astronomylover

Orionid Meteor Shower

2006-10-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

Comet Swan

2006-10-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

Comet Swan-Today

2006-10-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

Comet Swan

2006-10-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

The newest comet, Comet Swan, is moving into the evening sky. Too dim for the naked eye, Comet Swan is nevertheless very pretty in the eyepiece of a backyard telescope. Look for it below the handle of the Big Dipper after sunset.

Full Dawn Moon

2006-10-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Thin Crescent Moon

2006-09-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

If you look to the southwest after the sun sets tonight, look for the slender crescent moon hovering just below Jupiter.

2006-09-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Hey! Did anyone catch SMART-1 crashing into the moon last night? I sure didn't. Apparently the flash was very faint so many amateur astronomers didn't catch the impact.

2006-08-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

In three days this solar system will be dealt a blow: Will 9 planets remain the norm or will the description by the planetary committee take the upper hand? We will have to wait.

More planet debating

2006-08-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

The planet debate continues. But if the IAU dubs Pluto a minor planet, then another controversy could arise, one that could be even more colossal then the one before. There are two planets in this solar system that are very similar in size. But I'm not talking Earth and Venus. Mercury is closer in size to Pluto than you may think. This new debate will be on whether or not Mercury is a minor planet. It isn't, of course, but with no moons, the debategrows even more heated. I say we wait until the New Horizons mission to Pluto gets there in 9 years to settle the debate over Pluto.

Is it a planet, or not a planet?

2006-08-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

The astronomers who say Pluto should be considered just another Kuiper Belt object are forgetting a major factor in favor of Pluto being classified a planet: Pluto has moons. Ordinary solar system junk doesn't have a magnetic field. But how do you explain the fact that Pluto has three moons? Easy: It's a planet. But I bet that astronomers who think Pluto is just a Kuiper belt object must think that Charon, Nyx and the other moon have very odd orbits. Orbits do not go over and under an object. So the only explantion is that Pluto is a planet. Besides, Pluto is a sphere. Planets are spheres. I hope the IAU designates Pluto a planet. Percival Lowell would be glad.

2006-08-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

The Stars & Constellations page is really good for looking up the constellations. It includes Messier objects, best latitudes for viewing, and when to see the constellations when their at their highest.

2006-08-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Did anyone see the Perseids this morning? It was cloudy here and I didn't see anything.

2006-08-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Visit the Bad Astronomy Blog to see some real opinion on astronomy. It's one of my favorite websites.

2006-08-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the Soho website (Solar & Heliospheric Observatory). This is part of a video of two small comets entering the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona.

2006-08-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

Titan & Enceladus as seen by th Cassini probe.

2006-08-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

Does this picture make your jaws drop or what?

The blue line is the rings.

This image was taken by the Cassini space probe.

2006-08-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

2006-08-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

Philosophy is written in this grand book-I mean the universe.
-Galileo Galilei

Star Birthplaces

2006-07-30T13:53:00.001-07:00

I just can't find where I ended. So this series is officially over.

Star Birthplaces

2006-07-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

Star Births-Part 2

2006-07-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

I can't remember where I stopped on the last entry. Wait for my next entry!!!!!

Star Birthplaces-Part 1

2006-07-03T06:46:00.000-07:00

There are lots of places in the universe that have stars forming: new galaxies, nebulas and more. One celestial star factory we can see is the Orion nebula. The Orion nebula is the brightest, the closest, the youngest and maybe the most romantic nebula in the northern winter sky. The second of the three points of light that form Orion's sword, the first photo of this nebula was taken in 1880 by American astronomer Henry Draper. He mounted a bulky glass-plate camera on a telescope and followed Orion with a tracking mechanism for 51 minutes to produced an inverted view of the nebula. The first clear-sighted observation, a portrait of the nebula's center, produced some surprises. 110 stars were in the picture, and 56 of them were surrounded by pancake-shaped clouds. There might have been more: even Hubble couldn't see all of them because of the gases. Before Hubble got fixed, it had taken a photo of the Orion nebula with an unidentified set of splotches . They were suspected to be planetary systems coalescing from the gas and dust. Whatever explains the clouds, the stars inside them-and all other stars-are the source of all matter, from the gas molecules in the nebula to the planets in this solar sytem to the trees in your backyard. Like us, stars are born, mature, reach old age and die. Excactly what triggers a new star is unknown. If, for some reason a knot of gas in a nebula becomes more dense then the material around it, it may collapse upon itself.
Look for more on star birthplaces in my next post.

SO SORRY!!!

2006-07-02T17:10:00.001-07:00

I apologize for the inconvenience the previous post may have caused you. I was not able to add the link for the nightsky magazine homepage. Click on the link to access the site.

SO SORRY!!!

2006-07-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the inconvenience the previous post may have caused you. I was not able to add the link for the nightsky magazine homepage. Click on the link to access the site.

nightsky

2006-07-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

I just bought a copy of nightsky magazine today. I'm saving it for the plane when we fly to Ontario tomorrow. I've taken a few peeks at it and it seems like a good magazine. The link to nightsky magazine homepage is on the sidebar.

Dark Sky Reserves

2006-07-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

Having problems with light pollution??? You may want to Google for dark sky reserves near you. A dark sky reserve is a place where you can't set up big lights that send light into the sky. One dark sky reserve you might want to check out is Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron. On the Canadian side of the border, this entire island is a dark sky reserve. Some Canadian cities have installed special lighting that goes down, where it is needed. Check with your city to see if they have done the same thing.

Hubble's Camera Blues

2006-06-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hubble yet again has a maintenance problem. But not with the lens this time. The main camera broke down. What are we going to do? NASA had better fix it soon or we won't be seeing the incredible universe for a while.

The Benefits of the Equator when it comes to Stargazing

2006-06-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

The equator is the best place to stargaze. You may not be able to see Polaris from there, but you can see the most stars from the equator. Many observatories are constructed on or near the equator. I've never been there, but that's the whole truth.

The Constellations behind Astrology

2006-06-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

Astrology has 12 constellations that may be interesting to see in the night sky. They are around the ecliptic, either above, below or on it.

coolest pics ever

2006-06-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

i have the greatest pics ever. to get them, right click on the image.

IMAGE # 1
NAME: fountain

IMAGE # 2
NAME: maantemple

IMAGE # 3
NAME: poollight

IMAGE # 4
NAME: spiritsong

i hope you like the pics. they are ethereal, aren't they? if you liked this post please leave a comment.

2006-06-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

I have an ordinary life. So why tell you? I want to tell everyone. I loove astronomy. I have a really cool desktop of the moon.So that's why. Once a few years ago I got to see a lunar eclipse. That's how I got hooked, but I think I was hooked before that too. I just didn't know.