WVb9dSDwJq
— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) August 19, 2019
The Sun has been spot-free for 13 days. The coronal holes at the Sun's poles have remained open for months; the north hole has been huge for over a month!
The solar wind speed is 406.2 km/sec (↓), with a density of 4.0 protons/cm3 (↑) at 1100 UT.
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2016 PD1 |
2019-Aug-26
|
11.3 LD
|
5.9
|
65
|
| 2002 JR100 |
2019-Aug-27
|
19.4 LD
|
8.4
|
49
|
| 2019 OU1 |
2019-Aug-28
|
2.7 LD
|
13
|
95
|
| 2019 OF2 |
2019-Sep-03
|
18.3 LD
|
10.7
|
53
|
| 2018 DE1 |
2019-Sep-03
|
12.7 LD
|
6.6
|
28
|
| 2019 GT3 |
2019-Sep-06
|
19.5 LD
|
13.6
|
227
|
| 2010 RM82 |
2019-Sep-13
|
18.2 LD
|
14.6
|
23
|
| 2013 CV83 |
2019-Sep-13
|
15.7 LD
|
13.1
|
62
|
| 504800 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
14.4
|
155
|
| 467317 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
6.4
|
389
|
| 2019 JF1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
11.2 LD
|
4.3
|
61
|
| 2018 FU1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
18.4 LD
|
4.7
|
16
|
| 2017 SL16 |
2019-Sep-21
|
7.9 LD
|
6.5
|
25
|
| 2017 SM21 |
2019-Sep-21
|
11.5 LD
|
9.6
|
20
|
| 523934 |
2019-Sep-24
|
10.9 LD
|
22.3
|
257
|
| 2017 KP27 |
2019-Sep-26
|
6.2 LD
|
4.8
|
25
|
| 2006 QV89 |
2019-Sep-27
|
18.1 LD
|
4.1
|
31
|
| 2018 FK5 |
2019-Oct-01
|
13.3 LD
|
10.5
|
8
|
| 2018 LG4 |
2019-Oct-02
|
13.8 LD
|
8.1
|
12
|
| 2017 TJ4 |
2019-Oct-05
|
13.5 LD
|
8.9
|
32
|
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
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 49 (+14), this year: 1287 (+16), all time: 20673 (+15)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,635 (+94)
I noticed that the number of known asteroids is approaching 800,000 - I wondered when this milestone might happen. I used data from my previous posts - the trend-line shows 800K being crossed sometime near the end of September of this year! This same trend-line shows the 1,000,000 milestone being crossed in July of 2032, but that's at the current rate of discovery - hopefully the discovery rate will have increased dramatically before then.
Asteroid Discovery Trendline. Credit: Bob Trembley
On Aug. 19, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 48 fireballs.
(43 sporadics, 4 Perseids, 1 Northern delta Aquariid)
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 & Meteor News
HUGE #meteor (bolide) in the skies over Torregrande, Sardinia, August 16th!
Video credit: @ClaudiuPorcu via Irina Gencheva pic.twitter.com/WRWlMkPaRW
— Physics-astronomy.org (@OrgPhysics) August 19, 2019
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system - I highlighted the asteroid Pallas:
Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, Aug. 20, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Position of the planets and a couple asteroids in the middle solar system, Aug. 20, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Orbit of Pallas showing inclination to the plane of the ecliptic, Aug. 20, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Inner Solar System Seen from Pallas, Aug. 20, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Hypothetical view of the Sun and Pleiades star cluster seen from above Pallas. The urge to superimpose the U.S.S. Enterprise orbiting Pallas in this pic is almost overwhelming! Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
Hypothetical view of the Sun from the cratered surface of Pallas. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the outer solar system - the orbit of Halley's comet is highlighted, Aug. 20, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
NASA's Interactive Real-Time Web-based Orrery:
Solar System News
Who says #WorldPhotographyDay has to be limited to *this* world?
See some of the best photos in the solar system and beyond in our downloadable:
📚 e-books - https://t.co/ZTQqt3sKJN
🖼 posters - https://t.co/Ohu3z0m2dS
🌌 image collections - https://t.co/TvfTRDhz4V pic.twitter.com/9wzrLkWsr1— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) August 19, 2019
One step closer to Europa! Our upcoming mission to Jupiter’s intriguing ocean moon is ready to move into the next phase. Coming up is the final design, followed by construction and testing of our spacecraft and science payload. Details: https://t.co/EH6jfP06Pv pic.twitter.com/8Y2WAmAckP
— NASA Europa Clipper (@EuropaClipper) August 19, 2019
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission
New mission phase alert! Orbital C began just over a week ago. At an altitude of 1.1 miles (1.7 km), this new orbit is slightly higher than Orbital B. Orbital C is designed to study and monitor asteroid Bennu’s particle ejection events.
Learn more: https://t.co/LlaLk1EQS5 pic.twitter.com/VkITmzKbHt
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) August 19, 2019
Capturing the beauty and mystery of other worlds #WorldPhotographyDay
This image of asteroid Bennu was taken by PolyCam, built by @UALPL’s OCAMS team, on April 11 from a distance of 2.9 miles (4.6 km). pic.twitter.com/7LI0omKH4Q
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) August 19, 2019
Landsat
Using 15 #Landsat images, this animation compresses 25 years of change into just 1.5 seconds to reveal the complex behaviour of the surging glaciers in the Panmah region of the Karakoram mountain range in #Asia. Read more: https://t.co/jkYny4AthM pic.twitter.com/PRsFl6Z3ti
— ESA EarthObservation (@ESA_EO) August 19, 2019
Climate
Last month's global average concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) was about 411 parts per million (ppm), up about 3 ppm from the same time last year. https://t.co/qjYgQZI1Al
— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) August 15, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
In my travels in SpaceEngine, I found a (hypothetical) gas giant planet with a liquid water moon orbiting the star τ Ophiuchi. I took several screen shots at various times of day, and put them into a gallery. I liked one of the pics so much I dressed it up like the NASA/JPL Visions of the Future retro travel posters.
Possible Detection of a Black Hole Devouring a Neutron Star
Astronomers Spy a Black Hole Devouring a Neutron Star https://t.co/XKCZUNCYid via @sciam
— Rauch Planetarium (@uoflplanetarium) August 20, 2019
Kerbal Space Program 2 Announced!
If you've been in proximity of me for more then five minutes, it's a pretty sure bet you've heard me mention Kerbal Space Program. KSP is an award-winning space flight simulation game - I've been playing it, writing about it and teaching with it for years now. When I saw this announcement of a spring 2020 release of KSP2, I nearly popped! I hope the new developers of KSP2 will be partners with NASA like Squad the developers of KSP1 are.
Scott Manley is an astrophysicist and KSP guru - he's produced numerous KSP how-to videos. Scott analyzes the KSP2 announcement video:
Spring 2020 can't come soon enough! I hope the developers need beta testers!
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.
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
The Universe - Universe Today
July 20, 2019 was the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
In the Sky This Week – August 13, 2019
The past couple days have certainly been a "voyage of discovery" for me. It started when I saw this tweet showing a massive release of energy from the Milky Way's central black hole: Sagittarius A*.
For those who are interested in the details of our observations of Sgr A* this year (including this one), see our recently accepted paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters. Read the pre-print of the paper here: https://t.co/cqqinNSKxK
— Tuan Do (@quantumpenguin) August 12, 2019
The outburst took place over the short span of two and a half hours! WOW and then some! I stopped everything I was doing and went upstairs to show my wife, who also said WOW! I showed the tweet to some members of the Warren Astronomical Society at last Sunday's Perseid Party at Stargate Observatory - they said WOW too... and then they cajoled me into presenting something about it at the W.A.S. meeting Thursday night - so go me!
Dr. Do was incredibly informative with his answers to a multitude of questions to his original tweet - a couple of them made me laugh out loud! I followed him on Twitter.
I then started with what I thought was going to be a "simple" search of the interwebs on Sagittarius A*... BOY did that turn into a trip down the rabbit-hole! There is an imperial boatload of articles, papers and resources about that black hole; it would take me days (if not weeks) to become comfortably conversant on the subject... I'm including some of the interesting things I found in this post.
The Moon appears near Saturn in the southern sky after sunset on August 13th. A reader asked me what the (x4) he sometimes saw on the images of the Moon I create for this section were - I use the app Stellarium to create images for my "In the Sky" posts; Stellarium allows you to magnify the size of the Moon so you can see it better, otherwise, unless you zoom WAYYY in you can hardly see the disk of the Moon. If you DO zoom in, you can’t fit very many constellations in the sky, so there's a trade-off... Below are images of the same patch of sky with the Moon scaled and unscaled.
-
- Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn in the southern sky at midnight on August 13th with the Moon unscaled. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
-
- Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn in the southern sky at midnight on August 13th – with the Moon scaled. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The full Moon appears in the southwestern sky before sunrise on August 15th.
The full Moon in the southwestern sky before sunrise on August 15th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The waning gibbous Moon is pretty lonely in the eastern sky at midnight on August 19th.
The Moon in the eastern sky at midnight on August 19th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon is high in the southern sky around sunrise on August 19th,
The Moon high in the southern sky before sunrise on August 19th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Mercury is heading away from us in its orbit, and appears lower in the eastern predawn sky each morning this week.
Mercury low in the eastern predawn sky on August 14th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Sagittarius A*
"I can't see you, but I know you're there..." - Genesis, All In A Mouse's Night
I'm totally cheating here - you and your amateur telescope don't have any hope of seeing the black hole in the core of the galaxy... but you can point to where it is!
Location of Sagittarius A* in the southern sky after sunset this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
These guys, however... they CAN see it! The lasers coming out of the telescopes are part of the telescope's adaptive optics system.
Here's a very cool zoom to Sgr A*, and animation of the stars orbiting it.
Coincidentally, the science fiction story I'm currently listening to on audio has the main characters in a spacecraft, in very close proximity to Sgr A*!
The Moon is a waxing gibbous, visible to the southeast in early evening, up for most of the night.
The full Moon occurs on August 15th, rising at sunset, visible high in the sky around midnight, and up all night.
After August 15th, the Moon will be a waning gibbous, rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise.
The Moon from Aug. 13-19, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News
Named for the mythological Greek Moon goddess and twin of Apollo, #Artemis will carry humanity back to the Moon — this time, for good — before we launch to Mars and to the unexplored beyond. Get the latest updates and more, straight to your inbox: https://t.co/dlKxutEWuP pic.twitter.com/fGa8klSgnB
— NASA (@NASA) August 11, 2019
The Sun has been spot-free for 6 days. Both the Sun's poles have large coronal holes, the north hole is has been huge for weeks!
One prominence gave a great show for several hours during the afternoon of August 12!
The solar wind speed is 452.4 km/sec (↓), with a density of 2.4 protons/cm3 (↑) at 1300 UT.
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 454094 |
2019-Aug-12
|
17 LD
|
8.2
|
148
|
| 2019 PX |
2019-Aug-12
|
19.6 LD
|
12
|
35
|
| 2019 PJ |
2019-Aug-16
|
8.8 LD
|
14.2
|
59
|
| 2018 PN22 |
2019-Aug-17
|
17.1 LD
|
2.3
|
11
|
| 2019 PK |
2019-Aug-18
|
11 LD
|
7.4
|
30
|
| 2016 PD1 |
2019-Aug-26
|
11.3 LD
|
5.9
|
65
|
| 2002 JR100 |
2019-Aug-27
|
19.4 LD
|
8.4
|
49
|
| 2019 OU1 |
2019-Aug-28
|
2.7 LD
|
13
|
95
|
| 2019 OF2 |
2019-Sep-03
|
18.3 LD
|
10.7
|
53
|
| 2018 DE1 |
2019-Sep-03
|
12.7 LD
|
6.6
|
28
|
| 2019 GT3 |
2019-Sep-06
|
19.5 LD
|
13.6
|
227
|
| 2010 RM82 |
2019-Sep-13
|
18.2 LD
|
14.6
|
23
|
| 2013 CV83 |
2019-Sep-13
|
15.7 LD
|
13.1
|
62
|
| 504800 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
14.4
|
155
|
| 467317 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
6.4
|
389
|
| 2019 JF1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
11.2 LD
|
4.3
|
61
|
| 2018 FU1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
18.4 LD
|
4.7
|
16
|
| 2017 SL16 |
2019-Sep-21
|
7.9 LD
|
6.5
|
25
|
| 2017 SM21 |
2019-Sep-21
|
11.5 LD
|
9.6
|
20
|
| 523934 |
2019-Sep-24
|
10.9 LD
|
22.3
|
257
|
| 2017 KP27 |
2019-Sep-26
|
6.2 LD
|
4.8
|
25
|
| 2006 QV89 |
2019-Sep-27
|
18.1 LD
|
4.1
|
31
|
| 2018 FK5 |
2019-Oct-01
|
13.3 LD
|
10.5
|
8
|
| 2018 LG4 |
2019-Oct-02
|
13.8 LD
|
8.1
|
12
|
| 2017 TJ4 |
2019-Oct-05
|
13.5 LD
|
8.9
|
32
|
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
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 35 (34), this year: 1271 (+35), all time: 20658 (+34)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,541
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,541
On Aug. 12, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 116 fireballs.
(76 Perseids, 38 sporadics, 1 Northern delta Aquariid, 1 Southern delta Aquariid)
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 & Meteor News:
Here's a bright Perseid that occurred last night over the central east coast. Captured on 6 AMS meteor cameras. pic.twitter.com/ziGII47Njt
— AMSMETEORS (@amsmeteors) August 12, 2019
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, Aug. 13, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets, a couple spacecraft and several asteroids in the inner solar system, Aug. 13, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets, in the middle solar system, Aug. 13, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets, several asteroids and comets in the middle solar system, Aug. 13, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets, and several trans-Neptunian objects in the outer solar system, Aug. 13, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Solar System News - Jupiter Gets Hit, Again!
Imaged Jupiter tonight. Looks awfully like an impact flash in the SEB. Happened on 2019-08-07 at 4:07 UTC. pic.twitter.com/KSis9RZrgP
— Chappel Astro (@ChappelAstro) August 7, 2019
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission - Final Four Sample Site Candidates
It’s official. We’ve selected the Final Four sites on asteroid Bennu for sample collection! One of these will end up being the site for our touchdown event next year.
Read more about the selection process here: https://t.co/EMLbi8dDnw pic.twitter.com/gqWXYWu2Ti
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) August 12, 2019
Sandpiper, which lies within the white circle, covers roughly 6 parking spaces. The radius of the sample site is 16 ft (5 m). pic.twitter.com/N9QHBJiyY6
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) August 12, 2019
LightSail2 Solar Sail - Raises Orbit Around Earth Using Sunlight
MISSION SUCCESS!
We just raised our orbit around Earth using sunlight alone, something that’s never been done before.#LightSail2 is now the highest performing solar sail to date and it's 100% crowdfunded by our members and backers! pic.twitter.com/9bLxTNgbJs
— Planetary Society (@exploreplanets) July 31, 2019
Parker Solar Probe - Into its Second Year
Happy 1st birthday, #ParkerSolarProbe! 🎂☀️🛰 Since launch one year ago, it's sent back a host of groundbreaking scientific data from the Sun. Reflect on the mission so far: https://t.co/hu6vEnPZXe
📹 The WISPR instrument saw solar wind flowing by the spacecraft in Nov. 2018. pic.twitter.com/mdWYOKI9Vi
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) August 12, 2019
Landsat - Images Siberian Fires
#Siberianfires are seen in this recent #Landsat mosaic. This ~ 185km x 1,500 km swath helps show the extent of the fires. pic.twitter.com/YYnCcJo6zF
— USGS Landsat Program (@USGSLandsat) August 9, 2019
Climate
As sea levels rise, Virginia's coastal flooding is getting worse – especially during hurricanes. @NASA’s Disasters Program provides satellite data to help cities understand which areas are most at risk. #SpaceForUS https://t.co/T50c2IVD7O pic.twitter.com/D5eTe03LO0
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) August 5, 2019
A NASA instrument onboard the International Space Station has imaged Costa Rican vegetation stress caused by a massive regional drought that led the nation's government to declare a state of emergency on July 23. https://t.co/MbYXDVVa5h
— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) August 9, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
In my travels in SpaceEngine, I found a (hypothetical) system in a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way galaxy containing a gas giant with several moons. The moon I selected was tidally-locked to its gas giant parent - so the giant always hung at the same spot on the horizon. I took several screenshots from the same location - that I named my "camping spot," running time forward through an entire day. The landscape displayed interesting differences depending on the lighting, and I couldn't decide which image I wanted to show, so I put them ALL into a gallery:
Sagittarius A*
At the center of our own Milky Way galaxy lives a very massive black hole which astronomers call Sagittarius A* (pronounced Sagittarius A-star), or Sgr A*, which has a mass approximately 4.3 million times the mass of our sun and is located about 25,000 light years away from the Earth. Even though 4.3 million might seem like a lot, compared to other supermassive black holes at the centers of other galaxies it’s actually fairly small. Astronomers have found black holes at the centers of other galaxies which have masses up to billions of times the mass of our sun. Astronomers have also found various other black holes which are closer to us, but these closer black holes are much smaller and have masses equal to a few times the mass of our sun. However, despite the fact that our supermassive black hole is neither the most massive black hole nor the closest black hole to us, it is the closest supermassive black hole and therefore is the black hole which looks the biggest from our point of view. Because of this, Sgr A* is the primary source for the Event Horizon Telescope.
In 1974 astronomers Bruce Balick and Robert Brown discovered a bright radio source in the Sagittarius constellation. Although at the time astronomers did not know that the source they had just discovered was in fact a black hole, it was given the name Sagittarius A* in 1982 because it was a bright and exciting source in the constellation Sagittarius. The most compelling evidence that Sgr A* is a black hole comes from studying the motion of stars moving close to the object. By studying the orbits of these stars over many years astronomers can measure the mass of the object that the stars are orbiting. The best explanation that we have for an object with a mass of 4 million times that of the sun contained in the region enclosed by these nearby stars is a black hole. The video below shows the orbits of these stars over a decade. - Event Horizon Telescope
Below are a couple "artist concept" images of Sgr A* I created using SpaceEngine - you'll note in the first image how the black hole's accretion disk is angled quite a bit to the plane of the Milky Way galaxy - which you can see spread across the background. This was a surprise to me, until I found a couple articles discussing that very topic:
- On the orientation of the Sagittarius A* system
- Our Galaxy's Supermassive Black Hole Could Be Pointing a Relativistic Jet Right at Us
-
- Sagittarius A* far-shot with full brightness – the Sun is located in the band of the galaxy along the top-center of the image. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
-
- Sagittarius A* far-shot with reduced brightness, with the black hole just visible. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
-
- Close-up of Sagittarius A* accretion disk and relativistic jet. 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.
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
The Universe - Universe Today
July 20, 2019 was the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
In the Sky This Week – August 6, 2019
On Sunday the 4th, my wife and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful day; we walked around the Armada (Mi) Flea Market, drove around looking at houses for sale at several locations, and then took a long drive up Michigan's east cost. We were driving through Lexington, which was having a street art show, so we stopped to have lunch and browse the art. Last week, my daughter Amanda and son-in-law Sam Festian (finally) announced publicly that they were going to have a baby! I've known for weeks, but waited for them to tell everyone first. *MY* first baby picture wasn't a grainy ultrasound showing my wittle footsies...
It's "Conjunction Week" as the Moon goes from waxing crescent, to first quarter, to waxing gibbous all week in the south-southwestern sky. The Moon passes close to Jupiter and Saturn during several evenings; the next several days should be great for sidewalk astronomy!
Conjunctions of Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon in the south-southwestern sky after sunset from Aug. 6-12. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Mercury is at its highest in the eastern predawn sky on August 10 & 11th.
Mercury in the eastern predawn sky on Aug. 10, 2019 - Mercury's orbit is shown in red. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
M63 - The Sunflower Galaxy
Sunflower Galaxy (Messier 63). Image: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona
Messier 63 or M63, also known as NGC 5055 or the seldom-used Sunflower Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. M63 was first discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain then later verified by his colleague Charles Messier on June 14, 1779. The galaxy became listed as object 63 in the Messier Catalogue. In the mid-19th century, Anglo-Irish astronomer Lord Rosse identified spiral structures within the galaxy, making this one of the first galaxies in which such structure was identified.
This galaxy has a morphological classification of SAbc, indicating a spiral shape with no central bar feature and moderate to loosely wound arms. There is a general lack of large scale continuous spiral structure in visible light, a galaxy form known as flocculent. However, when observed in the near infrared a symmetric, two-arm structure becomes apparent. Each arm wraps 150° around the galaxy and extends out to 13 kly (4 kpc) from the nucleus.
M63 is an active galaxy with a LINER nucleus. This displays as an unresolved nuclear source wrapped in a diffuse emission. The latter is extended along a position angle of 110° and soft X-rays and H-alpha emission can be observed coming from along nearly the same direction. The existence of a super massive black hole (SMBH) at the nucleus is uncertain; if it does exist, then the mass is estimated as (8.5±1.9)×108 M☉. - Wikipedia
Location of M63. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Hubble Space Telescope close-up of M63: (WOW! I think I need to make a poster of this - it's beautiful!)
Messier 63. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
The Moon is a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening.
The first quarter Moon occurs on August 7th, it will be visible high in the southern sky in early evening.
After August 7th, the Moon will be a waxing gibbous, visible to the southeast in early evening, up for most of the night.
The Moon from Aug. 6-12, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News
A new analysis of data from our Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and our MESSENGER spacecraft indicate that the Moon & Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, may contain significantly more water ice than previously thought! 🥤https://t.co/cpckVdzUW1 pic.twitter.com/BWTdRL5MnO
— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) August 2, 2019
48 years ago #OTD, #Apollo15 landed in Hadley Rille on the Moon. At the time, we didn’t know what created the river-like channel. Thanks to collected samples, we learned those features were volcanic🌋https://t.co/53hL5nbrV1
The astronauts' paths are imposed on the image. 👨🚀 pic.twitter.com/9slOKgaIcy
— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) July 30, 2019
SpaceEngine on Steam Update - Includes Hi-Rez Moon Textures and Apollo Landing Sites with Closeup Textures
When I saw this 11 gig monster update on Steam, well you KNOW I had to go play with it! It's pretty cool to be able to land on the rim of Tycho crater, and look across it! The Apollo landing sites are pretty neat too! The update also includes some asteroids named after science fiction authors; I emailed the author and asked about adding asteroids named after Jesuits and my wife.
-
- One of SpaceEngine’s Loading Screens.
-
- Tycho Crater seen from above. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
-
- Tycho Crater seen from its rim. Credit: SpaceEngine/Bob Trembley.
-
- Close-up of a far-side crater with rilles. Credit: SpaceEngine/Bob Trembley.
-
- The Straight Wall – Daytime. Credit: SpaceEngine/Bob Trembley.
-
- The Straight Wall – Nighttime. Credit: SpaceEngine/Bob Trembley.
-
- Apollo 15 Landing Site showing Hadley Rille. Credit: SpaceEngine/Bob Trembley.
-
- Apollo 15 Landing Site. Credit: SpaceEngine/Bob Trembley.
Announcement on SpaceEngine blog
The Sun has a small spot - you can see AR 2745 develop south of the equator in the videos below. The Sun's northern coronal hole is simply gargantuan, and it has a large friend on the equator. SpaceWeather.com says "Solar wind is currently blowing around Earth faster than 700 km/s (1.6 million mph)--the highest speeds observed so far in 2019. This solar wind storm could spark auroras at high latitudes on the night of August 5th and 6th. Sky watchers in Canada and northern-tier US states should be alert for Northern Lights, especially during the hours around local midnight."
Light prominence activity over the last couple days; there were a couple large prominences, but they were relatively short-lived.
The solar wind speed is 651.1 km/sec (↑), with a density of 0.3 protons/cm3 (↓) at 1005 UT.
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2006 QQ23 |
2019-Aug-10
|
19.4 LD
|
4.7
|
339
|
| 454094 |
2019-Aug-12
|
17 LD
|
8.2
|
148
|
| 2018 PN22 |
2019-Aug-17
|
17.1 LD
|
2.3
|
11
|
| 2016 PD1 |
2019-Aug-26
|
11.4 LD
|
5.9
|
65
|
| 2002 JR100 |
2019-Aug-27
|
19.4 LD
|
8.4
|
49
|
| 2019 OU1 |
2019-Aug-28
|
2.7 LD
|
13.2
|
97
|
| 2019 OF2 |
2019-Sep-03
|
18.3 LD
|
10.7
|
53
|
| 2018 DE1 |
2019-Sep-03
|
12.7 LD
|
6.6
|
28
|
| 2019 GT3 |
2019-Sep-06
|
19.5 LD
|
13.6
|
227
|
| 2010 RM82 |
2019-Sep-13
|
18.2 LD
|
14.6
|
23
|
| 2013 CV83 |
2019-Sep-13
|
15.7 LD
|
13.1
|
62
|
| 504800 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
14.4
|
155
|
| 467317 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
6.4
|
389
|
| 2019 JF1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
11.2 LD
|
4.3
|
61
|
| 2018 FU1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
18.4 LD
|
4.7
|
16
|
| 2017 SL16 |
2019-Sep-21
|
7.9 LD
|
6.5
|
25
|
| 2017 SM21 |
2019-Sep-21
|
11.5 LD
|
9.6
|
20
|
| 2006 QV89 |
2019-Sep-23
|
15.9 LD
|
4.2
|
31
|
| 523934 |
2019-Sep-24
|
10.9 LD
|
22.3
|
257
|
| 2017 KP27 |
2019-Sep-26
|
6.2 LD
|
4.8
|
25
|
| 2018 FK5 |
2019-Oct-01
|
13.3 LD
|
10.5
|
8
|
| 2018 LG4 |
2019-Oct-02
|
13.8 LD
|
8.1
|
12
|
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 1, this year: 1236 (+55), all time: 20624 (+54)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,541 (+82)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,541 (+82)
On Aug. 5, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 29 fireballs.
(14 sporadics, 12 Perseids, 3 Southern delta Aquariids)
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 & Meteor News:
We just received this video from Joseph G. from Lakeland, FL.
This event that occurred over Florida on 2019-07-18 (EDT):https://t.co/y47BUgvKpaDon't forget to watch the sky from time to time if you don't wan't to miss one of these wonders! pic.twitter.com/TndL6w5gzw
— AMSMETEORS (@amsmeteors) August 5, 2019
Perseid Meteor Shower this Weekend!
2017 Geminid meteor. Credit: David Levy
- Best time to observe meteor showers is after midnight when the part of Earth you're standing on has rotated into the meteor stream - the shower "radiant point" will be above your horizon.
- Try to find a location with no light sources.
- Prepare for a cold fall night - bring sweat shirts, coats and blankets. Bring extras too!
- Bring camp chairs, and something to drink.
- Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the dark.
- NO WHITE FLASHLIGHTS OR CELL PHONE LIGHTS - Red lights ONLY!
- Sit back, relax, and look up! Try to take in as much of the sky as you can in your field of view.
Perseid Observing Guide on Space.com
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, Aug. 6, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets in the middle solar system, Aug. 6, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the outer solar system, Aug. 6, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission
NASA still needs your help.
73% of Bennu’s boulders have been mapped. Let’s get to 100% 👏Start mapping here:https://t.co/fWswiQKZkf pic.twitter.com/SZuqTrUpT3
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) August 2, 2019
Landsat - Earth as Art
Earth Selfie - just one of the many awe inspiring #EarthAsArt images #Landsat has captured over the years. Download them all here: https://t.co/EKesL6cG1P pic.twitter.com/G9ZG13KrF9
— USGS (@USGS) August 5, 2019
Climate
In July 2019, a major melting event spread across the Greenland Ice Sheet. Billions of tons of meltwater streamed into the Atlantic Ocean throughout the month, making a direct and immediate contribution to sea level rise. https://t.co/s5qQn1u01N #Greenland #NASA #Landsat pic.twitter.com/KGhUlHm0YC
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) August 4, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
Red Dwarf sunrise on exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e. Planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1 are very likely tidally-locked - if that is the case, the sunrise on the horizon would not change.
Perpetual sunrise on TRAPPIST-1 e. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
Hubble Pic: NGC 3432
NGC 3432. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Filippenko, R. Jansen
Believe it or not, this long, luminous streak, speckled with bright blisters and pockets of material, is a spiral galaxy like our Milky Way. But how could that be?
It turns out that we see this galaxy, named NGC 3432, oriented directly edge-on to us from our vantage point here on Earth. The galaxy’s spiral arms and bright core are hidden, and we instead see the thin strip of its very outer reaches. Dark bands of cosmic dust, patches of varying brightness and pink regions of star formation help with making out the true shape of NGC 3432 — but it’s still somewhat of a challenge! Because observatories such as the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have seen spiral galaxies at every kind of orientation, astronomers can tell when we happen to have caught one from the side.
The galaxy is located in the constellation of Leo Minor (the Lesser Lion). Other telescopes that have had NGC 3432 in their sights include those of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). - ESA (European Space Agency)
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.
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
The Universe - Universe Today
July 20, 2019 was the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
In the Sky This Week – July 30, 2019
I went outside this morning before sunrise to see the thin waning crescent Moon above the horizon - although it was clear overhead, clouds stubbornly clung to my eastern horizon, obscuring my view…
Very thin waning crescent Moon in the east-northeastern sky before sunrise on July 30th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
So I found this tweet with an image of the Moon I had wanted to see.
Here's a look at Tuesday's beautiful sunrise in DC along with the waning crescent Moon. Make it a great day! #wusa9 #GetUpDC pic.twitter.com/9Sqrwy6g2d
— Howard Bernstein (@hbwx) July 30, 2019
Saturn and Jupiter continue to make excellent observing targets in the southern sky after sunset.
Saturn and Jupiter high in the southern sky after sunset all week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Andromeda galaxy is visible in the east-northeastern sky around midnight.
Andromeda in the east-northeastern sky after sunset all week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
You can explore the Andromeda galaxy - and zoom waaaaaaay in here: [Link]
By the beginning of August, Mercury will be visible in the same patch of east-northeastern predawn sky.
Mercury low in the east-northeastern sky before sunrise on August 6th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The waxing crescent Moon appears near the star Spica after sunset on August 5th.
The Moon near the star Spica on August 5th after sunset. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
M 24 - The Small Sagittarius Cloud
Small Sagittarius Cloud/ Credit" Caustiche /Creative Commons
The Sagittarius Star Cloud (also known as Messier 24 and IC 4715) is a star cloud in the constellation of Sagittarius, approximately 600 light years wide, which was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It is sometimes known as the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud to distinguish it from the Great Sagittarius Star Cloud located to the north of Gamma Sagittarii and Delta Sagittarii.
The stars, clusters and other objects comprising M24 are part of the Sagittarius or Sagittarius-Carina arms of the Milky Way galaxy. Messier described M24 as a "large nebulosity containing many stars" and gave its dimensions as being some 1.5° across. Some sources, improperly, identify M24 as the faint cluster NGC 6603. The location of the Sagittarius Star Cloud is near the Omega Nebula (also known as M17) and open cluster Messier 18, north of M24. M24 is one of only three Messier objects that are not deep sky objects.
M24 fills a space of significant volume to a depth of 10,000 to 16,000 light-years. This is the most dense concentration of individual stars visible using binoculars, with around 1,000 stars visible within a single field of view. The star cloud can be seen visible when the Milky Way itself is visible as well. Without the dust and gas that conceals the Milky Way, M24 holds a collection of numerous kinds of stars that are placed along the Milky Way and through the galaxy's obscuring band of interstellar dust. - Wikipedia
The Moon is a waning crescent, visible low to the east before sunrise.
The new Moon occurs on August 1st.
After August 1st, the Moon will be a waxing crescent, v2isible toward the southwest in early evening.
The Moon from July 30-August 5, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News
Once completed, our @NASA_SLS will be the world’s most powerful rocket, capable of sending @NASA_Astronauts and supplies to and around the Moon for future #Artemis missions! 🚀 Check out its milestone summer progress, accelerating us to its first launch: https://t.co/mHzVzxCuyX pic.twitter.com/E8yOveEBHv
— NASA (@NASA) July 30, 2019
As @NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first crewed landing on the moon, the agency released new details about how it will procure landers to enable humans to return to the moon in the 2020s: https://t.co/er0MMqkFvn pic.twitter.com/K5XYmkojJ7
— The SETI Institute (@SETIInstitute) July 29, 2019
The Sun has been spot-free for 7 days. SpaceWeather.com says "Earth is about to be strobed by three streams of solar wind--each flowing from a hole the sun's atmosphere." These coronal holes are clearly visible in the video below from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on July 29th " The southern coronal hole seems to have reduced in size - the northern hole remains open and huge.
Some fantastic prominence activity over the last couple days gave solar photographers another chance to capture some great photos.
The solar wind speed is 356.6 km/sec (↓), with a density of 2.9 protons/cm3 (↑).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2019 ON |
2019-Aug-01
|
6.8 LD
|
4.7
|
33
|
| 2006 QQ23 |
2019-Aug-10
|
19.4 LD
|
4.7
|
339
|
| 454094 |
2019-Aug-12
|
17 LD
|
8.2
|
148
|
| 2018 PN22 |
2019-Aug-17
|
17.1 LD
|
2.3
|
11
|
| 2016 PD1 |
2019-Aug-26
|
11.4 LD
|
5.9
|
65
|
| 2002 JR100 |
2019-Aug-27
|
19.4 LD
|
8.4
|
49
|
| 2019 OU1 |
2019-Aug-28
|
2.7 LD
|
13.2
|
92
|
| 2018 DE1 |
2019-Sep-03
|
12.7 LD
|
6.6
|
28
|
| 2019 GT3 |
2019-Sep-06
|
19.5 LD
|
13.6
|
227
|
| 2010 RM82 |
2019-Sep-13
|
18.2 LD
|
14.6
|
23
|
| 2013 CV83 |
2019-Sep-13
|
15.7 LD
|
13.1
|
62
|
| 504800 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
14.4
|
155
|
| 467317 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
6.4
|
389
|
| 2019 JF1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
11.2 LD
|
4.3
|
61
|
| 2018 FU1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
18.4 LD
|
4.7
|
16
|
| 2017 SL16 |
2019-Sep-21
|
7.9 LD
|
6.5
|
25
|
| 2017 SM21 |
2019-Sep-21
|
11.5 LD
|
9.6
|
20
|
| 2006 QV89 |
2019-Sep-23
|
15.9 LD
|
4.2
|
31
|
| 523934 |
2019-Sep-24
|
10.9 LD
|
22.3
|
257
|
| 2017 KP27 |
2019-Sep-26
|
6.2 LD
|
4.8
|
25
|
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 115 (+21), this year: 1181 (+22), all time: 20570 (+23)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,459 (+27)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,459 (+27)
On July 29, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 29 fireballs.
(20 sporadics, 5 Perseids, 2 Southern delta Aquariids, 2 alpha Capricornids)
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 & Meteor News:
From 22,300 miles in space, NOAA's #GOES16 caught the blue/white flash of a fireball, streaking across the skies just east of #LongIsland, last night. #meteor @amsmeteors pic.twitter.com/Ojjhi3qHQZ
— NOAA Satellites PA (@NOAASatellitePA) July 25, 2019
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, July 30, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets in the middle solar system, July 30, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets and a couple trans-Neptunian objects in the outer solar system, July 30, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission
...we all knew this Word of the Week would be back. pic.twitter.com/w1sCtOgrXv
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) July 16, 2019
Landsat
#ICYMI
A Burning Lava Lake Concealed by a Volcano’s Glacial Ice https://t.co/NSe3LoTrDV#Landsat #Sentinel2 #Terra pic.twitter.com/pDe6JGhIRP— NASA Landsat Program (@NASA_Landsat) July 29, 2019
Climate
Focusing on any short-term global temperature trend can be misleading. Here’s why it’s important to look at the big picture: https://t.co/iFBMYNGNcn pic.twitter.com/pEkuzG0BAy
— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) July 25, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
PDS 70. CREDITS: ESO and S. Haffert (Leiden Observatory)
PDS 70 is only the second multi-planet system to be directly imaged. Through a combination of adaptive optics and data processing, astronomers were able to cancel out the light from the central star (marked by a white star) to reveal two orbiting exoplanets. PDS 70 b (lower left) weighs 4 to 17 times as much as Jupiter while PDS 70 c (upper right) weighs 1 to 10 times as much as Jupiter.
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
Hypothetical Earthlike exoplanet in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Credit: SpaceEngine/Bob Trembley
a
Galaxy Mergers
These images reveal the final stage of a union between pairs of galactic nuclei in the messy cores of colliding galaxies. CREDITS: NASA, ESA, and M. Koss (Eureka Scientific, Inc.); Hubble image: NASA, ESA, and M. Koss (Eureka Scientific, Inc.); Keck images: W. M. Keck Observatory and M. Koss (Eureka Scientific, Inc.); Pan-STARRS images: Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System and M. Koss (Eureka Scientific, Inc.)
The image at top left, taken by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, shows the merging galaxy NGC 6240. A close-up of the two brilliant cores of this galactic union is shown at top right. This view, taken in infrared light, pierces the dense cloud of dust and gas encasing the two colliding galaxies and uncovers the active cores. The hefty black holes in these cores are growing quickly as they feast on gas kicked up by the galaxy merger. The black holes' speedy growth occurs during the last 10 million to 20 million years of the merger.
Images of four other colliding galaxies, along with close-up views of their coalescing nuclei in the bright cores, are shown beneath the snapshots of NGC 6240. The images of the bright cores were taken in near-infrared light by the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, using adaptive optics to sharpen the view.
The reference images (left) of the merging galaxies were taken by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS).
The two nuclei in the Hubble and Keck Observatory photos are only about 3,000 light-years apart — a near-embrace in cosmic terms. If there are pairs of black holes, they will likely merge within the next 10 million years to form a more massive black hole.
These observations are part of the largest-ever survey of the cores of nearby galaxies using high-resolution images in near-infrared light taken by the Hubble and Keck observatories.
The survey galaxies' average distance is 330 million light-years from Earth. - HubbleSite
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.
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
The Universe - Universe Today
July 20, 2019 was the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
In the Sky This Week – July 23, 2019
The Apollo 11 50th anniversary is itself now a part of history - the hashtag #Apollo50th was trending on social media. One of the coolest things I saw on the news was the Washington Monument being used as a projection screen for an animation of the Apollo 11 launch and mission - the celebration drew a veritable horde of attendees to the National Mall.
The Apollo 11 mission is projected on the Washington Monument and screens on the National Mall. #Apollo50 #Apollo50th pic.twitter.com/HFipdyZIWY
— The Hill (@thehill) July 20, 2019
50 year anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission with @NASA astronauts Armstrong, @AstroMCollins, & Aldrin is celebrated in a 17-minute show, “Apollo 50: Go for the Moon” full-motion projection-mapping artwork on the Washington Monument #Apollo50th - More 📸: https://t.co/wUm4JuUuVZ pic.twitter.com/niTM95hnz9
— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) July 20, 2019
The star Arcturus continues to be the evening star the western sky after sunset.
The star Arcturus in the western sky around midnight on July 23rd. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Saturn is high and Jupiter is low in the southwestern sky around midnight all week.
Saturn high and Jupiter low in the south-southwestern sky around midnight on July 23rd. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon will appear near the star Aldebaran in the Eastern sky early in the morning on July 27th & 28th.
-
- The Moon appears near the star Aldebaran early in the morning on July 27th early in the morning. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
-
- The Moon appears near the star Aldebaran early in the morning on July 28th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon will continue to appear closer to the eastern horizon with each morning; I'll be watching for it out my kitchen window as I make my morning coffee. I wonder if I'll be able to see the waning crescent Moon from our new home - wherever that may be...
The Moon appears low in the eastern sky early in the morning on July 29th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
M11 - Wild Duck Cluster
M 11 - The Wild Duck Cluster. Credit: RawAstroData.com.
The Wild Duck Cluster (also known as Messier 11, or NGC 6705) is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Scutum. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1681. Charles Messier included it in his catalogue of diffuse objects in 1764. Its name derives from the brighter stars forming a triangle which could resemble a flying flock of ducks (or, from other angles, one swimming duck). The cluster is located just to the east of the Scutum Star Cloud midpoint.
The Wild Duck Cluster is one of the richest and most compact of the known open clusters. It is one of the most massive open clusters known, and it has been extensively studied. Its age has been estimated to about 316 million years. The core radius is 1.23 pc while the tidal radius is 29 pc. Estimates for the cluster mass range from 3,700 M☉ to 11,000 M☉, depending on the method chosen... - Wikipedia
Location of M 11 - July 23 2019 2030. 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 July 25th, it rises around midnight, and is visible to the south after sunrise.
After July 25th, the Moon will be a waning crescent, visible low to the east before sunrise.
The Moon from July 23-29, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News
Rik Hill is now posting his astrophotos of the Moon on the Sacred Space Astronomy blog! Rik is a frequent poster on Facebook's Moon Photography group.
-
- Rik Hill. Credit: Rik Hill
-
- Fra Mauro – Apollo 14. Credit: Rik Hill
The Sun has a very small spot that was briefly visible but is fading - I can't spot it on any of the most recent HMI images, but it's magnetic activity is clearly visible as bright regions on the equator in the two videos below. SpaceWeather.com says "AR2745 poses no threat for strong solar flares. Its magnetic polarity identifies it as a member of old Solar Cycle 24." Large coronal holes continue to appear at both poles.
A long-lived pillar prominence on one limb, and a couple very photogenic prominences on the Sun's other limb made for excellent targets for solar observers!
The solar wind speed is 382.9 km/sec (↑), with a density of 0.8 protons/cm3 (↓).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2015 HM10 |
2019-Jul-24
|
12.2 LD
|
9.5
|
68
|
| 2019 OD |
2019-Jul-24
|
0.9 LD
|
19.2
|
70
|
| 2019 OE |
2019-Jul-24
|
2.5 LD
|
9.1
|
31
|
| 2010 PK9 |
2019-Jul-26
|
8.2 LD
|
16.5
|
155
|
| 2019 NT1 |
2019-Jul-27
|
19 LD
|
3.7
|
14
|
| 2019 NN4 |
2019-Jul-29
|
6.6 LD
|
3.8
|
26
|
| 2006 QQ23 |
2019-Aug-10
|
19.4 LD
|
4.7
|
339
|
| 454094 |
2019-Aug-12
|
17 LD
|
8.2
|
148
|
| 2018 PN22 |
2019-Aug-17
|
17.1 LD
|
2.3
|
11
|
| 2016 PD1 |
2019-Aug-26
|
11.4 LD
|
5.9
|
65
|
| 2002 JR100 |
2019-Aug-27
|
19.4 LD
|
8.4
|
49
|
| 2018 DE1 |
2019-Sep-03
|
12.7 LD
|
6.6
|
28
|
| 2019 GT3 |
2019-Sep-06
|
19.5 LD
|
13.6
|
227
|
| 2010 RM82 |
2019-Sep-13
|
18.2 LD
|
14.6
|
23
|
| 2013 CV83 |
2019-Sep-13
|
15.7 LD
|
13.1
|
62
|
| 504800 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
14.4
|
155
|
| 467317 |
2019-Sep-14
|
13.9 LD
|
6.4
|
389
|
| 2019 JF1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
11.2 LD
|
4.3
|
61
|
| 2018 FU1 |
2019-Sep-16
|
18.4 LD
|
4.7
|
16
|
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 94 (+10), this year: 1159 (+10), all time: 20547 (+20)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,432 (+16)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,432 (+16)
On July 22, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 19 fireballs.
(18 sporadics, 1 alpha Capricornid)
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 & Meteor News:
Um belo fireball ☄️cruzou os céus do Chile ontem e foi registrado 📸durante uma festa em Farellones🤩.
Imagens de Diego Ceron, gentilmente cedidas à Exoss.👍
Agradecimentos ao nosso parceiro chileno Ariel Rodriguez Pacienza pic.twitter.com/VTSImUXVGS— EXOSS Meteors 🇧🇷 ☄️💫 (@exossorg) July 20, 2019
Bright #meteor (mag -1.5) over Hampshire at 01:08 GMT this morning (2019-07-13).
Magnesium, sodium and oxygen spectral lines visible to the right of the image. pic.twitter.com/ErZ4UJrdBD— Richard (@nova_foresta) July 13, 2019
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, July 23, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets in the middle solar system, July 23, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets and dwarf planets in the outer solar system, July 23, 20319 – the orbit of Sedna is highlighted. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Pan, Moon of Saturn
Pan, the innermost of Saturn's known moons, has a mean radius of 8.8 miles (14.1 kilometers) and orbits 83,000 miles (134,000 kilometers) away from Saturn, within the Encke Gap of Saturn's A-ring. As it orbits Saturn every 13.8 hours, it acts as a shepherd moon and is responsible for keeping the Encke Gap open. The gap is a 200 mile (325 kilometer) opening in Saturn's A ring.
Pan creates stripes, called "wakes," in the ring material on either side of it. Since ring particles closer to Saturn than Pan move faster in their orbits, these particles pass the moon and receive a gravitational "kick" from Pan as they do. This kick causes waves to develop in the gap and also throughout the ring, extending hundreds of miles into the rings. These waves intersect downstream to create the wakes, places where ring material has bunched up in an orderly manner thanks to Pan's gravitational kick.
Pan, like Saturn's moon Atlas, has a prominent equatorial ridge that gives it a distinctive flying saucer shape. - NASA Solar System Exploration
I was playing around in SpaceEngine, and these screen shots of Pan were just too good not to share!
-
- Looking at Saturn from Pan. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
-
- Looking Down the Encke Gap. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
-
- Underside of Pan. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
-
- Close-up of Pan’s Ridge. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
-
- Pan and Saturn’s Rings. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
These two images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft show how the spacecraft's perspective changed as it passed within 15,300 miles (24,600 kilometers) of Saturn's moon Pan on March 7, 2017. This was Cassini's closest-ever encounter with Pan, improving the level of detail seen on the little moon by a factor of eight over previous observations. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission
By request! Here’s a different perspective of that crater within a crater in Bennu’s south. It was taken while in a terminator orbit... you can see the line of dawn on the left. The shadows here provide a good sense of the larger crater’s depth and size.https://t.co/k1kcdfqxBx pic.twitter.com/7LrBeUetpe
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) July 16, 2019
Scientists from UA's Lunar & Planetary Laboratory (my home institution) have been pioneering new image processing techniques since they mapped the moon for the Apollo program. Today, @UALPL is developing new techniques to globally map Bennu prior to sample collection. #Apollo50th https://t.co/BUnDpfrBY6
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) July 19, 2019
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission orbiting close to asteroid Bennu, July 23, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
India is on Their way to the Moon!
India has launched its Chandrayaan 2 mission to the moon https://t.co/zLnR5leKMy pic.twitter.com/NnXfTe3Mbe
— New Scientist (@newscientist) July 22, 2019
— ISRO (@isro) July 22, 2019
Chinese Tiangong-2 Space Station Reenters over South Pacific Ocean
FOOTAGE OF REENTRY FROM TIANGONG-2!!!
ℹ：https://t.co/ci28seQ5At pic.twitter.com/b1camv2Ssr
— LaunchStuff (@LaunchStuff) July 19, 2019
Landsat
#GOonaTrail with @oregonstategeog.
If you are in #CorvallisOregon tomorrow (Jul19) and headed to #DaVinciDays? I’ll be there with others from @OSUCEOAS. Come explore how we can see the changes since 1984 to today with #satellites especially #Landsat. @VisitCorvallis #NASAGO pic.twitter.com/Mgie0KZ7YQ— Peder Nelson (@pedervnelson) July 20, 2019
Climate
Last month's global average concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) was about 412 parts per million (ppm), up about 3 ppm from June 2018. https://t.co/qjYgQZI1Al
— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) July 16, 2019
CO2, we see you! Our latest carbon dioxide-observing mission onboard @space_station is healthy and just collected its first measurements. https://t.co/fBF4LAmSC5
— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) July 15, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
Simulation of a volcano on the smaller planet of a hypothetical double-planet system orbiting the star Menkent. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
Hubble Pic: Spiral Galaxy NGC 3169
A sharply angled perspective can make it seem as if we are craning our necks to see over a barrier into the galaxy's bright centre. Credit: @ESA / @Hubble_Space / @NASA L. Ho https://t.co/WkvCfCBXlS pic.twitter.com/4caXli67Bj
— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) July 22, 2019
#HubbleFacts pic.twitter.com/rCJ0YuRTc3
— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) July 19, 2019
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.
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
The Universe - Universe Today
2018 is NASA's 60th Anniversary!
July 20, 2019 is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
In the Sky This Week – July 16, 2019
I was nine years old when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon in 1969; I was glued to my 13 inch black and white TV the entire mission, and I have been a complete space geek ever since. I have a lecture that I've given several times recently covering the space race, NASA Spin-offs, the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, and my trip out to Tucson in January. At the end of my lecture, I mention the #WeTheGeeks:Asteroids Google Hangout hosted by the White House in May of 2013; during this hangout, several influential individuals in various space and tech industries all agreed that two things had a major influence on their lives: the Apollo program, and Star Trek - I couldn't agree more!At 9:32am ET, the #Apollo11 launch occurred sending three astronauts on a trajectory to the Moon. As we celebrate our #Apollo50th anniversary, learn more about this mission: https://t.co/LYmABrlzYe pic.twitter.com/Tg40MhzPhs
— NASA (@NASA) July 16, 2019
This is the week of the Apollo 11 50th anniversary (#Apollo50th); 60 years ago, going to the Moon or planets was a dream of science fiction. Technology has advanced far beyond that of the era of the Moon landings, and robotic probes have explored all the major bodies in the solar system, taking us into the the next phase of solar system exploration, which will focus on landers and long-term reconnaissance orbiters. Apollo 11 was the first successful sample return mission; the OSIRIS-Rex asteroid sample return mission will be the largest U.S. sample return since the Apollo missions. Seven nations have now orbited the Moon, and four have landed (or crashed) on it; NASA says it wants to send humans back to the Moon - including the first woman - by 2024. I'm hoping the next 50 years of space exploration will be as exciting for this generation, as the dawn of the space age was for me!
The star Arcturus appears in the western sky around midnight.
The star Arcturus in the western sky after midnight on July 16th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Jupiter is high and the star Antares is low in the southwestern sky around midnight all week.
Jupiter and the star Antares in the southwestern sky after midnight on July 16th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon will appear near Saturn in the Southern sky after sunset on July 16th & 17th.
The Moon appears near Saturn after sunset on July 16 and 17th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The constellation Ursa Major and the "Big Dipper" asterism appear low in the northern sky around 2:00 AM all week.
The constellation Ursa Major and the "Big Dipper" asterism in the northern sky around 2:00 AM on July 16th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Venus appears very low towards the northeastern horizon just before sunrise.
Venus appears very low near the northeastern horizon before sunrise on July 16th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Tarantula Nebula
Heart of the Tarantula Nebula. Credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Lennon (ESA/STScI)
Several million young stars reside in a nearby region of frenzied star birth known as 30 Doradus. Located 170,000 light-years away in the heart of the Tarantula Nebula, 30 Doradus is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small, satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. It is the brightest star-forming region visible in a neighboring galaxy, and it is home to the most massive stars ever seen. No known star-forming region inside the Milky Way Galaxy is as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus.
The intense star birth in 30 Doradus may be fueled partly by its close proximity to the Small Magellanic Cloud, a companion to its host galaxy. 30 Doradus churns out stars at a furious pace over millions of years. The Hubble image reveals the stages of star birth, from embryonic stars a few thousand years old and still wrapped in cocoons of dark gas, to behemoths that die young in supernova explosions.
Hubble observations show star clusters of various ages, from about 2 million to 25 million years old. Collectively, the stars comprise a bulk material millions of times the mass of the Sun. 30 Doradus contains one of the most rapidly rotating stars and the fastest moving stars ever observed.
The region's sparkling centerpiece is a giant, young star cluster named NGC 2070, only 2 million to 3 million years old. Its stellar inhabitants number roughly 500,000. The cluster is a hotbed for young, massive stars. Its dense core, known as R136, is packed with several dozen of the most massive stars known, each about 100 times the mass of the Sun and about 10 times as hot. The cluster also harbors many thousands of smaller stars. For many years, it defied analysis from ground-based observations because of the facilities' inadequate resolution. It was once even suggested to be a single "superstar," about 3,000 times the mass of the Sun, until high-resolution images showed that it was actually many smaller stars.
The massive stars are carving deep cavities in the surrounding material by unleashing a torrent of ultraviolet light. This light is winnowing away the enveloping hydrogen gas cloud in which the stars were born. The Hubble image reveals a fantastic landscape of pillars, ridges, and valleys. Besides sculpting the gaseous terrain, the brilliant stars may be triggering a successive generation of offspring. When the ultraviolet radiation hits dense walls of gas, it creates shocks, which may generate a new wave of star birth.
30 Doradus is a "Rosetta Stone" for understanding regions of intense star formation. Many small galaxies exhibit more spectacular star birth, but 30 Doradus is near enough to Earth for its stellar contents and nebular structures to be studied in detail. Astronomers using Hubble can resolve individual stars, which provide important information about the stars' birth and evolution.
Elena Sabbi of the Space Telescope Science Institute has studied how star formation propagates across the region. Daniel Lennon of the European Space Astronomy Centre in Spain is calculating the directions of motion of massive runaway stars, searching in particular for the origins of massive stars that have been ejected from R136.
Regions such as 30 Doradus are vital contributors to the evolution of galaxies and even life, because massive stars synthesize many of the heavier chemical elements in their nuclear furnaces and final supernova explosions. The explosions disperse the heavy elements to the surrounding interstellar medium, where new stars and planetary systems form from the enriched material. - NASA / Hubblesite.org
The full Moon occurs on July 16th - rising at sunset, visible high in the sky around midnight, and up all night.
After July 16th, the Moon will be a waning gibbous - rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise. This is the phase of the Moon when people sometimes ask me "Why can I see the Moon during the day?"
The Moon from July 16-22, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News
Let's get historic for this week's #MondayMotivation! The #Apollo50th anniversary is almost here. Get inspired by stories about the Moon & the people who explore it with the new NASA Explorers: Apollo podcast series. Download & listen at https://t.co/9347KBgVAf. pic.twitter.com/GxFnoD1ZdQ
— NASA STEM Engagement (@NASASTEM) July 15, 2019
Happy #MoonCrushMonday! In honor of the #Apollo50th anniversary this week, here's an image of the landing site taken in 2009 by our Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. You can still see the descent stage & Neil Armstrong and @TheRealBuzz's tracks! https://t.co/pSaorqfJVU pic.twitter.com/1qrdsnZYrl
— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) July 15, 2019
The Sun has been spot-free for 8 days; large coronal holes appear at both poles, although this week no large coronal holes appear near the equator.
SpaceWeather.com says: "Earth is exiting a stream of solar wind flowing from a hole in the Sun's atmosphere. The day-long enhancement in solar wind velocity caused by this stream did little to spark geomagnetic activity. Better luck next time? Another stream of solar wind is due to arrive on July 19th"
Some exciting prominence activity on the Sun's limb the last couple days!
The solar wind speed is 364.4 km/sec (↓), with a density of 2.6 protons/cm3 (↓).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Sun News
It's #SunDay! ☀️ Our Solar Dynamics Observatory recently caught a solar prominence — a loop of relatively cold, dense solar material — erupting off of the Sun. https://t.co/OyYOlWi2wS pic.twitter.com/QfUNggOuHk
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) July 14, 2019
I just found this Interactive Solar Cycle Progression Graph at SpaceWeatherLive.com.
Solar Cycle Progression - July 16, 2019 from SpaceWeatherLive.com
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2019 NF1 |
2019-Jul-17
|
19.3 LD
|
10
|
56
|
| 2019 NJ2 |
2019-Jul-19
|
13.4 LD
|
13.5
|
38
|
| 2015 HM10 |
2019-Jul-24
|
12.2 LD
|
9.5
|
68
|
| 2010 PK9 |
2019-Jul-26
|
8.2 LD
|
16.5
|
155
|
| 2019 NT1 |
2019-Jul-27
|
19 LD
|
3.7
|
14
|
| 2019 NN4 |
2019-Jul-29
|
6.6 LD
|
3.8
|
28
|
| 2006 QQ23 |
2019-Aug-10
|
19.4 LD
|
4.7
|
339
|
| 454094 |
2019-Aug-12
|
17 LD
|
8.2
|
148
|
| 2018 PN22 |
2019-Aug-17
|
17.1 LD
|
2.3
|
11
|
| 2016 PD1 |
2019-Aug-26
|
11.4 LD
|
5.9
|
65
|
| 2002 JR100 |
2019-Aug-27
|
19.4 LD
|
8.4
|
49
|
| 2018 DE1 |
2019-Sep-03
|
12.7 LD
|
6.6
|
28
|
| 2019 GT3 |
2019-Sep-06
|
19.5 LD
|
13.6
|
227
|
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 84 (+30), this year: 1149 (-29), all time: 20527 (+35)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,416 (+127)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,416 (+127)
On July 15, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 39 fireballs.
(39 sporadics)
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 & Meteor News:
Good sized fireball off the South coast of Jamaica infrasonically on Jun 22 near 2130 UT. Airwaves recorded by Bermuda infrasound station 2000 km North show periods which are consistent with 3-5 kT bolide from a small multi-meter sized NEA impact. @IMOmeteors @amsmeteors pic.twitter.com/zNbHQLGijB
— Peter Brown (@pgbrown) June 24, 2019
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, July 16, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets and a several asteroids in the middle solar system, July 16, 2019 – asteroid 1998 QE2 is highlighted. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Simulation of binary asteroid 1998 QE2 and its satellite S-2013 (285263) 1. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets and a several dwarf planets in the outer solar system, July 16, 2019 – dwarf planet Eris is highlighted. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Simulation of dwarf planet Eris seen from its satellite Dysnomia. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
-
- Simulation of Dysnomia and the Sun setting on dwarf planet Eris. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
Solar System News - 4 Years Since Pluto Flyby!
Four years ago today, @NASANewHorizons made its closest approach to Pluto. This approximately true-color image reveals this dynamic world’s atmosphere, as seen backlit by the Sun after New Horizons passed by Pluto. https://t.co/bQ8WFJryGE pic.twitter.com/j69m33Gsjq
— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) July 14, 2019
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission
I’ve spent months getting thousands of images of Bennu from every possible angle. So now it’s time to show off… which features do you want to see more of, but from a different perspective?
Comment with an image of your favorite feature and I'll show you one from another angle! pic.twitter.com/Gd1YWcCrQ1
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) July 15, 2019
Voyager Spacecraft - New Management Plans
Flying a 41-year-old spacecraft takes careful planning and creativity! Engineers have made some changes to ensure that @NASAVoyager 2 can continue to collect data from interstellar space for several years to come: https://t.co/DBkglnkbwp pic.twitter.com/9YHVVotKLF
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) July 15, 2019
Landsat
Every June, the Kolyma River in #Russia thaws and carries organic materials that stain the Arctic Ocean. https://t.co/5MS5tCKY0N #NASA #Landsat pic.twitter.com/9PKEDsqFkj
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) July 15, 2019
This recent #Landsat 8 image captured an #algalbloom in the western basin of #LakeErie @CyanoTracker #cyanoHABs #cyanobacteria @NASA_Landsat pic.twitter.com/ZANQAdtMRO
— USGS Landsat Program (@USGSLandsat) July 15, 2019
Astronaut on the International Space Station Captures Michigan's U.P.
This is where I went to college, and met my wife; it's beautiful country, and will always hold a special place in my heart.
NASA captures sunrise over Michigan's U.P. from outer space https://t.co/gQPQnpFshY via @freep
— Balrog's Lair (@BalrogsLair) July 11, 2019
Climate
CO2, we see you! Our latest carbon dioxide-observing mission onboard @space_station is healthy and just collected its first measurements. https://t.co/fBF4LAmSC5
— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) July 15, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
Simulation of possible Brown Dwarf AB Pictoris b. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
AB Pictoris b is an extrasolar planet or possible brown dwarf orbiting the K-type star AB Pictoris, located around 154 light years away from Earth. The estimated mass of this planet is 13.5 Jupiter masses, but because modeling such young objects is difficult, the true mass of the planet remains unknown. Certain models predict the planets mass to be around 11 Jupiter masses, but others predict it to be as high as 70 Jupiter masses. Using evolutionary models the planet should be around 13 Jupiter masses. As the actual mass is not known and isn't known if the mass of the objects exceeds the deuterium burning limit, it is unclear whether or not the planet should be identified as a extrasolar planet or a brown dwarf. - Astronomy WiKi | FANDOM.com
Coronagraphic image of AB Pictoris showing its tiny companion (bottom left). The data was obtained on 16 March 2003 with NACO on the VLT, using a 1.4 arcsec occulting mask on top of AB Pictoris. Credit: ESO
New Measurement of How Fast the Universe is Expanding
A new measurement of how fast the universe is expanding has been made! The revised measurement falls in the center of a hotly debated question in astrophysics that may lead to a new interpretation of the universe's fundamental properties: https://t.co/zgXyrBUx1G pic.twitter.com/wepbkG6AOx
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) July 16, 2019
Hubble Pic of the Week: Spiral Galaxy NGC 2985
One of the key galaxy types we see in the Universe is the spiral galaxy, as demonstrated in the subject of this Hubble Picture of the Week, NGC 2985, located in the constellation of Ursa Major Credit: @ESA / @Hubble_Space / @NASA /L. Ho https://t.co/4d100ndhKR pic.twitter.com/4Gf34iQ17w
— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) July 15, 2019
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.
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
The Universe - Universe Today
2018 is NASA's 60th Anniversary!
July 20, 2019 is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
In the Sky This Week – July 9, 2019
This is "Conjunction Week" with the Moon appearing near the star Spica, Jupiter and Saturn over the next several days. I thought I'd give the southern hemisphere a bit of love this week, so I included several images of the skies from the Paranal Observatory in Chile - Stellarium made it easy to find them when I was looking for a location. I'm also featuring the the Large Magellanic Cloud as this week's observing target, and I'm glad I did because I learned a lot about it I was unaware of... so yea!
ESO’s Paranal Observatory is located 2635 metres above sea level in the Atacama Desert of Chile. It is one of the best astronomical observing sites in the world, and is the flagship facility for European ground-based astronomy. It hosts several world-class telescopes; among them are the Very Large Telescope, the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, and the VLT Survey Telescope. Credit: ESO
Saturn and Jupiter remain high in the southern sky all week around midnight, making great observing targets for night owls.
Saturn and Jupiter are high in the southern sky around midnight all week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Seen from the Paranal Observatory in Chile, Saturn and Jupiter are directly overhead around midnight.
Saturn and Jupiter overhead around midnight seen from Paranal Observatory in Chile. In this image the equatorial grid is shown, and light pollution levels are set low. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Before sunrise at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, the constellations Orion and Taurus appear low in the eastern sky. From the northern hemisphere, Orion rises with the Sun, so it is not visible. Readers from the northern hemisphere may note the constellations appear flipped from what they are used to seeing.
The constellations Orion and Taurus in the eastern sky seen from Paranal Observatory in Chile around 6:00 AM. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon will appear near the star Spica in the southwestern sky at 11:00 PM on July 9th.
The Moon near the star Spica in the southwestern sky at 11:00 PM on July 9th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Seen from Paranal Observatory in Chile, the Moon and Spica are directly overhead at 5:00 PM.
The Moon and Jupiter overhead around 5:00 PM seen from Paranal Observatory in Chile. In this image the equatorial grid is shown. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon appears near Jupiter and the star Antares on July 12th and 13th around 11:00 PM.
-
- Conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter and the star Antares in the southern sky at 11:00 PM on July 12th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
-
- Conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter and the star Antares in the southern sky at 11:00 PM on July 13th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon will appear very near Saturn high in the southeastern sky on July 15th.
Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn high in the southeastern sky at 11:00 PM on July 15th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Venus appears very low towards the northeastern horizon just before sunrise; Venus is closer to the horizon each morning.
Venus appears very lower near the northeastern horizon before sunrise. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Large Magellanic Cloud
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. At a distance of about 50 kiloparsecs (≈163,000 light-years), the LMC is the second- or third-closest galaxy to the Milky Way, after the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal (~16 kpc) and the possible dwarf irregular galaxy known as the Canis Major Overdensity. Based on readily visible stars and a mass of approximately 10 billion solar masses, the diameter of the LMC is about 14,000 light-years (4.3 kpc), making it roughly one one-hundredth as massive as the Milky Way. This makes the LMC the fourth-largest galaxy in the Local Group, after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Milky Way, and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33).
The LMC is classified as a Magellanic spiral. It contains a stellar bar that is geometrically off-center, suggesting that it was a barred dwarf spiral galaxy before its spiral arms were disrupted, likely by tidal interactions from the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), and the Milky Way's gravity.
With a declination of about -70°, the LMC is visible as a faint "cloud" only in the southern celestial hemisphere and from latitudes south of 20° N, straddling the border between the constellations of Dorado and Mensa, and appears longer than 20 times the Moon's diameter (about 10° across) from dark sites away from light pollution.
The Milky Way and the LMC are expected to collide in approximately 2.4 billion years. - Wikipedia
This ground-based image of the Large Magellanic Cloud was taken by the German astrophotographer Eckhard Slawik. It spans 10 x 10 degrees. Just to the left of the middle of this image the largest star-forming region in the Local Group of galaxies, 30 Doradus, is seen as a red patch. N11B itself is seen in the upper right part of the LMC. Credit: Eckhard Slawik
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) can be seen from the southern hemisphere, in the early morning sky to the south.
The Large Magellanic Cloud in the southern sky around 3:45 AM seen from Paranal Observatory in Chile. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
There are a boatload of cataloged objects in the Large Magellanic Cloud... well it IS a galaxy! I was unaware that the Tarantula Nebula was located the LMC, and after reading that it's visible to the naked eye, I'm going to feature it as next week's observing target.
This image shows the entire Large Magellanic Cloud, with some of the brightest objects marked. The field of the new MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope image is indicated with an outline. The field of view is about ten degrees across. Credit: Robert Gendler/ESO
I traveled to Large Magellanic Cloud in SpaceEngine and then looked back towards our Milky Way galaxy:
Simulation of the Large Magellanic Cloud (right) seen from behind, with the Milky Way galaxy (left) in the background. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
With a slight change in position, I was able to view the Large Magellanic Cloud edge-on - a perspective we are unable to see from Earth. How fortunate for us to have a close satellite galaxy, practically face-on, with so many wondrous features to observe!
Simulation of the Large Magellanic Cloud (right) seen edge-on, with the Milky Way galaxy (left) in the background. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
The Moon is at first quarter on July 9th - it is visible high in the southern sky in early evening.
After July 9th, the Moon will be a waxing gibbous, visible to the southeast in early evening, and up for most of the night.
The Moon from July 9-15, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News
Fifty years ago, humans took their first steps on the Moon. The world watched as we made history.
On July 19 at 1pm ET, we'll salute our #Apollo50th heroes and look forward to our next giant leap.
Will you be watching? https://t.co/GMqxZZT8Ns pic.twitter.com/5kfi2BNNgX
— NASA (@NASA) July 8, 2019
The Sun has been spot-free for 1 day; there is a region of intense coronal activity in the southern hemisphere where sunspot AR2744 used to be before dissolving. Coronal holes remain open at both poles - the southern hole appearing to have shrunk a little, and a couple large holes appear above and below the Sun's equator.
SpaceWeather.com says: "ANOTHER SUNSPOT FROM THE NEXT SOLAR CYCLE: Solar Cycle 25 is coming to life. For the second time this month, a sunspot from the next solar cycle has emerged in the sun's southern hemisphere. "
Moderate prominence activity all over the Sun's limb the last couple days; that region of coronal activity where AR2744 used to be still appears to be crackling.
The solar wind speed is 466.6 km/sec (↑), with a density of 2.9 protons/cm3 (↑).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2019 MT2 |
2019-Jul-08
|
4.4 LD
|
11
|
18
|
| 2019 MB4 |
2019-Jul-09
|
0.8 LD
|
7.2
|
23
|
| 2016 NO56 |
2019-Jul-09
|
8 LD
|
11.4
|
25
|
| 2019 NN3 |
2019-Jul-10
|
0.8 LD
|
8.8
|
46
|
| 2019 KD3 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15.5 LD
|
8
|
82
|
| 2016 NJ33 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15 LD
|
4.5
|
32
|
| 2019 MW1 |
2019-Jul-13
|
7.8 LD
|
8.5
|
45
|
| 2019 NR3 |
2019-Jul-14
|
16.8 LD
|
4.8
|
20
|
| 2019 NF1 |
2019-Jul-17
|
19.3 LD
|
10
|
55
|
| 2019 NJ2 |
2019-Jul-19
|
13.4 LD
|
13.5
|
38
|
| 2015 HM10 |
2019-Jul-24
|
12.2 LD
|
9.5
|
68
|
| 2010 PK9 |
2019-Jul-26
|
8.2 LD
|
16.5
|
155
|
| 2019 NT1 |
2019-Jul-27
|
19 LD
|
3.7
|
14
|
| 2006 QQ23 |
2019-Aug-10
|
19.4 LD
|
4.7
|
339
|
| 454094 |
2019-Aug-12
|
17 LD
|
8.2
|
148
|
| 2018 PN22 |
2019-Aug-17
|
17.1 LD
|
2.3
|
11
|
| 2016 PD1 |
2019-Aug-26
|
11.4 LD
|
5.9
|
65
|
| 2002 JR100 |
2019-Aug-27
|
19.4 LD
|
8.4
|
49
|
| 2018 DE1 |
2019-Sep-03
|
12.7 LD
|
6.6
|
28
|
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 54 (+54), this year: 1120 (-27?), all time: 20502 (+79)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,289 (+209)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,289 (+209)
On July 8, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 13 fireballs.
(11 sporadics, 1 theta Perseid, 1 phi Piscid)
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 & Meteor News:
Space debris re-entry over #Florida this morning.
We received 23 reports and 3 videos so far...https://t.co/6cWMVEnd6M pic.twitter.com/89zwKDxklw— AMSMETEORS (@amsmeteors) July 3, 2019
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, July 9, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets in the middle solar system, July 9, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets and Kuiper belt objects in the outer solar system, July 9, 2019. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
Solar System News - "The Grand Tour" Closest Approach to Jupiter - 40 Years Ago!
Forty years ago today, during its “Grand Tour” of the outer solar system, @NASAVoyager 2 made its closest approach to Jupiter, where it observed wonders like the Great Red Spot. Now, @NASAJuno is studying the giant planet—including this same storm. https://t.co/ssS4B6Jesb pic.twitter.com/hXdVPd4zzL
— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) July 9, 2019
If you haven't see the documentary "The Farthest" - about the Voyager mission, you should!
OSIRIS-REx
Showing equal love for #TeamBoulder
Image details: https://t.co/aBg8v7zatR pic.twitter.com/Qh3IWylgPB
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) July 8, 2019
Landsat
#ICYMI, harnessing 30 years of #Landsat data, researchers from Geoscience Australia recently created the first three-dimensional model of #Australia’s changeable intertidal zone. https://t.co/24THVjgZNO pic.twitter.com/BuEGGYdNSN
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) July 6, 2019
Climate
Europe's massive heat wave broke temperature records across the continent. @NASA's ECOSTRESS primarily monitors the health of plants, but it can also map surface or ground temperature during heat events like the one much of Europe just experienced: https://t.co/IOgkQtbzdM pic.twitter.com/63GRVA7bE2
— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) July 2, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
SpaceEngine released an update that includes a new appearance for red giant stars, so I went to the first one that came to mind: Betelgeuse. When I got there, I found a procedurally-generated planet orbiting REALLY CLOSE to Betelgeuse - so I went to that planet. It's a 2000°C ball of lava, with several molten moons; Betelgeuse filled half the sky. I wondered what Betelgeuse would look like from the surface of that planet... not a prime vacation spot!
Betelgeuse sunrise over a hypothetical molten exoplanet. Image from SpaceEngine update 0.990.36.1665 - with new red giant appearance. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
LIGO Detects Another Gravitational Wave Event
We've estimated the false alarm for our new candidate #S190707q is about once every 6000 years, making it a very good candidate #GravitationalWaves event. For the latest updates stay tuned to https://t.co/HcdV9SPW85 @LIGO @ego_virgo #O3ishere pic.twitter.com/jalPp2COta
— LIGO (@LIGO) July 7, 2019
Crab Nebula Pulsar
The Crab Pulsar (PSR B0531+21) is a relatively young neutron star. The star is the central star in the Crab Nebula, a remnant of the supernova SN 1054, which was widely observed on Earth in the year 1054. Discovered in 1968, the pulsar was the first to be connected with a supernova remnant.
-
- Simulation of the Crab Nebula pulsar’s accretion disk and jets. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
-
- Simulation of the Crab Nebula pulsar’s jets. 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. NEW VERSION 0.19.1 released!
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 is available now!
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
The Universe - Universe Today
2018 is NASA's 60th Anniversary!
July 20, 2019 is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
In the Sky This Week – July 2, 2019
Cover of "You will go to the Moon" from 1959. Credit: Robert Patterson / Random House
My wife and I are packing up our home of 22 years, and will be moving a few miles north. While I was clearing out my bookshelf, I found a book that I owned as a child, that has somehow remained with me, albeit a bit worse for wear: You Will Go To the Moon, published in 1959 by Mae and Ira Freeman, illustrated by Robert Patterson.
I was a child of the Apollo era, and like many others of that time, our lives where influenced-by, and in many cases shaped-by the events of the early space age. As I look at through the book now, many of the images are very reminiscent of Chesley Bonestell's artwork - also something from my childhood. This book shows a Moon lander leaving from a toroidal space station - something Bonestell featured in many pieces of his art way before 2001: A Space Odyssey; there's also a whimsical image of an adult and child, both in spacesuits, jumping off the Moon's surface!
60 years after that children's book was published, and 50 years after having landed on the Moon, we still don't have cool toroidal space stations, or children on the Moon. But with the China National Space Agency recently landing 2 rovers on the Moon, and NASA's announcement of plans to send the first woman to the Moon by 2024, I am hopeful that maybe my grandchildren may be the ones to finally "Go To the Moon" and stay. In the meantime, I'll have to be satisfied with going there myself in Kerbal Space Program!
You can view You Will Go To the Moon here [Link]
The above is an edited version of the intro of my Outreach Officer's Report for the July 2019 issue of the Warren Astronomical Society's monthly newsletter.
Saturn rises shortly after sunset, and Jupiter is high in the southern sky - making for great observing targets this week.
Saturn rises later each evening; Jupiter is high in the southeastern sky around midnight all week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
If you are up early in the morning, Saturn will be high in the southern sky at 3:00 AM.
Saturn high in the southeastern sky around 3:00 AM all week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Venus appears very low, and lower each day, in the northeastern sky just before sunrise.
Venus appears very lower each day near the northeastern horizon before sunrise. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The very thin waxing crescent Moon appears low in the western sky on July 4th.
A thin waxing crescent Moon on the western horizon on July 4th just after sunset. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The crescent Moon appear near the star Regulus on July 5th after sunset.
The Moon appears very near the star Regulus in the western sky after sunset on July 5, 2019. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The constellation Cassiopeia appears in the North-northeastern sky after sunset all week.
The constellation Cassiopeia in the North-northeastern sky after sunset. This week's observing target is in Cassiopeia. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
NGC 436 - an Open Cluster in Cassiopeia
NGC 436 (top right) is an open star cluster located approximately 9,800 light-years away in Cassiopeia. NGC 457 (middle), also known as the Owl Cluster, is another open star cluster located approximately 8,000 light-years away. Credit: Astronomy.com user Dan Crowson.
NGC 436 is an open cluster located in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered on November 3, 1787 by William Herschel. It was described by Dreyer as a "cluster, small, irregular figure, pretty compressed. - Wikipedia
Location of open cluster NGC 436 in the constellation Cassiopea. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
I found the image here:
Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 457 and NGC 436, captured by Dan Crowson from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri.https://t.co/VTvE8LnvA3 pic.twitter.com/wUIDbIsZuS
— Astronomy Magazine (@AstronomyMag) March 21, 2018
The Moon is a waning crescent, rising around midnight, visible low to the east before sunrise.
The new Moon occurs on July 2nd.
After July 2nd the Moon will be a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening; this weekend the Moon should be an excellent for early evening observing.
The Moon from July 2-8, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
I frequently mention how I love seeing the waning crescent Moon through my kitchen window in the early morning - I captured this shot of it on June 26th.
I love seeing the waning crescent #Moon early in the morning through my kitchen window! If there are no clouds, I get to see this a couple days a month - this morning was one of them.
Taken at 4:15 AM with my Nikon Coolpix B500 camera, balanced on top of my car, zoomed WAY in! pic.twitter.com/jMHkqGCheu
— Balrog's Lair (@BalrogsLair) June 26, 2019
Moon News - NASA's "What's Up for July" - #Apollo50th
What's up for July? Learn how to spot the Apollo 11 landing site, all about @NASA's plans to return to the Moon and five more lunar fast facts, just in time for #Apollo50th.
Sky charts and more info at https://t.co/FGLx6bJ7Nu pic.twitter.com/jxUdjs1DXJ
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) July 2, 2019
The Sun has been spot-free for 4 days now. Coronal holes continue to appear at both poles, and a large hole appears along the Sun's equator.
SpaceWeather.com says: "A SUNSPOT FROM THE NEXT SOLAR CYCLE: Solar Minimum won't last forever. In fact, the next solar cycle made a brief appearance this week. On July 1st, a small sunspot materialized in the sun's southern hemisphere (S21W02), then, hours later, vanished again. The polarity of its magnetic field marks it as a likely member of Solar Cycle 25."
Some long-lived prominences appear all over the Sun's limb for the last couple days.
The solar wind speed is 315.5 km/sec (↓), with a density of 2.1 protons/cm3 (↓).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2015 XC352 |
2019-Jul-01
|
11.9 LD
|
4.1
|
26
|
| 2019 MT |
2019-Jul-01
|
8.9 LD
|
4.2
|
41
|
| 2019 MJ2 |
2019-Jul-02
|
18 LD
|
9.2
|
28
|
| 2019 MD1 |
2019-Jul-02
|
10.3 LD
|
9.5
|
18
|
| 2016 OF |
2019-Jul-07
|
12.8 LD
|
8.5
|
85
|
| 2016 NO56 |
2019-Jul-07
|
3.4 LD
|
12.2
|
26
|
| 2019 KD3 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15.5 LD
|
8
|
82
|
| 2016 NJ33 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15 LD
|
4.5
|
32
|
| 2019 MW1 |
2019-Jul-13
|
7.8 LD
|
8.5
|
45
|
| 2015 HM10 |
2019-Jul-24
|
12.2 LD
|
9.5
|
68
|
| 2010 PK9 |
2019-Jul-26
|
8.2 LD
|
16.5
|
155
|
| 2006 QQ23 |
2019-Aug-10
|
19.4 LD
|
4.7
|
339
|
| 454094 |
2019-Aug-12
|
17 LD
|
8.2
|
148
|
| 2018 PN22 |
2019-Aug-17
|
17.1 LD
|
2.3
|
11
|
| 2016 PD1 |
2019-Aug-26
|
11.4 LD
|
5.9
|
65
|
| 2002 JR100 |
2019-Aug-27
|
19.4 LD
|
8.4
|
49
|
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 0, this year: 1147 (+36), all time: 20423 (+19)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,080 (+47)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,080 (+47)
5th Annual International Asteroid Day - June 30th
Dozens of #AsteroidDay events where held across the globe:
2019 Asteroid Day Event Map. Credit: AsteroidDay.org / Google Maps
This Tweet by NASA discusses the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact on Jupiter in 1994, and the formation of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO). David Levy, one of the co-discovers of that comet writes a monthly post that we are honored to re-post here on the Sacred Space Astronomy blog.
25 years ago, humanity had its first glimpse of a cosmic collision when comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter. It was a wake-up call… Today on #AsteroidDay, we have our eyes to the sky detecting and tracking potentially hazardous objects. Details: https://t.co/aWZDnpKNba pic.twitter.com/NECflN6ews
— NASA (@NASA) June 30, 2019
On July 1, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 60 fireballs.
(59 sporadics, 1 Northern June Aquilid)
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 & Meteor News:
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, July 2, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets and a couple dwarf planets in the middle solar system, July 2, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets and a couple dwarf planets in the outer solar system, July 2, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Artist concept of comet 119P/Parker–Hartley. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
Solar System News - Quad-copters on Titan!
Well kinda... I bet YOUR quad-copter doesn't have a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG), and a neutron-activated gamma-ray spectrometer!
BIG NEWS: The next @NASASolarSystem mission is… #Dragonfly – a rotorcraft lander mission to Saturn’s largest moon Titan. This ocean world is the only moon in our solar system with a dense atmosphere & we’re so excited to see what Dragonfly discovers: https://t.co/whePqbuGBq pic.twitter.com/BQdMhSZfgP
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) June 27, 2019
Artist concept of a Dragonfly Rotorcraft Lander on Saturn's moon Titan. Credit: Johns Hopkins APL
OSIRIS-REx
This is a view of Bennu’s far north that has two craters with possibly sampleable material (center and center left).
(Does anyone recognize the center crater from a couple of weeks ago? It was a much closer view of the site.)
More image details: https://t.co/PSByxLPsOE pic.twitter.com/PhyTOfF6PP
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) July 1, 2019
NASA Deep Space Atomic Clock Launched in SpaceX Falcon Heavy
#NASASocial All about the Deep Space Atomic Clock: https://t.co/nWg1Y0fxhn
— NASA Social (@NASASocial) June 23, 2019
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - A Scientist Revisits an Old Friend
It’s been 10 years since we took our first picture with LROC. I wrote this post for the 5th anniversary. I do grow attached to some of these milestones
Five Years Later: Revisiting an Old Friend | Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera https://t.co/5TCGgd6RUF
— Brett Denevi (@bwdenev) June 30, 2019
Orion Crew Spacecraft Abort Test
Climate
In Part 1, we examined some ways Earth’s natural & human systems are sensitive to a warming climate. In Part 2, we’ll highlight some of the specific ways a UN-sponsored report projects our planet may change with another 1/2 or full degree C of warming. https://t.co/86gmxVPlK7
— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) June 20, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
Kepler-903 b weighs in at 4.7 Earth-masses. It orbits its host G4-class star in a mere 10.4 days. It was discovered using the transit method, and its discovery was announced in 2016. When I went to this "hot subneptune" exoplanet in SpaceEngine, it was glowing red hot at 531°C.
Artist concept of exoplanet Kepler-903 b. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
Because of Eta Carinae's violent history, astronomers have kept watch over its activities. Although Hubble has monitored the volatile superstar for 25 years, it still is uncovering new revelations: https://t.co/PgYHzEqulC pic.twitter.com/YxU6xKpydR
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) July 1, 2019
Imagine slow-motion fireworks that started exploding nearly two centuries ago and haven't stopped since then. This is how you might describe this Hubble photo https://t.co/rEXm2qYYFw pic.twitter.com/iiITMgXC9L
— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) July 1, 2019
Doug Bock is an astrophotographer friend from the Warren Astronomical Society.
M 13 from last months run pic.twitter.com/fLFlUOG1Lm
— Doug Bock (@Mars_1956) June 24, 2019
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.
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 is available now!
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
The Universe - Universe Today
2018 is NASA's 60th Anniversary!
July 20, 2019 is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
In the Sky This Week – June 25, 2019
The Moon appears in the eastern early morning sky all week.
Animation of the Moon in the eastern predawn sky from June 26-30, 2019. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Venus appears very low in the east-northeastern sky just before sunrise all week; a very thin waning crescent Moon joins Venus on the morning of July 1st.
Venus appears very low near the east-northeastern sky just before sunrise; on July 1st, the Moon appears near Venus. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Saturn rises shortly after sunset; Jupiter, high in the southern sky, made an exceptional observing target this last weekend at the Warren Astronomical Society's Star Party and Open House - free to the public every 4th Saturday of the month!
Saturn just rising, and Jupiter high in the southeastern sky at 11:05 PM on June 25th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Early in the morning, Saturn and Jupiter are both high in the southern sky - perfect observing targets!
Saturn and Jupiter high in the southern sky at 1:00 AM on June 26th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Mercury and Mars might be a wee bit of a challenge to see low in the west-northwestern sky at dusk all week.
Mercury and Mars might be hard targets to see in the west-northwestern sky just before sunset all week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Jupiter's Moons
After clearly seeing Jupiter's cloud bands and moons in a very small telescope - and through the very large telescope in the Warren Astronomical Society's Stargate Observatory this last weekend, I just could not choose a different target! Go see Jupiter! Show your neighbors!
Jupiter at 11:00 PM on June 25, 2019. Moons: G=Ganymede, I=Io, e=Europa, C=Callisto. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Here's a pic I took of Jupiter in 2012:
Jupiter in a small telescope. Credit: Bob Trembley, Jan. 10, 2012 - 8" Dobsonian
The Moon is at last quarter on June 25th - rising around midnight, visible to the south after sunrise.
After June 25th, the Moon will be a waning crescent - visible low to the east before sunrise.
The new Moon occurs on July 2nd.
The Moon from June 25-July 1, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News - #Apollo50th Anniversary Approaches!
We’re 26 days away from our #Apollo50th anniversary, when humans walked on another world for the first time in history! As we move forward to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon in five years, take a look back at our historic legacy: https://t.co/0FisxPhb50 pic.twitter.com/XuaFBz3sUH
— NASA (@NASA) June 24, 2019
This following video is a recreation of the flight of Apollo 11 using Kerbal Space Program - with some actual command module audio, and music from the soundtrack of the Apollo 13 movie - pretty cool! What I find impressive is the author's use of RCS thrusters and ullage motors; the author also includes a few moments of video showing how the spacecraft's orbit changes while under thrust.
XKCD's Orbital Mechanics Comic
Speaking of orbital mechanics, XKCD created this comic about KSP. *I* didn't study anything even remotely like orbital mechanics in high school or college... I also didn't have the luxury of having a job at NASA, but I sure remember the first time I saw my trajectory change from sub-orbital to orbital in KSP and saying "Oh! THAT's how that works!" Then saying that again when I preformed a Hohmann transfer to the Mun, and watching my perspective change as I entered into the Mun's Sphere of Influence (SOI). Then again when performing an interplanetary transfer, and entering into the SOI of the Sun.
Young students, even kids are playing this "game" and learning orbital mechanics! I'm... currently, *ahem* at 3386 hours in KSP...
And then there's the whole "Kerbal Space Program has RUINED several Science Fiction movies for me" - but that's a tale for another time!
There are 2 small spots on the Sun - they are members of old solar cycle 24 - I can barely make out AR2742, but they are both visible in the videos below by their coronal activity.
AR2742 and AR2743 on June 25, 2019. Images Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. Editing: Bob Trembley
Coronal holes continue to pepper the Sun's southern hemisphere; both poles have large coronal holes.
SpaceWeather.com says: "Earth's mesosphere is still unusually wet. The proof was in the skies of the USA on June 24th when noctilucent clouds appeared at record-low latitudes for the second time this month. Electric-blue waves rippled over Las Vegas, NV; Joshua Tree and Pollock Pines, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; and Albuquerque NM. The American display followed an equally extreme outburst over Europe on the night of the summer solstice. Noctilucent clouds aren't restricted to the Arctic anymore; everyone everywhere should be alert for the next display."
Light prominence on the Sun; if you look closely, you can spot some short-lived pillar prominences popping up and disappearing quickly.
The solar wind speed is 322.0 km/sec (↓), with a density of 4.3 protons/cm3 (↓).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2019 LC1 |
2019-Jun-19
|
19.2 LD
|
9.9
|
26
|
| 2019 LB2 |
2019-Jun-20
|
6.5 LD
|
3.4
|
15
|
| 2019 LM1 |
2019-Jun-23
|
9.8 LD
|
8.7
|
25
|
| 2019 LC5 |
2019-Jun-23
|
13.6 LD
|
11.1
|
42
|
| 441987 |
2019-Jun-24
|
7.7 LD
|
12.6
|
178
|
| 2008 KV2 |
2019-Jun-27
|
17.8 LD
|
11.4
|
195
|
| 2016 NN15 |
2019-Jun-28
|
9.6 LD
|
8.4
|
16
|
| 2019 LR4 |
2019-Jun-29
|
11.3 LD
|
8.3
|
31
|
| 2019 LV1 |
2019-Jun-29
|
5.2 LD
|
6.2
|
27
|
| 2015 XC352 |
2019-Jul-01
|
11.9 LD
|
4.1
|
26
|
| 2016 OF |
2019-Jul-07
|
12.8 LD
|
8.5
|
85
|
| 2016 NO56 |
2019-Jul-07
|
3.4 LD
|
12.2
|
26
|
| 2019 KD3 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15.5 LD
|
8
|
89
|
| 2016 NJ33 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15 LD
|
4.5
|
32
|
| 2015 HM10 |
2019-Jul-24
|
12.2 LD
|
9.5
|
68
|
| 2010 PK9 |
2019-Jul-26
|
8.2 LD
|
16.5
|
155
|
| 2006 QQ23 |
2019-Aug-10
|
19.4 LD
|
4.7
|
339
|
| 454094 |
2019-Aug-12
|
17 LD
|
8.2
|
148
|
| 2018 PN22 |
2019-Aug-17
|
17.1 LD
|
2.3
|
11
|
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 176 (-12?), this year: 1147 (-84?), all time: 20404 (+35)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,033 (+48)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 796,033 (+48)
5th Annual International Asteroid Day - June 30th
Watch the "Asteroids" trailer here! A short film created by the @UW that is part of #asteroidday We are just days away from our live broadcast! https://t.co/wwbGiy8nAr
— Asteroid Day ☄ (@AsteroidDay) June 25, 2019
I will be lecturing at the Cranbrook Institute of Science on June 29th as part of their AsteroidDay event.
On June 24, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 24 fireballs.
(23 sporadics, 1 Northern June Aquilid)
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 & Meteor News:
Geostationary Lightning Mapper Satellite (GOES-16) sees 3-5 kT bolide explode near Puerto Rico!
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, June 25, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the middle solar system, June 25, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets, dwarf planets and a couple spacecraft in the outer solar system seen from Voyager 1 -, June 25, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Solar System News
Study shows how icy outer #solarsystem satellites may have formed @tokodai_news @NatureAstronomy https://t.co/0ZRxdMgDq3
— Phys.org (@physorg_com) June 25, 2019
OSIRIS-REx
When looking at Bennu, I’m struck by the fact that the rocks in some parts are positioned so chaotically, while in others — like here — the rocks are arranged by size. Bennu’s formative processes are so intriguing... and we still have so much to learn about rubble pile asteroids. pic.twitter.com/8F1guj4f8S
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) June 24, 2019
NASA / SpaceX
Congratulations to @SpaceX on another successful Falcon Heavy launch! I’m excited for the four @NASA_Technology missions that will help us explore the Moon, Mars and beyond! More: https://t.co/hTU1Cnstax pic.twitter.com/rR01vavYis
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) June 25, 2019
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Celebrates 10 Years!
Omg look how cute I was on my first day at the Moon 10 years ago #OTD! I’ve learned SO much since then. Here are 10 highlights I’ve learned about @NASAMoon in my 10 years (and counting) here. #LRO10th https://t.co/6HcrAPJMDD pic.twitter.com/8a9HUhZNTr
— NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (@LRO_NASA) June 24, 2019
Climate - Lightening Lightening Everywhere!
Yesterday's #GOES16 #GLM CONUS Retrospective pic.twitter.com/A96G8lcekh
— Michael J. Peterson (@WeatherArchive) June 23, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Discovery Video
This is REALLY cool, and you should watch and share it!!
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
"Syzygy." An eclipse seen from a hypothetical exomoon of a gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star Wolf 359. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
You can explore exoplanets on your own with NASA's Eyes on Exoplanets (beta) interactive website!
This Hubble Picture of the Week shows the spiral galaxy Messier 98, estimated to contain about a trillion of stars, and full of cosmic dust and hydrogen gas. Credit: @ESA / @Hubble_Space / @NASA , V. Rubin et al. https://t.co/driWVrMiMl pic.twitter.com/r9S8xGiIsH
— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) June 24, 2019
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. Version 0.19.1 was released on June 22nd!
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 coming soon!
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
The Universe - Universe Today
2018 is NASA's 60th Anniversary!
July 20, 2019 is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
Symposium to Honor the Legacy of Astrophysicist Dr. Vera Rubin
Dr. Vera Rubin. Credit: Public Domain
A symposium in honor of Dr. Vera Rubin is being held at Georgetown University, June 24-26, 2019.
Dr. Rubin (1928-2016) was one of the most important astrophysicists of the 20th and 21st centuries. She received her Ph.D. from Georgetown University in 1954, and pioneered the study of galaxy rotation rates that provided definitive evidence for the existence of Dark Matter. Dr. Rubin was also a fierce and effective advocate for women in science. This symposium honors her legacy by bringing together astrophysicists whose research was made possible by Dr. Rubin’s discoveries; they will discuss the latest developments in the field, and the connections with Dr. Rubin’s discoveries.
Symposium organizers expect some sessions will be particularly interesting to those involved in educating the next generation of scientists and scientifically engaged citizens.
Some of the lectures/discussions include:
Keynote lecture by Dr. Abigail Fraeman from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - she will discuss the exploration that she leads of the Vera Rubin Ridge on Mars with the Curiosity Rover.
A panel discussion including Dr. Fraemen and Prof. Pearl Sandick, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah. The panel will be followed by round-table discussions and work sessions to develop individual action plans to address critical issues facing educators, researchers, and industry leaders.
Dark Stars by Prof. Pearl Sandick
The Dark Side of the Universe by Dr. Neta A. Bahcall, Professor of Astrophysics, Princeton University.
The Broad Implications of Dr. Rubin’s Science by Dr. France Córdova, Director of the National Science Foundation.
Also presenting will be Prof. Katherine Freese, the Chair of the Symposium Organizing Committee and recipient of the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize “for ground-breaking research at the interface of cosmology and particle physics, and her tireless efforts to communicate the excitement of physics to the general public.”
These remarkable women will talk about their science, their personal journeys, and the challenges of increasing the representation of women in Physics and Astronomy.
A full agenda is available at the Vera Rubin Symposium website. The symposium is being recorded - videos will be available on the website in a couple weeks. We'll follow-up with another post about the symposium, and include links to those videos.
Posts about Vera Rubin on the VOF Sacred Space Astronomy blog.
Posts about Vera Rubin on the VOF Faith and Science Archive website.
Inspiring a New Generation of Scientists and Space Explorers
PC Lab at Starbase One H.Q. Credit: Bob Trembley
I was at STARBASE One at Selfridge Air National Guard Base on June 11 & 12, 2019 as part of their Summer Academy - I taught the students how to fly rockets in Kerbal Space Program. I created several different rockets for them to launch: a small and large sounding rocket, and a crewed sub-orbital and orbital vessel; I related the sub-orbital and orbital flights to those of Alan Shepard and John Glenn.
Rockets created in Kerbal Space Program for Starbase One. Credit: Bob Trembley
Their first rocket was aimed down at the launchpad, so they got to see something explode! For some reason, the students seem to get a kick out of this... but it does show that rockets in KSP can crash.
-
- “Wrong Way Rocket” on the launchpad. Credit: Bob Trembley
-
- “Sudden Rapid Disassembly” at the launchpad. Credit: Bob Trembley
When the students launched sounding rockets, I mentioned the Keweenaw Rocket Range; Michigan launched its first sounding rocket into space on Jan. 29, 1971! My wife and I visited the launchpad in 2016.
Bob & Connie Trembley at the Keweenaw Rocket Range in 2016. Credit: Bob Trembley
When I showed the students how orbits are raised, a common comment was "that's weird!" Yup! Orbital mechanics sure is!
Raising your Orbit in Kerbal Space Program. Credit: Kerbal Space Program / Bob Trembley.
A couple students were able to execute a Hohmann transfer and travel to the Mun (that's what it's called in KSP) and crash into it!
Hohmann Transfer in Kerbal Space Program. Credit: Bob Trembley
The students participated in several other activities during the morning too:
Launching Air Rockets at the Starbase One 2019 Summer Academy. Credit: Mark Muzzin.
A student from the 2019 Starbase One Summer Academy. Credit: Mark Muzzin
• Launching air-rockets and trying to land them in small plastic wading pools across the parking lot. The rockets had different sets of fins that were 3D printed on-site.
• Discussing personal hygiene on the International Space Station - let's just say I'm a fan of gravity, and leave it at that...
• Mission patch design.
• Soldering a custom-built LED-blinkie in the shape of the Detroit "D." The circuitry kits were designed by 2DKits.com - who are friends of mine; Starbase has commissioned a couple custom kits from them.
We were all provided with pizza for lunch - ahhhhh, nature's perfect food! 🙂
Students also got to see the Apollo 11 VR Experience; one chapter has you standing in the Lunar Module as it is descending the surface of the Moon! It was so amazing, I wanted to cry...
The students also experienced Apollo 11's reentry into Earth's atmosphere in VR - which was a perfect tie-in with KSP, because I had them do a reentry with KSP too!
The students all got a signed photo of astronaut Leland Melvin, and took home a handout I created with a bunch of NASA and non-NASA space resources.
At the end of my last session, a young girl said to me: "I want to be an astronomer when I grow up!" I beamed and gave her a Warren Astronomical Society business card, and told her to come one of our meetings - I'll consider that a win!
Explorer 1 Replica Outside Starbase One HQ. Credit: Bob Trembley (Feb. 2016)
I wrote about Kerbal Space Program previously on the Sacred Space Astronomy blog here and here. My wife and I have used KSP as part of an after-school club for two years. I was a guest on “Astronomy for Everyone” where I was videoed talking about KSP. As of this writing, I have logged 3380 hours in KSP on Steam.
Here are some of the things that can be done in Kerbal Space Program:
- Build rockets, jets, space-planes, rovers and landers – LEGO-style
- Launch and fly them, get them into space and into orbit – visually, with ZERO math required
- Scan planetary surfaces for resources and other science
- Perform orbital maneuvers:
- Raise/lower orbit
- Plane changes
- Hohmann transfers
- Rendezvous and docking
- Construct space stations (takes multiple launches)
- Orbit and land probes and crew on planets and moons
- Reentry and parachute/powered landings
- Collect science from space-around and surfaces-of celestial bodies
- The latest update include robotic parts!
If you have a spare hour and a half, this video recreation of the Apollo 8 mission is simply amazing! It uses actual NASA footage and command module audio, and Kerbal Space Program for visuals!
In the Sky This Week – June 18, 2019
Mercury and Mars almost appear to be almost touching low in the west-northwestern sky at dusk on June 18th - don't miss this conjunction! By next week the two planets will have drifted apart.
-
- Mercury and Mars very near each other in the west-northwestern sky just before sunset on June 18th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
-
- Mercury and Mars pulling away from each other in the west-northwestern sky just before sunset on June 24th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Venus appears very low in the east-northeastern sky just before sunrise all week.
Venus low in the east-northeastern sky just before sunrise on June 18th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon appears between Saturn and Jupiter in the southern sky on June 18th; on June 19th, the Moon appears very near Saturn.
Conjunction of Mercury and Mars
As I was writing this, I posted my Mercury-Mars conjunction image from above on Twitter; I noticed a couple different versions of the same image - that kinda settled it as the observing target of the week!
Mercury passes 12' from Mars today at 18UT/2 PM EDT in the closest naked eye planet vs. planet conjunction for 2019 - the view tonight at dusk looking west: pic.twitter.com/CabfT1u3n3
— Dave Dickinson (@Astroguyz) June 18, 2019
The Moon is a waning gibbous, just past full - rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise.
The third quarter Moon occurs on June 25th, rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise.
The Moon from June 18-24, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
Moon News
How do you stock up an outpost that's 250,000 miles away?@NASA is working with American companies to supply the lunar Gateway that will help astronauts land on the Moon by 2024. Learn more! https://t.co/120PJgwIW8 pic.twitter.com/0hVfKbkFvD
— NASA Marshall (@NASA_Marshall) June 17, 2019
Large Mass Detected Under Moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin
Phys.org reported this story on June 10th - almost immediately memes of 2001: A Space Odyssey started circulating on social media...
#LargeMassAnomaly #DiscoveredOn #PlanetLuna #GPD
"A mysterious large mass of material has been discovered beneath the largest crater in our solar system—the Moon's South Pole-Aitken basin—and ..."https://t.co/oxg0IetKjv pic.twitter.com/9Egvg7ePYK— RyuZoku (@Ryu_Zoku) June 10, 2019
Did Monks Witness a Massive Lunar Impact in 1178?
June 18, 1178: 841 years ago #Today, five monks from Canterbury observed the Moon 'splitting in two'. Was this a huge meteor impact? https://t.co/jt6uREcuKV pic.twitter.com/qXT2vF9gga
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) June 18, 2019
The Sun has been spot-free for 30 days. Coronal holes pepper the Sun's southern hemisphere, and although both poles have coronal holes, the south pole hole appears to have grown.
SpaceWeather.com says: "Images of the sun look like a big orange billiard ball--utterly blank. This is a sign of Solar Minimum, a phase of the solar cycle that brings extra cosmic rays, long-lasting holes in the sun's atmosphere, and a possible surplus of noctilucent clouds"
WOW! Look at that monster prominence on the Sun's limb evolve over several hours !
The solar wind speed is 324.2 km/sec (↑), with a density of 8.1 protons/cm3 (↑).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun's limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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.
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.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2019 LU4 |
2019-Jun-18
|
2 LD
|
8.1
|
18
|
| 2019 LA5 |
2019-Jun-18
|
18.3 LD
|
7.7
|
29
|
| 2019 LC1 |
2019-Jun-19
|
19.2 LD
|
9.9
|
26
|
| 2019 LB2 |
2019-Jun-20
|
6.5 LD
|
3.4
|
15
|
| 2019 LM1 |
2019-Jun-23
|
9.8 LD
|
8.7
|
26
|
| 2019 LC5 |
2019-Jun-23
|
13.6 LD
|
11.1
|
42
|
| 441987 |
2019-Jun-24
|
7.7 LD
|
12.6
|
178
|
| 2008 KV2 |
2019-Jun-27
|
17.8 LD
|
11.4
|
195
|
| 2016 NN15 |
2019-Jun-28
|
9.6 LD
|
8.4
|
16
|
| 2019 LR4 |
2019-Jun-29
|
11.3 LD
|
8.3
|
31
|
| 2019 LV1 |
2019-Jun-29
|
5.2 LD
|
6.2
|
26
|
| 2015 XC352 |
2019-Jul-01
|
11.9 LD
|
4.1
|
26
|
| 2016 OF |
2019-Jul-07
|
12.8 LD
|
8.5
|
85
|
| 2016 NO56 |
2019-Jul-07
|
3.4 LD
|
12.2
|
26
|
| 2019 KD3 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15.5 LD
|
8
|
89
|
| 2016 NJ33 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15 LD
|
4.5
|
32
|
| 2015 HM10 |
2019-Jul-24
|
12.2 LD
|
9.5
|
68
|
| 2010 PK9 |
2019-Jul-26
|
8.2 LD
|
16.5
|
155
|
| 2006 QQ23 |
2019-Aug-10
|
19.4 LD
|
4.7
|
339
|
| 454094 |
2019-Aug-12
|
17 LD
|
8.2
|
148
|
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 188 (+172), this year: 1231 (-122?), all time: 20369 (+45)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 795,985 (+92)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 795,985 (+92)
5th Annual International Asteroid Day - June 30th
#AsteroidDay is for people of all ages! From scientists, technologists, community leaders, and students - anyone interested in learning about asteroids and helping to raise #asteroid awareness! @asteroidday #AsteroidDay2019 pic.twitter.com/lyGI4PzL9H
— Asteroid Day ☄ (@AsteroidDay) June 17, 2019
I will be lecturing at the Cranbrook Institute of Science on June 29th as part of their AsteroidDay event.
On June 17, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 1 fireball.
(1 sporadics)
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 & Meteor News:
Michigan astronomer John Jack McGill captures a meteor in northern Michigan.
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
-
- Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, June 18, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets in the middle solar system, June 18, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
-
- Position of the planets and some trans-Neptunian objects in the outer solar system, June 18, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Solar System News: Fresh Impact Crater Spotted on Mars!
A new crater on Mars, which appeared sometime between September 2016 and February 2019, shows up as a dark smudge on the landscape in this high-resolution photo. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Mars Impact Crater article at Space.com.
OSIRIS-REx
For more technical details on the new orbit, check out this week's Mission Status Update: https://t.co/eqqOpM0YM6 pic.twitter.com/XefXS694ap
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) June 17, 2019
International Space Station
Three Exp 59 crewmembers begin their final week aboard the station during human research activities and CubeSat deployments today. https://t.co/8zePyZeCNu pic.twitter.com/5HnEs8lgUb
— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) June 17, 2019
Climate
As I often say... NASA is the best brand the United States has. https://t.co/BLewLehnFv
— Bill Nye (@BillNye) June 15, 2019
Pope Francis has declared a global climate emergency.#ClimateEmergency #ClimateBreakdown #EcologicalBreakdown #LaudatoSìhttps://t.co/KqjGkhSYGV
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) June 15, 2019
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet News - 4000 Known Exoplanets Threshold Crossed!
#Exoplanet4k was trending on Twitter on June 13 &14th.
WE DID IT! 🥳🍾@NASAExoArchive just passed 4000 confirmed exoplanets. There are *4,003* worlds we know about orbiting other stars in our Galaxy. That's 4,003 chances for cyanide skies, lava oceans, magenta sunsets, supersonic cloud streams...
Here's to 4000 more!#exoplanet4K pic.twitter.com/NFYpCkw19a
— Dr. Jessie Christiansen (@aussiastronomer) June 13, 2019
Migrating Baby Exoplanet Sculpts Disk Around Newborn Star (Photos) https://t.co/MsgPjd5BKj pic.twitter.com/XLRUrUUWk6
— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) June 17, 2019
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
Kepler-1047 c is transiting now in Cygnus. It's 1.0x the size of Earth and transits again in 3.2 days.
— Transiting Now (@transitingnow) June 18, 2019
Artistic representation of exoplanet Kepler-1047 c; exoplanet KOI-2004.03 with a cometary tail appears in the background. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
ESA/Hubble #Flashback: In 2013, astronomers highlighted NGC 6753, imaged here, as one of only two known spiral galaxies that were both massive enough and close enough to permit detailed observations of their coronas. https://t.co/dLFiGMKg3K pic.twitter.com/ij8vfCvwCM
— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) June 17, 2019
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.
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 coming soon!
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
The Universe - Universe Today
2018 is NASA's 60th Anniversary!
July 20, 2019 is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.