Why I love astronomy ...

... it's because of things like this. Around 6 seconds in, you can see a couple of Saturns moons pass in front as well. Perhaps other people don't get geeked up about things like this, but I'm just amazed that we live in such a dynamic universe.

Supersize me!

An extra ring located around Saturn.

The bulk of the ring material starts about 3.7 million miles from the planet and extends outward about another 7.4 million miles.

So this new ring is obviously extremely far away from the planet, but I assume still within its gravitational field. Nothing from Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy yet, but I'll check back to see if he blogs about this soon.

Here is the NASA press release of the discovery made by the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Conceptualized view of Saturns New Ring

ETA: This ring is definitely within the gravitational field of Saturn. The Saturnian moon Phoebe is as distant from Saturn as this ring.

Tracking asteroids ...

Asteroid tracked in space, right down to Sudanese desert.

As 2008 TC3 hurtled through space, researchers studied the spectra of sunlight reflected from its surface to get information about the asteroid’s mineral composition. The spectra showed that the asteroid was likely to come from the mysterious F-class of asteroids, a class only observed in space but not yet found as a meteorite on Earth..

Monitoring 2008 TC3’s progress, researchers correctly predicted that it would impact the Nubian Desert of northern Sudan about 19 hours after it was first spotted. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a fireball as the asteroid exploded over the desert.

Jenniskens and 45 students and staff from the University of Khartoum in Sudan searched for remnants along the asteroid’s projected path. The recovery team eventually found about 47 meteorites from 2008 TC3.

Hello Comet Lulin

Comet to pass by Earth next week.

On Monday at 10:43 p.m. EST, it will be 38 million miles from Earth, the closest it will ever get, according to Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near Earth Object program.

As if there wasn't enough to worry about?

Now NASA is warning that solar storms could knock out a large portion of the world's electronics, and electrical infrastructure if we're really, really unlucky. And who can really claim to have good luck right about now?

Damage to power grids and other communications systems could be catastrophic, the scientists conclude, with effects leading to a potential loss of governmental control of the situation.

Hmm, if this happens perhaps that crazy Russian would be right. I don't really want to be a part of the EU though ... if they even still existed.

Astronomy Highlights of 2008

FOXNews' Top Five Amazing Astronomy Discoveries of 2008.

Mars likely had an ocean ...

... which probably covered up to 33% of its surface.

The younger, inner shoreline is evidence that an ocean about 10 times the size of the Mediterranean Sea, or about the size of North America, existed on the northern plains of Mars a few billion years ago. The larger, more ancient shoreline that covered a third of Mars held an ocean about 20 times the size of the Mediterranean, the researchers estimate.

Where there is (was) water, there is (was) also the strong possibility of life.

Farewell Phoenix Mars Lander ...

... you served us well. Hopefully this parting will be temporary and we'll see you again after the spring thaw.

Earth Four Hours From Destruction!

Ok, not really.

On the evening of Wednesday November 5, 2008 (for most of North America) a giant rocky body will pass through Earth's position in space less than 4 hours after Earth was there. If Earth were 3 hours and 40 minutes farther back in its orbit at that time, the collision would wipe out all life on Earth. In fact, it would render Earth's surface uninhabitable for millions of years.

Should the tabloids media run headlines like "Earth 4 Hours from Destruction"?

No, because there's a catch to this story. It's revealed by the question "What will the rocky body look like in our skies on the "eve of (near) destruction?" The answer is that the object will appear as bright as a first-quarter Moon. For a good reason — the object is the first-quarter Moon.

Orion

I haven't really blogged about my astronomy exploits recently because the sky has not really cooperated. However I did notch a first a few weeks ago. I spotted my first constellation (without any assistance). You can probably guess which one.Orion.

I was pulling out of my driveway on my way to play racquetball at the ungodly time of 5:30am, looked up and Viola! there he was. Pretty friggin cool if you ask me.

Then, for good measure, the following morning I woke up a bit earlier, took out my binoculars and scanned Orion for M42 (Orion Nebula). What a sight!

Busy again today ...

... preparing a talk for a seminar I'm giving on Friday to the local Astronomy club. Managed to find a way to put two of my favorite intellectual pursuits (Astronomy and Microbiology) together ... Astrobiology! So, I'll be talking about the potential for life on Mars. When I'm done, perhaps I'll put my lecture on the web.

Could the Earth have been seeded with life ...

... from other planets? Quite possibly.

The new research suggests that microbes from other planetary systems, if they existed, could very well have hitched a ride in such rocks – as long as the rocks were large enough to protect the organisms from cosmic rays and the heat of impact. If the Sun was born in a cluster, there would have been time for around 100 life-bearing rocks to be captured by our star before the cluster drifted apart, the researchers say.

Birth of a Black Hole

Link here.

It took the light of GRB 080319B about 7.4 billion years to reach Earth, placing the explosion "more than halfway back to the Big Bang and the origin of our universe," Grindlay wrote in an editorial accompanying a new study of the burst in the Sept. 10 issue of the journal Nature.

This means that the explosion happened 3 billion years before the sun or Earth even formed, Grindlay added.

Pretty amazing.

By this time next year ...

... Saturn's rings will be gone!

But don't worry, they'll be back a few months later.

That means, Saturn's rings will appear thinner and thinner until on September 4th, 2009 the rings will seem to vanish … only to reappear three months later. Giving galaxy gazers something to keep an eye on.

I have yet to see Saturn in my binoculars or a telescope, he's still too low in the sky.

Messier Object 22 (M22)

Tonight I experienced a first! I located my first Messier object. M22 to be exact. Viewing conditions were perfect tonight. Got home late, looked up and noticed that the sky was very clear. Got home and was able to locate the Summer Triangle very easily, and Jupiter was off to the south, high in the sky and very bright. Brought out the binoculars, focused on Jupiter and saw his four moons on a diagonal with the planet, two on either side. Beautiful.

Saw a variable star SSW and closer to the horizon. Turns out that was Antares, part of Scorpius. Went inside and loaded up Stellarium. I figured since the night sky was so beautiful that my chances of seeing something more might be better. Figured I'd search in the area of Jupiter since I can definitely use Jupiter as a starting point and anchor in the sky. Well, turns out M22 was just down and west of Jupiter. Started looking and lo and behold ... a fuzzy blob! I found it! Drew an illustration, and while M22 doesn't exactly look like that through the binoculars, it'll serve as my artistic impression. I have a more accurate drawing in my log book. I didn't hang around long enough to see individual stars, I needed to get this recorded. So, now at least I know what I'm looking for. Awesome!

Astronomy Geekage

Ten Ancient Astronomy Sites As Seen From Space.

Astronomy Update

Well, the perseid meteor shower wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. I think it was a combination of light pollution, since from my house Perseus was directly over the city I live near, and the fact that I just couldn't stay up past 1 am. Went to the Astronomy Club get together though and got my first taste of a real telescope. Got to see Jupiter in an XT10 Dobsonian. Was able to once again make out the 4 moons and this time, two of the bands. I think I'm in love.

Also got to take in the M13 cluster with a C14 Schmidt-Cassegrain. I also was able to (I think) make out my first constellation, Cassiopeia. When I wasn't staring at Cassiopeia, I was taking in the Summer Triangle. Overall, it was a good night of star gazing. The weather certainly cooperated.

If you like shooting stars ...

... tonight is the night. At their peak, the Perseid meteor shower will average a meteor every second. Of course, for best viewing ... wait until after midnight.

I have my second school board meeting tonight, and hopefully it won't run too late so I can get to the local astronomy club party early with the wife and catch a full night of star gazing. Damn, I'm such a geek.

Jupiter!

Took the advice of Terry and went looking for Jupiter tonight. Went to Sky & Telescopes Sky Chart function, found Jupiter, checked my compass for proper orientation and then stepped outside. Set up my tripod, found what I thought was Jupiter, set my binoculars onto the tripod, aimed and looked. Awesome! Jupiter on the first try! And four of her moons as well. I saw Jupiter! The moons are as follows: On the left of Jupiter, that's Ganymede. Then three, in order of closest to farthest, are Io, Europa, and Callisto. Cool!

I do have a question for anyone who is an astronomy buff though. When viewing Jupiter, I had a red "flare" which emanated from the planet. It was sort of like a halo around the planet (though it was brightest at the top and bottom of the planet) and was clearly a viewing abnormality. Is this to be expected? I'm using Celestron 15 x 70 Skymaster binocs. Thanks for any answers people can provide.

Astronomy Geekage

Sky & Telescope's - What's Up This Week.

It was friggin cloudy last night so I didn't get to see anything in the night sky, which was a total bummer. But, hopefully the weather will clear up tonight. Why? Well, the Perseid meteor showers begin tonight and run through the weekend and a bit beyond. They peak on the morning of the 12th, and the local astronomy club here is getting together for viewing on the evening of the 11th.