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Tag Archives: Mars

In the Sky This Week – June 4, 2019

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This entry is part 99 of 102 in the series In the Sky This Week

Mars continues to dim in the west-northwestern sky after sunset, and Mercury appears low near the horizon all week. A thin crescent Moon appears near Mars on June 5th, and moves towards the south each day. The Moon appears by the star Regulus on June 7th and 8th. Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares have been slowly crawling across the southern sky for several weeks; Antares sets a bit earlier each morning. Venus appears very low on the horizon just before sunrise all week. Earthshine Earthshine is visible earthlight reflected from the Moon’s night side. It is also known as the Moon’s ashen glow or as “the new Moon with the old Moon in her arm.” Earthshine is most readily visible from a few nights before until a few nights after a new moon, during the (waxing or waning) crescent phase. – Wikipedia The next few days will be the ideal time to try and catch a glimpse of Earthshine!   The Moon is a … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 21, 2019

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This entry is part 97 of 102 in the series In the Sky This Week

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is Unraveling! As I was writing this post, I came upon this story on SpaceWeather.com: Around the world, amateur astronomers are monitoring a strange phenomenon on the verge of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS). The giant storm appears to be unraveling. “I haven’t seen this before in my 17-or-so years of imaging Jupiter,” reports veteran observer Anthony Wesley of Australia, who photographed a streamer of gas detaching itself from the GRS on May 19th -SpaceWeather.com I realized I should probably headline this topic when I immediately stopped what I was doing, and went upstairs to tell my wife about it! Jupiter returns the the evening sky, rising in the southeastern sky around 10:30 PM. The Moon dances with Saturn and Jupiter for the next several days in the predawn sky: Mars will soon be lost on the glare of the sunset in the west-northwestern sky. Globular cluster Messier 68 The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope offers this … Continue reading →

Across the Universe: Father of the Future

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This entry is part 186 of 185 in the series Across the Universe

This column first ran at the end of May, 2018, in The Tablet. Why I wound up with two columns in May that year is mysterious to me… The summer of 2018 marked the 200th birthday of Father Angelo Secchi, the Jesuit priest often called the Father of Astrophysics. In May I participated in a celebration of his work held in his home town of Reggio Emilia, northern Italy. Speakers covered topics drawn from his life and career, starting with a wonderful biographical sketch by Ileana Chinnici, a historian of astronomy at the Palermo Observatory (and an adjunct Vatican astronomer).  Like Galileo, Secchi had a knack for the popularisation of science, and for becoming embroiled in political controversy. The revolutions of 1848 forced Secchi to flee Rome for two years – he spent the enforced sabbatical at Stonyhurst College and at Georgetown University – and he was nearly forced to leave again after 1870 by the manoeuvrings of enemies in the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 14, 2019

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This entry is part 96 of 102 in the series In the Sky This Week

The weekend is over, and I’m still having trouble believing my wife and I were Science Co-Guests of Honor at MARCON 54 – a science fiction convention in Ohio. I told the head of programming that I felt like I’d violated some sort of protocol by not having been a “Fan GoH” first. On Saturday morning, my wife and I, and a couple other convention attendees helped judge participants of the Ohio State Science Fair for awards from the SOLAE Foundation. Some of these middle school and high school students were simply amazing! I was completely stunned at some of the concepts and technologies these students were working with; I seriously felt like a mental midget compared to some of these teens! Br. Guy Skyped-in to MARCON for a discussion Saturday evening; with a frog in his throat from a cold, he related a hilarious story about his travels and a visa SNAFU, and made us all long to witness the majesty … Continue reading →

Across the Universe: Dramatic Science

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This entry is part 64 of 185 in the series Across the Universe

This column first ran in The Tablet in April 2008. We ran it here in 2016. From a glass-enclosed visitor’s gallery at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, I watched three technicians, encased in white suits, slowly affix bits of equipment to a large aluminum frame, the platform of an SUV-sized rover to Mars. Two sets of steering rockets were already attached; two large metal spheres painted black and gold were seated nearby. “Those are the fuel tanks, right?” I asked my friend Steve, an engineer on the project who guided my tour. “Like the ones that blew up the Mars Orbiter in the 1980s?” Every piece has a necessary function, and every piece has a history of what can happen if it goes wrong. Even with a recent string of triumphs, Mars probe failures still outnumber the successes. Each piece is added in a carefully scripted order, with a quality-control specialist looking on: the torque wrench must not overtighten … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 9, 2019

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This entry is part 91 of 102 in the series In the Sky This Week

This Friday, multiple planetariums and observatories in Michigan will host evening astronomy outreach events during Statewide Astronomy Night (SWAN) – the Warren Astronomical Society among them. Observing is planned at all sites, and while activities and presentations may vary between sites, all will be held rain or moonshine! Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares appear in south-southeastern predawn sky all week; I saw Jupiter this morning as the sky began to brighten. The star Vega is high and bright in the east-northeastern sky in the early morning. A very thin waxing crescent Moon appears near the star Aldebaran and Mars in the western sky after sunset on Apr. 9th. The first-quarter Moon appears near the constellation Gemini southwestern sky after sunset on Apr. 12th. Elliptical Galaxy IC 1101 IC 1101 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy at the center of the Abell 2029 galaxy cluster, approximately 320 megaparsecs (1.04 billion light-years) from Earth. … IC 1101 is among the largest known galaxies, but there is debate in the astronomical literature about how to … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 2, 2019

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This entry is part 90 of 102 in the series In the Sky This Week

Stellarium version 0.19.0 has been released; I use Stellarium to create images for every one of these posts. When I receive new outreach requests, I frequently use Stellarium to see what the nighttime sky will look like on those future dates. The new version has code optimizations, some user interface improvements, and includes 5 new sky cultures. Stellarium is free, and available for the PC/MAC/Linux. Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares appear in south-southeastern predawn sky this week. Mars continues to appear high in the western sky by the Pleiades all week. A very thin waxing crescent Moon appears low in the western sky after sunset on Apr. 6th. Mercury and Venus appear low in the eastern predawn sky Apr. 8th. The Moon joins Mars and the Pleiades in the western sky after dark on Apr. 8th. Coma Cluster The Coma Cluster (Abell 1656) is a large cluster of galaxies that contains over 1,000 identified galaxies. Along with the Leo Cluster (Abell 1367), it is one of … Continue reading →

NASA Night Sky Notes for March 2019

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Springtime Planet Party By David Prosper March brings longer days for Northern Hemisphere observers, especially by the time of the equinox. Early risers are treated to the majority of the bright planets dancing in the morning skies, with the Moon passing between them at the beginning and end of the month. The vernal equinox occurs on March 20, marking the official beginning of spring for the Northern Hemisphere. Our Sun shines equally on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres during the moment of equinox, which is why the March and September equinoxes are the only times of the year when the Earth’s north and south poles are simultaneously lit by sunlight. Exacting astronomers will note that the length of day and night on the equinox are not precisely equal; the date when they are closest to equal depends on your latitude, and may occur a few days earlier or later than the equinox itself. One complicating factor is that the Sun … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 19, 2019

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This entry is part 83 of 102 in the series In the Sky This Week

After a heavy snow, the full Moon put on a stunning show this frigid morning; I was able to see Jupiter out my kitchen window, but Venus and Saturn were obscured by low clouds. As I was shoveling, I thought about how my house blocks the sunlight – which never melts snow off my driveway – while the neighbors across the street have nice clear driveways, baked by the Sun… As tends to happen with me, thoughts wander to something astronomical – this time: permanently shadowed regions on the Moon and Mercury. Last Saturday, my wife and I got to see a fantastic presentation by astronaut Terry Virts about his time on the International Space Station! We got a signed copy of his book: “View from Above.” My wife Connie (@Sciteacher84) and I saw Astronaut Terry Virts (@AstroTerry) speak at @MacombCollege about his time on the @Space_Station! pic.twitter.com/oOSRBjY5Pl — Balrog's Lair (@BalrogsLair) February 11, 2019 Several planets are in the southeastern … Continue reading →

Opportunity Mars Rover Mission Ends

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The historic Opportunity Mars rover mission has come to an end. Opportunity last communicated with Earth on June 10, 2018 after a planet-wide dust storm covered the rover’s solar panels, denying power to the rover. After 800+ attempts to contact @MarsRovers Opportunity, today we’re announcing the end of a successful Martian mission. Intended to explore the Red Planet for 90 days, Oppy outlived its mission lifetime by 14+ years. Join us live now: https://t.co/zJwTTpQNwp #ThanksOppy pic.twitter.com/U4J26TfzDv — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) February 13, 2019 Opportunity had a twin: the Spirit rover; their mission was to search of answers about the history of water on Mars – and boy did they find some interesting things! This video is a fantastic (and short) retrospective of the Spirit and Opportunity rover missions: Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004 – in quite spectacular fashion! Spirit and Opportunity were designed for a 90-day mission; Opportunity lasted for over 14 years! I don’t want to … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 12, 2019

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This entry is part 82 of 102 in the series In the Sky This Week

My wife likes to alter her science student’s misconceptions about what a “scientist” is, and teaches them that anyone can be a scientist! This is especially true for her female students – many of whom never thought about a career in science. Feb. 11th was International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and it was trending hard on Twitter; it was great to see all the different organizations honoring their female scientists! Saturn and Venus are low, Jupiter and the star Antares are high(ish) in the southeastern predawn sky; Venus continues to move down towards Saturn on the horizon. There’s quite a show high in the south-southwestern sky on Feb. 12th! You may note Mars and Uranus nearly on top of each other in the image below: Mars will be less then a degree from Uranus on Feb. 12th,! I expect to post images about this next week. On the evening of Feb. 13th, the Moon will be about 2 … Continue reading →

Crater Virus infects Science Week Drawings

Recently here in Ireland we had the phenomena that is Science Week. A nationwide effort by hundreds of people to open the many facets of science to children and adults all over the country.  My offerings were workshops about the Apollo 11 moon landing called Let’s Go To The Moon – Apollo 11, Deadly Moons and Marvellous Mars. All of which I have written about in the past hit the links to check them out. This year a unique crater virus came to visit and spread itself around many drawings. Guidance Increasingly I have being introducing drawing techniques in my workshops.  Sometimes the effect has a slow uptake and other times it has an immediate viral effect. One such action is a tip on crater drawing , kids just love it. Here below we see some drawings that benefited from simple guidence. Examples of the crater virus that invaded hundreds of drawings and created smiles all over the room.   … Continue reading →


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