Derrick Pitts
A weekly discussion of what's new and interesting in astronomy with astronomer Derrick Pitts and WHYY FM's Dave Heller every Monday evening at 6:20 p.m.
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Archive
Enormous new ring discovered around SaturnOctober 19, 2009 An enormous ring has been discovered around Saturn by the Spitzer space telescope. The discovery helped solve a long standing mystery about one of Saturn's moons. Also, a near miss for earth as an asteroid once thought to be on a collision coarse with earth in 2029 will now have at least an 18,000 mile gap between its passage and earth. 18,000 miles is still a small distance in celestial terms, but the concern seems to be lessening. See images of Saturn's Ring from the Spitzer space telescope at spitzer.caltech.edu 
When the dust settlesOctober 12, 2009 LCROSS impacted with the moon last Friday. Now that the lunar dust has settled, what did scientists find out about the presence of water in the lunar soil? Did you know that the scientific term for moon soil is lunar regolith? Also it's the International Year of Astronomy and area universities are celebrating with "No Night without a Telescope," which gives everyone, even the most novice astronomer the chance to view the night sky. As always Derrick Pitts forecasts what you might see this week. For more information on area universities hosting "No Night without a Telescope" from October 18th through November 24th visit haverford.edu/iya2009/ 
The search for water on the moonOctober 5, 2009 This Friday at 7:30 am the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite or LCROSS are both going to crash into the moon. The satellite may be able to detect water on the moon. Astronauts are not the only ones going into space, the founder of Cirque du Soleil will spend 7 days on International Space Station. And don't miss a jam packed night sky this week. 
Messenger space craft gets close to MercurySeptember 28, 2009 The Messenger space craft gets 142 miles from Mercury. It left earth a few years ago, but orbited around earth first, then Venus and finally has charted a path onto Mercury. But they can't get too close since Mercury is super hot. The Indian space craft Chandrayaan 1 has confirmed the presence of water on the moon, but don't get your swim trunks out yet, since these are small particles distributed in the soil. Also, a sight rarely seen, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto all in the evening sky this week. Image Credit: NASA 
A new rocky planet, and the surface is sizzlingSeptember 21, 2009 The last day of summer is upon us and a new rocky planet has finally been confirmed by scientists. Close to the size of Jupiter, this rocky planet is only 1.6 million miles from its star, which means the surface has to be sizzling. On the surface of Mars Spirit Rover may be stuck for good in the soft soil. Scientists are trying to find ways to get the rover un-stuck. 
A Renewed Hubble TelescopeSeptember 14, 2009 A repaired Hubble telescope is almost like new, which means it has new capabilities to take images that are much improved. Now we can derive more information from these refined images, images including black holes. NASA is trying to get a sense of our cryosphere, which is the effort to study our planet. These observations have lead to understanding the changes in the arctic, indicating the shrinkage of polar caps. Also what to look for in the night sky this week. Image Credit: NASA 
Mars comes into viewSeptember 7, 2009 Plenty of great viewing coming up this Sunday morning when Mars will be visible. Despite the warnings you may have heard about this internet hoax... this time it's for real. The small planet will look bright and rosy in color, but if weather is a deterrent just get online and check out hi-resolution images of Mars. Thousands of images of the surface of Mars were recently released and anyone can feel like an amateur astronomer by visiting hirise.lpl.arizona.edu. Credit: Mars Closest approach in 2007, hubblesite.org NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/ AURA), J. Bell (Cornell University), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute, Boulder) 
Galileo, an inventor and entrepreneurAugust 31, 2009 This month 400 years ago the astronomer and inventor, Galileo, was presenting his new fangled device, the telescope, to the Venetian court. He had to plead his case on the many ways the telescope could be used and because of the lack of knowledge in astronomy at the time he had a hard time convincing them it did what he said it did. To further explore Galileo's inventions visit the Franklin Institute before the end of their exhibit "Galileo, The Medici and the Age of Astronomy," ending September 7th. Also Derrick Pitts discusses late summer constellations not to be missed. 
Origins of life on EarthAugust 24, 2009 Could there be another theory of how life got started on earth? Perhaps life came here on a comet. This theory has never been discounted in the scientific community, but now there may be a real possibility that the building blocks of life came to earth on some kind of vehicle, most likely a comet. Also another nation joins space exploration. South Korea is attempting to get a launch vehicle off the ground in the coming weeks making it the 10th nation to launch a satellite into space. Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (APL/JHU), M. Mutchler and Z. Levay STScI. The greatest disappearing actAugust 17, 2009 
Credit: NASA, ESA and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona) from Hubblesite.org 50 thousand years ago a meteor hit the earth creating a crater a mile wide, but we haven't had anything of that magnitude since then. The meteor most likely to come closest to earth in 40 to 50 years is 260 foot in size, and will have an impact ten times the atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima... but before you run for cover there is only a 1 in 3000 chance of hitting earth. Also where did Saturn's rings go? It's 29.5 yr. orbit and 27 degree tilt allows us to see the disappearing act every 15 years as it and we orbit the sun. 400 years ago today Galileo was turning the spyglass into an astronomical research tool. Might even have been today that he made his first presentation to the Venetian court, promoting sales of his new device. 
Perseid meteor showerAugust 10, 2009 The annual Perseid meteor shower is visible on Wednesday although you may have to catch it before moon rise as the late rising moon may wash out the dark night sky making it very difficult to view the meteor shower streaking by. However, if you wait till December the Gemenid meteor shower will dazzle you with 120 meteor's per hour. Best to be seen midnight to sunrise. If you enjoy observing the sky on a regular basis you might be classified as an amateur astronomer. An amateur discovered a spot on Venus that is still being studied. Amateur astronomers can also enjoy a star party at the Chestmont Astronomical Society this weekend or check out the Franklin Institute star party on Thursday. More information: Chestmont Astronomical Society Saturday, August 15th, 2009 Warwick County Park And be sure to check out the Franklin Institute Star Parties - the second Thursday of the month. 
A Penumbral EclipseAugust 3, 2009 A full moon on Thursday is really the second half of a solar eclipse that happened two weeks ago. Did you know it's possible for there to be three eclipse seasons per year meaning a chance for six possible eclipses? Even though the penumbral eclipse this week has no color there is a cornucopia of bright objects in the night sky to see this week, including a star called Vega, part of the constellation Lyra. Just look up to the night sky around 9:30 pm and look directly overhead and you'll see the second brightest star in the northern hemisphere. Next door is the constellation Hercules, you'll need binoculars and a dark sky to see this constellation, which is 25,000 light years away and don't miss the Andromeda galaxy, best seen very late at night in the summer with binoculars. If your a budding amateur astronomer check out the Galaxy Zoo where you can go online to identify galactic structure and have the opportunity to begin classifying galaxies. 
Spot found on JupiterJuly 27, 2009 The massive planet Jupiter has a bruise on it. What could have caused this huge spot? Was it climate change or from something that crashed into the surface? But how does something even crash into a planet that is made of gas? Also find out what to expect from the night sky this week and final thoughts on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Credit: Hubblesite.org, NASA.gov, Reta Beebe, and Amy Simon (New Mexico State University) 
Anniversary of the first humans to walk on the surface of the moonJuly 20, 2009 Continuing with the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing Derrick Pitts and Dave Heller discuss this momentous event in human history and what it meant to accomplish such an amazing voyage. But what about the subsequent missions to the moon? And why did Congress decide not to pursue further missions? Find out more on this weeks SkyTalk along with what to look for in the sky. 
40th anniversary of Apollo 11 mission to the moonJuly 13, 2009 Forty years ago the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft were preparing to go on the most historic space mission of all time. These were tumultuous times, America was in a cold war with the Soviet Union and engaged in a heated space race to be the first to touch down on the moon's surface. What was it like for these astronauts in the small cramped spacecraft? What kind of political pressure were they under to compete with the Russians and make it to the moon? Find out on this week's SkyTalk as well as what to look for in the night sky this week. 
The International Space Station comes into viewJuly 6, 2009 Catch a glimpse of the International Space Station tonight, in the Northwestern portion of the sky. The best part is that you don't need a telescope to see this. You can easily recognize it and can't be mistaken for a plane passing by. Find out what new addition they are adding aboard the ISS which will really improve the astronauts ability to view space around them and earth below them. Also find out if sun spots are dangerous to humans and if the Mars rover will ever get un-stuck from the soil of Mars. Credit: NASA.gov If you missed ISS this week you still have a chance to see it through Friday July 10th. Check out the times when you can see it. For more information on viewing ISS in your area visit www.heavens-above.com. More information on viewing the night sky at the Franklin Institute visit www.fi.edu and click on special events. 
The midpoint of the yearJune 29, 2009 This week marks the midpoint of the year. Specifically Thursday, July 2nd at 1 p.m. eastern time, which is a reflection of earth's fixed relationship with the sun regardless of our civil calendar. This then begs the question, why is it so much colder in January or hotter in the July? Also, 400 years ago, right around this time, Galileo is figuring out how the optics work in a device called a spy glass. Find out how it works, who else used this device and what devices we use today that Galileo inspired. Credit: space.com 
St. John's EveJune 22, 2009 While we just celebrated the summer solstice, folks from the UK are having their St Johns Eve celebration marking this particular time as mid-summer. Here in the U.S. summer is just beginning. Who's right? We both are. We tend to gage summer coming by warm temperatures, the British pay more attention to the amount of sunlight. The lighter it gets the closer they are to mid-summer. NASA is also celebrating in advance of their spacecraft reaching the moon today. What more can we learn from the moon? Also, find out what to expect from the night sky. Credit: space.com 
Summer solsticeJune 15, 2009 Continuing with our celebration of the coming Summer Solstice, which will occur precisely at 1:46 am Sunday morning, Derrick and Dave discuss our incredible and all powerful star, the sun. The Summer Solstice signifies when the sun reaches the greatest elevation over the southern horizon. What does this mean for the dog days of summer? It seems we just begun the summer months, but will the days begin to get shorter? Also find out how powerful our sun truly is and if it will one day destroy man kind. Credit: space.com 
A very special starJune 8, 2009 The summer solstice is coming up and the sun is the object of our celebration. You might think it's because this part of the earth is rotating closer to the sun, but really we are approaching our greatest distance from the sun, but it's warmer here, why? Is the sun a special star when compared to the rest of the universe? Also we can't forget that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, find out about a very special shopping list written by Galileo. About This Image: This picture was captured on July 17, 2004, at 19:19. The image was captured using the SOHO Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) 
A radio only supernovaJune 1, 2009 The Hubble telescope, with it's new upgrades can see much farther than it's previous version, extending the vision some 200 million light years further back in time, but what it can't detect are radio frequencies. So when a supernova occured that could only be detected in the radio spectrum, Hubble showed it's limitations. On this week's SkyTalk learn about the different ways Hubble can be used and the different levels in the visual spectrum. Also learn about winter, spring and summer constellations that you can look for in the night sky. About This Image: Plumes of glowing hydrogen blast from the central nucleus of M82. The pale, star-like objects are clusters of tens to hundreds of thousands of stars. 
Mars as big as the moon? Truth or Hoax?May 25, 2009 You may have heard of Mars' close approach, which means when you look in the night sky Mars is larger than ever. So large in fact that it looks as big as the moon. Is this really possible? Find out the answer on this week's SkyTalk. Also Derrick Pitts lists some star parties to attend. Take a look at the right side of this page for an astronomy club near you. Image Caption: Mars closest approach in 2007. 
Take a bite out of the Milky Way this monthMay 18, 2009 May is Milky Way month and before your mouth starts to water we don't mean the candy bar. If you look out to the horizon and nothing obstructs your view you can see the hazy band of light that is the Milky Way. On this week's SkyTalk Derrick Pitts gives you tips on how to get the best view. If we look out beyond what we can view in the night sky, what about sending a message into space? Did you know that an interstellar greeting card was sent into space by NASA? Find out how you can get a signal into space with a simple flash light. Image Credit: Space.com 
An explosion that rocked the UniverseMay 11, 2009 Scientists have detected a tremendous explosion that occurred 3.1 billion light years away before the earth was even a mere gleam in it's sun's eyes. This explosion was detected through specific equipment called a Swift Gamma-Ray Satellite which scanned the skies and detected this massive event in pre-human history. Find out more and learn what to expect in the night sky. Caption: Swift Gamma-Ray Satellite 
Mission to the MoonMay 4, 2009 48 years ago Alan Shepard led the first American mission into space on the heels of Russian cosmonaught Yuri Gagarin. Ten years later while making big leaps for mankind on a mission to the moon he brought out a six-iron and took a swing sealing his place in the history of the space race. Learn more about this mission and take a look at the night sky this week. 
Planetary Holy GrailApril 27, 2009 A new rocky planet, similar to earth, orbiting a star called Gliese 581, has been discovered. This new planet is in the 'habitable zone' and may have water. What can we learn from it and can it sustain life? Are we getting closer to the planetary holy grail? When you think about how planets are created.. what recipe comes to mind? A little hydrogen, a little helium...what else? Also find out what to look for in the night sky this week. Photo: Released by the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere Tuesday April 21, 2009. 
It's time to turn out your lights for "Dark Sky Week"April 20, 2009 It's Dark Sky Week, which means it's time to turn out your lights at night and reduce light pollution so everyone can gaze at the stars. It's even tougher in the urban areas like Philadelphia to get it dark enough to really see the planets, but it doesn't hurt to try. Also on this weeks SkyTalk, learn about life on other planets and believe it or not, asteroids. Credit & Copyright: Dennis di Cicco (TWAN) & Sean Walker, Skyandtelescope.com 
Inner and outer planetsApril 13, 2009 Earth is percieved as a rocky planet, what are other planets like? Did you know Mars is cold and that outer planets are really gigantic gas envelopes? What about a liquid planet? Could such a planet exist? And what really defines a planet, anyway? Explore these questions and more on this week's SkyTalk. Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScl/AURA) 
The story behind the telescopeApril 6, 2009 Continuing with our celebration of The International Year of Astronomy, Derrick Pitts talks about Galileo's telescope and how he slowly moved to using more powerful telescopes that helped him validate the theory that the sun was in fact the center of the universe. Now all he had to do was convince the Catholic church. Find out the rest of the story on this week's SkyTalk. Credit: Portrait of Galileo Galilei by Giusto Sustermans 
Year of astronomyMarch 30, 2009 It's the international year of astronomy and Astronomers all over the world are recognizing Galileo's first use of the telescope to observe astronomical objects. On this week's SkyTalk learn about Galileo's personal telescope and the rule that matter is neither created nor destroyed, just merely changes form. Recently, Derrick was on Comedy Central's Colbert Report. Watch his appearance.
The universe is growing, but what will happen at the end of time?March 23, 2009 The universe is growing all the time... clusters of galaxies exist with vast space in between them. What floats around in the huge expanse between galaxies? And what actually defines a cluster? Find out more about the universe and what it will become over time on this week's SkyTalk. Also... Derrick Pitt's tells you what to look for in the night sky. Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith, and The Hubble Heritage Team 
What will spacecraft tell us?March 16, 2009 NASA spacecraft that were launched decades ago are finally exiting our solar system. What will we discover as they cross the fuzzy boundary of our solar system? Also, it's spring time! The spring equinox is around the corner, which means there will be equal hours of daylight and darkness. Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer at the Franklin Institute, tells us what to expect from the night sky. 
A near brush with cosmic disasterMarch 9, 2009 We recently had a near brush with disaster as an asteroid passed 40,000 miles from earth. Well, it wasn't really that close to disaster, but considering the moon is only 240,000 miles from earth 40,000 miles is a little too close for comfort. What else is passing close to earth? On this week's SkyTalk find out about space dust and other space material the size of a grain of sand, or as big as a pebble. 
What constitutes celestial death?March 2, 2009 Live fast, die young, and leave a good looking corpse. No we're not talking about rock stars, but stars in the night sky. Some stars burn much more intensely than others and there is a system to classify these stars, which started out as simple alphabetical order, but as one letter classification rose above another a string of letters emerged to show what stars burned the most intense and which stars burned cooler. Find out how hot an O star is compared to an M class star on this weeks SkyTalk. Caption: Astronomers use image to measure stars mass. 
A star is bornFebruary 23, 2009 Conditions in space are so very different than that of earth. When you think of hot, you think red, right? Not so in space. A hot star is blue and a yellow or whitish star is cooler. On this week's SkyTalk, WHYY's Dave Heller and Chief Astronomer Derrick Pitts find out how stars get started and generate energy. Image Credit: NASA and Michael Rich (UCLA)
A New PlanetFebruary 9, 2009  Caption: COROT-Exo-7b Exoplanet - Source: CNES Another piece of the cosmic puzzle is discovered. A new planet less than twice the size of earth orbiting a sun like star. A rocky planet that orbits once every 20 hours... sounds like earth, but can it sustain life? WHYY's Dave Heller and Franklin Institute Chief Astronomer Derrick Pitts discuss the possibilities and delve into the characteristics of stars. Did you know a bright red star exists called Beetle juice? Or that the hottest stars look blue? Find out more on this week's SkyTalk. 
The Night SkyFebruary 2, 2009 When you look at the night sky, do you know how many stars or other points of light can be seen by the naked eye? How did ancient observers perceive the same sky? WHYY's Dave Heller and astronomer Derrick Pitts will examine the stars in the night sky and what constellations really look like. For all you night time observers out there Derrick gives tips on what planets to watch. 
The UniverseJanuary 26, 2009 "Back-to-basics" month continues on SkyTalk as Derrick Pitts and WHYY's Dave Heller examine how we see the universe. How is the universe really structured? What is the relationship between our solar system and the rest of the vast universe? We'll discuss the Milky Way, how many stars are in our galaxy and how galaxies travel. Celebrating Galileo's Observations
Chester County Astronomical Society is hosting telescope workshops on Jan. 31st and Astronomy beginning Feb. 3rd. 
January 19, 2009 Can you identify the 12 constellations of the zodiac? How about the names of all the planets in our galaxy? No, well that's okay, WHYY's Dave Heller and astronomer Derrick Pitts are here to help. "Back-to-basics" month continues on SkyTalk this week with some simple observations of our atmosphere. We'll examine the objects that can be seen in the night sky, talk about the stars, planets, the sun, and even the moon. We'll even go all the way back to primitive times and talk about what our anscestors may have seen in their sky. 
January 12, 2009 WHYY-FM's Dave Heller and astronomer Derrick Pitts celebrate SkyTalk's 18th season on the air by doing what they do best... talking about the sky. So, let's get back to basics and take a look up into the wild blue yonder. This week we'll talk about how the sky appears to us. How astronomers establish overhead directions, and some night sky highlights for this coming week. 
January 5, 2009 Can't wait another second? Neither can WHYY-FM's Dave Heller and astronomer Derrick Pitts. A Leap Second was added at 7 p.m. EST last Wednesday night because of discrepancy between the world's atomic clocks and the Earth's own slowing rotation. These seconds are added on an "as needed" basis and there have been 24 added on since 1972. Also, Spirit and Opportunity marked the beginning of their 5th year on Mars over the weekend. And the Earth is at its closest approach to the sun (yesterday actually but we're still there really) and yesterday was the latest sunrise so it's full steam ahead to summer! 
December 29, 2008 'Tis the season for best of 2008 reviews. WHYY-FM's Dave Heller and astronomer Derrick Pitts are surveying the skies for the best. Don't miss the Saturn Ring Plane Crossing - the next best easy-to-see time isn't until 2038! Edge-on is in Sept. 2009 but Saturn will be too close to the Sun. Quadrantid Meteors soar through the sky in January. Early January meteor showers are typically weak, but could be intense this year... if you live in the Pacific Northwest. Sunday is perihelion and latest sunrise (7:22 a.m.). 
December 22, 2008 Looking to make a little extra cash? How about $20 million? The Google Lunar X PRIZE competition now has 16 teams from around the world competeing for the big payday. So what's the catch? All you have to do is fly to the moon, land, roll 500 meters and transmit high definition images back to earth for the $20 million first place prize. WHYY-FM's Dave Heller and astronomer Derrick Pitts have all the details of the out-of-this-world contest and more in this week's edition of Skytalk. 
December 15, 2008 So, what's in the middle of the Milky Way Galaxy? It looks like a supermassive black hole. Scientists have spent 16 years tracking 28 stars close to the center of our galaxy as they have orbited an invisible point. They also discovered carbon dioxide at a planet outside of our solar system - an indicator of possible life on another planet. WHYY-FM's Dave Heller and astronomer Derrick Pitts talk about the Milky Way core and the possibility of little green men in this week's edition of Skytalk. December 8, 2008 Mojave, California based Xcor Aerospace announces that London based investment banker Per Wimmer will be the first passenger aboard Lynx, a space tourism vehicle designed to take off and land like an airplane. Wimmer hopes his flight will come in 2011, after a series of test flights. Officials said tickets are selling for $95,000 each and reservations have been made for 20 flights. Xcor's main competitor is building SpaceShipTwo, an eight-seat craft that will take passengers some 62 miles above Earth for $200,000 each. Cassini Space craft shows that ice plumes at Saturn's moon Enceladus originate from warm water source. Now three known sources of liquid water in the solar system Earth, Jupiter's moon Europa, and Enceladus. WHYY-FM's Dave Heller and astronomer Derrick Pitts have more in this week's edition of Skytalk. December 1, 2008 Back to the drawing board; hydrogen seems to be missing from the early universe. Close alignment of Jupiter and Venus (2 degrees) - has been getting better over the past several weeks, comes to climax this evening with the waxing crescent moon sliding up next to the pair. Big meteor spotted over Canada - 12 tons, very bright may have crashed somewhere, nothing identified yet either crater or meteorites, and the earliest sunset comes Sunday, December 7th. November 24, 2008 As part of a science experiment to encourage interest in space science and technology among k-12 students, weaver spiders have spun asymmetrical webs aboard space station. Why? The only difference between their space environment and earth environment is the gravity component. Apparently spiders can't spin as well without gravity as they do on earth. Meanwhile, perhaps space-walking astronauts could use some webbing to help hold on to things... like tools! - Look out below! Installation of additional facilities will be completed this trip to allow for a full crew of six to come aboard next year. Return this Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 29th. Hope there's some leftover turkey! Also, Venus and Jupiter are looking great! November 17, 2008 Status of NASA's efforts on Mars; Phoenix is done. Opportunity is very good health, leaving Victoria Crater and heading off to Endeavour Crater, running 260 ft per day (almost a football field). It was there for two years! Spirit is in trouble though having suffered through a serious dust storm that's left it severely underpowered. It may not recover. Thursday is the 120th birth anniversary of Edwin Hubble. India's first probe impacts the moon last Friday as planned. The probe had a radar altimeter, mass spec, and a video imaging system. Next is Chandraayan 2, lander and rover between 2010 and 2012. Leonid meteors tonight and tomorrow. And Venus and Jupiter are still visible and closing their gap. November 10, 2008 Conversation with Dr. Guy Bluford, Philadelphia native and first African American to venture into outer space - he will be cited by the Philadelphia Education Fund - this Thursday - at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. Dr. Guion Bluford will receive the Philadelphia Education Fund's Star Alumnus Eddy at the event and Derrick Pitts will be the event emcee. November 3, 2008 75th anniversary of the Fels Planetarium, new solar system discovered relatively near ours with two asteroid belts, three planets, and one ice ring. Phoenix lander is closing down for the Martian winter. October 27, 2008 Friday is one of the major cross-quarter days of the year: Hallow E'en. All Saints Day on Saturday and All Souls Day on Sunday. Scary time! Daylight Savings Time comes to end when we change our clocks back next Sunday at 2 a.m. Astronomers now see formation of black holes - observations of the most energetic exp losions are now theorized to be the formation of black holes from the collapse of massive stars in the early universe. Ultra-massive stars collapse and explode forming black holes. When they explode, they release gamma ray energy, the most powerful type of EMS energy. Last Wednesday was a big day in astronomy history: First recorded solar eclipse occurred 4144 years ago and according to Bishop Ussher, the world began 6012 years ago in 4004 B.C., (1650 Annals of the Old Testament). Interstellar Boundary Explorer has left for the Edge - on its way to see what it's like at the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space. It's like sending a kid to investigate the seashore - the boundary of land and ocean. Venus now visible low in the west after sunset. Will meet Jupiter (on its way down) late in the month. October 20, 2008 First recorded solar eclipse occurred 4,144 years ago this Wednesday. Friday is the 157th anniversary of the discovery of the two primary moons of Uranus, Ariel and Umbriel. Great World-Wide Star Count Project - Oct. 20 - Nov. 3. For more information visit: www.windows.ucar.edu. October 13, 2008 Examples of sons following in their Astronaut father's footsteps, is NASA's budget vulnerable amid current economic troubles? And scientists track a boulder-size asteroid as it enters our atmosphere. October 6, 2008 "Snowfall" on Mars, problems w/ Hubble Space Telescope repair mission, successes from Chinese and European space-launch efforts and NASA marks it's 50th Anniversary. September 29, 2008 Sunspots low, solar wind stunningly lower - while observers can see the dearth of sunspots, the Ulysses satellite tells us that the sun's output of electromagnetic particles is at the lowest it's been since satellite observations have been possible. The reduction in the sun's output will not jeopardize earth in any way but it is of note as we've never seen it this low before. China's Shenzhou 7 crew successfully completed their mission and returned to earth safely - surprisingly short trip had China's first space walk as its primary focus. Move over dark matter and dark energy, now there's "Dark Flow" - clusters of galaxies are flying through space at nearly 2 million miles per hour, being drawn by an unknown force beyond the observable universe. September 22, 2008 China's Shenzhou 7 to launch on Thursday, Sept. 25 - three astronauts, one spacewalk, immediate return to earth after a short 3-day mission. Neptune discovered on Sept. 23rd 162 years ago, 1846. First Photo of Extra-solar planet revealed - astronomers using the Gemini North telescope at Mauna Kea have imaged a planet orbiting a star. Planet is 330x farther from its sun than Earth is from our sun. The star is about the mass of our star but it's much younger. 500 light years from earth and 8x the mass of Jupiter. Imaged in infra-red (so it would still be glowing from formation) orbiting a young star. Moon's at LQ this week, leaves early evening sky dark for Jupiter. September 15, 2008 Damage from Hurricane Ike may delay Shuttle Missions - mission training can't continue until clean-up is finished. As Martian winter approaches the Phoenix science term is scrambling to get the last experiments in before the spacecraft freezes over. Generating capacity is down one-third at this point. Full moon (Harvest) today and summer ends next Monday morning at 11:44 a.m. Jupiter rules the evening sky this month. September 8, 2008 First spacecraft to impact the moon hit on Sept. 13, 1959, 49 years ago. Luna 2, Russian craft. Next Monday morning's full moon is the Harvest Moon. Do you have a very good view of the Western horizon? Test it. This week 45 minutes after sunset, Mercury, Mars, Venus within a tight circle of each other. Venus and Mars conjunct on Thursday evening, Venus continues its rise up from sunset while the others sink into the sun's glare at sunset. September 1, 2008 Just one year ago Mars Rover opportunity headed down into Victoria Crater with no assurance it would ever leave. One year later it's on it's way out of the crater! Meanwhile Phoenix has dug to a depth of 7 inches into Martian soil, still analyzing what's there... and it was 32 years ago this Wednesday that Viking 2 landed on Mars. New Space Telescope will look for star-swallowing black holes - Gamma-ray telescope named for physicist Enrico Fermi will survey the universe for massive explosions, the type created when say a black hole swallows a star. Meanwhile the ESA's XMM Newton X-ray telescope has discovered the most massive cluster of galaxies ever seen. Theorists say its' existence proves the existence of dark energy. Venus, Mars, and Mercury gather in the evening twilight 45 minutes after sunset, very low in the west. Jupiter still rules the low southern sky after dark. Looking for Pluto? It's four billion miles out beyond the moon Friday and Saturday night this week. August 25, 2008 Still no resolution to the Pluto Debate - a group of astronomers and planetary scientists met last week in Laurel, Md. to try to come up with a better understanding of what is or isn't a planet. New moon on Saturday, it's this month's second new moon - no special name for this occurrence though - since you can't see it! Satellites! Beautiful warm nights perfect for satellite viewing - nasa.gov has a webpage. August 18, 2008 Starfest 2008 - Chesmont Astronomical Society, Warwick County Park, August 23,
4:00 - 11:30pm. Summer Star Sighting with The Kids - In center city: teach directions: West (easiest), use neighborhood landmarks; identify planets vs. stars; locate geometric shapes (Summer Triangle overhead, Square of Pegasus in the n'east around 9, Big Dipper in the n'west around 9. In the country: all of the above but also look for satellites (don't worry about which ones, just look for them), meteors, and Milky Way (with binoculars!). Everyone: measure how far the moon moves in an hour. Venus Mercury and Saturn are low in the west this week - Venus and Mercury have a relatively close encounter tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday evening just 30 minutes after sunset. FIND a good view of the western horizon and go look on one of theses evenings. Venus is the brightest, Mercury underneath; Saturn is to the right of Venus and Mercury. Swing around to the east and see Jupiter too. August 11, 2008 Perseid Meteor Shower - peaking tomorrow morning; between midnight tonight and sunrise tomorrow. Moons of Mars Discovered This week 130 years ago - American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Deimos first on this date in 1877 and Phobos one week later. Phobos' low orbit will cause it to crash land or break up into a ring about 11 million years from now... Partial Lunar Eclipse Friday - after last fortnight's solar eclipse. Visible only east of North Africa. Next total Lunar for us is 21 Dec. 2010. Next Solar for US is 21 Aug. 2017; next solar is 22 July 2009 across India and China. Hubble Space Telescope will achieve 100,000 orbits today. August 4, 2008 Solar Power from Space? - Solar panels in orbit could possibly be a way out of our electrical energy nightmares. Constructed (by commercials) on-orbit using newer, lighter, more efficient solar panels and proven space-station construction techniques, Solar Power could be collected, converted, beamed to earth where it would be re-converted to electrical power for use in the electrical power grid. - Bridge between cool stars and hot planets? - CFBDS 0059 checks in at 660oF! It is so cool that it can command its' own spectral class: Y. If Jupiter were 75 times bigger, it might qualify as a brown dwarf star. Astronomers have located BD's at 13x Jupiter's mass. - Heat of the Summer - Dog Days? Why 'Dog Days'? - Term used by ancient Greeks and Romans to describe the hottest, most sultry days of Summer. Came about because of the then heliacal rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. The added heat of this brightest star of the northern sky, they thought, led to the very hot days of summer. July 28, 2008 NASA's 50! - Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the nation's space agency. First photograph of a solar eclipse taken 157 years ago today. 'Plutoid' Class growing - Pluto, Eris, and Makeamake are the first three objects to be assigned this new class designation. For the telescope tonight: A Cluster and two galaxies. Friday is a cross-quarter day and also the day of new moon. Total eclipse of the sun if you'll be in Russia Mongolia or part of China on Thursday. July 21, 2008 Telescope mirrors made on the moon from lunar dust could eventually be the most cost-efficient way to stargaze from the far side of the moon. A known star has reemerged on the scene as the second brightest in our galaxy and may in fact be the brightest; The "Peony nebula star" shines as brightly as 3.2 million suns. 1st round-trip (unmanned) mission to mars is planned for 2018 (5 year round trip) sunspot; where are we in the 11 year sunspot cycle?
July 14, 2008 Researchers Confirm Existence of Water on... the Moon! - Clementine radar studies earlier for ice in pole craters but these studies analyzed lunar lava. Alters our understanding of the moon. Maybe not dry 'seas' after all. Shuttle's retirement schedule set - only 10 flights left. Last one set for May 31, 2010. To be replaced with the Orion craft. Atlantis' last flight is Oct. 8th,the final HST repair mission. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 - Encountered Jupiter in a very dramatic manner 14 years ago this Wednesday. What did it tell us about comets, etc. First Photograph of a star - 158 ago Thursday- Vega in Lyra - Visible tonight. Astrophotography. Where has it taken us? Next Sunday is the 39th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon. Moon is just past full. Go out and have a look.
July 7, 2008 Vegetables on Mars? - Just a vivid way to describe that Martian soil has some of the same elements and compounds that earth's soil does. We will not be planting vegetables on Mars or in Martian soil anytime soon... I hope. Analyses of the soil, not connected with Phoenix studies DOES indicate that rain did fall on the planet long, long ago. Get Married in Space! - Japanese firm accepting reservations for trips on-board Rocketplane company's flight vehicle launching out of where? Yup, you guessed it: Oklahoma!!! Flights last a hour, can have 2 or 3 witnesses, most of the ceremony done on the ground to provide look time. Not much more (cost) that a wedding here on earth: 2.3 million bucks! Middle of the best time to see Jupiter - visible all night. Remember that telescope? Now's the time.... Mars/Saturn close to each other Thursday/Friday night. Come see at Bloom Observatory. Monthly evening series. Milky Way's right overhead... Chesmont Astro - Star Party, Saturday, July 12, 8:30 to 11 p.m., at Marsh Creek State Park, Eagle, Chester County.
June 30, 2008 Today is the 100th Anniversary of the Tunguska Explosion -a large meteoroid or small comet exploded over an uninhabited region of Western Siberia. 80 million trees flattened in a radial pattern over 800 miles. The air pressure wave was felt as far as England. Suspended dust made nights bright enough to read by for weeks. 10-15 megatons, about 1,000 times as powerful as Hiroshima bomb. Wednesday, July 2, 8 p.m. is the midpoint of the year; Mars Report: Phoenix will do wet tests next; new study indicates Mars may have had liquid water falling from the skies (soil analysis), and the rovers? They are still alive and well... But you've gotta see the pictures here! or these ones here. Watch the moon this week. Thin crescent appears in time for July 4th.
June 23, 2008 Update on the NASA Phoenix lander on Mars. - After two years of being just a dwarf planet, the IAU has levated Pluto to a higher of classification as the first of a new class of planetary body: the plutoid. - Triple taikonauts set to go in October - Shenzou VII will carry three Chinese astronauts, one of which will go EVA and conduct science experiements. - Today is St. John's Eve - celebration of mid-summer; especially recognized historically in Northern Europe; not so much anymore. - Latest sunset, this Friday June 27th (sunrises already coming later) and so... summer constellations now fully visible in late evening, good time to try to catch a view of the most southern constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius. Also a good time to try locating some satellites; international space station, and many others; use binoculars!
June 16, 2008 Valentina Tereshkova - First woman in space 45 years ago on this date June 16th 1963. She was a textile-assembly factory worker and a parachutist when she was selected for the cosmonaut program. One of a group of five women selected she spent three days in space, orbiting earth 48 times. Phoenix Digging on Mars - Turns out the soil in the landing spot is so clumpy it can't easily be analyzed. They'll try to sift soil from the bucket or find some less clumpy soil. All else is working well. Summer Solstice - 7:59 p.m., Thursday, June 19th. Gamma-Ray Large Area Telescope Launched last week - to examine Black Holes, pulsars, cosmic rays over the next 5 - 10 years. 350-mile orbit.
June 9, 2008 Digging in the sandbox isn't exactly "child's play." For Phoenix lander operators, work is tough. They can't really see what there doing because of time delays. Since operations are not in 'real time' engineers have to create a virtual environment that both they and the lander arm have to train to work in. All movements have to be tracked precisely and some reference point of operation must be established, learned and maintained or else operators will have few clues as to where the arm is at any time. - Milky Way Arms re-defined - Robert Benjamin of Univ. of Wisc., Whitewater, described the MW's arms as just 2 rather than 3 or 4. Original 3 were Perseus, Sagittarius, Orion' add Scutum-Centaurus to make 4 but new studies indicate really just 2 major arms - Perseus and Scutum-Centaurus. Our sun is located about 2/3rd's of the way out from galactic enter on the Orion arm, a partial arm. - Friday's the 13th - Saturday, the 14th has the earliest sunrise for the year, 5:31 a.m. Summer solstice comes next week. Saturn and Mars low in the evening dusk of June. See them this month, they'll go only to be replaced by Jupiter, now rising around midnight, high in the southwest at dawn. - Good opportunities to view SS@ISS with newly attached KIBO module. Here's some links to learn how to spot satellites. heavens-above.com | www.chesmontastro.org/.
June 2, 2008 Phoenix Alive and Well on Mars - international space station plumbing problems hopefully will be resolved with upcoming mission. 5,000 ton asteroid rotates in less than one minute! - A real whizzer! Saturn and Mars decline, Jupiter ascends, and Ed White took the first U.S. space walk 43 years ago this week (1965).
May 26, 2008 New Supernova Caught in the Act - while analyzing data on another star from the SWIFT x-ray telescope astronomer Alicia Soderberg happened to see an unexpected, very bright explosion. Turns out it was a star exploding as a supernova - the first time in history such an explosion has even been seen as it took place. Remember all that discussion a few years ago about observations of the amount of available matter showed that the universe was doomed to expand forever? Now, astronomers at University of Colorado at Boulder have found a way to illuminate otherwise invisible matter that may amount to as much as half of the originally "missing" matter. Also, Congress may extend NASA's shuttle schedule beyond 2010. And the Bucks-Mont Starwatch is Friday, May 30, 9 p.m. at Nockamixon Park. For more information visit bma2.org.
May 19, 2008 Last week we discussed star classifications; color temperature, etc. This week, how do astronomers keep track of them all? Once the telescope came into use, larger and more specialized catalogs began to appear. Next Sunday May 25, $420 milllion lands on Mars - Phoenix lands near the Martian north pole to dig for water. Last try was in 1999 with the ill-fated MPL. Saturn and Mars still well placed for viewing in the evening sky. Jupiter now rises before midnight but is best seen pre-dawn.
May 12, 2008 Skylab, America's first space station was launched 35 years ago this week. Three crews visited to experiment in long-duration space flight. Crew visits amounted to about one month, two months, and three months respectively - 171 days total out of 2,249 days on orbit. - Let's do a little star work: Last week we talked about white dwarf stars, week before it was brown dwarf stars. Is there some system of classification we can fit these into? Yes! Next week we'll look at how stars are cataloged.
May 5, 2008 Pulsating Carbon White Dwarf Star Discovered - Typically, 1.5 times the mass of our sun packed into an earth-sized package with either an outer layer of hydrogen or an outer layer of helium. This type has both stripped away leaving an outer layer of ionized carbon atoms. The pulsations tell what's happening inside the star and since most stars will die as white dwarves this is a chance to learn more about that process. Martian Glaciers - Team led by Jay Dickson at Brown University Dept. of Geological Sciences determined that the paleo-climate of Mars allowed for glaciers to exist as recently as 10 to 100 million years ago. Monday night just after sunset, look for a record-thin crescent moon very low in the WNW. Then Tuesday night 45 minutes after sunset, you'll see a thin crescent just above Mercury.
April 28, 2008 Coldest brown dwarf star ever seen recently discovered - known to exist since 1995, brown dwarves have been identified as the most numerous stars in the galaxy. This most recent discovery looks more like an extrasolar planet than it does a star because of its extremely low temperature 350oC and the ammonia detected in its atmosphere. - Largest synthesized telescope in Europe starts up - six radio telescopes spread across Europe and connected via fiber optics were joined by the 100m Effelsberg RT to create this very sensitive network. - Saturn and Mars still the evening treats but Mercury is making a bright stand over the next three weeks in the west-northwest 10 degrees above the horizon and Thursday, May 1st? A X-quarter day of course!
April 21, 2008 Tomorrow is Primary Election Day in PA - April 22nd is also the annual observance of Earth Day which started back in 1970. This Friday, the 25th, is Hubble Space Telescope's 18th anniversary of deployment. A remarkable term of service, with its final upgrade due this August/September. Last week we talked about how to get started observing the night sky. This week, let's review what's to be seen and how. Basic stuff - stars, planets, constellations, a step up; special events - comets, meteors (Lyrid meteors tonight, Tuesday and Wednesday; they are few in number swift, and occasionally spectacular; late night to early morning, full moon's a problem this year, but...) More advanced - nebulae, galaxies, the sun, planets during the day, specialty Items - satellites (my favorite), aurorae.
April 14, 2008 Mars Rover Opportunity works in Victoria Crater - at a distance of 7.25 miles from its landing spot. Meanwhile the other Rover, Spirit is on the other side of the planet starting Martian winter. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snaps best ever photos of Martian moon Phobos - first from 4200 miles then from 3600 miles away with resolutions down to 50 feet. Phobos is only 13 miles across but its sister Deimos is only 7 miles. The two have only 1/1000th the gravity of earth so they are oblong in shape instead of spherical. Speculation is that they may be captured asteroids from the outer edge of the Mars-jupiter asteroid belt. Could be composed of water-ice and carbon-rich materials. Christian Huygens was born on this day in 1629. His invention of the telescope led to Galileo's construction of the first instrument ever used to observe astronomical objects. Next year marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first astronomical observations. And tomorrow night Saturn will be three degrees above the moon. Look for the bright star near the moon - it's Saturn!
April 7, 2008 With the spring season in full swing, lets review the best ways to have the best time viewing the night sky - And just what's there to see this spring? - Leo, Saturn, Mars, Gemini, Vega in the northeast sky. In the soutwest sky - Sirius. The Big Dipper you can see right overhead, and Orion setting in the west. If your skies are dark enough the Milky Way sweeps around the western horizon. Venus rises just 30 minutes before the sun now and that gap is shrinking. Mercury and Jupiter, the largest and smallest planets are both rising into visibility but Mercury in the evening while Jupiter's in the pre-dawn sky. Jupiter will eventually make its way around into the evening sky while Mercury, never straying far from the sun, will reach its greatest eastward stretch (of a whopping 10 degrees!) from the sun in mid-May.
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Related Content from WHYY
Radio Times: Jun. 12, 2009 Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is Director of the Hayden Planetarium and the Rose Center of Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Tyson has long been in the center of a dispute between scientists and the public over Pluto's planet credentials. In 2006 The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially demoted Pluto to "dwarf planet" status. Tyson's new book, "The Pluto Files: the Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet" is a mini-history of planets, and tells the story of how Pluto was downgraded after holding the post of most popular planet. Podcast Interview
Kris Koenig, Producer of the new PBS program 400 Years of the Telescope, joins Dave Heller and Derrick Pitts to discuss the film and his community astronomy project. |
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