Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Conjunction and Moon/Jupiter Photos

  Did you get to see the Moon/Jupiter conjunction yesterday evening? It was a pretty good show! The Moon came less than 1° from Jupiter, or less than one finger width apart. If you missed it, here is a image of the event:



As an added bonus, here are a couple of decent shots of the Moon and Jupiter by themselves, also taken last night:


 



 

 

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Conjunction: Moon and Jupiter on January 21st

  Remember the Moon/Jupiter conjunction that occurred on Christmas Day? Well it looks like those two will soon be at it again.

 Just like on the 25th of last month, The Moon will once again come close to planet Jupiter on January 21st. This time, they will pass less than a degree from each other for most of North America.

 The Moon will be be in a waxing gibbous phase and should show off a wealth of detail along the terminator. Even though it will not be full, the waxing gibbous Moon will still be quite bright, so you might want to use a neutral density filter.

  Jupiter will be a real treat to observe. From about 6:00 to 7:40 PM PST the Great Red Spot will be visible. In addition, the Jovian moon Europa will transit the giant planet from 5:13 to 7:37 PM PST.

  Observers in most of South America will have a really nice treat: the Moon will occult, or cover up, the planet Jupiter.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Solar Activity Update: Sunspot AR1654

  Sunspot AR1654 is still trucking along the Sun's surface. It has grown stronger, and now harbors energy that can produce X class solar flares. Because the giant sunspot is now facing toward Earth, and explosions that occur in the near future will be directed our way. Now is a great time to observe and image AR1654, as well as the nearby sunspot AR1656. Another sunspot, AR1658 is further south and west, and along with the other two mark the most noticeable features on the solar disk at this time.

 Here is an image of AR1654 that I took a few days ago. I recorded an AVI using a Celestron NexImage 5 and stacked a few frames in Registax to get this final product:


  If you are interested in solar activity, visit the website www.spaceweather.com. Here you can find the latest information on current space weather conditions, aurora maps and a high resolution image of the Sun that is updated daily.
 

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Solar Activity Update

   For the past few weeks, the activity on our Sun has been rather quiet. A few small sunspots would occasionally show up and skitter across the solar surface, but that was about it. A rather boring show, considering that the Sun is about to enter solar maximum. Well, the heat just got turned up a bit.
  The Sun's surface now sports a nice speckling of spots (say that five times fast), but the most noticeable is giant sunspot AR1654. This one is big enough to swallow up the Earth a few times over, and it's getting more active every day. AR1654, along with the smaller AR1652 have potential to release M-class solar flares. Looks like that break in solar activity may be coming to an end.
  If you are interested in taking a peak at the Sun, you can do so easily and rather cheaply. You can purchase white light solar filters for a wide range of telescopes at a reasonable price. For an even better bargain, you can buy solar film and make your own homemade filter. Seeing the Sun up close can be a rewarding experience, but it must be done SAFELY!!! 
   

Make sure your scope has a filter to begin with, as trying to look at the Sun without one will surely fry your eyeballs. And make sure it's the right type of filter. Those cheap solar filters that screw into an eyepiece are NOT safe, as the heat buildup from the sunlight can cause them to crack. The filtering must be done at the front of the telescope. Remember to put the filter on the scope, and make sure it is secure. You don't want the wind to blow it off as your looking through the eyepiece. Don't use the finderscope unless it too has a filter. Cap it or remove it from the telescope. And do not under any circumstances leave your telescope unattended. Accidents can happen, and it only takes a brief second to damage eyesight forever. Be safe!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Asteroid Apophis- No Worries

  The possibility of a 2036 impact from asteroid Apophis has been ruled out, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

 Cool. Wait, what?!

 Didn't know there was a possibility of an asteroid impact in the relatively near future? Your probably not the only one.
 99942 Apophis was discovered in 2004, and immediately caught the attention of scientists because initial observations indicated the possibility of an impact in the year 2029. After further observation, the asteroid's probablility of striking Earth was ruled out.
 However, the close approach of Apophis in 2029 will significantly alter the asteroid's trajectory, and scientists were uncertain of what would happen when Apophis returns in 2036. Until yesterday.
 Using data gathered in 2011 and 2012, as well as new data from the asteroid's flyby on January 9th, it has been determined that the risk of impact in 2036 is pretty remote.
 Apophis is around 1000ft in diameter, and an impact from an asteroid this size would release an energy eqivalent to about 500 megatons of TNT. The largest nuclear weapon detonated in human history was 50 megatons. A strike on land would obliterate hundreds of square miles and an impact in the ocean would generate a mega tsunami. Still, Apophis is not big enough to cause an extinction level event.
 When Apophis performs it's Earth flyby in 2029, it will be well within the orbit of the moon when it comes no closer than 20,000 miles from the Earth's surface. It will be visible to the naked eye.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/news/asteroid20130110.html

Monday, January 7, 2013

Counting Stars: Globe at Night

  If your an amateur astronomer, then you are familiar with the woes of light pollution. But even if you just take a casual look up into the night sky once in a while, light pollution is affecting what you can and can't see as well. It doesn't take a whole lot of stray light to wash out some of the finer points in the night sky.
  If you'd like to do something about it, and raise awareness on the issue of light pollution, consider contributing to the Globe at Night campaign. It's pretty simple to participate in. Just go out at night at a specific time and look up. Let your eyes adjust, look at a constellation (Orion or Leo for those in the northern hemisphere), and then estimate the visual limting magnitude based on the amount of stars you see. You can compare what you see in the sky to a series of star charts provided by the campaign. After you've made your observation, simply report your findings on the Globe at Night website.

  Visit the Globe at Night website for more information and to participate in the campaign.

      http://www.globeatnight.org/

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Quadrantids

  Did you go out this morning for a look at the year's first meteor shower? The Quadrantid meteor shower peaked early this morning, but unfortunately the waning gibbous moon washed out a portion of the meteors and made this year's showing a bit unfavorable. Still, with enough patience, or with a camera shooting on it's own, the Quads made their presence known. This image was taken this morning around 5:00am :


 

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Comet Update: C/2012 K5 Linear and Happy New Year

  C/2012 K5 Linear is now nearing the constellation Auriga, and will zoom through that constellation over the next few days. K5 is now starting to reverse it's brightening and grow higher in magnitude. It is currently around mag. 8, and will dim to around mag. 10 by mid-January. Here is the latest image I was able to capture on the night of the 31st of December:


                   
                   Happy New Year!