Amazing Astronomy

Sky Watching February 2013 15 & 16

Sky Watching

February 15

A near-Earth asteroid – called 2012 DA14 will pass very close to Earth

A near-Earth asteroid – called 2012 DA14 by astronomers – will pass very close to Earth on February 15, 2013. Astronomers estimate that, when it’s closest to us, it’ll be within the orbit of the moon (which averages about a quarter million miles away), and closer than some high-orbiting communications satellites. 2012 DA14 will be about 17,200 miles (27,680 kilometers) away. It will not strike Earth in 2013. Astronomers’ calculations of asteroid orbits can be trusted. After all, even decades ago, they knew enough about calculating orbits to send people to the moon and bring them safely back, and today we are able place our space vehicles in orbit around objects as small as asteroids.

February 16, evening twilight :
Mercury at greatest elongation east
This is the best opportunity this year for observers in the Northern Hemisphere to observe Mercury in the evening sky. Sweep the western horizon with binoculars to pick up Mercury’s tiny speck of light

PLANETS :

Mercury will be well placed in the western sky for most of the month, the best opportunity to see it as an “evening star” in 2013.

Venus is now very low in the southeast at sunrise

Mars has faded into the west moving behind the sun. It rapidly crosses the entire constellation of Aquarius this month

Jupiter remains in Taurus, close to Aldebaran and the Hyades. It is high in the southern sky in the early evening and sets in the northwest around 2 a.m.

Saturn is spends the month in western Libra. It rises in the east at around midnight, and is visible the rest of the night.

Uranus is visible in Pisces in the early evening and sets around 9 p.m.

Neptune is in Aquarius all month, becoming lost in the twilight close to the sun

www.hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Posted by Unknown | at 20:32 | 1 comments

Picture Of The Day Feb - 5

Picture Of The Day

2013, February, 5

(Hubble Infrared Image of Area Surrounding Hanny's Voorwerp)

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Astronomy Quiz

Astronomy Quiz

What percentage of the universe is hidden from view by dust and stars?

Ans : 20.

What does the name of the constellation Scutum mean in English?

Ans : shield

Where in the Solar System would you find "Alba Patera"?

Ans : Mars
Alba Patera, found on Mars, is a peak at a height of 1,600m and a diameter of 464km.

Which space probe was the first to cross the asteroid belt?

Ans : Pioneer 10.

What is the name of the cloud that marks the edge of the Solar System?

Ans : Oort cloud.

What were the names of the two dogs carried into space by Sputnik 5?

Ans : Belka and Strelka

How many times more luminous is the Milky Way compared to our Sun?

Ans : 14 billion times.

Which is the smallest planet among the gaseous giants?

Ans : Neptune

A type of neutron star is called a:

Ans : pulsar.

Spike-like columns of gas that jet out from the sun's chromosphere are called:

Ans : Spicules.

Who experimentally discovered the relationship between redshift and distance within the universe?

Ans : Hubble
Edwin Hubble, 1889-1953, discovered the true meaning of redshift and first confirmed experimentally that the universe was expanding.

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Picture of The Day Jan -22

Picture Of The Day

2013, January, 22

(Light Echo From Star V838 Monocerotis )

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Sky Watching January

Sky Watching

January, 2013

Mercury will be too close to the sun for observation this month.

Venus is now low in the southeast at sunrise, heading towards superior conjunction with the sun on March 28.

Mars has faded into the west moving behind the sun. It moves from Capricornus into Aquarius on January 29.

Jupiter remains in Taurus, close to Aldebaran and the Hyades. It is high in the eastern sky at sunset and sets in the northwest around 3 a.m.

Saturn is spends the month in western Libra. It rises in the east at around 1 a.m., and is visible the rest of the night.

Uranus is visible in Pisces in the early evening and sets around 10 p.m.

Neptune is in Aquarius all month, becoming lost in the twilight close to the sun.

Posted by Unknown | at 21:52 | 0 comments

Picture Of The Day Jan - 5

Picture Of The Day

2013, January, 5

(Three Moons Cast Shadows on Jupiter)

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Planets Visited By Spacecraft

Planets Visited By Spacecraft

Venus :

Mariner 2 ( USA) flyby 1962

Venera 4 (USSR) landed 1967

Messenger (USA) flyby 2006, 2007

Mars :

Mariner 4 (USA) flyby 1965

Mars pathfinder (USA) landed 1997

Orbiter (USA) in orbit 2006

Jupiter :

Pioneer 10 (USA) flyby 1973

Galileo (USA) landed 2003 ( Deliberately destroyed entering Jupiter's atmosphere, rather than risk contaminating moon Europa with bacteria from Earth)

New Horizons (USA) flyby 2007

Mercury :

Mariner 10 (USA) flyby 1974

Messenger (USA) flyby 2008, 2009 scheduled to orbit 2011

Saturn :

Pioneer 11 (USA) flyby 1979

Cassini/ Huygens (USA/ESA) orbiter/lander 2004/2005

Uranus :

Voyager 2 (USA) flyby 1986

Neptune :

Voyager 2 (USA) flyby 1989

Pluto :

New Horizons (USA) scheduled flyby 2015

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Picture Of The Day Dec - 29

Picture Of The Day

2012, December, 29

(Visible-Light Image of Jupiter -- Hubble Space Telescope)

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The Men On The Moon

The Men On The Moon

The human exploration of the moon lasted just over three years and involved a total of six missions. In each, a pair of US astronauts went down to the surface in a Lunar Excursion Module while a third object in a Command Service Module. The missions provided scientists with huge amout of information about the moon. The Apollo 17 duo spent the longest on the moon. They remind on the surface for 75 hours, part of that time in a lunar roving vehicle.

Twelve men landed on moon between 1969 and 1972, spanding almost 80 hours on its surface. They explored 90km of it on foot or by "moon-buggy", collected rocks, set up experiments, and played golf before returning to Earth.

In July 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong was at the centre of one of the most important events in human history. He was the first person to walk on the moon and became instantly famous . He spent 2 hrs 35 mins on its surface.

Apollo 11 : (July 21, 1969)

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin ( walked on moon)

Mike Collins ( command module pilot)

2 hrs 32 mins ( Total EVA)

Apollo 12 : (November 19–20, 1969)

Pete Conrad, Alan Bean ( walked on moon)

Dick Gordon ( command module pilot)

7 hours, 50 minutes ( Total EVA)

Apollo 14 : (February 5–6, 1971)

Alan Shephard, Edgar Mitchell ( walked on moon)

Stu Roosa ( command module pilot)

9 hours, 25 minutes ( Total EVA)

Apollo 15 : (July 31 – August 2, 1971)

David Scott, Jim Irwin ( walked on moon)

Al Worden ( command module pilot)

18 hours, 30 minutes ( Total EVA)

Apollo 16 : (April 21–23, 1972)

   John Young, Charles M. Duke Jr (walked on moon)
   Ken Mattingly ( command module pilot)
   20 hours, 14 minutes ( Total EVA)

Apollo 17 : (December 11–14, 1972)

Eugene A. Cernan, Harrison "Jack" Schmitt (walked on moon)
Ron Evans ( command module pilot)
22 hours, 04 minutes ( Total EVA)

* Apollo 13, 11-17 April, was aborted and return to Earth after an oxygen tank exploded

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Picture Of the Day , Dec - 28

Picture Of The Day

2012, December, 28

(M17 The Omega, Swan, or Horseshoe Nebula )

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Messier Objects

Messier Objects

The Messier objects are a set of astronomical objects first listed by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1771. Messier was a comet hunter, and was frustrated by objects which resembled but were not comets, so he compiled a list of them, in collaboration with his assistant Pierre Méchain, to avoid wasting time on them.

The Messier Catalog became well known for a much higher purpose, as a collection of the most beautiful objects in the sky including nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. It was one of the first major milestones in the history of the discovery of Deep Sky objects, as it was the first more comprehensive and more reliable list: Only four or five objects were initially missing because of data reduction errors, which could be figured out later though. Today's versions of the catalog usually include also later additions of objects observed by Charles Messier and his collegial friend, Pierre Méchain, but not included in his original list. The study of these objects by astronomers has led, and continues to lead, to important, incredible discoveries such as the life cycles of stars, the reality of galaxies as separate 'island universes,' and the possible age of the universe.

List of Some Messier Objects

M1 The Crab Nebula :