Tag Archives: Saturn

In the Sky This Week – August 20, 2019

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This entry is part 110 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

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. By midnight, Saturn is high in the south-southwestern sky and Jupiter is near setting in the southwest. The eastern sky has some bright stars and the Pleiades star cluster at 3:00 AM. On Aug. 20th, the Moon is high and lonely in the sky from midnight to dawn. The Summer Triangle sets … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – August 13, 2019

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This entry is part 109 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

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 … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – August 6, 2019

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This entry is part 108 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

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! Mercury is at its highest … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – July 30, 2019

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This entry is part 107 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

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… 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. The Andromeda galaxy is visible in the east-northeastern sky around midnight. 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. The waxing crescent Moon appears near the star Spica after sunset on August 5th.   M 24 – The Small Sagittarius Cloud The Sagittarius Star Cloud (also … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – July 23, 2019

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This entry is part 106 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

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 star Arcturus continues to be the evening star the western sky after sunset. Saturn is high and Jupiter is low in the southwestern sky around midnight all week. The Moon will appear near the star Aldebaran in the Eastern sky early in the morning on  July 27th & 28th. 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 – … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – July 16, 2019

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This entry is part 105 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

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! 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 … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – July 9, 2019

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This entry is part 104 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

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!   Saturn and Jupiter remain high in the southern sky all week around midnight, making great observing targets for night owls. Seen from the Paranal Observatory in Chile, Saturn and Jupiter are directly overhead around midnight. 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 … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – June 25, 2019

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This entry is part 102 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

The Moon appears in the eastern early morning sky all week. 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. 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! Early in the morning, Saturn and Jupiter are both high in the southern sky – perfect observing targets! Mercury and Mars might be a wee bit of a challenge to see low in the west-northwestern sky at dusk all week. 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 … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – June 11, 2019

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This entry is part 100 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

A dimming Mars, and a bright Mercury appear low in the west-northwestern sky at dusk. The Moon appears near the star Spica on June 15th and 16th. The Moon appears near Jupiter and the star Antares on June 15th and 16th. Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares appear in the southern sky before dawn. Jupiter, currently at opposition, rises in the southeast with the sunset. Saturn rises in the southeast around 11:20 PM. Venus is very low on the horizon just before sunrise all week. The Summer Triangle The Summer Triangle is an astronomical asterism in the northern celestial hemisphere. The defining vertices of this imaginary triangle are at Altair, Deneb, and Vega, each of which is the brightest star of its constellation (Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra, respectively). The term was popularized by American author H. A. Rey and British astronomer Patrick Moore in the 1950s. The name can be found in constellation guidebooks as far back as 1913. – Wikipedia There is a very detailed article about the Summer Triangle at Sky and Telescope. The Moon is a waxing gibbous, just past … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – June 4, 2019

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This entry is part 99 of 110 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 28, 2019

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This entry is part 98 of 110 in the series In the Sky This Week

Starlink Satellites Cause a Stir SpaceX has launched the first 60 of a planned 12,000 Starlink satellites, intended to provide global broadband internet service. Despite assurances to the contrary, a train of bright lights has been seen crossing the night sky, along with some reports of Iridium-like flares. Astronomers and observatories are understandably concerned, with some expressing concern that this could “ruin the night sky.” I’m more concerned about any effect this might have on asteroid discovery and planetary defense; needless to say, I’ll be following this developing story closely. Mars will soon be lost on the glare of the sunset in the west-northwestern sky. Saturn and Jupiter continue to be visible in the southern predawn sky all week; Jupiter rises in the southeast around 10:00 PM. A thin waning crescent Moon appears low in the eastern predawn sky for the next few days; I saw this out my kitchen window while making coffee this morning. Video: Asteroid Discovery I … Continue reading →

Space Camp Joy

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Children spinning their little handmade Saturn models with joy !! At Easter  I ran a small space camp for children. It was over three mornings in Louisburgh Co Mayo.The venue was Books at One, the local community bookshop.  We packed a lot of things into the three mornings, in fact, I had too much planned. Better too much than too little in my experience. Space Camp joy abounded ! Day 1 Space Camp We built paper rockets that we blew into space (in the room). I have a  box of interesting forever goodies. These are intended to be made into something at some time. In the box, I found some triangular stickers. These had rocket holograms on them !! Perfect for rocket fins, the kids agreed and they loved them. The stickers came from Recreate Ireland which encourages creativity through reuse. We checked out the news on The Planetary Society’s Light Sail 2 project. New information for  the children so … Continue reading →