Tag Archives: Mars

In the Sky This Week – April 7, 2020

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This entry is part 142 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

Last night, I gave the featured presentation during the Warren Astronomical Society’s online WebEx/YouTube meeting: The Challenges of Interstellar Travel. I cannot believe how much I learned putting this presentation together; honestly, there’s probably weeks more research I could do, and papers I could read. I discussed sending small probes and giant generation ships to the stars, and the enormous amount of energy, resources and manufacturing it would require. I talked about physical and mental problems related to space travel, and what it would take to keep humans alive during an interstellar voyage. I concluded my presentation suggesting maybe we should make sure all the life-support systems are functioning properly on the generation ship we all share, and are travelling through interstellar space aboard. The NASA at Home page has links to lots of online NASA resources for things to do at home – here’s a couple: Space Place parents and educators page: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/parents-and-educators/ Solar System Exploration’s 10+ things: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1192/10-things-to-do-with-nasa-at-home/ NASA … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 31, 2020

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This entry is part 141 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

A three-planet conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn continues in the early morning southeastern sky; Mars passes very close to Saturn on March 31st, and by the start of next week will be well beyond Saturn. Venus is high in the western sky well after sunset; each evening, Venus will move a bit upwards towards the Pleiades star cluster, until it appears to be part of the cluster itself on the evening of April 6th!   The Moon is a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening. The first-quarter Moon occurs on April 1st, it will be visible high in the southern sky in early evening. After April 1st the Moon will be a waxing gibbous, visible to the southeast in early evening, and up for most of the night. Apollo 8 and 13 – Jim Lovell at 92 Happy Birthday Captain James Lovell 92 today! A former NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Naval captain who made historic … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 24, 2020

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This entry is part 140 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

My wife and I have finished moving out of our home of 22 years, and are now living in her parent’s basement; we were planning on taking our time looking for a new home, but with Michigan on COVID-19 lock-down, any home-hunting plans have gone out the window. My wife’s school is having teachers interact with students via Google Classroom, and the Warren Astronomical Society held their first online “virtual meeting.” I saw a comment on a Solar System Ambassador (SSA) forum that the greatly increased streaming activity is putting a lot of pressure on the internet. In one SSA’s community, she could not connect to Skype or Facebook Live because of internet congestion. With so many communities going to telework, tele-education, etc. and also streaming HD video around the clock, the internet is very congested on a limited bandwidth. Some people cannot stream a doctor’s appointment; some doctors cannot get pages to load to refill much needed prescriptions. For … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 10, 2020

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This entry is part 139 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

Times are interesting for me right now – we’re packing to move out of our home of 22 years; the big stuff is all in storage, and there are only a couple rooms left to go. The house echoes, and my poor parrots are confused… My granddaughter is a month old, and visits frequently, I’ve got a bit yet to do for taxes, and I’m working on a presentation about interstellar travel for the Warren Astronomical Society… and I keep getting distracted by all the cool things I keep finding – like a paper about suspended animation research being done for Mars missions. The three planets in the early morning southeastern sky are a bit closer than last week – Mars will appear much closer to Jupiter by week’s end. The Moon appears high in the southeastern sky at midnight on March 10th. On March 12th, the Moon appears above the horizon near the star Spica. The Moon joins the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 3, 2020

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This entry is part 138 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

Yesterday, I gave the “In the News / In the Sky” presentation at the meeting of the Warren Astronomical Society – how convenient that all the news I covered, and all the images I created for that presentation would appear today’s post! Early-risers continue to have Saturn, Jupiter and Mars to observe above the southeastern horizon. The waxing gibbous Moon appears near the constellation Orion high in the southern sky on March 3rd. On March 5th, the Moon appears near the star Pollux. The Moon appears near the star Regulus on March 7th.   The Moon is currently a waxing gibbous, one day past first quarter – it will be visible to the southeast in early evening, and be up for most of the night. The Full Moon occurs on March 9th – rising at sunset, visible high in the sky around midnight, and up all night. Moon News: NASA is Accepting Astronaut Applications Want to go to the moon? NASA … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 25, 2020

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This entry is part 137 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

The constellation Orion is moving slowly towards the west each evening; the star Betelgeuse has been dimming since last year, and is no longer in the top 25 brightest stars – which several of my astronomer friends have commented is “just weird!” As I was writing this post, I saw on SpaceWeather.com that apparently the dimming of Betelgeuse has stopped. Predawn observers have three planets to choose from above the southeastern horizon: Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. The crescent Moon joins Venus above the western horizon at dusk from February 25th – 28th. The Moon appears near the star Aldebaran at 10:00 PM on March 1st – 2nd.   The Moon is a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening. The first quarter Moon occurs on March 2nd, it will be visible high in the southern sky in early evening. Moon News: Historic NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson Dies at Age 101 This morning, a NASA hero passed away at the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 18, 2020

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This entry is part 136 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

Remember how last week I mentioned that “Things have been a little exciting for me the last couple days?” Adding to the excitement of having a new granddaughter, our house sold the day after it went on the market! The inspector has come and gone, the appraisal takes place tomorrow, and now we’re looking for a new home – whew! My granddaughter, Alayanora Lee Festian, got to meet her aunt Rachel (my eldest) and her great-grandparents (my wife Connie’s parents) last weekend – great grandma and grandpa were in heaven! Rachel left her niece a Star Wars blanket – which is awesome, but I would have expected something Harry Potter-themed from Rachel…   The planets splashed across the southeastern horizon before dawn are joined by the Moon for the next several mornings – the Moon will appear near Mars on Feb. 18th, Jupiter on Feb. 19th, and Saturn on Feb. 20th. The Moon actually occulted the planet Mars at dawn … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 12, 2020

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This entry is part 135 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

Things have been a little exciting for me the last couple days – I’m a grandpa! My daughter Amanda and her husband Sam delivered Alayanora Lee Festian at home on Sunday Feb. 9th – under the full Moon. All are doing well – astronomy-related baby clothes suggestions are welcome! 🙂 The day after my granddaughter was born we put our house back on the market – calls for showings started pouring in while we were visiting our granddaughter. When you show your house, you have to be away from the premises when prospective buyers are at a showing – and the house has to be cleaned… have I ever mentioned that I own parrots? I also work from home, and I have a new granddaughter… I may have been a bit distracted the last couple days. Jupiter and Mars nearly align with the star Antares above the southeastern horizon before dawn – follow those three to find Saturn, still low … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 4, 2020

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This entry is part 134 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

The Moon is the “star” of the sky this week, going from just past first-quarter through full, and having close encounters with several stars – this ought to make the Moon a great observing target all week! Saturn makes a return to the eastern morning sky, joining Jupiter and Mars – Saturn is a bit low on the horizon, and may be lost in the glare of the Sun for several weeks. M 22 Messier 22 or M22, also known as NGC 6656, is an elliptical globular cluster of stars in the constellation Sagittarius, near the Galactic bulge region. It is one of the brightest globulars that is visible in the night sky. The brightest stars are 11th magnitude, with hundreds of stars bright enough to resolve with an 8″ telescope. M22 is located just south of the Ecliptic, and northwest of Lambda Sagittarii (Kaus Borealis), the northernmost star of the “Teapot” asterism. M22 was one of the first globulars to be discovered, on August 26, 1665 by Abraham Ihle and it was included in Charles … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – January 28, 2020

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This entry is part 133 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

The handle of the “Big Dipper” asterism points nearly straight down toward the northeastern horizon at midnight this week. The waxing crescent Moon appears near at dusk on Jan 29th & 30th. The Moon appears near the star Aldebaran at dusk on the evenings of February 2nd-4th. Jupiter appears low and Mars appears high above the southeastern horizon at dawn this week. M 47 Messier 47 (M47 or NGC 2422) is an open cluster in the constellation Puppis. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and independently discovered by Charles Messier on February 19, 1771. It was later independently discovered again, under the current name NGC 2422. There is actually no cluster in the position indicated by Messier, which he expressed in terms of its right ascension and declination with respect to the star 2 Puppis. However, if the signs of Messier’s coordinate differences are changed, the position matches that of NGC 2422. Until the equivalency of M47 with NGC 2422 was found, M47 was considered a lost Messier Object. The discovery that M47 and … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – January 14, 2020

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This entry is part 131 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

We’re running a membership drive this month – our goal is 150 new members. Please subscribe and help support this website and VOF education and outreach programs. Mars appears near the star Antares in the southeastern horizon before dawn this week; a waning crescent Moon joins them on January 20th. The Moon appears near the star Regulus at midnight on January 13th, and near the star Spica on January 17th. Venus appears high and bright above the southwestern horizon at dusk this week.   The Moon is a waning gibbous, rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise. The third quarter moon occurs on January 17th, rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise. After January 17th, the Moon will be a waning crescent, visible low to the east before sunrise. Moon News Impact craters come in many sizes. In this image, the crater on the top left, called … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – January 7, 2020

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This entry is part 130 of 142 in the series In the Sky This Week

I am the 2020 outreach officer for the Warren Astronomical Society – this is a position I’ve held several times before; I receive requests from individuals and groups that would like to use our observatory, or have a member come to their location and set up telescopes and/or give presentations about astronomy and space science. I’ve got a great outreach team – several of our members are volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors; we frequently get excellent feedback from the public for our events! One of the things I want to do this year is resurrect a popular Messier observing program that late member Larry Kalinowski ran years before I joined. I’m going to base it off of the Astronomical League’s Messier observing program, and I want to create some “standard” easy-to-use forms for recording and submitting observing logs.   Mars appears above the star Antares in the southeastern horizon before dawn this week The Moon appears near the star Aldebaran on … Continue reading →