Old 03-28-2012, 08:46 AM   #41
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

What's in the sky tonight?
March 28, 2012
-Do you have a pair of binoculars? Are you familiar with them? Today we turn our attention to the constellation of Cancer, where the relatively subtle constellation secretly has a few hidden treasures. The most obvious of them is M44, the Beehive Cluster. M67 is a fainter cluster a little further south of Cancer, and Iota Cancri, in my opinion the toughest of the 3 to distinguish, is a double star of 2 stars with similar brightness. It is difficult because they are two stars, 4th and 6th magnitude, that are very close together from our vantage point and may be difficult to distinguish from.

-The eclipsing variable star Algol should be at minimum light, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 9:00 p.m. EDT.


Astro Picture of the Day
March 28, 2012

Source:
Taken in Madrid, Spain, this photograph taken just yesterday shows significant earthshine from the Moon, and the bright planet Venus. Earthshine is the illumination of the part of the Moon hidden from direct sunlight by the sun-reflecting Earth. During the thin crescent moon stages, around sunset and sunrise, the Earth is reflective enough to illuminate the surface of the moon that is not being hit by direct sunlight. This moon-venus pair could have been seen around the world, weather permitting.


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What's in the Sky Tonight Archive September 1, 2012 - February 28, 2013

February 28, 2013
-Look for Spica very close to the waning gibbous Moon late this evening, as seen from North America. The Moon occults (hides) Spica for viewers from southeastern Mexico through central South America.



February 27, 2013
-The seasons are turning; by 8 or 9 p.m. the Big Dipper has climbed as high in the northeast as Cassiopeia has sunk in the northwest.

-Keep an eye out tomorrow for the moon's close encounter with Spica - if you live in the South American regions the moon actully occults Spica.



February 26, 2013
-With spring less than a month away, Orion is starting to tip over toward the southwest fairly early in the evening now.

February 25, 2013
Source:
Sometimes the Moon is a busy direction. Last week, for example, our very Moon passed in front of the planet Jupiter. While capturing this unusual spectacle from New South Wales, Australia, a quick-thinking astrophotographer realized that a nearby plane might itself pass in front of the Moon, and so quickly reset his camera to take a continuous series of short duration shots. As hoped, for a brief instant, that airplane, the Moon, and Jupiter were all visible in a single exposure, which is shown above. But the project was not complete - a longer exposure was then taken to bring up three of the Jupiter's own moons: Io, Calisto, and Europa (from left to right). Unfortunately, this triple spectacle soon disappeared. Less than a second later, the plane flew away from the Moon. A few seconds after that, the Moon moved to cover all of Jupiter. A few minutes after that, Jupiter reappeared on the other side of the Moon, and even a few minutes after that the Moon moved completely away from Jupiter. Although hard to catch, planes cross in front of the Moon quite frequently, but the Moon won't eclipse Jupiter again for another three years.

February 24, 2013
-After dinnertime at this time of year, four carnivore constellations stand in a row from the northeast to south. They're all seen in profile with their noses pointed up and their feet (if any) to the right: Ursa Major in the northeast (with the Big Dipper as its brightest part), Leo in the east (with the Moon by his forefoot tonight), Hydra the Sea Serpent in the southeast, and Canis Major in the south.

-Telescope users in eastern North America can watch Jupiter's moon Europa reappear out of eclipse from Jupiter's shadow around 6:59 p.m. EST. Then Io reappears out of eclipse around 8:55 p.m. EST. Both events happen just east of the planet.


February 23, 2013
-At this time of year, the Big Dipper stands on its handle in the northeast during evening. The top of the Dipper — the two Pointer stars, pointing left to Polaris — are now at exactly Polaris's height around 8 p.m. (depending on where you live in your time zone).

-Mercury is low in the western twilight and rapidly fading: from magnitude +0.8 on February 22nd to +4 on March 1st! Catch it early in the week before it's gone.

-Mars is lost in the glow of sunset, even lower than Mercury.


February 22, 2013
-This evening the Moon is left of Procyon and below Castor and Pollux.

-Mercury (about magnitude –0.5) continues its excellent apparition in the evening twilight. Look for it low in the west-southwest as the sky darkens. No other point in the area is nearly so bright.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2) is disappearing into the sunset, moving ever farther to Mercury's lower right

-Comet Lemmon is passing through the Southern Hemisphere constellation of Tucana, just beside the Small Magellanic Cloud. Comet Lemmon is currently roughly Magnitude +5 and is expected to peak at Magnitude +3.0 come the beginning of April. The path is shown below.



February 21, 2013
-Early this evening, look lower right of the Moon for Procyon and upper left of the Moon for Castor and Pollux. Much farther to the lower right of Procyon shines bright Sirius.

-Neptune is in conjunction with the Sun.

February 20, 2013
-Have you ever seen Canopus, the second-brightest star after Sirius? Canopus lies almost due south of Sirius, by 36°. That's far enough south that it never appears above your horizon unless you're below latitude 37° N (southern Virginia, southern Missouri, central California). And there, you'll need a flat south horizon. Canopus transits the sky's north-south meridian just 21 minutes before Sirius does.

-When to look? Canopus is at its highest point when Beta Canis Majoris's Mirzim, the star three finger widths to the right of Sirius is at its highest point crossing the meridian. Look straight down from Mirzim then.

February 19, 2013
-The Moon after dark stands straight over Orion, who's standing straight upright in the south.

-Saturn (magnitude +0.5, in Libra) rises in the east-southeast around 11 or midnight, well to the lower left of Spica. By the beginning of dawn Saturn is highest in the south — more or less between Spica, 18° to its right, and Antares farther to its lower left. Saturn is 4½° northwest of the wide double star Alpha Librae.

In a telescope Saturn's rings are tilted 19.3° from edge-on, their most open of the year (by just a trace).



February 18, 2013
-The Moon now shines to the left or upper left of Jupiter and Aldebaran, drawing farther away from them through the evening.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2) is disappearing into the sunset, moving ever farther to Mercury's lower right.

-Mercury (about magnitude –0.5) continues its excellent apparition in the evening twilight. Look for it low in the west-southwest as the sky darkens. No other point in the area is nearly so bright.



February 17, 2013
-The first-quarter Moon shines to the right of Jupiter just after dark, as shown below. Watch it move closer to Jupiter through the evening, by about one Moon-diameter per hour, as they tilt down toward the west. They set around 1 or 2 a.m.



February 16, 2013
-Bright Jupiter shines upper left of the Moon. Aldebaran is to Jupiter's left, and the Pleiades are a little farther to Jupiter's right.

-Mercury is at greatest elongation, 18° east of the Sun in evening twilight. A telescope shows (in reasonably good seeing) that this tiny little sphere, just 7 arcseconds wide, is now half-lit.



February 15, 2013
-Comet PanSTARRS update: The incoming comet that we hoped would make a fine showing in March has been weakening. It may not even reach naked-eye visibility, what with its low altitude in the evening twilight.

-Close flyby of asteroid 2012 DA14: This gymnasium-sized asteroid will miss Earth by just 18,000 miles (28,500 km) around 19:25 Universal Time today. It will then be as bright as 8th magnitude, moving across the stars by 0.8° per minute — and it will be in nighttime view from easternmost Europe (in late evening) across Asia to Australia (before dawn on the 16th local date). By the time it's visible in Western Europe it will be a little fainter, and by its visibility in North America it will be down to 11th to 13th magnitude, receding into the distance near the Little Dipper. Click here to find more information about tonight's asteroid fly by.

-The Clay Center Observatory will be streaming the fly by at 6pm EST for those interested in watching.


-After dark, look right of the crescent Moon by roughly a fist-width at arm's length for the two or three leading stars of Aries, lined up almost vertically.

-Algol should be at minimum light for a couple hours centered on 8:12 p.m. EST.

February 14, 2013
-February is when Orion stands highest in the south in early evening. This season, Orion is framed by the two brightest points in the sky: Jupiter high to its upper right and Sirius down to its lower left.
-Jupiter (magnitude –2.4, in Taurus) dominates the high south in early evening and the southwest later. To its left is orange Aldebaran; to its right are the Pleiades. This whole group sets around 2 a.m. In a telescope, Jupiter is shrinking as Earth pulls farther ahead of it in our faster orbit around the Sun. This week it shrinks from 42 to 41 arcseconds wide.

February 13, 2013
-Look to the right of the Moon soon after dark for Gamma (γ) Pegasi, the leftmost star of the Great Square of Pegasus. The Great Square is standing on one corner.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2) is becoming a real challenge as it sinks lower low into the sunset. Brighter Mercury is your marker for finding it.

-Mars is currently on the far side of the Sun from us, but Mercury is swinging around to the Sun's near side as shown by its growing size and diminishing phase.



February 12, 2013
-Mercury shines far below the crescent Moon as twilight fades.
The eclipsing binary star Algol should be at minimum light, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.3, for a couple hours centered on 11:23 p.m. EST.
-Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten.



February 11, 2013
-Mercury shines lower left of the Moon, as shown below. And bring binoculars for a last shot at faint, low Mars.

Mars (magnitude +1.2) is becoming a real challenge as it sinks lower low into the sunset. Brighter Mercury is your marker for finding it.



February 10, 2013
-New Moon; exact at 2:20 a.m. EST on this date (11:20 p.m. on the 19th PST).

Challenge: Catch your record young Moon? Very low in the west shortly after sunset, if the air is very clear, binoculars may show an extremely thin crescent Moon well to the lower right of Mercury and Mars (viewed from North America), as illustrated below. If you see the crescent from the Eastern time zone, you're seeing it when it's only 15 or 16 hours old — a remarkable record that you may not beat in a lifetime! Seen three hours later in twilight from the Pacific time zone, the Moon will be 18 or 19 hours old — still likely a record for your logbook. Record the time you detect the Moon to the minute, and calculate how long this is from the time of new Moon given above.



February 9, 2013
-Mars now appears 1.1° below brighter Mercury (for North America), low in the sunset glow.

-Venus (magnitude –3.9) is buried deep in the glow of sunrise.

February 8, 2013
-Mercury-Mars Conjunction. Mars is less than ½° from Mercury low in the west-southwest in bright twilight, as shown at right (for North America). They'll certainly be an interesting pair through a telescope, though both will be tiny and blurred at such a low altitude.



February 7, 2013
-Challenging Mercury-Mars conjunction. Look low in the west-southwest a half hour after sunset. Faint Mars is within 3/4° upper left of brighter Mercury (seen from North America), as shown here. Quite an interesting pair in binoculars!



February 6, 2013
-Jupiter (magnitude –2.5, in Taurus) dominates the high south in early evening, and the southwest later. To its left is orange Aldebaran; to its right are the Pleiades. The whole group sets around 2 or 3 a.m.

-In a telescope, Jupiter is shrinking (from 43 to 42 arcseconds wide this week) as Earth pulls farther ahead of it in our faster orbit around the Sun.



February 5, 2013
-With the Moon gone from the evening sky, this week is a fine time to look for the zodiacal light from the Northern Hemisphere. At a clear, dark site with clean air, look west at the very end of twilight for a vague but huge, tall pyramid of pearly light. It's tilted left to align along the constellations of the zodiac — or more exactly, along the ecliptic line. So it points toward toward Jupiter. What you're seeing is sunlit interplanetary dust — comet and asteroid debris — orbiting the Sun near the plane of the solar system.

-Comet PanSTARRS update. The incoming comet that we hoped would make a fine showing in March has been weakening. It may not even reach naked-eye visibility, what with its low altitude in evening twilight. The comet is currently expected to peak at magnitude +1 or +2 in March, not 0 or brighter as formerly predicted.




February 4, 2013
-Jupiter's biggest moon, Ganymede, fades into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow around 7:35 p.m. EST. It reappears around 9:53 p.m. EST. Both events take place just east of the planet. Europa happens to be just south of Ganymede's reappearance point, by a bit less than a Jupiter diameter. When can you detect the first trace of Ganymede coming back?
Later, Jupiter's Great Red Spot rotates across the planet's centerline at 11:25 p.m. EST.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2) is sinking deeper into the sunset. Brighter Mercury becomes your marker for finding it this week.



February 3, 2013
-February is when Orion stands highest in the south in early evening. And this season, Orion is framed between the two brightest points in the sky: Jupiter high to its upper right and Sirius down to its lower left. Introduce them to someone!

Mercury (magnitude –1.1) is emerging from the glow of sunset. On February 1st it's still very deep in bright twilight, but day by day it becomes higher and easier to see. Check for it each clear evening starting about 30 minutes after sunset, just above the west-southwest horizon. Bring binoculars.

-There too is fainter Mars (magnitude +1.2). Mars is above Mercury until February 7th and 8th, when they pass less than 1° apart. After that Mercury is higher — coming into an excellent apparition of its own.




Mercury peaks in the early evening sky from February 11th to 21st, while much fainter Mars appears lower each evening. The two planets pass spectacularly close to each other on February 7th and 8th. Their disks are shown in their correct shapes and orientations, but their sizes are exaggerated hugely, roughly matching their appearance through a telescope at high magnification.

February 2, 2013
-our latitude makes a big difference in how the constellations appear. (Your longitude does not.) For instance, if you're as far north as 46° (roughly Portland, Minneapolis, Montreal, and central France), bright Capella passes straight through your zenith around 8 or 9 p.m. If you're as far south as 21° N (Guadalajara, Cuba, the mid-Sahara, and Kolkata), Jupiter currently crosses straight overhead in the evening.

-Wherever you are, Jupiter and Capella pass closest to your zenith exactly one hour apart. Jupiter goes first.

-Saturn and the last-quarter Moon rise together tonight around midnight or 1 a.m. By dawn (Sunday the 3rd) they're high in the south, as shown above.



February 1, 2013
-The sky's biggest well-known asterism (informal star pattern) is the Winter Hexagon or Winter Circle. It fills the sky toward the east and south these evenings. Start with brilliant Sirius at its bottom. Going clockwise from there, march through Procyon, then Pollux and Castor, then Menkalinen and Capella overhead, down to Aldebaran (overshone by Jupiter this season!), down to Rigel, and back to Sirius.



January 31, 2013
-Jupiter's moon Io crosses Jupiter's face from 7:59 to 11:09 p.m. EST. Io's tiny black shadow follows behind across Jupiter from 10:10 p.m. to 12:21 a.m. EST. Meanwhile, Jupiter's Great Red Spot (actually pale orange-tan) crosses the planet's central meridian around 8:07 p.m. EST.
Mercury is hidden deep in the sunset.

-Saturn rises in the middle of the night this week and shines high during dawn. The Moon is positioned here for the middle of North America. The blue 10° scale is about the width of your fist at arm's length.



January 30, 2013
-Saturn is at western quadrature: 90° west of the Sun in the morning sky.

Mercury is hidden deep in the sunset.

January 29, 2013
-Around 9 or 10 p.m. this week (depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone), brilliant Sirius is at its highest due south.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2) still glimmers very low in the west-southwest in the fading glow of sunset. Don't confuse it with Fomalhaut well to its left.



January 28, 2013
-Once the waning gibbous Moon is well up in the east in mid- to late evening, look upper left of it for Regulus with the Sickle of Leo extending beyond, as shown here. Look about twice as far to the Moon's right for Alphard, the fire-colored heart of Hydra.

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.5, in Taurus) is the first "star" to come out high in the southeast after sundown. It dominates the high south after dinnertime, with orange Aldebaran lower left or left of it, and the Pleiades to its upper right or right.

-For many weeks, Jupiter has been drawing closer to forming a straight line with Aldebaran and Pleiades. It'll never get there. Jupiter reaches its stationary point on January 30th, when it ceases its retrograde (westward) motion against the stars and starts moving back eastward.

-In a telescope, Jupiter has been slowly shrinking as Earth pulls ahead of it in our faster orbit around the Sun. It appears about 44 arcseconds wide. The 5th-magnitude star 0.1° south of it this week is Omega-2 Tauri.



January 27, 2013
-The Moon shines high in the east by 9 p.m. Lower left of it, by roughly a fist-width at arm's length, sparkles Regulus in Leo, as shown below. The Sickle of Leo extends upper left from Regulus. The emergence of Leo in the evening sky is always an early sign that spring is eventually coming.

-Venus (magnitude –3.9) is just above the southeast horizon 20 minutes before your local sunrise. It's getting lower each morning. Bring binoculars.



January 26, 2013
-Full Moon (exact at 11:38 p.m. EST). The Moon is in dim Cancer, with Procyon shining off to its right or upper right during evening, and Pollux and Castor above it.

-Algol in Perseus is at its minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 6:26 p.m. EST. Watch it gradually rebrighten though the evening.

January 25, 2013
-This evening the Moon shines not quite midway between Procyon to its lower right and Pollux to its upper left.

-Around 10 p.m. this week (depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone), brilliant Sirius is at its highest due south.

-Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky — and are you far enough south to see the second brightest, Canopus? In one of the many interesting coincidences that devoted skywatchers know about, Canopus lies almost due south of Sirius: by 36°. That's far enough south that it never appears above your horizon unless you're below latitude 37° N (southern Virginia, southern Missouri, central California). And there, you'll need a flat south horizon. Canopus transits the sky's north-south meridian just 21 minutes before Sirius does.

-When to look? Canopus is at its highest point when Beta Canis Majoris — Mirzim, the star a few finger-widths to the right of Sirius — is at its highest point crossing the meridian. Look straight down from Mirzim then.

January 24, 2013
-The bright Moon shines about midway between Betelgeuse in Orion's shoulder to its right, and Pollux in Gemini to the Moon's left. The star above Pollux is Castor. Below the Moon is Procyon in Canis Minor.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2) still glimmers very low in the west-southwest in the fading glow of sunset. Don't confuse it with Fomalhaut far to its left. (On January 24th Mars is at perihelion, its closest to the Sun in its orbit.)

-Venus (magnitude –3.9) is just above the southeast horizon about 30 minutes before your local sunrise. It's lower each morning. How much longer can you keep it in view?

January 23, 2013
-Week by week, watch the Big Dipper rearing higher up in the northeast as we leave more of winter behind us.

-Two of Jupiter's moons emerge out of eclipse by Jupiter's shadow tonight: Europa at 7:05 p.m. EST, and Io at 12:16 a.m. EST. With a telescope, watch both swell into view off Jupiter's eastern limb. Meanwhile, Jupiter's Great Red Spot rotates across the planet's centerline around 11:27 p.m. EST.

-Algol is at its minimum brightness for a couple hours centered on 9:37 p.m. EST.



January 22, 2013
-By now the Moon has moved eastward from Jupiter along its orbit to shine well to Jupiter's left after dinnertime, as shown above.

-Look below the Moon for Orion, and far below Orion for brilliant Sirius.



January 21, 2013
-Close conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter. Look for a bright "star" unusually near the waxing gibbous Moon this evening, as shown above. The Moon passes less than 1° from it for most of the U.S. and Canada. This is an opportunity where you can try to find Jupiter before the sun sets. It is the faint dot beside the moon at sunset! Think photo opportunity; use a long lens, or zoom to the max. In much of South America the Moon actually occults (covers) Jupiter; To find out where you can see the occultation, go here: http://www.lunar-occultations.com/io...122jupiter.htm

-Although they look close together, the Moon is only 1.3 light-seconds distant from Earth, while Jupiter is 1,700 times farther away at a distance of 37 light-minutes.



January 20, 2013
-The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol is at its minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours tonight centered on 12:48 a.m. EST (9:48 p.m. PST.) It takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten.

-The waxing gibbous Moon highlights an interesting section of the winter sky. (The Moon symbols are positioned for the middle of North America. They are drawn three times the Moon's actual apparent size.)



January 19, 2013
-In twilight, bright Jupiter comes into view well to the lower left of the Moon. By 8 p.m. things have turned around and Jupiter is shining to the Moon's left or upper left. Closer to the Moon's lower left is the big, dim head of Cetus with its one 2nd-magnitude star, orange Alpha Ceti (Menkar).

-Venus (magnitude –3.9) is just above the southeast horizon about 30 minutes before your local sunrise. It's lower each morning. How much longer can you keep it in view?

January 18, 2013
-First-quarter Moon. The Moon is exactly half lit at 6:45 p.m. EST. In early evening, look above the Moon by about about a fist-width at arm's length for the brightest two or three stars of Aries. These are aligned more or less vertically.

January 17, 2013
-Bright Capella high overhead and bright Rigel in Orion's foot, both magnitude 0, have almost the same right ascension — so they transit your north-south meridian at the almost same time. Capella passes closest to the zenith around 9 or 10 p.m. this week, depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone. (It goes exactly through the zenith if you're at latitude 46° north: Portland, Oregon; Montreal; central France.) So, whenever Capella is closest to the zenith, Rigel always marks true south over your landscape.

January 16, 2013
-Venus (magnitude –3.9) is getting lower in the dawn each morning. Look for it above the southeast horizon about 30 minutes before your local sunrise.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Sagittarius) still glimmers very low in the west-southwest in the fading glow of sunset. Don't confuse it with Fomalhaut far to its left.

January 15, 2013
-Mercury is hidden in conjunction with the Sun.

-Saturn (magnitude +0.6, in Libra) rises in the east-southeast around 1 or 2 a.m. local time. By the beginning of dawn it's fairly high in the southeast. That's the best time to get your telescope on it. Saturn's rings are tilted 19° to our line of sight, the widest open they've been for seven years.




January 14, 2013
-Before moonlight returns in force to wash out low-surface-brightness telescopic objects, try tonight for the Bubble and Pac-Man Nebulae in Cassiopeia.

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.7, in Taurus) is the first "star" to appear in the eastern sky after sundown. It dominates the high southeast after dusk, with orange Aldebaran below it and the Pleiades over it as shown below. They tilt around and pass highest in the south around 8 or 9 p.m. local time. In a telescope Jupiter is still about 45 arcseconds wide.




January 13, 2013
-In twilight this evening, look below the waxing crescent Moon in the west to see if you can still spot faint little Mars, as shown here. Mars has been hanging in there in twilight ever since August! but is now gradually creeping lower week by week.



January 12, 2013
-As twilight turns to night, look low in the northwest for Vega. To its upper left, by two or three fists at arm's length, shines Deneb. Deneb is the head of the big Northern Cross, which is now swinging down and soon will stand nearly upright on the northwest horizon (as seen from mid-northern latitudes).

-The crescent Moon marches higher each evening as it waxes thicker farther away from the Sun. Use the Moon to locate faint little Mars.



January 11, 2013
-In early evening at this time of year, the Great Square of Pegasus balances on one corner high in the west. The vast Andromeda-Pegasus constellation complex runs all the way from near the zenith (Andromeda's foot) down through the Great Square (Pegasus's body) to low in the west (Pegasus's nose).

-New Moon (exact at 2:44 p.m. EST).

January 10, 2013
-Saturn (magnitude +0.6, in Libra) rises in the east-southeast around 2 a.m. local time. By the beginning of dawn it's fairly high in the southeast. That's the best time to get your telescope on it. Saturn's rings are tilted 19° to our line of sight, the widest open they've been in seven years.

January 9, 2013
-The waning crescent Moon appears lower each morning until dawn on Thursday, when it forms a spectacular pair with Venus very low in the southeast.

-Venus (magnitude –3.9) appears lower in the dawn each morning. Look for it above the southeast horizon about 45 minutes before your local sunrise.


January 8, 2013
-Jupiter's moon Io crosses Jupiter's face from 8:03 to 10:13 p.m. EST, followed by Io's tiny black shadow from 8:55 to 11:06 p.m. EST. Jupiter's Great Red Spot transits the planet's central meridian around 2:02 a.m. Wednesday morning EST.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Sagittarius) still glimmers low in the southwest in the fading glow of sunset. Don't confuse it with Fomalhaut far to its left.


January 7, 2013
-As dawn begins to brighten on Tuesday morning, spot the waning crescent Moon in the southeast. Below it is Antares, a summer-evening star just beginning its months-long trek backward through the night. Much farther lower left of the Moon, Venus rises. Higher in the south are Saturn and, two fists to Saturn's right, Spica.

The waning crescent Moon appears lower each morning until dawn on Thursday, when it forms a spectacular pair with Venus very low in the southeast.


January 6, 2013
-At this coldest time of the year, Sirius rises around 7 p.m. (depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone). Orion's three-star Belt points down almost to Sirius's rising place; watch for it there. Once Sirius is up, it twinkles slowly and deeply through the thick layers of low atmosphere, then faster and more shallowly as it gains altitude. Its flashes of color also speed up and blend into shimmering white as the star climbs to shine through thinner air.

-Watch Jupiter gradually creeping toward a better lineup between Aldebaran and the Pleiades. It won't quite get there, however. Instead it will gradually stop and reverse direction at the end of January, just short of forming a straight line. (The 10° scale is about the width of your fist held at arm's length.)


January 5, 2013
-Before dawn Sunday morning, Spica shines to the upper right of the waning Moon, and Saturn shines to the Moon's upper left, as shown here.

-Mercury is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

-Venus (magnitude –3.9) appears lower in the dawn each morning. Look for it above the southeast horizon about 45 minutes before your local sunrise.


January 4, 2013
-The latest sunrise of the year happens this morning (at 40° north latitude).

-Last-quarter Moon tonight (exact at 10:58 p.m. EST). The Moon, between Corvus and the head of Virgo, rises around 11 or midnight. By dawn Saturday morning, the Moon is high in the south with Spica and Saturn to its left, as shown here.



January 3, 2013
-In this coldest time of the year, the dim Little Dipper hangs straight down from Polaris after dinnertime as if from a nail on the cold north wall of the sky.

-Algol should be at minimum light for a couple hours centered on 7:52 p.m. EST.

January 2, 2012
-By about 8 or 9 p.m., the Big Dipper is swinging upward in the north-northeast. It drags the end of its handle along the horizon, depending on your latitude, as its bowl rises upward.

-Earth is at perihelion, its closest to the Sun for the year (just 3% closer than at aphelion in July).

-Saturn (magnitude +0.7, in Libra) rises in the east-southeast around 2 or 3 a.m. local time. By the beginning of dawn it's fairly high in the southeast. That's the best time to get your telescope on it. Saturn's rings are tilted 19° to our line of sight, the widest open they've been in seven years.

January 1, 2012
-The two leading asteroids, Ceres and Vesta, are still in good binocular range at magnitudes 7.1 and 6.9, respectively. Vesta is near Jupiter and Aldebaran, and Ceres is between the horns of Taurus not far away. A finder chart exists here: http://media.skyandtelescope.com/doc...CeresVesta.pdf



December 31, 2012
-After the New Year's cheering at midnight is over, step outside into the cold, silent dark. The bright Moon will be shining in the southeast, with Regulus to its left. Due south is Sirius at its greatest height, with Orion to its upper right and the Jupiter-Aldebaran-Pleiades arrangement farther on — tipped differently than we're used to seeing it in the evening. Upper left of Sirius is Procyon.

-Algol should be at its minimum light, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 11:02 p.m. EST. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten.

December 30, 2012
-Sirius and Procyon in the balance: Sirius, the Dog Star, sparkles low in the east-southeast after dinnertime. Procyon, the Little Dog Star, shines in the east about two fist-widths at arm's length to Sirius's left. If you live around latitude 30° north (Tijuana, New Orleans, Jacksonville), the two canine stars will be at the same height above your horizon soon after they rise. If you're north of that latitude, Procyon will be higher. If you're south of there, Sirius will be the higher one.

-Jupiter forms a straight line with Aldebaran and, between them, 3.5-magnitude Epsilon Tauri, the other tip of the Hyades V pattern.

December 29, 2012
-In early evening at this time of year, the Great Square of Pegasus balances on one corner high in the west. The vast Andromeda-Pegasus constellation complex runs all the way from near the zenith (Andromeda's foot) down through the Great Square (Pegasus's body) almost to the western horizon (Pegasus's nose).

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Sagittarius) still remains low in the southwest in evening twilight. Don't confuse it with Fomalhaut far to its left or upper left. In a telescope Mars is just a tiny blob 4.3 arcseconds in diameter.

December 28, 2012
-Look left of the just-past-full Moon this evening for Castor and Pollux, one above the other. Castor is the one on top. Farther right of the Moon is Orion.

-Mercury (magnitude –0.6) is disappearing low in bright dawn, well to the lower left of Venus low in the southeast. They're 11° to 13° apart. Look early in the week, and bring binoculars.

-Venus (magnitude –3.9) is still the bright "Morning Star," but it's moving lower in the dawn every week. Look southeast.

December 27, 2012
-Full Moon tonight (exact at 5:21 a.m. Friday morning Eastern Standard Time). The Moon is in the top of Orion's dim club, just under the feet of the Castor figure in Gemini.

-Mercury (magnitude –0.5) can be spotted during dawn, well to the lower left of brilliant Venus low in the southeast. They're 8° or 9° apart.

-For a neat way to see how fast planets move in just one week relative to stars, I've included both today's picture of Mercury and Venus's location with last week as well.




December 26, 2012
-Now the Moon is lower left of Jupiter in the evening, as shown above. The Moon is in the area of Beta and especially Zeta Tauri, the horn tips of Taurus.

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.8, in Taurus) is up and glaring in the east as twilight fades. It climbs to dominate the high eastern and southeastern sky in the evening, with orange Aldebaran 5° below it and the Pleiades twice as far to its upper right. Jupiter is highest in the south around 10 p.m. local time. In a telescope it's still a big 47 arcseconds wide.



December 25, 2012
-Christmas conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter, with Aldebaran right nearby! Jupiter and the Moon are only a degree or two apart, depending on your location (in the Americas) and the time of evening. Watch them change separation and orientation as the night progresses. Binoculars show stars of the big, loose Hyades cluster in their background.



December 24, 2012
-The Moon, nearly full, shines upper right of Jupiter and Aldebaran early this evening, as shown above. Look too for the Pleiades closer left of the Moon. By around 9 p.m. Jupiter and the Moon are level with each other, when they're both very high overhead.



December 23, 2012
-With the coming of winter, the Great Square of Pegasus is once again balancing on one of its corners as it descends the western evening sky.

-It's a busy evening at Jupiter. Ganymede, Jupiter's largest satellite, emerges from behind Jupiter's eastern limb at 7:26 p.m. EST — then just 6 minutes later it disappears into eclipse by the planet's shadow. Ganymede emerges from Jupiter's shadow farther out from the planet at 9:42 p.m. EST. Twenty-two minutes after that, Io starts crossing the planet's face, followed by Io's tiny black shadow at 10:36 p.m. EST. At 10:45 p.m. EST, Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross the planet's central meridian.

December 22, 2012
-Every year during Christmas season, Sirius rises in the east-southeast, far below Orion, around 7 or 8 p.m. When Sirius is still low, binoculars often show it twinkling in vivid colors. All stars do this when low. But Sirius is the brightest, making the effect more pronounced.

-Venus (magnitude –3.9) is still the bright "Morning Star," but it's moving lower in the dawn every week. Look southeast.

December 21, 2012
-By about 9 p.m. at this time of year (depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone), the dim Little Dipper hangs straight down from Polaris, as if from a nail on the cold north wall of the sky. If you have a light-polluted sky, all you may see are Polaris and the two stars forming the far end of the Little Dipper's bowl: Kochab and Pherkad, the "Guardians of the Pole."

-Winter begins in Earth's Northern Hemisphere at the solstice, 6:12 a.m. EST, when the Sun begins its six-month return northward. This is the shortest day of the year and the longest night. (But the Earth didn't flip over? No continents flying loose? Maybe next year.)

December 20, 2012
-Jupiter's moon Europa crosses Jupiter's face tonight from 9:45 p.m. to 12:07 a.m. EST, followed by its tiny black shadow (plainer to see in a telescope) from 10:40 p.m. to 1:04 a.m. EST.

-Look for Antares and Mercury low in the Southeast just before sunrise tomorrow morning. Antares is in the constellation Scorpius - the constellation that 'drags' the bulge of the milky way behind it.



December 19, 2012
-The first-quarter Moon shines at the dim Circlet of Pisces, below the much larger and brighter Great Square of Pegasus early in the evening.

-By week's end, use binoculars to try to spot Antares twinkling low in the dawn below Venus and to the right of Mercury.

December 18, 2012
-After dinnertime this week, Cassiopeia stands at its very highest in the north like a flattened M (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes). The Milky Way runs through it, stretching all the way down to the east horizon on one side and the west horizon on the other. Given the quality of your sky, how much of the Milky Way (if any) can you trace out?

December 17, 2012
-The first-discovered asteroid, 1 Ceres, is at opposition tonight. It's not far from 4 Vesta, which is also in Taurus along with Jupiter. Ceres and Vesta are now magnitudes 6.7 and 6.5, respectively.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Sagittarius) still remains low in the southwest in evening twilight. In a telescope it's just a tiny blob 4.3 arcseconds in diameter — hardly larger than Uranus!

December 16, 2012
-Jupiter's moon Io crosses Jupiter's face from 8:19 to 10:29 p.m. EST, closely followed by its tiny black shadow (much plainer to see in a telescope) from 8:41 to 10:52 p.m. EST. Meanwhile, the Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian around 10:00 p.m. EST.

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.8, in Taurus) is already glaring in the east as twilight fades. It climbs to dominate the eastern and high southeastern sky into the evening, with orange Aldebaran 5° below it and the Pleiades about twice as far to its upper right. Jupiter is highest in the south around 10 or 11 p.m. In a telescope it's still a big 48 arcseconds wide, essentially as large as it ever appears.

December 15, 2012
-In early evening, the "Summer Star" Vega is still the brightest thing in the northwestern sky, though it's moving ever lower. The brightest above it is Deneb. Vega is 25 light-years away; supergiant Deneb is about 1,400.

-Mercury, Venus, and Saturn form a long diagonal line in the southeast as dawn begins to brighten. Venus is by far the brightest, at magnitude –3.9. Look far to its upper right for Saturn, magnitude +0.7, and farther on for Spica, magnitude +1.0. Look lower left of Venus for Mercury, magnitude –0.5, now moving a little lower each day. The whole line of four points is now about 45° long.

December 14, 2012
-Orion stands centered between two bright lights this year. High above it during evening shines bright Jupiter (with its orange sidekick Aldebaran). A similar distance below Jupiter, Sirius rises around 8 p.m. (the time depends on your location) — with its white sidekick Mirzam.

-Sirius, just 8.6 light-years away, is the brightest star in the night sky. It's also the closest that's ever visible to the unaided eye from mid-northern latitudes.

-Algol should be at minimum light for a couple hours centered on 6:07 p.m. EST. Watch it rebrighten for much of the rest of the night.

-Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian around 8:22 p.m. EST.

December 13, 2012
[b]-The Geminid meteor shower, often the best in the annual meteor calendar, should be at its maximum late tonight. And there's no Moon. Expect a count of 120 meteors / hour!

-On the same dates, a new shower may also be making its appearance. Debris streams from Comet Wirtanen, crossing our orbit for the first time, could produce a couple dozen meteors visible per hour from December 10th to 14th from a radiant just south of the Great Square of Pegasus, according to computer models by Russian meteor scientist Mikhail Maslov. The "Piscids" would be unusually slow moving.

-The new shower doesn't have a name yet. Before naming it, astronomers will wait to see if it is real. If any meteors do materialize, they might be called "Piscids." The shower's radiant is located in the constellation Pisces, according to Maslov's dynamical models of the debris stream. Maslov also predicts that the meteors will be very slow moving, which should help novice sky watchers distinguish them from the faster Geminids. More Information here about this new meteor shower.

-New Moon (exact at 3:42 a.m. on the 13th EST).



December 12, 2012
[b]-As the stars come out in late twilight, the flattened W of Cassiopeia is still standing on one end high in the northeast. By as early as 8 p.m. it turns around to be a horizontal M, even higher in the north.

-Mercury, Venus, and Saturn form a diagonal line in the southeast as dawn begins to brighten. Venus is by far the brightest, at magnitude –3.9. Look well to its upper right for Saturn, magnitude +0.7, and farther on for Spica, magnitude +1.0. Look lower left of Venus for Mercury, magnitude –0.5. Mercury is having its best morning apparition of 2012. This line of four points is lengthening: it grows from 33° to 42° long this week.

December 11, 2012
-Flyby of Toutatis. The small Earth-crossing asteroid 4179 Toutatis is performing one of its close approaches to Earth tonight, as it does every four years. Locate it creeping across the stars of Cetus and Pisces using at least a 3- or 4-inch telescope tonight through Friday night. It's magnitude 10.9 tonight and peaks at 10.5 on Friday. Use the finder charts for each of these four nights here: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/obser...-Flies-By.html

Algol should be at its minimum light for a couple hours centered on 9:18 p.m. EST. Here's a comparison-star chart giving the magnitudes of three stars near Algol; use them to judge its changing brightness.

December 10, 2012
-Low in the southeast in early dawn Tuesday morning, the waning crescent Moon is beautifully paired with Venus, as shown at right.


December 9, 2012
-Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit the planet's central meridian around 9:15 p.m. EST.

-At dawn Monday morning, look upper left of the Moon for Saturn, and lower left of the Moon for little Alpha Librae partway down to Venus and Mercury, as shown at right. If you catch Alpha Lib before dawn becomes too bright, binoculars will show it to be a wide double star.


December 8, 2012
-Since Jupiter is just past opposition, the asteroids Ceres and Vesta in Jupiter's vicinity are near their oppositions too. Vesta's opposition is tonight. It's magnitude 6.4, and Ceres is 6.9. Spot them in binoculars this month using the page under the Upcoming Events Tab. They're near the horns of Taurus.


-Algol in Perseus, the prototype eclipsing binary star, should be in one of its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 12:29 a.m. Sunday morning EST; 9:29 p.m. Saturday evening PST. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten.

-Jupiter's moon Io reappears out of eclipse from Jupiter's shadow at 11:49 p.m. EST; 8:49 p.m. PST.

-For all of Jupiter's satellite events, as well as all of the Great Red Spot's transit times, Sky & Telescope has released this Jupiter'sMoons app. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jupi...577009038?mt=8

-During dawn Sunday morning the waning crescent Moon hangs close to Spica, as shown at right.

-At dawn, watch the waning crescent Moon step down past Spica, Saturn, Venus and Mercury from one morning to the next. As always, this scene is drawn for the middle of North America. European observers: move each Moon symbol a quarter of the way toward the one for the previous date. For clarity, the Moon is shown three times actual size.


December 7, 2012
-This is the time of year when the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, passes the zenith in early evening for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes. It goes exactly through your zenith if you're at 41° north latitude (New York, Denver). When this happens depends on your location.

December 6, 2012
-Last-quarter Moon (exact at 10:31 a.m). The Moon rises around the middle of the night tonight. In the small hours of Friday morning it climbs the eastern sky beneath Leo.

-Jupiter's Great Red Spot crosses Jupiter's central meridian around 11:45 p.m. EST.

December 5, 2012
-Ganymede, the largest satellite of Jupiter, crosses Jupiter's face tonight from 9:25 to 11:17 p.m. EST, closely followed by its black shadow from 9:37 to 11:44 p.m. EST. In amateur telescopes, Ganymede's shadow will be much more obvious against Jupiter's bright surface than Ganymede itself is.

-Under the "Upcoming Events" tab, you can now observe the positions of both Ceres and Vesta until March.

December 4, 2012
-Sometime between 6 and 8 each evening now (depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone), bright Vega sinking in the northwest, and equally bright Capella climbing in the northeast, will be at exactly the same height. How accurately can you time their balance moment for your location?

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Sagittarius) remains low in the southwest in evening twilight. In a telescope it's just a tiny blob 4.4 arcseconds in diameter.

December 3, 2012
-By 8 or 9 p.m., wintry Orion is well up in the east-southeast. Orion's Belt in his middle points up more or less toward Aldebaran and bright Jupiter. And it points down toward where Sirius, the brightest star of the night, is about to rise. Watch for it.

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.8, in Taurus) was at opposition yesterday (opposite the Sun as seen from Earth). It rises around sunset, climbs the eastern sky in the evening, shines highest in the south around midnight, and sets in the west around sunrise. Orange Aldebaran is 5° to its lower right during evening. Above them are the Pleiades. In a telescope, Jupiter is big 48 arcseconds wide, essentially as large as ever appears.

December 2, 2012
-Jupiter is at opposition tonight: opposite the Sun as seen from Earth. So it rises around sunset, shines highest in the south around midnight, and sets around sunrise. Whenever Jupiter comes to opposition at this time of year, it's shining near Aldebaran and the Pleiades.

-Mercury, Venus, and Saturn form a diagonal line in the southeast when dawn behind to brighten. Venus is by far the brightest at magnitude –3.9. Look upper right of it for distant Saturn, magnitude +0.7. Look lower left of Venus for Mercury, magnitude –0.5. Mercury is having an excellent apparition through the first half of December. This diagonal line of three lengthens from 13° to 19° long this week.

Added bonus: Look upper right of the planet lineup for Spica, similar to Saturn at magnitude +1.0.

December 1, 2012
-Since Jupiter just about at opposition, the asteroids Ceres and Vesta in Jupiter's vicinity are near opposition too. Vesta has brightened to magnitude 6.6, Ceres 7.2.Spot them here. They're near the horns of Taurus. This evening you'll have the darkest view of them shortly before moonrise. (The Moon rises around 7 p.m. depending on your location.)

November 30, 2012
-The waning Moon rises less than an hour after the end of twilight. Once it's up, look to the right of it (by a bit more than a fist-width at arm's length) for orange-red Betelgeuse sparkling in Orion's rising shoulder.



November 29, 2012
-After the Moon rises this evening, spot Jupiter and fainter Aldebaran to its upper right, and Capella farther to its upper left.

-Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian around 11:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. PST).

November 28, 2012
-The Moon shines close to Jupiter and Aldebaran this evening, with the dimmer Pleiades above them. Think photo opportunity! Use a long (or zoomed) lens, and try a variety of exposures to catch the faint stars as well as the bright Moon.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Sagittarius) remains low in the southwest in evening twilight. In a telescope it's just a tiny blob 4.4 arcseconds in diameter.



November 27, 2012
-Full Moon tonight and tomorrow night. This evening, look lower left of the Moon for Jupiter and orange Aldebaran. Look upper left of the Moon for the fainter Pleiades cluster (binoculars help), and far left for Capella (out of the frame here).

-A weak penumbral eclipse of the Moon occurs before and/or during dawn Wednesday morning for western North America. The penumbra is the pale outer fringe of Earth's shadow. The Moon will be deepest in it from 6:18 to 6:48 a.m. PST on Wednesday the 28th (14:18 to 14:48 on the 28th Universal Time). Look for a weak shading on the Moon's north (upper right) side. The farther in from the West Coast you are, the brighter the dawn and the lower the Moon will be.

-The penumbral eclipse takes place high in the middle of the night for the longitudes of Australia and Japan, in late evening of the 28th local date for China and Southeast Asia, and early that evening for India with the Moon still low in the east. More details here:




November 26, 2012
-As dawn begins on Monday and Tuesday mornings, look southeast to spot bright Venus and fainter Saturn less than 1° apart. As dawn brightens further, look far to their lower left for Mercury.



November 25, 2012
-Venus, brilliant at magnitude –3.9, and Saturn, much fainter at magnitude +0.6, shine together in the southeast during dawn. Saturn begins the week 3° to Venus's lower left (on Saturday morning the 24th). It passes about 0.8° by Venus on the 26th and 27th, and by November 30th it's 4° to Venus's upper right. This is a rare opportunity to catch both Venus and Saturn within a moon's field of view of each other, meaning if you have a telescope or binoculars, you will be able to see both planets!


-Mercury also joins the show enterring its best apparition of the year for mid-northern latitude viewers, meaning this is the highest Mercury will be visible this year.


November 24, 2012
-Look left of the Moon this evening, by a fist-width at arm's length or a little more, for the two or three brightest stars of Aries.

-Mercury emerges into dawn view around November 24th or so, brightening from magnitude +1 to 0 this week. Look for it just above the east-southeast horizon in early dawn, far to the lower left of Venus and Saturn as shown here. Mercury is beginning its best apparition of the year for viewers at mid-northern latitudes.

November 23, 2012
-Some pre-telescopic astronomy: Sometime between 6:30 and 8:30 this evening, depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone, bright Vega sinking in the northwest and bright Capella climbing in the northeast (well left of brighter Jupiter) will be at exactly the same height. How accurately can you time this event for your location? An astrolabe would help.

-Altair is the brightest star in the west-southwest. (It's far lower left of brighter Vega.) Look above Altair, and perhaps a bit left, for the dim but distinctive little constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin.

November 22, 2012
-The Moon is under the Great Square of Pegasus as the stars come out.

-Jupiter's moon Io disappears into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow, barely beyond the planet's western edge, at 11:20 p.m. EST (8:20 p.m. PST). Jupiter's Great Red Spot transits the planet's central meridian around 10:16 p.m. EST.



November 21, 2012
-Algol is at minimum light again, for a couple hours centered on 7:34 p.m. EST. Algol takes several additional hours to rebrighten.

-Venus (magnitude –3.9, in Virgo) rises in the east an hour before the first glimmer of dawn. By dawn it's shining brightly in the east-southeast, as shown above.

Look for much-fainter Saturn lower left of Venus, and Spica to Venus's right or upper right.

November 20, 2012
-First-quarter Moon (exact at 9:31 a.m.). The Moon shines high in the south in early evening, below the Water Jar of Aquarius.

-Saturn (magnitude +0.6, in Virgo) is lower left of bright Venus before and during dawn. They appear closer together every day. They're on their way to a conjunction less than 1° apart on the American mornings of November 26th and 27th.

November 19, 2012
-Fomalhaut, the "Autumn Star," culminates (reaches its highest point due south) around 7 p.m. now, depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone. High above, the western side of the Great Square of Pegasus points almost down to it. The other side of the Great Square points down roughly to Beta Ceti (Diphda or Deneb Kaitos), not quite so far.

November 18, 2012
-A low-altitude challenge: If the sky is very clear as twilight fades, aim your scope at tiny little Mars from a site with a low southwestern view. Follow Mars down as night falls. Can you detect the Lagoon Nebula, M8, and its embedded star cluster 1/3° or so to Mars's right?

-Algol in Perseus, the prototype eclipsing binary star, should be in one of its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 10:45 p.m. EST. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten.



November 17, 2012
-With a small telescope, watch Jupiter's moon Ganymede slowly disappear into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow around 11:30 p.m. EST; 8:30 p.m. PST. Ganymede is just off Jupiter's western side.

-At roughly the same time, Jupiter's Great Red Spot (actually pale orange-tan) appears nearest to the center of the planet's disk.



November 16, 2012
-Spot the crescent Moon in the west as twilight fades, and use it to guide your way down to little Mars, as shown here.

-The Leonid meteor shower, normally weak but occasionally surprising, should be at its best in the hours before dawn Saturday morning. Under a dark sky you may see about a dozen to 20 Leonids per hour. There is no Moon.



November 15, 2012
-The thin waxing crescent Moon shines to the right of distant little Mars in evening twilight, as shown here.



November 14, 2012
-Vega is the brightest star in the west in early evening. The brightest far left of it, in the southwest, is Altair. Altair's 3rd-magnitude companion Gamma Aquilae (Tarazed), a finger's width at arm's length from it, is now to Altair's right.

-Saturn (magnitude +0.6, in Virgo) is emerging into dawn view low in the east. Look for it below or lower left of bright Venus. They appear closer together every day.

November 13, 2012
-Orion is up in the east by about 9 p.m. now, depending on where you live in your time zone. Orion's three-star Belt is nearly vertical. Orange Betelgeuse is to the Belt's left and white Rigel is to its right. Earlier in the evening, keep watch for Betelgeuse rising far below Jupiter.

-A total eclipse of the Sun crosses parts of Australia and the South Pacific; you can see this eclipse if you live in the arc in the below image.



November 12, 2012
-Fomalhaut, the "Autumn Star," culminates (reaches its highest point due south) not long after dark now. The western side of the Great Square of Pegasus, high above, points almost down to it. The other side of the Great Square points down roughly to Beta Ceti (Diphda or Deneb Kaitos), not quite so far.

November 11, 2012
-On Monday morning before sunrise, look below bright Venus in the east for the thin waning Moon with Saturn to its left, as shown here. Binoculars will help. Saturn is just beginning its year-long 2012–13 apparition.



November 10, 2012
-Jupiter's moon Ganymede reappears out of eclipse from the planet's shadow around 10:35 p.m. EST, only to disappear behind Jupiter's western limb 20 minutes later. A small telescope will show these proceedings.

-Venus and the waning crescent Moon shine low in the east early Sunday morning, from pre-dawn to sunrise, as shown here. Can you follow them even past sunrise? Binoculars help — but be careful not to sweep up the Sun itself by accident!



November 9, 2012
-The Moon has moved closer to Venus before and during dawn Saturday morning, as shown here.

-Tonight, Jupiter's moon Europa disappears into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow around 1:11 a.m. Saturday morning EST (10:11 p.m. Friday evening PST). A small telescope will show it fading out of sight a little off the planet's western limb.

November 8, 2012
-Early riser's sky sights: Before and during dawn Friday morning, the waning Moon shines high in the southeast. Venus blazes far to its lower left. Look upper left of Venus by a similar distance for Arcturus. Down below Venus is fainter Spica..

November 7, 2012
-The tiny black shadow of Io crosses Jupiter's face tonight from 10:11 p.m. to 12:21 a.m. EST, with Io itself following behind from 10:49 p.m. to 12:58 a.m. EST.

-Uranus (magnitude 5.8, in Pisces) and Neptune (magnitude 7.9, in Aquarius) are in in good view in the south during evening.

-If you have a large scope, have you ever tried for the moons of Neptune and Uranus? The brightest are about magnitude 13.5. Read more, and print charts for your time and date, at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/obser.../13795272.html and http://www.skyandtelescope.com/obser...s/3310476.html .

November 6, 2012
-Last-quarter Moon tonight (exact at 7:36 p.m. EST). The half-lit Moon rises around 11 p.m. or midnight local time. Once it's well up, look left of it for the Sickle of Leo and right of it for the dimmer Head of Hydra.

-Venus (magnitude –4.0, in Virgo) rises due east in darkness more than an hour before the first glimmer of dawn. By dawn it's shining brightly fairly high.

November 5, 2012
-By 8 p.m. Vega is shining in the west-northwest. It's the brightest star there. Look well left of it for Altair in the west-southwest. Above Altair, by a little more than a fist-width at arm's length, is the dim but distinctive little constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin.

-Saturn will emerge from the glow of the sunrise by the end of the week.

November 4, 2012
-This is the time of year when the W of Cassiopeia stands on end (its fainter end) high in the northeast in early evening. This is also when the Big Dipper lies level low in the north-northwest.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Ophiuchus) remains low in the southwest in evening twilight.

November 3, 2012
-Fomalhaut, the "Autumn Star," culminates (reaches its highest point due south) around 9 p.m. daylight saving time. The western side of the Great Square of Pegasus, high above, points almost down to it. The other side of the Great Square points down roughly to Beta Ceti (Diphda), not quite so far.

-Standard time returns (for most of North America) at 2 a.m. tonight. Clocks "fall back" an hour.



November 2, 2012
-Once the waning gibbous Moon rises high late this evening, look lower right of it for wintry Orion making his sparkly appearance.

-The Great Red Spot's side of Jupiter is busy indeed. On October 29th when Christopher Go shot this below image from the Philippines, bright orange Oval BA and the little dark red dot following it had finished passing south of (below) the Great Red Spot. Huge turbulence roils the South Equatorial Belt behind the Great Red Spot, and in the midst of this, notice the tiny dark marking next to a bright little white outbreak.

-The South Temperate Belt is barely visible along some of its length but prominent elsewhere. Four white ovals dot the South South Temperate Belt. On the north (lower) side of the planet, the North Equatorial and North Temperate belts have become cleanly separated by the North Tropical Zone's return to whiteness. An extremely wide blue festoon intrudes into the bright Equatorial Zone north of the Great Red Spot.



November 1, 2012
-The bright "star" above the Moon this evening is Jupiter. Although they look close together, Jupiter is 1,500 times farther away. Aldebaran, to their right, is 930,000 times more distant than Jupiter!

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.7, in Taurus) rises in the east-northeast shortly after dark, with Aldebaran to its right. Above Aldebaran are the Pleiades.



October 31, 2012
-The Halloween Moon, waning gibbous, rises around the end of twilight. The Pleiades are above it. Once it rises higher, Aldebaran sparkles is below it and bright Jupiter shines to its lower left, as shown here.
Just after dark, the faint, slow-moving asteroid 35 Leukothea should occult a 10.6-magnitude star in Aquarius fairly high in the south for up to 39 seconds, for observers along a track from Florida through Michigan.

October 30, 2012
-The "Summer Star" Vega is still the brightest star in the west during fall evenings. Higher above it is Deneb. Farther off to Vega's left or lower left is Altair, the third star of the Summer Triangle.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Ophiuchus) remains low in the southwest in evening twilight. It's upper left of similar-looking Antares; they widen from 6° to 10° apart this week.


October 29, 2012
-Full Moon (exact at 3:49 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). Look a fist-width above the Moon for the brightest stars of Aries, lined up nearly horizontally.

-Algol should be at minimum light for a couple hours centered on 10:03 p.m. EDT.

-Jupiter's Great Red Spot (pale orange-tan) crosses Jupiter's central meridian around 11:32 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

October 28, 2012
-Plucked from obscurity to make astronomical history, the star 51 Pegasi will be known for all ages as the first Sun-like star discovered to host a planet beyond our solar system (in 1995). At 5th magnitude it's an easy binocular target next to the Great Square of Pegasus, even in moonlight. Can you spot it?

October 27, 2012
-The bright Moon shines below the Great Square of Pegasus's bottom corner early this evening. From the Square's left corner extends a big, slightly downward line of three stars (including the corner). These form the backbone and leg of Andromeda. Dark areas can also see the Andomeda Galaxy's glow here.

October 26, 2012
-The Ghost of Summer Suns. Halloween is approaching, and this means that Arcturus, the star sparkling low in the west-northwest in twilight, is taking on its role as "the Ghost of Summer Suns." What does this mean? For several days centered on October 29th every year, Arcturus occupies a special place above your local landscape. It closely marks the spot in your sky where the Sun stood at the same time, by the clock, during warm June and July — in broad daylight, of course. So, in the last days of October each year, you can think of Arcturus as the chilly Halloween ghost of the departed summer Sun.

-The waxing gibbous Moon shines in the east early this evening. Look to its upper left for the Great Square of Pegasus, tipped onto one corner.

October 25, 2012
-The W pattern of Cassiopeia is tipping nearly vertically high in the northeast after dusk. It stands exactly vertical around 9 p.m., depending on your location. The W's brightest side is on top.

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.7, in Taurus) rises in the east-northeast around 8 or 9 p.m. daylight saving time. Once it's clear of the horizon, look for fainter orange Aldebaran to its right and Beta Tauri (Elnath) a little farther to its left. By dawn this lineup-of-three stands high and vertical in the west.

October 24, 2012
-Around 8 or 9 p.m. the Big Dipper lies low and level above the north-northwest horizon. The farther north you live, the higher it will appear. If you're as far south as Miami, it's below the horizon completely.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Ophiuchus) is still low in the southwest in evening twilight. It's more or less above similar-looking Antares. The two are about 4° or 5° apart.

October 23, 2012
-Wintry Orion sparkles above the east-southeast horizon as early as 11 p.m. now, depending on your location. Earlier in the evening, keep watch for Orion rising below or lower right of brilliant Jupiter.

October 22, 2012
-Vega is the brightest star high in the west these evenings. Even higher above it is Deneb. Farther off to Vega's left or lower left is the third Summer Triangle star, Altair.

-Mercury (magnitude –0.2) is having a poor evening apparition. Using binoculars, look for it 20 or 30 minutes after sundown very low in the southwest, to the lower right of Mars and Antares.

October 21, 2012
-First-quarter Moon (exact at 11:32 p.m. EDT). The Moon shines in the south to southwest during evening. Look for Altair high above it as the stars come out. Later in the evening, Altair is upper right of the Moon.

-The Orionid meteor shower continues into the early morning hours tonight, but the peak has since past and all that will be seen now are stragglers. You may see about 5-10 Orionids per hour. The shower's radiant point is at the top of Orion's Club, which doesn't rise high until after well midnight. The moon will still have set by the time the Orionids appear.

October 20, 2012
-As twilight fades this evening, Mars and Antares are at their minimum separation of 3½°. Look for them quite low in the southwest, as shown above.

-The annual Orionid meteor shower continues into the early morning hours tonight, and it should continue in the early morning hours for the next few days. You may see 10 or 20 Orionids per hour. The shower's radiant point is at the top of Orion's Club, which doesn't rise high until after well midnight. There will be no moonlight for the next few mornings.

October 19, 2012
-The crescent Moon shines in the southwest as twilight fades. If it were a bow, it would be shooting an arrow to the lower right above the Mars-and-Antares pair, as shown here. Binoculars will help you pick out the two similar-looking, orange-red points.

-The annual Orionid meteor shower should be getting under way in the hours before dawn Saturday morning, and it should continue in the early-morning hours for the next few days. You may see 10 or 20 Orionids per hour. The shower's radiant point is at the top of Orion's Club, which doesn't rise high until after well midnight. There will be no moonlight for the next few mornings.

-At 10:48 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Jupiter's moon Io reappears out from behind Jupiter's eastern limb. Later, Jupiter's Great Red Spot crosses the planet's central meridian around 1:18 a.m. Saturday morning EDT (10:18 p.m. Friday evening PDT).



October 18, 2012
-The waxing crescent Moon poses over Mars and Antares low in the southwest in twilight, as shown below.

-Venus (magnitude –4.0, in Leo) rises in darkness around 4 or 5 a.m. daylight saving time (depending on where you live), coming above the eastern horizon more than an hour before the first glimmer of dawn. By dawn it's shining brightly in the east. Look increasingly far above it for Regulus this week.



October 17, 2012
-Jupiter, Aldebaran, Beta Tauri, and the Hyades and Pleiades adorn the eastern sky this season, but that's not all. Below naked-eye visibility in the same area are the leading asteroids Vesta and Ceres, currently magnitudes 7.5 and 8.3, respectively. They're on their way to opposition in December.

-Completely invisible between them is NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which left Vesta earlier this year and will arrive at Ceres in February 2015.



October 16, 2012
-A twilight challenge: Use binoculars to look for Mercury and the hairline crescent Moon very low in the west-southwest shortly after sunset this evening, as shown here.



October 15, 2012
-This is the time of year when the W shape of Cassiopeia is tipping nearly vertically in the northeast after dusk. It stands exactly vertically around 9 or 10 p.m., depending on your location. The W's brightest side is on top.

-New Moon (exact at 8:03 a.m. EDT).

-Mercury (magnitude –0.2) is deep in the sunset. Using binoculars, try scanning for it about 30 minutes after sundown very low in the west-southwest. Overall, this will be a poor apparition of Mercury. It stays lying low there for a month, then drops back into the Sun's glare.

October 14, 2012
-Jupiter's moon Io disappears into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow, barely west of the planet, around 1:51 a.m. Monday morning EDT; 10:51 p.m. Sunday evening PDT. By then Jupiter's Great Red Spot will be nearing the planet's central meridian — which it crosses about 19 minutes later.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Scorpius) remains low in the southwest in evening twilight, close to twinklier orange Antares ("Anti-Mars") to its left or lower left. The gap between them shrinks from 7° to 3½° this week. They're nearly the same brightness.

October 13, 2012
-Now that it's mid-October, Deneb has replaced Vega as the zenith star after dark (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes) — and accordingly, Capricornus is replacing Sagittarius as the most notable constellation low in the south.

-Venus hangs below Leo in the morning, who is now rising from a summer sleep.



October 12, 2012
-Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross the planet's central meridian tonight around 12:47 a.m. Saturday morning EDT.

-Before dawn Saturday morning, along a path from Southern California through central Texas, the faint asteroid 371 Bohemia should occult an 8.9-magnitude star high in the sky near the Beehive Cluster in Cancer. The occultation should last up to 2 seconds. Details here: http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2..._371_28129.htm



October 11, 2012
-Bright Arcturus is twinkling lower in the western twilight every week, riding off into the sunset for this year. How many more weeks can you follow it down? Well to its right, look for the Big Dipper lying down low.

-Uranus (magnitude 5.7, at the Pisces-Cetus border) and Neptune (magnitude 7.8, in Aquarius) are in the southeast to south during evening

October 10, 2012
-Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross the planet's central meridian around 10:54 p.m. EDT.

-In early dawn for the next couple mornings, watch the waning crescent Moon passing to the right of Regulus, then Venus.

-Saturn is lost in the sunset.

October 9, 2012
-Algol should be near minimum light for a couple hours centered on 8:21 p.m. EDT.

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.6, in Taurus) rises in the east-northeast around 9 or 10 p.m. daylight saving time. Once it's clear of the horizon, look for fainter orange Aldebaran twinkling 8° to its right and Beta Tauri (Elnath) a similar distance to Jupiter's left. By dawn this lineup-of-three stands high and almost vertical in the southwest.

October 8, 2012
-Even as the stars begin to come out in twilight, Cassiopeia is already higher in the northeast now than the sinking Big Dipper is in the northwest. Cassiopeia's broad W pattern is standing on end.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Libra) remains low in the southwest in evening twilight. Don't confuse it with twinklier orange Antares ("Anti-Mars") to its left. The gap between them shrinks from 11° to 7° this week. They're nearly the same brightness.

October 7, 2012
-Vega remains very high in the west after nightfall this week. Look for fainter stars of the little constellation Lyra extending to its left, by roughly a fist-width at arm's length.

-Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross the planet's central meridian tonight around 1:25 a.m. EDT.



October 6, 2012
-The bright eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 11:32 p.m. EDT (8:32 p.m. PDT). Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten. Click on the chart at right.

-Glance up at Algol at any random time, and you have a 1 in 30 chance of catching it at least 1 magnitude fainter than normal.



October 5, 2012
-Jupiter comes up over the east-northeast horizon around 9:30 or 10 tonight, followed a half hour later by the nearly last-quarter Moon. They rise higher as night grows late, as shown at lower right.

-Jupiter's satellite Ganymede slowly disappears into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow at 12:32 a.m. EDT tonight a little west of Jupiter, then emerges from eclipse at 2:31 a.m. EDT barely west of the planet's edge. Subtract 3 hours for PDT. A small telescope is all you need.



October 4, 2012
-Late this evening, look for Aldebaran below the Moon and bright Jupiter to the Moon's lower left, as shown below.



October 3, 2012
-The Pleiades sparkle to the left of the waning gibbous Moon late this evening, as shown at lower right.

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.5, in Taurus) rises in the east-northeast around 10 p.m. daylight saving time. Once it's clear of the horizon, look for fainter orange Aldebaran twinkling 8° to its right and Beta Tauri (Elnath) a trace farther to Jupiter's left. By the beginning of dawn, this lineup-of-three stands high and diagonal in the south.



October 2, 2012
-As dawn begins to break Wednesday morning, look east for dazzling Venus. Just 0.2° from it or less (as seen from the Americas) is Regulus, less than 1% as bright. You may need binoculars to separate Regulus from Venus's glare. A telescope provides a fine view, though Venus itself is currently an undistinguished gibbous disk just 16 arcseconds in diameter.

-Venus (magnitude –4.1, in Leo) rises in darkness around 4 a.m. daylight saving time (depending on where you live), emerging above the east-northeast horizon two hours before the first glimmer of dawn. By dawn it's blazing high in the east.



October 1, 2012
-Altair is the bright star high in the south at nightfall this week. Look for little Tarazed (Gamma Aquilae) to its upper right, and fainter Beta Aquilae a little farther to its lower left. Altair is just 17 light-years away. It's spinning so fast that it's a flattened ellipsoid, not a sphere.

-Saturn (magnitude +0.7) is becoming lost deep in the sunset, far to the lower right of Mars.

September 30, 2012
-Jupiter's Great Red Spot (currently pale orange-tan) should cross Jupiter's central meridian around 12:39 a.m. EDT tonight (9:39 p.m. PDT).

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Libra) remains low in the southwest in evening twilight. Don't confuse it with twinklier orange Antares ("Anti-Mars") to its left or upper left. The gap between them shrinks from 16° to 11° this week. They're nearly the same brightness.

September 29, 2012
-It's Harvest Moon tonight, the full Moon closest to the fall equinox (exactly full at 11:19 p.m. EDT). The Moon shines in dim Pisces this evening, below the Great Square of Pegasus.

-Venus (magnitude –4.1, in Leo) rises in darkness around 4 a.m. daylight saving time (depending on where you live), emerging above the east-northeast horizon two hours before the first glimmer of dawn. By dawn it's blazing high in the east.

-This week Venus is passing Regulus, which is only 1/150 as bright. They're closest on Wednesday morning October 3rd: separated by 0.2° or less before dawn in the Americas. Bring binoculars to help separate them!

September 28, 2012
-High in the northeast after dark this week, the landmark constellation Cassiopeia is tilting up to stand almost on end. It's shaped like a flattened W. The brighter side of the W is on top.

-Uranus is at opposition tonight.

September 27, 2012
-With fall here, the bright "Spring Star" Arcturus is moving ever lower in the west after dusk. But it's got a long way to go before disappearing for the year. Look far to its right for the Big Dipper, which is now turning around to lie almost upright.

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.5, in Taurus) rises in the east-northeast around 10 or 11 p.m. daylight saving time. Once it's clear of the horizon, look for fainter orange Aldebaran twinkling 8° to its right and Beta Tauri (Elnath) a trace farther to its left. By the beginning of dawn, this lineup-of-three stands high and diagonal in the south.

September 26, 2012
-Look straight below the Moon, as twilight fades this evening, for Fomalhaut rising. How soon can you see it coming into view? Look way down; they're about 25° apart. The farther south you live, the earlier in twilight you can pick it up.

-Saturn (magnitude +0.8, in Virgo) is sinking away into the sunset far to the lower right of Mars.



September 25, 2012
-The waxing gibbous Moon this evening shines almost midway between 1st-magnitude Altair, very high to its upper right, and 1st-magnitude Fomalhaut, about equally far to the Moon's lower left.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Libra) remains low in the southwest in evening twilight. Don't confuse it with twinklier orange Antares ("Anti-Mars") well to its left or upper left. The gap between them shrinks from 20° to 16° this week.

September 24, 2012
-Jupiter's moon Europa reappears out of eclipse by Jupiter's shadow just off the planet's western limb at 11:48 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and then it slips behind the western limb 13 minutes later.

September 23, 2012
-Jupiter's moon Io reappears from behind Jupiter's eastern limb at 11:39 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

-Uranus (magnitude 5.7, at the Pisces-Cetus border) and Neptune (magnitude 7.8, in Aquarius) are well up in the southeast during evening. This week Uranus is very close to the similarly bright, but differently colored, star 44 Piscium. The two appear closest on the American evenings of Saturday and Sunday September 22nd and 23rd, when they're 1.4 arcminutes apart. Visit HERE to see if you can spot them this week, most importantly tonight!

September 22, 2012
-First-quarter Moon (exact at 3:41 p.m. EDT). The Moon shines in Sagittarius, with the Sagittarius Teapot pattern to its lower left after dusk.

-Sixth-magnitude Uranus is only 1.4 arcminutes from the similarly bright, but differently colored, star 44 Piscium this evening and tomorrow evening. Binoculars and a chart are all you need. They remain close all week.

-The tiny black shadow of Io crosses Jupiter's face from 10:53 p.m. to 1:01 a.m. EDT tonight, followed by Io itself from 12:10 to 2:18 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Remember that Jupiter doesn't rise until around 10 or 11 p.m. in your local daylight time.

-Autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere (spring in the Southern Hemisphere) at the equinox, 10:49 a.m. EDT. This is when the center of the Sun crosses the equator heading south for the year. Today the Sun rises and sets nearly at the east and west points on your horizon.

September 21, 2012
-Since 1844, deep-sky observers have known the open star cluster M11 (off the tail of Aquila) as the Wild Duck Cluster. But where exactly are the ducks?

It is located in the beautiful Scutum star cloud, surrounded by one of the most dense star fields in the sky. Many clusters would be lost in such star studded glory, but M11 stands out clearly. According to Burnham's it was Rev. Wm. Derham of England who first resolved the cluster into stars in 1732. It was Admiral Smyth who noted that the main group of brighter stars resemble "a flight of wild ducks."

Burnham's describes M11 as an "Exceptionally fine galactic star cluster, lying on the north edge of the prominent Scutum Star Cloud, and one of the outstanding objects of its type for telescopes of moderate aperture."

Many of the stars are brighter than 11th magnitude, making for a terrific view in even a 6-inch scope. In smaller instruments or binoculars M11 appears as a hazy spot as bright as a 6th magnitude star and can even be glimpsed as such to the naked eye from a dark location. The first stars to resolve will be those that form a triangular structure - Smyth's wild ducks. A 10-inch scope will reveal at least 500 stars here splashed about in spectacular fashion.



September 20, 2012
-This evening the Moon marks the way to Mars-like Antares, twinkling to its lower left as shown above.

-Antares and Scorpius are already sinking at sunset into the horizon after sunset as the milky way is at its highest point.



September 19, 2012
-Look much closer right of the Moon this evening in twilight for little Mars, as shown below (for North America). The Moon occults (covers) Mars for parts of central and southern South America before sunset.

-More information on the lunar occultation can be found here: http://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-nea...n-september-19



September 18, 2012
-Look very low in the west-southwest in early twilight for the slender crescent Moon. Well to the Moon's right, Saturn is departing for the season, as shown above (for North America).

-Mars and Saturn (magnitudes +1.2 and +0.8) are low in the southwest and west-southwest, respectively, after sunset. They're now about 20° apart. Use binoculars to help find them in early twilight before they sink too low.

Mars begins the week just 1° below Alpha Librae, a wide binocular double star of magnitudes 3 and 5. By Tuesday September 18th, Mars is 2½° left of the star pair.



September 17, 2012
-As summer prepares to give way to fall (at the equinox on September 22nd), Vega prepares to give way to Deneb as the bright zenith star when night descends. This is also when Altair is crossing its own highest point due south.

September 16, 2012
-The bright eclipsing variable star Algol is now high in the northeast by 9 or 10 p.m. local daylight-saving time. Algol should be at its minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 9:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. It takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten.

September 15, 2012
-With summer nearing its end, the Teapot of Sagittarius has moved over to the south-southwest right after dark, tilting to the right as if to pour out the last of summer.

-New Moon (exact at 10:11 p.m. EDT).

September 14, 2012
-As the Great Square of Pegasus rises high in the east these evenings, the Big Dipper is swinging down low in the northwest as if carrying water. To see the Dipper at its very lowest due north, you'll have to stay up till 2 a.m. daylight-saving time. Come December it'll be there at dusk.

September 13, 2012
-Venus (magnitude –4.3, in Cancer) rises in darkness around 3 a.m. daylight saving time (depending on where you live), emerging above the east-northeast horizon a good two hours before the first glimmer of dawn. By early dawn it's blazing high in the east.

Binoculars show the Beehive star cluster 6° to Venus's lower left on the morning of the 8th, closing to less than 3° to Venus's left by the 12th and 13th.



September 12, 2012
-Jupiter (magnitude –2.4, in Taurus) rises in the east-northeast around 11 or midnight daylight saving time. Once it's well clear of the horizon, look for fainter orange Aldebaran twinkling 7° to its right, and Beta Tauri a bit farther to Jupiter's left. By dawn this line of three stands very high in the south.

-Uranus (magnitude 5.7, at the Pisces-Cetus border) and Neptune (magnitude 7.8, in Aquarius) reach good heights in the southeast by mid-evening.

September 11, 2012
-Before and during dawn Wednesday morning, Venus shines left of the waning crescent Moon, as shown here. They're 4° or 5° apart at the times of dawn for North America. Also spot Procyon farther to their right (outside the frame here). And before the sky brightens too much, binoculars show the Beehive star cluster 3° to Venus's left.

September 10, 2012
-Equally bright as Vega overhead is Arcturus sinking in the west. Look a third of the way up from Arcturus to Vega for the dim semicircle of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, with its one moderately bright star, Alphecca. Look two thirds of the way up for the dim Keystone of Hercules.

-Venus (magnitude –4.3, in Cancer) rises in darkness around 3 a.m. daylight saving time (depending on where you live), emerging above the east-northeast horizon a good two hours before the first glimmer of dawn. By early dawn it's blazing high in the east.

-Binoculars show the Beehive star cluster 4.5° to Venus's lower left on the morning of the 10th, closing to less than 3° to Venus's left by the 12th and 13th.

September 9, 2012
-This is the time of year when bright Vega shines closest to the zenith as the stars come out at dusk. Vega goes right through your zenith if you're at latitude 39° north (Baltimore, Kansas City, Lake Tahoe).

-Mars and Saturn (magnitudes +1.2 and +0.8) are low in the southwest and west-southwest, respectively, as evening twilight fades. This week they widen from 13° to 17° apart. Look for them well to the lower left of brighter Arcturus in the west. Can you still find Spica twinkling under Saturn? Mars ends the week just 1° below Alpha Librae, a wide binocular double star.



September 8, 2012
-It's still summer, but look low in the southeast this week after about 9 p.m. (depending on where you live) and there's 1st-magnitude Fomalhaut, the Autumn Star, already making its seasonal appearance.



September 7, 2012
-Jupiter and the last-quarter Moon rise together around 11 or midnight, depending on where you live. Watch for them coming over the east-northeast horizon, and look for fainter Aldebaran to their right. They continue climbing high up the sky until dawn Saturday morning the 8th, as seen here.



September 6, 2012
-Whenever Vega is near the zenith, as it is just after dark now, you know Sagittarius is at its highest and best in the south — displaying the deep-sky riches of the summer Milky Way to their best advantage. The Teapot asterism of Sagittarius is tilting to pour to the right. The richest big patch of the Milky Way, the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud, is just above its spout.



September 5, 2012
-One of the nicest star clusters for binoculars or a telescope is M11 in Scutum just off the tail of Aquila, the Eagle, as most amateur astronomers know. But can you also spot dimmer, more difficult M26 less than 4° below it?

-Jupiter (magnitude –2.3, in Taurus) rises in the east-northeast around 11 or midnight daylight saving time. Once it's well clear of the horizon, look for fainter orange Aldebaran twinkling 6° or 7° to its right. By dawn Jupiter shines very high in the south-southeast, 40° or 45° upper right of brighter Venus.

September 4, 2012
-Face south soon after dark and look high. The brightest star there is Altair, with dimmer Tarazed a finger-width at arm's length above it and a bit to the right. Look left of Altair, by a bit more than a fist-width, for the dim but distinctive little constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin, splashing in the edge of the Milky Way.

September 3, 2012
-As twilight fades, spot bright Arcturus high in the west. Look far to its lower left for Saturn and Mars. They're about a fist-width at arm's length apart. Mars is the one on the left.

-Compare Mars with similarly bright and similarly colored Antares ("Anti-Mars" in Greek), three fists to its left and perhaps higher. Which of the two looks deeper orange?

September 2, 2012
-The waning gibbous Moon rises in late twilight. It's beneath the uptilted Great Square of Pegasus.

-Mars (magnitude +1.2, in Libra) and Saturn (magnitude +0.8, in Virgo) are low in the west-southwest in twilight. This week they widen from 10° to 13° apart: a fist-width at arm's length or more. Look for them far lower left of bright Arcturus. Saturn is the one on the right. You may still be able to see Spica twinkling 5° below Saturn.

September 1, 2012
-Bright Vega passes the zenith as twilight fades away — if you live in the world's mid-northern latitudes. Vega goes right through your zenith if you're at north latitude 39°: near the latitudes of Baltimore, Kansas City, Lake Tahoe, Sendai, Beijing, Athens, Lisbon.

-Mercury is lost low in the glow of sunrise.


Astro Pic of the Day Archive September 1, 2012 - February 28, 2013

February 28, 2013
Source:
The alarmingly tall inhabitants of this small, snowy planet cast long shadows in bright moonlight. Of course, the snowy planet is actually planet Earth and the wide-angle mosaic, shown as a little planet projection, was recorded on February 25 during the long northern night of the Full Snow Moon. The second brightest celestial beacon is Jupiter, on the right above the little planet's horizon. Lights near Östersund, Sweden glow along the horizon, surrounding the snow covered lake Storsjön. The photographer reports that the journey out onto the frozen lake by sled to capture the evocative Full Snow Moon scene was accompanied by ice sounds, biting cold, and a moonlit mist.

February 27, 2013
Source:
What kind of clouds are these? Although their cause is presently unknown, such unusual atmospheric structures, as menacing as they might seem, do not appear to be harbingers of meteorological doom. Known informally as Undulatus asperatus clouds, they can be stunning in appearance, unusual in occurrence, are relatively unstudied, and have even been suggested as a new type of cloud. Whereas most low cloud decks are flat bottomed, asperatus clouds appear to have significant vertical structure underneath. Speculation therefore holds that asperatus clouds might be related to lenticular clouds that form near mountains, or mammatus clouds associated with thunderstorms, or perhaps a foehn wind - a type of dry downward wind that flows off mountains. Such a wind called the Canterbury arch streams toward the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. The above image, taken above Hanmer Springs in Canterbury, New Zealand, in 2005, shows great detail partly because sunlight illuminates the undulating clouds from the side.

February 26, 2013
Source:
Does it rain on the Sun? Yes, although what falls is not water but extremely hot plasma. An example occurred in mid-July 2012 after an eruption on the Sun that produced both a Coronal Mass Ejection and a moderate solar flare. What was more unusual, however, was what happened next. Plasma in the nearby solar corona was imaged cooling and falling back, a phenomenon known as coronal rain. Because they are electrically charged, electrons, protons, and ions in the rain were gracefully channeled along existing magnetic loops near the Sun's surface, making the scene appear as a surreal three-dimensional sourceless waterfall. The resulting surprisingly-serene spectacle is shown in ultraviolet light and highlights matter glowing at a temperature of about 50,000 Kelvin. Each second in the above time lapse video takes about 6 minutes in real time, so that the entire coronal rain sequence lasted about 10 hours.

February 25, 2013
-Full Moon this evening (exactly full at 3:26 p.m. EST). The Moon is south of Leo: in the dim constellation Sextans for part of the night.

-Saturn (magnitude +0.5, in Libra) rises in the east-southeast around 11 p.m. Watch for it to come up well to the lower left of Spica and farther to the lower right of brighter Arcturus. Saturn shines highest in the south before dawn — more or less between Spica to its right and Antares farther to its lower left.


February 24, 2013
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The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy. At only 30 million light years distant and fully 60 thousand light years across, M51, also known as NGC 5194, is one of the brightest and most picturesque galaxies on the sky. The above image is a digital combination of a ground-based image from the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and a space-based image from the Hubble Space Telescope highlighting sharp features normally too red to be seen. Anyone with a good pair of binoculars, however, can see this Whirlpool toward the constellation of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici. M51 is a spiral galaxy of type Sc and is the dominant member of a whole group of galaxies. Astronomers speculate that M51's spiral structure is primarily due to its gravitational interaction with a smaller galaxy just off the top of the image.

February 23, 2013
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A meteoroid fell to Earth on February 15, streaking some 20 to 30 kilometers above the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia at 9:20am local time. Initially traveling at about 20 kilometers per second, its explosive deceleration after impact with the lower atmosphere created a flash brighter than the Sun. This picture of the brilliant bolide (and others of its persistent trail) was captured by photographer Marat Ametvaleev, surprised during his morning sunrise session creating panoramic images of the nearby frosty landscape. An estimated 500 kilotons of energy was released by the explosion of the 17 meter wide space rock with a mass of 7,000 to 10,000 tons. Actually expected to occur on average once every 100 years, the magnitude of the Chelyabinsk event is the largest known since the Tunguska impact in 1908.

February 22, 2013
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This remarkable self-portrait of NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover includes a sweeping panoramic view of its current location in the Yellowknife Bay region of the Red Planet's Gale Crater. The rover's flat, rocky perch, known as "John Klein", served as the site for Curiosity's first rock drilling activity. At the foot of the proud looking rover, a shallow drill test hole and a sample collection hole are 1.6 centimeters in diameter. The impressive mosaic was constructed using frames from the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and Mastcam. Used to take in the panoramic landscape frames, the Mastcam is standing high above the rover's deck. But MAHLI, intended for close-up work, is mounted at the end of the rover's robotic arm. The MAHLI frames used to create Curiosity's self-portrait exclude sections that show the arm itself and so MAHLI and the robotic arm are not seen. Check out this spectacular interactive version of Curiosity's self-portrait panorama.

February 21, 2013
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How would you change the course of an Earth-threatening asteroid? One possibility - a massive spacecraft that uses gravity as a towline - is illustrated in this artist's vision of a gravitational tractor in action. In the hypothetical scenario worked out in 2005 by Edward Lu and Stanley Love at NASA's Johnson Space Center, a 20 ton nuclear-electric spacecraft tows a 200 meter diameter asteroid by simply hovering near the asteroid. The spacecraft's ion drive thrusters are canted away from the surface. Their slight but steady thrust would gradually and predictably alter the course of the tug and asteroid, coupled by their mutual gravitational attraction. While it sounds like the stuff of science fiction, ion drives do power existing spacecraft. One advantage of using a gravitational tractor is that it would work regardless of the asteroid's structure. Given sufficient warning and time, a gravitational tractor could deflect the path of an asteroid known to be on a collision course enough to miss planet Earth.

February 20, 2013
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Why would clouds form a hexagon on Saturn? Nobody is sure. Originally discovered during the Voyager flybys of Saturn in the 1980s, nobody has ever seen anything like it anywhere else in the Solar System. If Saturn's South Pole wasn't strange enough with its rotating vortex, Saturn's North Pole might be considered even stranger. The bizarre cloud pattern is shown above in great detail by a recent image taken by the Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft. This and similar images show the stability of the hexagon even 20+ years after Voyager. Movies of Saturn's North Pole show the cloud structure maintaining its hexagonal structure while rotating. Unlike individual clouds appearing like a hexagon on Earth, the Saturn cloud pattern appears to have six well defined sides of nearly equal length. Four Earths could fit inside the hexagon. Imaged from the side, the dark shadow of the Jovian planet is seen eclipsing part of its grand system of rings, partly visible on the upper right.

February 19, 2013
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Have you ever seen the planet Mercury? Because Mercury orbits so close to the Sun, it never wanders far from the Sun in Earth's sky. If trailing the Sun, Mercury will be visible low on the horizon for only a short while after sunset. If leading the Sun, Mercury will be visible only shortly before sunrise. So at certain times of the year an informed skygazer with a little determination can usually pick Mercury out from a site with an unobscured horizon. Above, a lot of determination has been combined with a little digital manipulation to show Mercury's successive positions during March of 2000. Each picture was taken from the same location in Spain when the Sun itself was 10 degrees below the horizon and superposed on the single most photogenic sunset. Currently, Mercury is visible in the western sky after sunset, but will disappear in the Sun's glare after a few days.

February 18, 2013
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Where is the Pelican Nebula? Today, thanks to inventive digital manipulations of Filipe Alves, it is possible to show you exactly where the photogenic Pelican Nebula can be found. Today's picture of the day is a spectacular movie that zooms from the perspective of an unaided human eye to that of a powerful telescope. The observatory dome visible on the right is part of Calar Alto Observatory in southern Spain. The image zooms into the constellation of Cygnus, passes the greater Pelican Nebula (IC 5070), and settles on a dust structure in the Pelican head housing unborn stars.

February 17, 2013
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There it goes. That small spot moving in front of background stars in the above video is a potentially dangerous asteroid passing above the Earth's atmosphere. This past Friday, the 50-meter wide asteroid 2012 DA14 just missed the Earth, passing not only inside the orbit of the Moon, which is unusually close for an asteroid of this size, but also inside the orbit of geosynchronous satellites. Unfortunately, asteroids this big or bigger strike the Earth every 1000 years or so. Were 2012 DA14 to have hit the Earth, it could have devastated a city-sized landscape, or stuck an ocean and raised dangerous tsunamis. Although finding and tracking potentially dangerous asteroids is a primary concern of modern astronomy, these small bodies or ice and rock are typically so dim that only a few percent of them have been found, so far. Even smaller chunks of ice and rock, like the (unrelated) spectacular meteors that streaked over Russia and California over the past few days, are even harder to find - but pose less danger.

February 16, 2013
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For now, Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6a), and Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) are sweeping through southern skies. Lemmon's lime green coma and thin tail are near the left edge of this telephoto scene, a single frame from a timelapse video (vimeo here) recorded on February 12, tracking its motion against the background stars. Comet Lemmon's path brought it close to the line-of-sight to prominent southern sky treasures the Small Magellanic Cloud and globular cluster 47 Tucanae (right). Sporting a broader, whitish tail, Comet PanSTARRS appears in later video frames moving through the faint constellation Microscopium. Visible in binoculars and small telescopes, both comets are getting brighter and headed toward northern skies in coming months.

February 15, 2013
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Two dark shadows loom across the banded and mottled cloud tops of Jupiter in this sharp telescopic view. In fact, captured on January 3rd, about a month after the ruling gas giant appeared at opposition in planet Earth's sky, the scene includes the shadow casters. Visible in remarkable detail at the left are the large Galilean moons Ganymede (top) and Io. With the two moon shadows still in transit, Jupiter's rapid rotation has almost carried its famous Great Red Spot (GRS) around the planet's limb from the right. The pale GRS was preceded by the smaller but similar hued Oval BA, dubbed Red Spot Jr., near top center. North is down in the inverted image.

February 14, 2013
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On another Valentine's Day (February 14, 1990), cruising four billion miles from the Sun, the Voyager 1 spacecraft looked back to make this first ever family portrait of our Solar System. The complete portrait is a 60 frame mosaic made from a vantage point 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane. In it, Voyager's wide angle camera frames sweep through the inner Solar System at the left, linking up with gas giant Neptune, at the time the Solar System's outermost planet, at the far right. Positions for Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are indicated by letters, while the Sun is the bright spot near the center of the circle of frames. The inset frames for each of the planets are from Voyager's narrow field camera. Unseen in the portrait are Mercury, too close to the Sun to be detected, and Mars, unfortunately hidden by sunlight scattered in the camera's optical system. Small, faint Pluto's position was not covered.

February 13, 2013
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The Great Nebula in Orion is a intriguing place. Visible to the unaided eye, it appears as a small fuzzy patch in the constellation of Orion. But this image, an illusory-color composite of four colors of infrared light taken with the Earth orbiting WISE observatory, shows the Orion Nebula to be a bustling neighborhood or recently formed stars, hot gas, and dark dust. The power behind much of the Orion Nebula (M42) is the stars of the Trapezium star cluster, seen near the center of the above wide field image. The eerie green glow surrounding the bright stars pictured here is their own starlight reflected by intricate dust filaments that cover much of the region. The current Orion Nebula cloud complex, which includes the Horsehead Nebula, will slowly disperse over the next 100,000 years.

February 12, 2013

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Some auroras can only be seen with a camera. They are called subvisual and are too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. In the above image, the green aurora were easily visible to the eye, but the red aurora only became apparent after a 20-second camera exposure. The reason is that the human eye only accumulates light for a fraction of a second at a time, while a camera shutter can be left open much longer. When photographing an already picturesque scene near Anchorage, Alaska, USA, last autumn, a camera caught both the visual green and subvisual red aurora reflected in a lily pad-covered lake. High above, thousands of stars were visible including the Pleiades star cluster, while the planet Jupiter posed near the horizon, just above clouds, toward the image right. Auroras are caused by energetic particles from the Sun impacting the Earth's magnetosphere, causing electrons and protons to rain down near the Earth's poles and impact the air. Both red and green aurora are typically created by excited oxygen atoms, with red emission, when visible, dominating higher up. Auroras are known to have many shapes and colors.

February 11, 2013
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Massive stars, abrasive winds, mountains of dust, and energetic light sculpt one of the largest and most picturesque regions of star formation in the Local Group of Galaxies. Known as N11, the region is visible on the upper right of many images of its home galaxy, the Milky Way neighbor known as the Large Magellanic Clouds (LMC). The above image was taken for scientific purposes by the Hubble Space Telescope and reprocessed for artistry by an amateur to win the Hubble's Hidden Treasures competition. Although the section imaged above is known as NGC 1763, the entire N11 emission nebula is second in LMC size only to 30 Doradus. Studying the stars in N11 has shown that it actually houses three successive generations of star formation. Compact globules of dark dust housing emerging young stars are also visible around the image.

February 10, 2013
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The first identified compact galaxy group, Stephan's Quintet is featured in this stunning image from the newly upgraded Hubble Space Telescope. About 300 million light-years away, only four galaxies of the group are actually locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters. The odd man out is easy to spot, though. The four interacting galaxies (NGC 7319, 7318A, 7318B, and 7317) have an overall yellowish cast and tend to have distorted loops and tails, grown under the influence of disruptive gravitational tides. But the bluish galaxy at the upper left (NGC 7320) is much closer than the others. A mere 40 million light-years distant, it isn't part of the interacting group. In fact, individual stars in the foreground galaxy can be seen in the sharp Hubble image, hinting that it is much closer than the others. Stephan's Quintet lies within the boundaries of the high flying constellation Pegasus.

February 9, 2013
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One hundred years ago today the Great Meteor Procession of 1913 occurred, a sky event described by some as "magnificent" and "entrancing" and which left people feeling "spellbound" and "privileged". Because one had to be in a right location, outside, and under clear skies, only about 1,000 people noted seeing the procession. Lucky sky gazers - particularly those near Toronto, Canada - had their eyes drawn to an amazing train of bright meteors streaming across the sky, in groups, over the course of a few minutes. A current leading progenitor hypothesis is that a single large meteor once grazed the Earth's atmosphere and broke up. When the resulting pieces next encountered the Earth, they came in over south-central Canada, traveled thousands of kilometers as they crossed over the northeastern USA, and eventually fell into the central Atlantic ocean. Pictured above is a digital scan of a halftone hand-tinted image by the artist Gustav Hahn who was fortunate enough to witness the event first hand. Although nothing quite like the Great Meteor Procession of 1913 has been reported since, numerous bright fireballs - themselves pretty spectacular - have since been recorded, some even on video. Such as this one in 1992 which hit a car, shown below:


February 8, 2013
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Grand spiral galaxies often seem to get all the glory, flaunting their young, bright, blue star clusters in beautiful, symmetric spiral arms. But small galaxies form stars too, like nearby NGC 6822, also known as Barnard's Galaxy. Beyond the rich starfields in the constellation Sagittarius, NGC 6822 is a mere 1.5 million light-years away, a member of our Local Group of galaxies. About 7,000 light-years across, the dwarf irregular galaxy is seen to be filled with young blue stars and mottled with the telltale pinkish hydrogen glow of star forming regions in the deep color composite image. Contributing to the science of LITTLE THINGS, this portrait of a small galaxy was made as part of the Lowell Amateur Research Initiative (LARI), welcoming collaborations with amateur astronomers. More info on LITTLE THINGS here.

February 7, 2013
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Currently sweeping through southern skies, Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) was named for its discovery last year as part of the Mount Lemmon (Arizona) Survey. Brighter than expected but still just below naked-eye visibility, Comet Lemmon sports a stunning lime green coma and faint divided tail in this telescopic image from February 4. The greenish tint comes from the coma's diatomic C2 gas fluorescing in sunlight. Captured from an observatory near Sydney, Australia, the color composite is constructed from a series of individual exposures registered on the comet. Across the 1 degree wide field of view, the star trails are a consequence of the comet's relatively rapid motion against the background of stars near the South Celestial Pole. Moving north, the comet should grower brighter, reaching a peak (3rd magnitude or so) when it is closest to the Sun in late March. By early April it should be visible from the northern hemisphere. Of course, this year Comet Lemmon may be just another pretty comet as skygazers on planet Earth also eagerly anticipate views of Comet PANSTARRS and Comet ISON.

February 6, 2013
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The spiral arms of bright galaxy M106 sprawl through this remarkable multiframe portrait, composed of data from ground- and space-based telescopes. Also known as NGC 4258, M106 can be found toward the northern constellation Canes Venatici. The well-measured distance to M106 is 23.5 million light-years, making this cosmic scene about 80,000 light-years across. Typical in grand spiral galaxies, dark dust lanes, youthful blue star clusters, and pinkish star forming regions trace spiral arms that converge on the bright nucleus of older yellowish stars. But this detailed composite reveals hints of two anomalous arms that don't align with the more familiar tracers. Seen here in red hues, sweeping filaments of glowing hydrogen gas seem to rise from the central region of M106, evidence of energetic jets of material blasting into the galaxy's disk. The jets are likely powered by matter falling into a massive central black hole.

February 5, 2013
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What if you saw your shadow on Mars and it wasn't human? Then you might be the robotic Curiosity rover currently exploring Mars. Curiosity landed in Gale Crater last August and has been busy looking for signs of ancient running water and clues that Mars could once have harbored life. Pictured above, Curiosity has taken a wide panorama that includes its own shadow in the direction opposite the Sun. The image was taken in November from a location dubbed Point Lake, although no water presently exists there. Curiosity has already discovered several indications of dried streambeds on Mars, and is scheduled to continue its exploration by climbing nearby Mt. Sharp over the next few years.

February 4, 2013
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Namibia has some of the darkest nights visible from any continent. It is therefore home to some of the more spectacular skyscapes, a few of which have been captured in the above time-lapse video. Visible at the movie start are unusual quiver trees perched before a deep starfield highlighted by the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. This bright band of stars and gas appears to pivot around the celestial south pole as our Earth rotates. The remains of camel thorn trees are then seen against a sky that includes a fuzzy patch on the far right that is the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. A bright sunlight-reflecting satellite passes quickly overhead. Quiver trees appear again, now showing their unusual trunks, while the Small Magellanic Cloud becomes clearly visible in the background. Artificial lights illuminate a mist that surround camel thorn trees in Deadvlei. In the final sequence, natural Namibian stone arches are captured against the advancing shadows of the setting moon. This video incorporates over 16,000 images shot over two years, and won top honors among the 2012 Travel Photographer of the Year awards.

February 3, 2013
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This esthetic close-up of cosmic clouds and stellar winds features LL Orionis, interacting with the Orion Nebula flow. Adrift in Orion's stellar nursery and still in its formative years, variable star LL Orionis produces a wind more energetic than the wind from our own middle-aged Sun. As the fast stellar wind runs into slow moving gas a shock front is formed, analogous to the bow wave of a boat moving through water or a plane traveling at supersonic speed. The small, arcing, graceful structure just above and left of center is LL Ori's cosmic bow shock, measuring about half a light-year across. The slower gas is flowing away from the Orion Nebula's hot central star cluster, the Trapezium, located off the upper left corner of the picture. In three dimensions, LL Ori's wrap-around shock front is shaped like a bowl that appears brightest when viewed along the "bottom" edge. The beautiful picture is part of a large mosaic view of the complex stellar nursery in Orion, filled with a myriad of fluid shapes associated with star formation.

February 2, 2013
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Beyond a fertile field of satellite communication antennas at Kennedy Space Center, an Atlas V rocket streaks into orbit in this long exposure photograph. In the thoughtfully composed image recorded on the evening of January 30, the antennas in the foreground bring to mind the rocket's payload, a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS; sounds like TEE-dress). This TDRS-K is the first in a next-generation series adding to the constellation of NASA's communication satellites. Operating from geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles (36,000 kilometers) above planet Earth, the network of TDRS satellites relays communications, data, and commands between spacecraft and ground stations. Formerly the TDRS network provided communications for space shuttle missions. In fact, many TDRS satellites were ferried as far as low Earth orbit on space shuttles. The TDRS network continues to support major spacecraft like the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

February 1, 2013
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Beyond a fertile field of satellite communication antennas at Kennedy Space Center, an Atlas V rocket streaks into orbit in this long exposure photograph. In the thoughtfully composed image recorded on the evening of January 30, the antennas in the foreground bring to mind the rocket's payload, a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS; sounds like TEE-dress). This TDRS-K is the first in a next-generation series adding to the constellation of NASA's communication satellites. Operating from geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles (36,000 kilometers) above planet Earth, the network of TDRS satellites relays communications, data, and commands between spacecraft and ground stations. Formerly the TDRS network provided communications for space shuttle missions. In fact, many TDRS satellites were ferried as far as low Earth orbit on space shuttles. The TDRS network continues to support major spacecraft like the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

January 31, 2013
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The delightful Dark Doodad Nebula drifts through southern skies, a tantalizing target for binoculars in the constellation Musca, The Fly. The dusty cosmic cloud is seen against rich starfields just south of the prominent Coalsack Nebula and the Southern Cross. Stretching for about 3 degrees across this scene the Dark Doodad seems punctuated at its southern tip (lower left) by globular star cluster NGC 4372. Of course NGC 4372 roams the halo of our Milky Way Galaxy, a background object some 20,000 light-years away and only by chance along our line-of-sight to the Dark Doodad. The Dark Doodad's well defined silhouette belongs to the Musca molecular cloud, but its better known alliterative moniker was first coined by astro-imager and writer Dennis di Cicco in 1986 while observing comet Halley from the Australian outback. The Dark Doodad is around 700 light-years distant and over 30 light-years long.

January 30, 2013
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Has a new planet been discovered? What is pictured above is a remarkable 24 hour mosaic surrounding a spot on Sounio, Greece, right here on planet Earth. Images taken at night compose the top half of the picture, with star trails lasting as long as 11 hours visible. Contrastingly, images taken during the day compose the bottom of the image, with the Sun being captured once every 15 minutes. The image center shows a Little Prince wide angle projection centered on the ground but including gravel, grass, trees, Saint John's church, clouds, crepuscular rays, and even a signature icon of the photographer - the Temple of Poseidon. Meticulous planning as well as several transition shots and expert digital processing eventually culminated in this image documenting half of the final two days of last year.

January 29, 2013
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What would it be like to drive on the Moon? You don't have to guess - humans have actually done it. Pictured above, Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke recorded video during one such drive in 1972, with a digital version now available on the web. No matter which direction it headed, the Lunar Rover traveled a path literally covered with rocks and craters. The first half of the above video shows the rover zipping about a moonscape near 10 kilometers per hour, while the second half shows a dash-cam like view. The Lunar Rover was deployed on the later Apollo missions as a way for astronauts to reach and explore terrain further from the Lunar Module basecamp than was possible by walking in cumbersome spacesuits. Possible future lunar missions that might deploy robotic rovers capable of beaming back similar videos include those by China, Russia, India, and Google X-Prize contestants.

January 28, 2013
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Clouds of glowing gas mingle with dust lanes in the Trifid Nebula, a star forming region toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). In the center, the three prominent dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together. Mountains of opaque dust appear on the right, while other dark filaments of dust are visible threaded throughout the nebula. A single massive star visible near the center causes much of the Trifid's glow. The Trifid, also known as M20, is only about 300,000 years old, making it among the youngest emission nebulae known. The nebula lies about 9,000 light years away and the part pictured here spans about 10 light years. The above image is a composite with luminance taken from an image by the 8.2-m ground-based Subaru Telescope, detail provided by the 2.4-m orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, color data provided by Martin Pugh and image assembly and processing provided by Robert Gendler.

January 27, 2013
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Comet McNaught of 2007 has been, so far, the most photogenic comet of our time. After making quite a show in the northern hemisphere in early 2007 January, the comet moved south and developed a long and unusual dust tail that dazzled southern hemisphere observers. In this image, Comet McNaught was captured above Santiago, Chile. The bright comet dominates on the left while part of its magnificent tail spreads across the entire frame. From this vantage point in the Andes Mountains, one looks up toward Comet McNaught and a magnificent sky, across at a crescent moon, and down on clouds, atmospheric haze, and the city lights. The current year 2013 holds promise to be even better for comets than 2007. In early March, Comet PANSTARRS is on track to become visible to the unaided eye, while at the end of the year Comet ISON shows possibilities that include casting a tail that spreads across the sky, breaking up, and even becoming one of the brightest comets in recorded history.

January 26, 2013
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Moonlight illuminates a snowy scene in this night land and skyscape made on January 17 from Lower Miller Creek, Alaska, USA. Overexposed near the mountainous western horizon is the first quarter Moon itself, surrounded by an icy halo and flanked left and right by moondogs. Sometimes called mock moons, a more scientific name for the luminous apparations is paraselenae (plural). Analogous to a sundog or parhelion, a paraselene is produced by moonlight refracted through thin, hexagonal, plate-shaped ice crystals in high cirrus clouds. As determined by the crystal geometry, paraselenae are seen at an angle of 22 degrees or more from the Moon. Compared to the bright lunar disk, paraselenae are faint and easier to spot when the Moon is low.

January 25, 2013
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On January 25 (UT) 2004, the Opportunity rover fell to Mars, making today the 9th anniversary of its landing. After more than 3,200 sols (Mars solar days) the golf cart-sized robot from Earth is still actively exploring the Red Planet, though its original mission plan was for three months. Having driven some 35 kilometers (22 miles) from its landing site, Opportunity's panoramic camera recorded the segments of this scene, in November and December of last year. The digitally stitched panorama spans more than 210 degrees across the Matijevic Hill area along the western rim of Endeavour Crater. Features dubbed Copper Cliff, a dark outcrop, appear at the left, and Whitewater Lake, a bright outcrop, at the far right. The image is presented here in a natural color approximation of what the scene would look like to human eyes.

January 24, 2013
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Clouds on a summer night frame this sea and skyscape, recorded earlier this month near Buenos Aires, Argentina. But planet Earth's clouds are not the only clouds on the scene. Starry clouds and nebulae along the southern hemisphere's summer Milky Way arc above the horizon, including the dark Coal Sack near the Southern Cross and the tantalizing pinkish glow of the Carina Nebula. Both the Large (top center) and Small Magellanic Clouds are also in view, small galaxies in their own right and satellites of the Milky Way up to 200,000 light-years distant. Alpha star of the Carina constellation and second brightest star in Earth's night, Canopus shines above about 300 light-years away. Still glinting in sunlight at an altitude of 400 kilometers, the orbiting International Space Station traces a long streak through the single, 5 minute, star-tracking exposure.

January 23, 2013
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Large spiral galaxy NGC 4945 is seen edge-on near the center of this cosmic galaxy portrait. In fact, NGC 4945 is almost the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Its own dusty disk, young blue star clusters, and pink star forming regions standout in the sharp, colorful telescopic image. About 13 million light-years distant toward the expansive southern constellation Centaurus, NGC 4945 is only about six times farther away than Andromeda, the nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way. Though the galaxy's central region is largely hidden from view for optical telescopes, X-ray and infrared observations indicate significant high energy emission and star formation in the core of NGC 4945. Its obscured but active nucleus qualifies the gorgeous island universe as a Seyfert galaxy and likely home to a central supermassive black hole.

January 22, 2013
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The North America nebula on the sky can do what the North America continent on Earth cannot - form stars. Specifically, in analogy to the Earth-confined continent, the bright part that appears as Central America and Mexico is actually a hot bed of gas, dust, and newly formed stars known as the Cygnus Wall. The above image shows the star forming wall lit and eroded by bright young stars, and partly hidden by the dark dust they have created. The part of the North America nebula (NGC 7000) shown spans about 15 light years and lies about 1,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus).

January 21, 2013
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What is it? It was found at the bottom of the sea aboard an ancient Greek ship. Its seeming complexity has prompted decades of study, although some of its functions remained unknown. X-ray images of the device have confirmed the nature of the Antikythera mechanism, and discovered several surprising functions. The Antikythera mechanism has been discovered to be a mechanical computer of an accuracy thought impossible in 80 BC, when the ship that carried it sank. Such sophisticated technology was not thought to be developed by humanity for another 1,000 years. Its wheels and gears create a portable orrery of the sky that predicted star and planet locations as well as lunar and solar eclipses. The Antikythera mechanism, shown above, is 33 centimeters high and therefore similar in size to a large book.

January 20, 2013

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Gazing out from within the Milky Way, our own galaxy's true structure is difficult to discern. But an ambitious survey effort with the Spitzer Space Telescope now offers convincing evidence that we live in a large galaxy distinguished by two main spiral arms (the Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus arms) emerging from the ends of a large central bar. In fact, from a vantage point that viewed our galaxy face-on, astronomers in distant galaxies would likely see the Milky Way as a two-armed barred spiral similar to this artist's illustration. Previous investigations have identified a smaller central barred structure and four spiral arms. Astronomers still place the Sun about a third of the way in from the Milky Way's outer edge, in a minor arm called the Orion Spur.

January 19, 2013
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A gaze across a cosmic skyscape, this telescopic mosaic reveals the continuous beauty of things that are. The evocative scene spans some 6 degrees or 12 Full Moons in planet Earth's sky. At the left, folds of red, glowing gas are a small part of an immense, 300 light-year wide arc. Known as Barnard's loop, the structure is too faint to be seen with the eye, shaped by long gone supernova explosions and the winds from massive stars, and still traced by the light of hydrogen atoms. Barnard's loop lies about 1,500 light-years away roughly centered on the Great Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery along the edge of Orion's molecular clouds. But beyond lie other fertile star fields in the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. At the right, the long-exposure composite finds NGC 2170, a dusty complex of nebulae near a neighboring molecular cloud some 2,400 light-years distant.

January 18, 2013
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Stickney Crater, the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos, is named for Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, mathematician and wife of astronomer Asaph Hall. Asaph Hall discovered both the Red Planet's moons in 1877. Over 9 kilometers across, Stickney is nearly half the diameter of Phobos itself, so large that the impact that blasted out the crater likely came close to shattering the tiny moon. This stunning, enhanced-color image of Stickney and surroundings was recorded by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as it passed within some six thousand kilometers of Phobos in March of 2008. Even though the surface gravity of asteroid-like Phobos is less than 1/1000th Earth's gravity, streaks suggest loose material slid down inside the crater walls over time. Light bluish regions near the crater's rim could indicate a relatively freshly exposed surface. The origin of the curious grooves along the surface is mysterious but may be related to the crater-forming impact.

January 17, 2013
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The aftermath of a cosmic cataclysm, supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a comfortable 11,000 light-years away. Light from the Cas A supernova, the death explosion of a massive star, first reached Earth just 330 years ago. Still expanding, the explosion's debris cloud spans about 15 light-years near the center of this composite image. The scene combines color data of the starry field and fainter filaments of material at optical energies with image data from the orbiting NuSTAR X-ray telescope. Mapped to false colors, the X-ray data in blue hues trace the fragmented outer ring of the expanding shock wave, glowing at energies up to 10,000 times the energy of the optical photons.

January 16, 2013
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A gorgeous spiral galaxy some 100 million light-years distant, NGC 1309 lies on the banks of the constellation of the River (Eridanus). NGC 1309 spans about 30,000 light-years, making it about one third the size of our larger Milky Way galaxy. Bluish clusters of young stars and dust lanes are seen to trace out NGC 1309's spiral arms as they wind around an older yellowish star population at its core. Not just another pretty face-on spiral galaxy, observations of NGC 1309's recent supernova and Cepheid variable stars contribute to the calibration of the expansion of the Universe. Still, after you get over this beautiful galaxy's grand design, check out the array of more distant background galaxies also recorded in the above, sharp, reprocessed, Hubble Space Telescope view.

January 15, 2013
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Sometimes, the Sun itself seems to dance. On just this past New Year's Eve, for example, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressive prominence erupting from the Sun's surface. The dramatic explosion was captured in ultraviolet light in the above time lapse video covering four hours. Of particular interest is the tangled magnetic field that directs a type of solar ballet for the hot plasma as it falls back to the Sun. The scale of the disintegrating prominence is huge - the entire Earth would easily fit under the flowing curtain of hot gas. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month, and may erupt in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) expelling hot gas into the Solar System. The energy mechanism that creates a solar prominence is still a topic of research. As the Sun nears Solar Maximum this year, solar activity like eruptive prominences should be common.

January 14, 2013
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In this celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170 shines left of image center. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae, a red emission region, many dark absorption nebulae, and a backdrop of colorful stars. Like the common household items still life painters often choose for their subjects, these clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars are also commonly found in this setting - a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation Monoceros. The giant molecular cloud, Mon R2, is impressively close, estimated to be only 2,400 light-years or so away. At that distance, this canvas would be over 40 light-years across.

January 13, 2013
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Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant, lies 5 million year young star cluster NGC 602. Surrounded by natal gas and dust, NGC 602 is featured in this stunning Hubble image of the region. Fantastic ridges and swept back shapes strongly suggest that energetic radiation and shock waves from NGC 602's massive young stars have eroded the dusty material and triggered a progression of star formation moving away from the cluster's center. At the estimated distance of the Small Magellanic Cloud, the picture spans about 200 light-years, but a tantalizing assortment of background galaxies are also visible in the sharp Hubble view. The background galaxies are hundreds of millions of light-years or more beyond NGC 602.

January 12, 2013
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How common are Earth-sized planets? Quite common, according to extrapolations from new data taken by NASA's orbiting Kepler spacecraft. Current computer models are indicating that at least one in ten stars are orbited by an Earth-sized planet, making our Milky Way Galaxy the home to over ten billion Earths. Unfortunately, this estimate applies only to planets effectively inside the orbit of Mercury, making these hot-Earths poor vacation opportunities for humans. This histogram depicts the estimated fraction of stars that have close orbiting planets of various sizes. The number of Sun-like stars with Earth-like planets in Earth-like orbits is surely much less, but even so, Kepler has also just announced the discovery of four more of those.

January 11, 2013
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How do clusters of galaxies form and evolve? To help find out, astronomers continue to study the second closest cluster of galaxies to Earth: the Fornax cluster, named for the southern constellation toward which most of its galaxies can be found. Although almost 20 times more distant than our neighboring Andromeda galaxy, Fornax is only about 10 percent further that the better known and more populated Virgo cluster of galaxies. Fornax has a well-defined central region that contains many galaxies, but is still evolving. It has other galaxy groupings that appear distinct and have yet to merge. Seen here, almost every yellowish splotch on the image is an elliptical galaxy in the Fornax cluster. The picturesque barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 visible on the lower right is also a prominent Fornax cluster member.

January 10, 2013
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Normally faint and elusive, the Jellyfish Nebula is caught in this alluring telescopic view. Drifting near bright star Eta Geminorum, at the foot of a celestial twin, the Jellyfish Nebula is seen dangling tentacles from the bright arcing ridge of emission left of center. In fact, the cosmic jellyfish is part of bubble-shaped supernova remnant IC 443, the expanding debris cloud from a massive star that exploded. Light from the explosion first reached planet Earth over 30,000 years ago. Like its cousin in astrophysical waters the Crab Nebula supernova remnant, IC 443 is known to harbor a neutron star, the remnant of the collapsed stellar core. The Jellyfish Nebula is about 5,000 light-years away. At that distance, this image would be about 100 light-years across.

January 8, 2013
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How was the unusual Red Rectangle nebula created? At the nebula's center is an aging binary star system that surely powers the nebula but does not, as yet, explain its colors. The unusual shape of the Red Rectangle is likely due to a thick dust torus which pinches the otherwise spherical outflow into tip-touching cone shapes. Because we view the torus edge-on, the boundary edges of the cone shapes seem to form an X. The distinct rungs suggest the outflow occurs in fits and starts. The unusual colors of the nebula are less well understood, however, and current speculation holds that they are partly provided by hydrocarbon molecules that may actually be building blocks for organic life. The Red Rectangle nebula lies about 2,300 light years away towards the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). The nebula is shown above in unprecedented detail as captured recently by the Hubble Space Telescope. In a few million years, as one of the central stars becomes further depleted of nuclear fuel, the Red Rectangle nebula will likely bloom into a planetary nebula. A diagram that may help show how the current nebulae can look like this is below:

January 7, 2013
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AE Aurigae is called the flaming star. The surrounding nebula IC 405 is named the Flaming Star Nebula and the region seems to harbor smoke, but there is no fire. Fire, typically defined as the rapid molecular acquisition of oxygen, happens only when sufficient oxygen is present and is not important in such high-energy, low-oxygen environments. The material that appears as smoke is mostly interstellar hydrogen, but does contain smoke-like dark filaments of carbon-rich dust grains. The bright star AE Aurigae, visible near the nebula center, is so hot it is blue, emitting light so energetic it knocks electrons away from atoms in the surrounding gas. When an atom recaptures an electron, light is emitted creating the surrounding emission nebula. In this cosmic portrait, the Flaming Star nebula lies about 1,500 light years distant, spans about 5 light years, and is visible with a small telescope toward the constellation of the Charioteer (Auriga).

January 6, 2013
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In silhouette against a crowded star field toward the constellation Scorpius, this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of an ominous dark tower. In fact, clumps of dust and molecular gas collapsing to form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula, a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across this gorgeous telescopic portrait. Known as a cometary globule, the swept-back cloud, extending from the lower right to the head (top of the tower) left and above center, is shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from the OB association of very hot stars in NGC 6231, off the upper edge of the scene. That energetic ultraviolet light also powers the globule's bordering reddish glow of hydrogen gas. Hot stars embedded in the dust can be seen as bluish reflection nebulae. This dark tower, NGC 6231, and associated nebulae are about 5,000 light-years away.

January 5, 2013
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Get out your red/blue glasses and float next to Helene, small, icy moon of Saturn. Appropriately named, Helene is one of four known Trojan moons, so called because it orbits at a Lagrange point. A Lagrange point is a gravitationally stable position near two massive bodies, in this case Saturn and larger moon Dione. In fact, irregularly shaped ( about 36 by 32 by 30 kilometers) Helene orbits at Dione's leading Lagrange point while brotherly ice moon Polydeuces follows at Dione's trailing Lagrange point. The sharp stereo anaglyph was constructed from two Cassini images (N00172886, N00172892) captured during a close flyby in 2011. It shows part of the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Helene mottled with craters and gully-like features.

January 4, 2013
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Tycho crater's central peak complex casts a long, dark shadow near local sunrise in this spectacular lunarscape. The dramatic oblique view was recorded on June 10, 2011 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Shown in amazing detail, boulder strewn slopes and jagged shadows appear in the highest resolution version at 1.5 meters per pixel. The rugged complex is about 15 kilometers wide, formed in uplift by the giant impact that created the well-known ray crater 100 million years ago. The summit of its central peak reaches 2 kilometers above the Tycho crater floor. The highest resolution image can be found by clicking this link.

January 3, 2013
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Open clusters of stars can be near or far, young or old, and diffuse or compact. Found near the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, they contain from 100 to 10,000 stars, all of which formed at nearly the same time. Bright blue stars frequently distinguish younger open clusters. M35, on the upper left, is relatively nearby at 2800 light years distant, relatively young at 150 million years old, and relatively diffuse, with about 2500 stars spread out over a volume 30 light years across. An older and more compact open cluster, NGC 2158, is at the lower right. NGC 2158 is four times more distant than M35, over 10 times older, and much more compact with many more stars in roughly the same volume of space. NGC 2158's bright blue stars have self-destructed, leaving cluster light to be dominated by older and yellower stars. Both clusters are seen toward the constellation of Gemini.

January 2, 2012
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Most galaxies have a single nucleus - does this galaxy have four? The strange answer leads astronomers to conclude that the nucleus of the surrounding galaxy is not even visible in this image. The central cloverleaf is rather light emitted from a background quasar. The gravitational field of the visible foreground galaxy breaks light from this distant quasar into four distinct images. The quasar must be properly aligned behind the center of a massive galaxy for a mirage like this to be evident. The general effect is known as gravitational lensing, and this specific case is known as the Einstein Cross. Stranger still, the images of the Einstein Cross vary in relative brightness, enhanced occasionally by the additional gravitational microlensing effect of specific stars in the foreground galaxy.

January 1, 2012
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Few star clusters are seen to be so close to each other. Some 7,000 light-years away, though, this pair of open or galactic star clusters is an easy binocular target, a lovely starfield in the northern constellation Perseus. Also visible to the unaided eye from dark sky areas, it was cataloged in 130 BC by Greek astronomer Hipparchus. Now known as h and chi Persei, or NGC 869 (above right) and NGC 884, the clusters themselves are separated by only a few hundred light-years and contain stars much younger and hotter than the Sun. In addition to being physically close together, the clusters' ages based on their individual stars are similar - evidence that both clusters were likely a product of the same star-forming region.

December 31, 2012

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What do Saturn's rings look like from the dark side? From Earth, we usually see Saturn's rings from the same side of the ring plane that the Sun illuminates them - one might call this the bright side. Geometrically, in the above picture taken in August by the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn, the Sun is behind the camera but on the other side of the ring plane. Such a vantage point gives a breathtaking views of the most splendid ring system in the Solar System. Strangely, the rings have similarities to a photographic negative of a front view. For example, the dark band in the middle is actually the normally bright B-ring. The ring brightness as recorded from different angles indicates ring thickness and particle density of ring particles. At the top left of the frame is Saturn's moon Tethys, which although harder to find, contains much more mass than the entire ring system.

December 30, 2012

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Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae's mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun - makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova. Historical records do show that about 150 years ago Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Eta Carinae, in the Keyhole Nebula, is the only star currently thought to emit natural LASER light. This image, taken in 1996, brought out new details in the unusual nebula that surrounds this rogue star. Now clearly visible are two distinct lobes, a hot central region, and strange radial streaks. The lobes are filled with lanes of gas and dust which absorb the blue and ultraviolet light emitted near the center. The streaks remain unexplained. The bottom image is an artist's impression by J. Gitlin (STScI), NASA. In this model, Eta Carinae emits many LASER beams from its surrounding cloud of energized gas. Infrared LASERS and microwave MASERS are extremely rare astrophysical phenomena, but this natural ultraviolet LASER is the first of its kind to be discovered.

December 29, 2012
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Like a ship plowing through cosmic seas, runaway star Zeta Ophiuchi produces the arcing interstellar bow wave or bow shock seen in this stunning infrared portrait. In the false-color view, bluish Zeta Oph, a star about 20 times more massive than the Sun, lies near the center of the frame, moving toward the left at 24 kilometers per second. Its strong stellar wind precedes it, compressing and heating the dusty interstellar material and shaping the curved shock front. Around it are clouds of relatively undisturbed material. What set this star in motion? Zeta Oph was likely once a member of a binary star system, its companion star was more massive and hence shorter lived. When the companion exploded as a supernova catastrophically losing mass, Zeta Oph was flung out of the system. About 460 light-years away, Zeta Oph is 65,000 times more luminous than the Sun and would be one of the brighter stars in the sky if it weren't surrounded by obscuring dust. The image spans about 1.5 degrees or 12 light-years at the estimated distance of Zeta Ophiuchi.

December 28, 2012
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Fantastic shapes lurk in clouds of glowing hydrogen gas in NGC 6188, about 4,000 light-years away. The emission nebula is found near the edge of a large molecular cloud unseen at visible wavelengths, in the southern constellation Ara. Massive, young stars of the embedded Ara OB1 association were formed in that region only a few million years ago, sculpting the dark shapes and powering the nebular glow with stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation. The recent star formation itself was likely triggered by winds and supernova explosions, from previous generations of massive stars, that swept up and compressed the molecular gas. Joining NGC 6188 on this cosmic canvas is rare emission nebula NGC 6164, also created by one of the region's massive O-type stars. Similar in appearance to many planetary nebulae, NGC 6164's striking, symmetric gaseous shroud and faint halo surround its bright central star at the lower right. The field of view spans about two full Moons, corresponding to 70 light years at the estimated distance of NGC 6188.

December 27, 2012
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What's in this smooth soil on Mars? In late October, NASA's robotic Curiosity rover stopped near a place dubbed Rocknest as it continues to explore Gale Crater on Mars. Rocknest is the group of stones seen near the top left of the above image - just to the left of Curiosity's mast. Of particular interest was the unusually smooth patch of soil named Wind Drift seen to the left of Curiosity, which was likely created by the Martian wind blowing fine particles into Rocknest's wake. The above image shows part of Mt. Sharp in the background to upper right, and, oddly, almost the entire rover itself, digitally reconstructed from 55 frames while digitally removing an extended arm. Curiosity scooped several sand samples from Wind Drift into its Chemistry and Mineralogy Experiment (CheMin) and the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory for a detailed analysis. Preliminary data from the soil indicates a small amount of one-carbon organic material the origin of which it presently unknown. Although the organic signal might be just contaminants from Earth, the exciting possibility that it could be from Mars itself will remain a focus of future exploration and research.

December 26, 2012
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Makemake is one of the largest objects known in the outer Solar System. Pronounced MAH-kay MAH-kay, this Kuiper belt object is about two-thirds the size of Pluto, orbits the Sun only slightly further out than Pluto, and appears only slightly dimmer than Pluto. Makemake, however, has an orbit much more tilted to the ecliptic plane of the planets than Pluto. Discovered by a team led by Mike Brown (Caltech) in 2005, the outer Solar System orb was officially named Makemake for the creator of humanity in the Rapa Nui mythology of Easter Island. In 2008, Makemake was classified as a dwarf planet under the subcategory plutoid, making Makemake the third cataloged plutoid after Pluto and Eris. Makemake is known to be a world somewhat red in appearance, with colors indicating it is likely covered with patchy areas of frozen methane. No images of Makemake's surface yet exist, but an artist's illustration of the distant world is shown above. Careful monitoring of the brightness drop of a distant star recently eclipsed by Makemake indicates that the dwarf planet has little atmosphere.

December 25, 2012
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Merry Christmas! In this evocative night skyscape a starry band of the Milky Way climbs over Yosemite Valley, Sierra Nevada Range, planet Earth. Jupiter is the brightest celestial beacon on the wintry scene, though. Standing nearly opposite the Sun in the constellation Taurus, the wandering planet joins yellowish Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster. Below, Orion always comes up sideways over a fence of mountains. And from there the twin stars of Gemini rise just across the Milky Way. As this peaceful winter night began, they followed Auriga the charioteer, its alpha star Capella near the top of the frame.

December 24, 2012

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Recognized since antiquity and depicted on the shield of Achilles according to Homer, stars of the Hyades cluster form the head of the constellation Taurus the Bull. Their general V-shape is anchored by Aldebaran, the eye of the Bull and by far the constellation's brightest star. Yellowish in appearance, red giant Aldebaran is not a Hyades cluster member, though. Modern astronomy puts the Hyades cluster 151 light-years away making it the nearest established open star cluster, while Aldebaran lies at less than half that distance, along the same line-of-sight. Along with colorful Hyades stars, this stellar holiday portrait locates Aldebaran just below center, as well as another open star cluster in Taurus, NGC 1647 at the left, some 2,000 light-years or more in the background. The central Hyades stars are spread out over about 15 light-years. Formed some 800 million years ago, the Hyades star cluster may share a common origin with M44 (Praesepe), a naked-eye open star cluster in Cancer, based on M44's motion through space and remarkably similar age.

December 23, 2012
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Comet Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997, became much brighter than any surrounding stars. It was seen even over bright city lights. Away from city lights, however, it put on quite a spectacular show. Here Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed above Val Parola Pass in the Dolomite mountains surrounding Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Comet Hale-Bopp's blue ion tail, consisting of ions from the comet's nucleus, is pushed out by the solar wind. The white dust tail is composed of larger particles of dust from the nucleus driven by the pressure of sunlight, that orbit behind the comet. Observations showed that Comet Hale-Bopp's nucleus spins about once every 12 hours. A comet that may well exceed Hale-Bopp's peak brightness is expected to fall into the inner Solar System next year.

December 22, 2012
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Splendors seldom seen are revealed in this glorious picture from Saturn's shadow. Imaged by Cassini on October 17, 2012 during its 174th orbit, the ringed planet's night side is viewed from a perspective 19 degrees below the ring plane at a distance of about 800,000 kilometers with the Sun almost directly behind the planet. A 60 frame mosaic, images made with infrared, red, and violet filters were combined to create an enhanced, false-color view. Strongly backlit, the rings look bright away from the planet but dark in silhouette against the gas giant. Above center, they reflect a faint, eerie light on the cloud tops while Saturn casts its own dark shadow on the rings. A similar Cassini image from 2006 also featured planet Earth as a pale blue dot in the distance. Instead, this scene includes icy moons Enceladus (closer to the rings) and Tethys below the rings on the left.

December 21, 2012
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Welcome to the December solstice, a day the world does not end... even according to the Mayan Calendar. To celebrate, consider this dramatic picture of Orion rising over El Castillo, the central pyramid at Chichén Itzá, one of the great Mayan centers on the Yucatán peninsula. Also known as the Temple of Kukulkan it stands 30 meters tall and 55 meters wide at the base. Built up as a series of square terraces by the pre-Columbian civilization between the 9th and 12th century, the structure can be used as a calendar and is noted for astronomical alignments. In fact, the Mayans were accomplished astronomers and mathematicians, accurately using the cyclic motions of the stars, Sun, Moon, and planets to measure time and construct calendars. Peering through clouds in this night skyscape, stars in the modern constellation Orion the Hunter represented a turtle in the Mayan sky. Tak sáamal.

December 20, 2012
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The small, northern constellation Triangulum harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, M33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy. M33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter, third largest in the Local Group of galaxies after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and our own Milky Way. About 3 million light-years from the Milky Way, M33 is itself thought to be a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy and astronomers in these two galaxies would likely have spectacular views of each other's grand spiral star systems. As for the view from planet Earth, this sharp composite image, a 25 panel mosaic, nicely shows off M33's blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions that trace the galaxy's loosely wound spiral arms. In fact, the cavernous NGC 604 is the brightest star forming region, seen here at about the 1 o'clock position from the galaxy center. Like M31, M33's population of well-measured variable stars have helped make this nearby spiral a cosmic yardstick for establishing the distance scale of the Universe.

December 19, 2012
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Why is this nebula so complex? When a star like our Sun is dying, it will cast off its outer layers, usually into a simple overall shape. Sometimes this shape is a sphere, sometimes a double lobe, and sometimes a ring or a helix. In the case of planetary nebula NGC 5189, however, no such simple structure has emerged. To help find out why, the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope recently observed NGC 5189 in great detail. Previous findings indicated the existence of multiple epochs of material outflow, including a recent one that created a bright but distorted torus running horizontally across image center. Results appear consistent with a hypothesis that the dying star is part of a binary star system with a precessing symmetry axis. Given this new data, though, research is sure to continue. NGC 5189 spans about three light years and lies about 3,000 light years away toward the southern constellation of the Fly (Musca).

December 18, 2012
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Have you ever seen a sun pillar? When the air is cold and the Sun is rising or setting, falling ice crystals can reflect sunlight and create an unusual column of light. Ice sometimes forms flat, six-sided shaped crystals as it falls from high-level clouds. Air resistance causes these crystals to lie nearly flat much of the time as they flutter to the ground. Sunlight reflects off crystals that are properly aligned, creating the sun-pillar effect. In the above picture taken last week, a sun-pillar reflects light from a Sun setting over Östersund, Sweden.

December 17, 2012
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Why does this galaxy have so many big black holes? No one is sure. What is sure is that NGC 922 is a ring galaxy created by the collision of a large and small galaxy about 300 million years ago. Like a rock thrown into a pond, the ancient collision sent ripples of high density gas out from the impact point near the center that partly condensed into stars. Pictured above is NGC 922 with its beautifully complex ring along the left side, as imaged recently by the Hubble Space Telescope. Observations of NGC 922 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, however, show several glowing X-ray knots that are likely large black holes. The high number of massive black holes was somewhat surprising as the gas composition in NGC 922 - rich in heavy elements - should have discouraged almost anything so massive from forming. Research is sure to continue. NGC 922 spans about 75,000 light years, lies about 150 million light years away, and can be seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of the furnace (Fornax).

December 16, 2012
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Is this coat hanger a star cluster or an asterism? This cosmic hang-up has been debated over much of last century, as astronomers wondered whether this binocular-visible object is really a physically associated open cluster or a chance projection. Chance star projections are known as asterisms, an example of which is the popular Big Dipper. Recent precise measurements from different vantage points in the Earth's orbit around the Sun have uncovered discrepant angular shifts indicating that the Coat Hanger is better described as an asterism. Known more formally as Collinder 399, this bright stellar grouping is wider than the full moon and lies in the constellation of the Fox (Vulpecula). On the far right of the image is the open cluster of stars NGC 6802. Individually the stars range between magnitudes 5 and 7, but combined the coat hanger is magnitude 3.6. The coat hanger can be found just south of Cygnus.

December 15, 2012
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From a radiant point in the constellation of the Twins, the annual Geminid meteor shower rained down on planet Earth this week. Recorded near the shower's peak in the early hours of December 14, this skyscape captures Gemini's lovely shooting stars in a careful composite of 30 exposures, each 20 seconds long, from the dark of the Chilean Atacama Desert over ESO's Paranal Observatory. In the foreground Paranal's four Very Large Telescopes, four Auxillary Telescopes, and the VLT Survey telescope are all open and observing. The skies above are shared with bright Jupiter (left), Orion, (top left), and the faint light of the Milky Way. Dust swept up from the orbit of active asteroid 3200 Phaethon, Gemini's meteors enter the atmosphere traveling at about 22 kilometers per second.

December 14, 2012
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On the morning of November 14, sky gazers from around the world gathered on this little planet to stand in the dark umbral shadow of the Moon. Of course, the Moon cast the shadow during last month's total solar eclipse, and the little planet is actually a beach on Green Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The picture itself, the first little planet projection of a total solar eclipse, is a digitally warped and stitched wrap-around of 8 images covering 360x180 degrees. To make it, the intrepid photographer had to remember to shoot both toward and away(!) from the eclipse during the excitement of totality. Near this little planet's horizon, the eclipsed Sun is just above center, surrounded by the glowing solar corona. Venus can be spotted toward the top of the frame. At bottom right, bright star Sirius shines at the tip of an alarmingly tall tree.

December 13, 2012
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Get out your red/blue glasses and check out this awesome stereo view of another world. The scene was recorded by Apollo 17 mission commander Eugene Cernan on December 11, 1972, one orbit before descending to land on the Moon. The stereo anaglyph was assembled from two photographs (AS17-147-22465, AS17-147-22466) captured from his vantage point on board the Lunar Module Challenger as he and Dr. Harrison Schmitt flew over Apollo 17's landing site in the Taurus-Littrow Valley. The broad, sunlit face of the mountain dubbed South Massif, rises near the center of the frame, above the dark floor of Taurus-Littrow to its left. Beyond the mountains, toward the lunar limb, lies the Moon's Mare Serenitatis. Piloted by Ron Evans, the Command Module America is visible in orbit in the foreground against the South Massif's peak. To see all of Apollo 17's photos, you can go here.

December 12, 2012
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In front of a famous background of stars and galaxies lies some of Earth's more unusual trees. Known as quiver trees, they are actually succulent aloe plants that can grow to tree-like proportions. The quiver tree name is derived from the historical usefulness of their hollowed branches as dart holders. Occurring primarily in southern Africa, the trees pictured in the above 16-exposure composite are in Quiver Tree Forest located in southern Namibia. Some of the tallest quiver trees in the park are estimated to be about 300 years old. Behind the trees is light from the small town of Keetmanshoop, Namibia. Far in the distance, arching across the background, is the majestic central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Even further in the distance, visible on the image left, are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, smaller satellite galaxies of the Milky Way that are prominent in the skies of Earth's southern hemisphere.

December 11, 2012
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Stars are sometimes born in the midst of chaos. About 3 million years ago in the nearby galaxy M33, a large cloud of gas spawned dense internal knots which gravitationally collapsed to form stars. NGC 604 was so large, however, it could form enough stars to make a globular cluster. Many young stars from this cloud are visible in the above image from the Hubble Space Telescope, along with what is left of the initial gas cloud. Some stars were so massive they have already evolved and exploded in a supernova. The brightest stars that are left emit light so energetic that they create one of the largest cloud of ionized hydrogen gas known, comparable to the Tarantula Nebula in our Milky Way's close neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud.

December 10, 2012

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Have you ever experienced a total eclipse of the Sun? The above time-lapse movie depicts such an eclipse in dramatic detail as visible from Australia last month. As the video begins, a slight dimming of the Sun and the surrounding Earth is barely perceptible. Suddenly, as the Moon moves to cover nearly the entire Sun, darkness sweeps in from the left - the fully blocked part of the Sun. At totality, only the bright solar corona extends past the edges of the Moon, and darkness surrounds you. Distant horizons are still bright, though, as they are not in the darkest part of the shadow. At mid-totality the darkness dips to the horizon below the eclipsed Sun, created by the shadow cone - a corridor of shadow that traces back to the Moon. As the total solar eclipse ends - usually after a few minutes - the process reverses and Moon's shadow moves off to the other side. Solar eclipses can frequently be experienced at gatherings organized along the narrow eclipse path as well as specialized cruises and plane flights.

December 9, 2012
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In 1984, high above the Earth's surface, an astronaut captured a satellite. It was the second satellite captured that mission. Pictured above, astronaut Dale A. Gardner flies free using the Manned Maneuvering Unit and begins to attach a control device dubbed the Stinger to the rotating Westar 6 satellite. Communications satellite Westar 6 had suffered a rocket malfunction that left it unable to reach its intended high geosynchronous orbit. Both the previously caught Palapa B-2 satellite and the Westar 6 satellite were guided into the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery and returned to Earth. Westar 6 was subsequently refurbished and sold.

December 8, 2012
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This remarkably complete view of Earth at night is a composite of cloud-free, nighttime images. The images were collected during April and October 2012 by the Suomi-NPP satellite from polar orbit about 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface using its Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). VIIRS offers greatly improved resolution and sensitivity compared to past global nightlight detecting instrumentation on DMSP satellites. It also has advantages compared to cameras on the International Space Station. While the space station passes over the same point on Earth every two or three days, Suomi-NPP passes over the same point twice a day at about 1:30am and 1:30pm local time. Easy to recognize here, city lights identify major population centers, tracking the effects of human activity and influence across the globe. That makes nighttime images of our fair planet among the most interesting and important views from space.

December 7, 2012

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In a continuation from yesterday's picture of the day, we continue with the same globular cluster. Visible light images show the central region of globular cluster 47 Tucanae is closely packed, with stars less than a tenth of a light-year apart. This Chandra false-color x-ray view of central 47 Tuc also shows the cluster is a popular neighborhood for x-ray stars, many of which are "normal" stars co-orbiting with extremely dense neutron stars - stars with the mass of the Sun but the diameter of Manhattan Island. One of the most remarkable of these exotic binary systems is cataloged as 47 Tuc W, a bright source near the center of this image. The system consists of a low mass star and a a neutron star that spins once every 2.35 milliseconds. Such neutron stars are known to radio astronomers as millisecond pulsars, believed to be driven to such rapid rotation by material falling from the normal star onto its dense companion. In fact, x-ray observations of the 47 Tuc W system link this spin-up mechanism observed to operate in other x-ray binary stars with fast rotating millisecond pulsars. Pulsars have their own distinct sound, and it is possible to listen to what a pulsar sounds like via radio waves by clicking the gray triangle on this page which gives you various pulsar recordings.

December 6, 2012
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Globular star cluster 47 Tucanae is a jewel of the southern sky. Also known as NGC 104, it roams the halo of our Milky Way Galaxy along with around 200 other globular star clusters. The second brightest globular cluster (after Omega Centauri) as seen from planet Earth, it lies about 13,000 light-years away and can be spotted naked-eye near the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) in the constellation of the Toucan. Of course, the SMC is some 210,000 light-years distant, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way and not physically close to 47 Tuc. Stars on the outskirts of the SMC are seen at the upper left of this broad southern skyscape. Toward the lower right with about the same apparent diameter as a Full Moon, dense cluster 47 Tuc is made up of several million stars in a volume only about 120 light-years across. Away from the bright cluster core, the red giants of 47 Tuc are easy to pick out as yellowish tinted stars. Globular cluster 47 Tuc is also home to exotic x-ray binary star systems.

December 5, 2012
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Why does this galaxy emit such spectacular jets? No one is sure, but it is likely related to an active supermassive black hole at its center. The galaxy at the image center, Hercules A, appears to be a relatively normal elliptical galaxy in visible light. When imaged in radio waves, however, tremendous plasma jets over one million light years long appear. Detailed analyses indicate that the central galaxy, also known as 3C 348, is actually over 1,000 times more massive than our Milky Way Galaxy, and the central black hole is nearly 1,000 times more massive than the black hole at our Milky Way's center. Pictured above is a visible light image obtained by the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope superposed with a radio image taken by the recently upgraded Very Large Array (VLA) of radio telescopes in New Mexico, USA. The physics that creates the jets remains a topic of research with a likely energy source being infalling matter swirling toward the central black hole.

December 4, 2012
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What's happening at the north pole of Saturn? A vortex of strange and complex swirling clouds. The center of this vortex was imaged in unprecedented detail last week by the robotic Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn. These clouds lie at the center of the unusual hexagonal cloud system that surrounds the north pole of Saturn. Saturn's north pole precessed into sunlight just a few years ago, with Cassini taking only infrared images of the shadowed region previously. The above image is raw and unprocessed and is being prepared for release in 2013. Several similar images of the region have recently been condensed into a movie. Planetary scientists are sure to continue to study this most unusual cloud formation for quite some time.

December 3, 2012

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Sometimes falling ice crystals make the atmosphere into a giant lens causing arcs and halos to appear around the Sun or Moon. This past Saturday night was just such a time near Madrid, Spain, where a winter sky displayed not only a bright Moon but as many as four rare lunar halos. The brightest object, near the top of the above image, is the Moon. Light from the Moon refracts through tumbling hexagonal ice crystals into a 22 degree halo seen surrounding the Moon. Elongating the 22 degree arc horizontally is a circumscribed halo caused by column ice crystals. More rare, some moonlight refracts through more distant tumbling ice crystals to form a (third) rainbow-like arc 46 degrees from the Moon and appearing here just above a picturesque winter landscape. Furthermore, part of a whole 46 degree circular halo is also visible, so that an extremely rare - especially for the Moon - quadruple halo was actually imaged. The snow-capped trees in the foreground line the road Puerto de Navacerrada in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range near Madrid. Far in the background is a famous winter skyscape that includes Sirius, the belt of Orion, and Betelgeuse all visible between the inner and outer arcs. Halos and arcs typically last for minutes to hours, so if you do see one there should be time to invite family, friends or neighbors to share your unusual lensed vista of the sky.

December 2, 2012
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Is the night sky darkest in the direction opposite the Sun? No. In fact, a rarely discernable faint glow known as the gegenschein (German for "counter glow") can be seen 180 degrees around from the Sun in an extremely dark sky. The gegenschein is sunlight back-scattered off small interplanetary dust particles. These dust particles are millimeter sized splinters from asteroids and orbit in the ecliptic plane of the planets. Pictured above from 2008 October is one of the more spectacular pictures of the gegenschein yet taken. Here a deep exposure of an extremely dark sky over Paranal Observatory in Chile shows the gegenschein so clearly that even a surrounding glow is visible. In the foreground are several of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescopes, while notable background objects include the Andromeda galaxy toward the lower left and the Pleiades star cluster just above the horizon. The gegenschein is distinguished from zodiacal light near the Sun by the high angle of reflection. During the day, a phenomenon similar to the gegenschein called the glory can be seen in reflecting air or clouds opposite the Sun from an airplane. The glory is shown below:


December 1, 2012
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Innermost planet Mercury would probably not be a good location for an interplanetary winter olympics. But new results based on data from the Mercury orbiting MESSENGER spacecraft indicate that it does have substantial water ice in permanently shadowed regions within craters near its north pole. The possibility of ice on Mercury has been entertained for years, inspired by the discovery of radar bright, hence highly reflective, regions near the north pole. Highlighted in yellow in this map based on projected MESSENGER images, radar bright regions are seen to correspond with floors and walls of north polar impact craters. Farther from the pole the regions are concentrated on the north facing crater walls. MESSENGER's neutron spectroscopy and thermal models for the craters indicate material in these regions has a hydrogen content consistent with nearly pure water ice and is trapped in an area with temperatures that remain below 100 kelvins (-280 deg.F, -173 deg.C). In circumstances similar to permanent shadows in craters of the Moon, debris from comet impacts is thought to be the source of ice on Mercury.

November 30, 2012
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Cosmic clouds of gas and dust drift across this magnificent mosaic covering a 12x12 degree field within the high flying constellation Cygnus. The collaborative skyscape, a combination of broad and narrow band image data presented in the Hubble palette, is anchored by bright, hot, supergiant star Deneb, below center near the left edge. Alpha star of Cygnus, Deneb, is the top of the Northern Cross asterism and is seen here next to the dark void known as the Northern Coal Sack. Below Deneb are the recognizable North America and Pelican nebulae (NGC 7000 and IC 5070). Another supergiant star, Sadr (Gamma Cygni) is near the center of the field just above the bright wings of the Butterfly Nebula. A line continuing up and right will encounter the more compact Crescent Nebula and finally the Tulip Nebula near the top of the frame. Most of these complex nebulosities are located about 2,000 light-years away. Along with the Sun, they lie in the Orion spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy.

November 29, 2012
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Did you see the big, bright, beautiful Full Moon Wednesday night? That was actually a Micro Moon! On that night, the smallest Full Moon of 2012 reached its full phase only about 4 hours before apogee, the most distant point from Earth in the Moon's elliptical orbit. Of course, earlier this year on May 6, a Full Super Moon was near perigee, the closest point in its orbit. The relative apparent size of November 28's Micro Moon (right) is compared to the famous May 6 Super Moon in these two panels, matching telescopic images from Bucharest, Romania. The difference in apparent size represents a difference in distance of just under 50,000 kilometers between apogee and perigee, given the Moon's average distance of about 385,000 kilometers. How long do you have to wait to see another Full Micro Moon? Until January 16, 2014, when the lunar full phase will occur within about 3 hours of apogee.

November 28, 2012
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On December 3 (UT), Jupiter, the solar system's largest planet, will be at opposition, opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky, shining brightly and rising as the Sun sets. That configuration results in Jupiter's almost annual closest approach to planet Earth. So, near opposition the gas giant offers earthbound telescopes stunning views of its stormy, banded atmosphere and large Galilean moons. For example, this sharp series was recorded on the night of November 16/17 from the island of Sardinia near Dolianova, Italy. North is up in the images that show off Jupiter's famous Great Red Spot, and planet girdling dark belts and light zones. Also seen in transit is Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, its round, dark shadow tracking across the Jovian cloud tops as the sequence progresses left to right.

November 27, 2012

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Wisps like this are all that remain visible of a Milky Way star. About 9,000 years ago that star exploded in a supernova leaving the Veil Nebula, also known as the Cygnus Loop. At the time, the expanding cloud was likely as bright as a crescent Moon, remaining visible for weeks to people living at the dawn of recorded history. Today, the resulting supernova remnant has faded and is now visible only through a small telescope directed toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). The remaining Veil Nebula is physically huge, however, and even though it lies about 1,400 light-years distant, it covers over five times the size of the full Moon. In images like this of the complete Veil Nebula, studious readers should be able to identify several of the individual filaments. A bright wisp at the right is known as the Witch's Broom Nebula.

November 26, 2012
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Wisps like this are all that remain visible of a Milky Way star. About 9,000 years ago that star exploded in a supernova leaving the Veil Nebula, also known as the Cygnus Loop. At the time, the expanding cloud was likely as bright as a crescent Moon, remaining visible for weeks to people living at the dawn of recorded history. Today, the resulting supernova remnant has faded and is now visible only through a small telescope directed toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). The remaining Veil Nebula is physically huge, however, and even though it lies about 1,400 light-years distant, it covers over five times the size of the full Moon. In images like this of the complete Veil Nebula, studious readers should be able to identify several of the individual filaments. A bright wisp at the right is known as the Witch's Broom Nebula.

November 25, 2012
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They might look like trees on Mars, but they're not. Groups of dark brown streaks have been photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on melting pinkish sand dunes covered with light frost. The above image was taken in 2008 April near the North Pole of Mars. At that time, dark sand on the interior of Martian sand dunes became more and more visible as the spring Sun melted the lighter carbon dioxide ice. When occurring near the top of a dune, dark sand may cascade down the dune leaving dark surface streaks - streaks that might appear at first to be trees standing in front of the lighter regions, but cast no shadows. Objects about 25 centimeters across are resolved on this image spanning about one kilometer. Close ups of some parts of this image show billowing plumes indicating that the sand slides were occurring even when the image was being taken.

November 24, 2012
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Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the chemical constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax galaxy cluster. This sharp color image shows intense star forming regions at the ends of the bar and along the spiral arms, and details of dust lanes cutting across the galaxy's bright core. At the core lies a supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365's prominent bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy's evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the central black hole. Discovered on October 27, the position of a bright supernova is indicated in NGC 1365. Cataloged as SN2012fr, the type Ia supernova is the explosion of a white dwarf star.

November 23, 2012
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East of Antares, dark markings sprawl through crowded star fields toward the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Cataloged in the early 20th century by astronomer E. E. Barnard, the obscuring interstellar dust clouds include B59, B72, B77 and B78, seen in silhouette against the starry background. Here, their combined shape suggests a pipe stem and bowl, and so the dark nebula's popular name is the Pipe Nebula. The deep and expansive view was represents nearly 24 hours of exposure time recorded in very dark skies of the Chilean Atacama desert. It covers a full 10 by 10 degree field in the pronounceable constellation Ophiuchus. The Pipe Nebula is part of the Ophiuchus dark cloud complex located at a distance of about 450 light-years. Dense cores of gas and dust within the Pipe Nebula are collapsing to form stars.

November 22, 2012
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A cosmic grain of sand left the long and colorful trail across this all-sky view. Its grazing impact with planet Earth's atmosphere began at 71 kilometers per second. With the Milky Way stretching from horizon to horizon, the scene was captured on the night of November 17 from the astronomically popular high plateau at Champ du Feu in Alsace, France. Of course, the earthgrazer meteor belongs to this month's Leonid meteor shower, produced as our fair planet annually sweeps through dust from the tail of periodic Comet Tempel-Tuttle. The shower's radiant point in the constellation Leo is very close to the eastern horizon, near the start of the trail at the lower left. Bright planet Jupiter is also easy to spot, immersed in a faint band of Zodiacal light just below and right of center. The image is part of a dramatic time-lapse video that began only 7 minutes before the long leonid crossed the sky. Link to video is here: http://vimeo.com/53980967

November 21, 2012
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As the total phase of last week's solar eclipse came to an end, sunlight streaming past the edge of the Moon created the fleeting appearance of a glistening diamond ring in the sky. And while most eclipse watchers did not consider clouds a welcome sight, a view through thin clouds north of Cairns in Queensland, Australia also revealed these remarkable flickering shadow bands. Projected onto the cloud layer, the bands are parallel to the sliver of emerging sunlight. Caused by turbulence in Earth's atmosphere refracting the sliver of sunlight, the narrow bands were captured in this brief, 1/1000th second exposure.

November 20, 2012
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Have you ever seen a halo around the Moon? This fairly common sight occurs when high thin clouds containing millions of tiny ice crystals cover much of the sky. Each ice crystal acts like a miniature lens. Because most of the crystals have a similar elongated hexagonal shape, light entering one crystal face and exiting through the opposing face refracts 22 degrees, which corresponds to the radius of the Moon Halo. A similar Sun Halo may be visible during the day. The setting of the above picture is Athens San Sebastian, Greece. The distant planet Jupiter appears by chance on the halo's left. Exactly how ice-crystals form in clouds remains under investigation.

November 19, 2012
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What's happening in the sky over Monument Valley? A meteor shower. Over the past weekend the Leonid meteor shower has been peaking. The image - actually a composite of six exposures of about 30 seconds each - was taken in 2001, a year when there was a much more active Leonids shower. At that time, Earth was moving through a particularly dense swarm of sand-sized debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, so that meteor rates approached one visible streak per second. The meteors appear parallel because they all fall to Earth from the meteor shower radiant - a point on the sky towards the constellation of the Lion (Leo). Although the predicted peak of this year's Leonid meteor shower is over, another peak may be visible early tomorrow morning. By the way - how many meteors can you identify in the above image?

November 18, 2012
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How massive can a normal star be? Estimates made from distance, brightness and standard solar models had given one star in the open cluster Pismis 24 over 200 times the mass of our Sun, nearly making it the record holder. This star is the brightest object located just above the gas front in the above image. Close inspection of images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, however, have shown that Pismis 24-1 derives its brilliant luminosity not from a single star but from three at least. Component stars would still remain near 100 solar masses, making them among the more massive stars currently on record. Toward the bottom of the image, stars are still forming in the associated emission nebula NGC 6357. Appearing perhaps like a Gothic cathedral, energetic stars near the center appear to be breaking out and illuminating a spectacular cocoon.

November 17, 2012
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This lovely view from northern Spain at Cape Creus on the easternmost point of the Iberian peninsula, looks out across the Mediteranean and up into the stream of the 2002 Leonid meteor shower. The picture is a composite of thirty separate one minute exposures taken through a fisheye lens. Over 70 leonid meteors are visible, some seen nearly head on. Bright Jupiter is positioned just to the right of the shower's radiant in Leo. Perched on the moonlit rocks at the bottom right, Leica, the photographers' dog, seems to be watching the on going celestial display and adds a surreal visual element to the scene. Sky watchers will have their best view under dark skies in early morning hours with Leo rising above the eastern horizon.

November 16, 2012
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On the morning of November 14, the Moon's umbral shadow tracked across northern Australia before heading into the southern Pacific. Captured from a hilltop some 30 miles west of the outback town of Mount Carbine, Queensland, a series of exposures follows the progress of the total solar eclipse in this dramatic composite image. The sequence begins near the horizon. The Moon steadily encroaches on the on the reddened face of the Sun, rising as the eclipse progresses. At the total phase, lasting about 2 minutes for that location, an otherwise faint solar corona shimmers around the eclipsed disk. Recorded during totality, the background exposure shows a still sunlit sky near the horizon, just beyond a sky darkened by the shadow of the Moon.

November 15, 2012
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This month's New Moon brought a total solar eclipse to parts of planet Earth on November 13 (UT). Most of the total eclipse track fell across the southern Pacific, but the Moon's dark umbral shadow began its journey in northern Australia on Wednesday morning, local time. But What does a solar eclipse look like from a plane? Above the clouds, it is very easy to see where the moon has covered the sun and where it has partially covered the sun. This neat solar eclipse photo was taken during a solar eclipse in 2010 and clearly demonostrates the dramatic darkening of the sky / ground as the shadow of the moon blankets the Earth. Under a total solar eclipse, the ground becomes almost night-like for a few minutes. Sunlight streaming through gaps in the rugged profile of the lunar limb creates the brilliant but fleeting Baily's Beads.

November 14, 2012
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This image of Saturn could not have been taken from Earth. No Earth based picture could possibly view the night side of Saturn and the corresponding shadow cast across Saturn's rings. Since Earth is much closer to the Sun than Saturn, only the day side of the planet is visible from the Earth. In fact, this image mosaic was taken in January 2007 by the robotic Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn. The beautiful rings of Saturn are seen in full expanse, while cloud details are visible near the night-day terminator divide.

November 13, 2012
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Which feature takes your breath away first in this encompassing panorama of land and sky? The competition is strong with a waterfall, meteor, starfield, and even a moonbow all vying for attention. It is interesting to first note, though, what can't be seen -- a rising moon on the other side of the camera. The bright moon not only illuminated this beautiful landscape in Queensland, Australia last June, but also created the beautiful moonbow seen in front of Wallaman Falls. Just above the ridge in the above image is the horizontal streak of an airplane. Toward the top of the frame is the downward streak of a bright meteor, a small pebble from across our Solar System that lit up as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. Well behind the meteor are numerous bright stars and nebula seen toward the center of our Galaxy. Finally, far in the background, is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, running diagonally from the lower left to the upper right in the image but also circling the entire sky.

November 12, 2012
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The Kreutz Group of comets has resulted in more than ten bright comets and many hundreds of small fragments that have only been observed by dedicated solar satellites. The last Great Sungrazer was White-Ortiz-Bolelli seen in 1970. The attached shows Comet White-Ortiz-Bolelli (S&T july 1970, p16) and the new record holder, Comet Lovejoy, photographed Christmas eve from Wagga Wagga, Australia, by Dr Graeme White; the co-discover of Comet White-Ortiz-Bolelli (some 40 years earlier) and Michael Maher. Note the striking similarity of the structure – these two comets are truly sisters. The photo was taken at Christmas eve, at 04:00 local Summer time using a Nikon D90 at 18 mm, f/3.5, maximum ISO and with full noise reduction. Losmandy mount.

November 11, 2012
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Just before the Sun blacks out, something strange occurs. As the Moon moves to completely cover the Sun in a total solar eclipse - like the one set to occur over parts of Australia on Tuesday - beads of bright sunlight stream around the edge of the Moon. This effect, known as Baily's beads, is named after Francis Baily who called attention to the phenomenon in 1836. Although, the number and brightness of Baily's beads used to be unpredictable, today the Moon is so well mapped that general features regarding Baily's beads are expected. When a single bead dominates, it is called the diamond ring effect, and is typically seen just before totality. Pictured above, horizontally compressed, a series of images recorded Baily's beads at times surrounding the 2008 total solar eclipse visible from Novosibirsk, Russia. At the end of totality, as the Sun again emerges from behind the moon, Baily's beads may again be visible - but now on the other side of the Moon.

November 10, 2012
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NGC 660 is featured in this cosmic snapshot, a sharp composite of broad and narrow band filter image data from the Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea. Over 20 million light-years away and swimming within the boundaries of the constellation Pisces, NGC 660's peculiar appearance marks it as a polar ring galaxy. A rare galaxy type, polar ring galaxies have a substantial population of stars, gas, and dust orbiting in rings nearly perpendicular to the plane of the galactic disk. The bizarre-looking configuration could have been caused by the chance capture of material from a passing galaxy by a disk galaxy, with the captured debris eventually strung out in a rotating ring. The violent gravitational interaction would account for the myriad pinkish star forming regions scattered along NGC 660's ring. The polar ring component can also be used to explore the shape of the galaxy's otherwise unseen dark matter halo by calculating the dark matter's gravitational influence on the rotation of the ring and disk. Broader than the disk, NGC 660's ring spans over 50,000 light-years.

November 9, 2012
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Cosmic clouds seem to form fantastic shapes in the central regions of emission nebula IC 1805. Of course, the clouds are sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from massive hot stars in the nebula's newborn star cluster, Melotte 15. About 1.5 million years young, the cluster stars are toward the right in this colorful skyscape, along with dark dust clouds in silhouette against glowing atomic gas. A composite of narrow and broad band telescopic images, the view spans about 30 light-years and includes emission from hydrogen in green, sulfur in red, and oxygen in blue hues. Wider field images reveal that IC 1805's simpler, overall outline suggests its popular name - The Heart Nebula. IC 1805 is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation Cassiopeia.

November 8, 2012
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Sometimes a morning sky can be a combination of serene and surreal. Such a sky perhaps existed before sunrise this past Sunday as viewed from a snowy slope in eastern Switzerland. Quiet clouds blanket the above scene, lit from beneath by lights from the village of Trübbach. A snow covered mountain, Mittlerspitz, poses dramatically on the upper left, hovering over the small town of Balzers, Liechtenstein far below. Peaks from the Alps can be seen across the far right, just below the freshly rising Sun. Visible on the upper right are the crescent Moon and the bright planet Venus. Venus will remain in the morning sky all month, although it will likely not be found in such a photogenic setting.

November 7, 2012
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In the distant universe, time appears to run slowly. Since time-dilated light appears shifted toward the red end of the spectrum (redshifted), astronomers are able to use cosmological time-slowing to help measure vast distances in the universe. Above, the light from distant galaxies has been broken up into its constituent colors (spectra), allowing astronomers to measure the redshift of known spectral lines. The novelty of the above image is that the distance to hundreds of galaxies can now be measured on a single frame using the Visible MultiObject Spectrograph operating at the Very Large Telescope array in Chile. Analyzing the space distribution of distant objects will allow insight into when and how stars, galaxies, and quasars formed, clustered, and evolved in the early universe.

November 6, 2012
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Why is this moon shaped like a smooth egg? The robotic Cassini spacecraft completed the first flyby ever of Saturn's small moon Methone in May and discovered that the moon has no obvious craters. Craters, usually caused by impacts, have been seen on every moon, asteroid, and comet nucleus ever imaged in detail -- until now. Even the Earth and Titan have craters. The smoothness and egg-like shape of the 3-kilometer diameter moon might be caused by Methone's surface being able to shift -- something that might occur were the moon coated by a deep pile of sub-visual rubble. If so, the most similar objects in our Solar System would include Saturn's moons Telesto, Pandora, Calypso, as well as asteroid Itokawa, all of which show sections that are unusually smooth. Methone is not entirely featureless, though, as some surface sections appears darker than others. Although flybys of Methone are difficult, interest in the nature and history of this unusual moon is sure to continue.

November 5, 2012
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On some nights, the sky is the best show in town. On this night, the sky was not only the best show in town, but a composite image of the sky won an international competition for landscape astrophotography. The above winning image was taken on March 2011 over Jökulsárlón, the largest glacial lake in Iceland. The photographer combined six exposures to capture not only two green auroral rings, but their reflections off the serene lake. Visible in the distant background sky is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, the Pleiades open clusters of stars, and the Andromeda galaxy. A powerful coronal mass ejection from the Sun caused auroras to be seen as far south as Wisconsin, USA. As the Sun progresses toward solar maximum in the next few years, many more spectacular images of aurora are expected.

November 4, 2012
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New research from scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggests that a mysterious infrared glow across our whole sky is coming from stray stars torn from galaxies. That glow, known as the cosmic infrared background (CIB), has mysterious sources either too far away or too individually faint (or both) to resolve. Astronomers have long hoped that the CIB might tell something about the very first stars and galaxies that set the universe alight. But a new paper published last week in Nature suggests that finding such early evidence might be much harder than previously thought. When galaxies grow, they merge and become gravitationally tangled in a violent process that results in streams of stars being ripped away from the galaxies. Such streams, called tidal tails, can be seen in this artist's concept. Scientists say that Spitzer is picking up the collective glow of stars such as these, which linger in the spaces between galaxies. This artwork is adapted, in part, from galaxy images obtained from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

November 3, 2012
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How and why are all these stars forming? Found among the Small Magellanic Cloud's (SMC's) clusters and nebulae NGC 346 is a star forming region about 200 light-years across, pictured above by the Hubble Space Telescope. A satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a wonder of the southern sky, a mere 210,000 light-years distant in the constellation of the Toucan (Tucana). Exploring NGC 346, astronomers have identified a population of embryonic stars strung along the dark, intersecting dust lanes visible here on the right. Still collapsing within their natal clouds, the stellar infants' light is reddened by the intervening dust. A small, irregular galaxy, the SMC itself represents a type of galaxy more common in the early Universe. But these small galaxies are thought to be a building blocks for the larger galaxies present today. Within the SMC, stellar nurseries like NGC 346 are also thought to be similar to those found in the early Universe.

November 2, 2012
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At the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, a mere 27,000 light-years away, lies a black hole with 4 million times the mass of the Sun. Fondly known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced A-star), the Milky Way's black hole is fortunately mild-mannered compared to the central black holes in distant active galaxies, much more calmly consuming material around it. From time to time it does flare-up, though. A recent outburst lasting several hours is captured in this series of premier X-ray images from the orbiting Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). Launched last June 13, NuSTAR is the first to provide focused views of the area surrounding Sgr A* at X-ray energies higher than those accessible to Chandra and XMM observatories. Spanning two days of NuSTAR observations, the recent flare sequence is illustrated in the panels at the far right. X-rays are generated in material heated to over 100 million degrees Celsius, accelerated to nearly the speed of light as it falls into the Miky Way's central black hole. The main inset X-ray image spans about 100 light-years. In it, the bright white region represents the hottest material closest to the black hole, while the pinkish cloud likely belongs to a nearby supernova remnant.

November 1, 2012
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The suggestively shaped Witch Head Nebula is a reflection nebula and is associated with the bright star Rigel in the constellation Orion. More formally known as IC 2118, the Witch Head Nebula spans about 50 light-years and is composed of interstellar dust grains reflecting Rigel's starlight. In this cosmic portrait, the blue color of the Witch Head Nebula and of the dust surrounding Rigel is caused not only by Rigel's intense blue starlight but because the dust grains scatter blue light more efficiently than red. The same physical process causes Earth's daytime sky to appear blue, although the scatterers in Earth's atmosphere are molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. Rigel, the Witch Head Nebula, and gas and dust that surrounds them lie about 800 light-years away.

October 31, 2012
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Described as a "dusty curtain" or "ghostly apparition", mysterious reflection nebula VdB 152 really is very faint. Far from your neighborhood on this Halloween Night, the cosmic phantom is nearly 1,400 light-years away. Also catalogued as Ced 201, it lies along the northern Milky Way in the royal constellation Cepheus. Near the edge of a large molecular cloud, pockets of interstellar dust in the region block light from background stars or scatter light from the embedded bright star giving parts of the nebula a characteristic blue color. Ultraviolet light from the star is also thought to cause a dim reddish luminescence in the nebular dust. Though stars do form in molecular clouds, this star seems to have only accidentally wandered into the area, as its measured velocity through space is very different from the cloud's velocity. This deep telescopic image of the region spans about 7 light-years.

October 30, 2012
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Lake Tekapo on South Island in New Zealand is arguably one of best night sky locations in the Southern Hemisphere. The significance of its pristine night sky without light pollution is recognised world-wide and is being included in the list of UNESCO Starlight Reserves. This shot centres around the setting milky way, upside down to how most northern are used to seeing it; this how the milky way looks like when deep in the southern hemisphere. Lake Tekapo has water so clear that most of the stars and the milky way would be visible in the mirror-like reflection of the waters.

October 29, 2012
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Oh what a tangled web a planetary nebula can weave. The Red Spider Planetary Nebula shows the complex structure that can result when a normal star ejects its outer gases and becomes a white dwarf star. Officially tagged NGC 6537, this two-lobed symmetric planetary nebula houses one of the hottest white dwarfs ever observed, probably as part of a binary star system. Internal winds emanating from the central stars, visible in the center, have been measured in excess of 1000 kilometers per second. These winds expand the nebula, flow along the nebula's walls, and cause waves of hot gas and dust to collide. Atoms caught in these colliding shocks radiate light shown in the above representative-color picture by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Red Spider Nebula lies toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). It's distance is not well known but has been estimated by some to be about 4,000 light-years.

October 28, 2012
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This colorful cosmic portrait features glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds in IC 1795, a star forming region in the northern constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula's colors were created by adopting the Hubble false-color palette for mapping narrow emission from oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur atoms to blue, green and red colors, and further blending the data with images of the region recorded through broadband filters. Not far on the sky from the famous Double Star Cluster in Perseus, IC 1795 is itself located next to IC 1805, the Heart Nebula, as part of a complex of star forming regions that lie at the edge of a large molecular cloud. Located just over 6,000 light-years away, the larger star forming complex sprawls along the Perseus spiral arm of our Milky Way Galaxy. At that distance, this picture would span about 70 light-years across IC 1795.

October 27, 2012
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Supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a comfortable 11,000 light-years away. Light from the Cas A supernova, the death explosion of a massive star, first reached Earth just 330 years ago. The expanding debris cloud spans about 15 light-years in this composite X-ray/optical image, while the bright source near the center is a neutron star (inset illustration) the incredibly dense, collapsed remains of the stellar core. Still hot enough to emit X-rays, Cas A's neutron star is cooling. In fact, 10 years of observations with the orbiting Chandra X-ray observatory find that the neutron star is cooling rapidly, so rapidly that researchers suspect a large part of the neutron star's core is forming a frictionless neutron superfluid. The Chandra results represent the first observational evidence for this bizarre state of neutron matter. More can be read about superfluids at The Chandra's site or Science Daily.

October 26, 2012
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Every book has a first page and every catalog a first entry. And so this lovely blue cosmic cloud begins the van den Bergh Catalog (vdB) of stars surrounded by reflection nebulae. Interstellar dust clouds reflecting the light of the nearby stars, the nebulae usually appear blue because scattering by the dust grains is more effective at shorter (bluer) wavelengths. The same type of scattering gives planet Earth its blue daytime skies. Van den Bergh's 1966 list contains a total of 158 entries more easily visible from the northern hemisphere, including bright Pleiades cluster stars and other popular targets for astroimagers. Less than 5 light-years across, VdB1 lies about 1,600 light-years distant in the constellation Cassiopeia. Also on this scene, two intriguing nebulae at the right show loops and outflow features associated with the energetic process of star formation. Within are extremely young variable stars V633 Cas (top) and V376 Cas.

October 25, 2012
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Braided, serpentine filaments of glowing gas suggest this nebula's popular name, The Medusa Nebula. Also known as Abell 21, this Medusa is an old planetary nebula some 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Like its mythological namesake, the nebula is associated with a dramatic transformation. The planetary nebula phase represents a final stage in the evolution of low mass stars like the sun, as they transform themselves from red giants to hot white dwarf stars and in the process shrug off their outer layers. Ultraviolet radiation from the hot star powers the nebular glow. The Medusa's transforming star is near the center of the overall bright crescent shape. In this deep telescopic view, fainter filaments clearly extend below and to the left of the bright crescent region. The Medusa Nebula is estimated to be over 4 light-years across.

October 24, 2012
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The large stellar association cataloged as NGC 206 is nestled within the dusty arms of neighboring spiral galaxy Andromeda (M31), 2.5 million light-years distant. Seen near the center of this gorgeous close-up of the southwestern extent of Andromeda's disk, the bright, blue stars of NGC 206 indicate its youth. Its youngest massive stars are less than 10 million years old. Much larger than the clusters of young stars in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy known as open or galactic clusters, NGC 206 spans about 4,000 light-years. That's comparable in size to the giant stellar nurseries NGC 604 in nearby spiral M33 and the Tarantula Nebula, in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

October 23, 2012
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Normal cloud bottoms are flat. This is because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense into water droplets at a specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height. As water droplets grow, an opaque cloud forms. Under some conditions, however, cloud pockets can develop that contain large droplets of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate. Such pockets may occur in turbulent air near a thunderstorm. Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially dramatic if sunlit from the side. These mammatus clouds were photographed over Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada during the past summer.

October 22, 2012

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The sky toward the center of our Galaxy is filled with a wide variety of celestial wonders, many of which are visible from a dark location with common binoculars. Constellations near the Galactic Center include Sagittarius, Libra, Scorpius, Scutum, and Ophiuchus. Nebulas include Messier objects M8, M16, M20, as well as the Pipe and Cat's Paw nebulas. Visible open star clusters include M6, M7, M21, M23, M24, and M25, while globular star cluster M22 is also visible. A hole in the dust toward the Galactic Center reveals a bright region filled with distant stars known as Baade's Window, which is visible between M7 and M8. Moving your cursor over the above image the will bring up an un-annotated version.

October 21, 2012
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One of the most identifiable nebulae in the sky, the Horsehead Nebula in Orion, is part of a large, dark, molecular cloud. Also known as Barnard 33, the unusual shape was first discovered on a photographic plate in the late 1800s. The red glow originates from hydrogen gas predominantly behind the nebula, ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust, although the lower part of the Horsehead's neck casts a shadow to the left. Streams of gas leaving the nebula are funneled by a strong magnetic field. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula's base are young stars just in the process of forming. Light takes about 1,500 years to reach us from the Horsehead Nebula. The above image was taken with the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory.

October 20, 2012
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Ghostly apparitions of two fundamental planes in planet Earth's sky span this October all-sky view. The scene was captured from a lakeside campsite under dark skies in northern Maine, USA. In it, the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy arcs above faint airglow along the horizon. Zodiacal light, a band of dust scattering sunlight along the solar system's ecliptic plane, stretches almost horizontally across the wide field and intersects the Milky way near a point marked by bright planet Jupiter. Right of Jupiter, past the Pleiades star cluster, is the brightening of the Zodiacal band known as the Gegenschein, also visible to the eye on that dark night. Rising above the distant mountains, Orion the hunter is reflected in the lake's calm waters.

October 19, 2012
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NGC 2623 is really two galaxies that are becoming one. Seen to be in the final stages of a titanic galaxy merger, the pair lies some 300 million light-years distant toward the constellation Cancer. The violent encounter between two galaxies that may have been similar to the Milky Way has produced widespread star formation near a luminous core and along eye-catching tidal tails. Filled with dust, gas, and young blue star clusters, the opposing tidal tails extend well over 50,000 light-years from the merged nucleus. Likely triggered by the merger, accretion by a supermassive black hole drives activity within the nuclear region. The star formation and its active galactic nucleus make NGC 2623 bright across the spectrum. This sharp cosmic snapshot of NGC 2623 (aka Arp 243) is based on Hubble Legacy Archive image data that also reveals even more distant background galaxies scattered through the field of view.

October 18, 2012
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Normally faint and elusive, the Jellyfish Nebula is caught in this alluring, false-color, telescopic view. Flanked by two bright stars, Mu and Eta Geminorum, at the foot of a celestial twin, the Jellyfish Nebula is the brighter arcing ridge of emission with dangling tentacles below and right of center. In fact, the cosmic jellyfish is seen to be part of bubble-shaped supernova remnant IC 443, the expanding debris cloud from a massive star that exploded. Light from the explosion first reached planet Earth over 30,000 years ago. Like its cousin in astrophysical waters the Crab Nebula supernova remnant, IC 443 is known to harbor a neutron star, the remnant of the collapsed stellar core. Emission nebula Sharpless 249 fills the field at the upper left. The Jellyfish Nebula is about 5,000 light-years away. At that distance, this image would be about 300 light-years across. The color scheme used in the narrowband composite was made popular in Hubble Space Telescope images, mapping emission from oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur atoms to blue, green and red colors.

October 17, 2012
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Sometimes both heaven and Earth erupt. Colorful aurorae erupted unexpectedly earlier this month, with green aurora appearing near the horizon and brilliant bands of red aurora blooming high overhead. A bright Moon lit the foreground of this picturesque scene, while familiar stars could be seen far in the distance. With planning, the careful astrophotographer shot this image mosaic in the field of White Dome Geyser in Yellowstone National Park in the western USA. Sure enough, just after midnight, White Dome erupted - spraying a stream of water and vapor many meters into the air. Geyser water is heated to steam by scalding magma several kilometers below, and rises through rock cracks to the surface. About half of all known geysers occur in Yellowstone National Park. Although the geomagnetic storm that created these aurorae has since subsided, eruptions of White Dome Geyser continue about every 30 minutes.

October 16, 2012

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What's happening around that star? An unusual spiral structure has been discovered around the Milky Way star R Sculptoris, a red giant star located about 1,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Sculptor (Sculptoris). The star was observed with the new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the most powerful telescopic array observing near millimeter wavelengths, that part of the spectrum situated well beyond red light and between microwaves and radio waves. Data from ALMA observations was used to create a 3D visualization of the gas and dust immediately surrounding the star. A digital slice through this data showed the unexpected spiral structure. Although unusual, a similar spiral pattern was discovered in visible light recently around LL Pegasi in the second picture. Upon analyzing the data, a hypothesis was drawn that the red giant star in R Sculptoris might be puffing gas toward an unseen binary companion star. The dynamics of this system might be particularly insightful because it may be giving clues as to how giant stars evolve toward the end of their lives - and so release some constituent elements back to the interstellar medium so that new stars may form.

October 15, 2012
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Does this strange dark ball look somehow familiar? If so, that might be because it is our Sun. In the above image, a detailed solar view was captured originally in a very specific color of red light, then rendered in black and white, and then color inverted. Once complete, the resulting image was added to a starfield, then also color inverted. Visible in the above image of the Sun are long light filaments, dark active regions, prominences peaking around the edge, and a moving carpet of hot gas. The surface of our Sun has become a particularly busy place over the past two years because it is now nearing Solar Maximum, the time when its surface magnetic field is wound up the most. Besides an active Sun being so picturesque, the plasma expelled can also become picturesque when it impacts the Earth's magnetosphere and creates auroras.

October 14, 2012
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What did the first galaxies look like? To help answer this question, the Hubble Space Telescope has just finished taking the eXtreme Deep Field (XDF), the deepest image of the universe ever taken in visible light. Pictured above, the XDF shows a sampling of some of the oldest galaxies ever seen, galaxies that formed just after the dark ages, 13 billion years ago, when the universe was only a few percent of its present age. The Hubble Space Telescope's ACS camera and the infrared channel of the WFPC3 camera took the image. Combining efforts spread over 10 years, the XDF is more sensitive, in some colors, than the original Hubble Deep Field (HDF), the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) completed in 2004, and the HUDF Infrared completed in 2009. Astronomers the world over will likely study the XDF for years to come to better understand how stars and galaxies formed in the early universe.

A higher resolution image:

October 13, 2012
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Spiky stars and spooky shapes abound in this deep cosmic skyscape. Its well-composed field of view covers about 2 Full Moons on the sky toward the constellation Pegasus. Of course the brighter stars show diffraction spikes, the commonly seen effect of internal supports in reflecting telescopes, and lie well within our own Milky Way galaxy. The faint but pervasive clouds of interstellar dust ride above the galactic plane and dimly reflect the Milky Way's combined starlight. Known as high latitude cirrus or integrated flux nebulae they are associated with molecular clouds. In this case, the diffuse cloud cataloged as MBM 54, less than a thousand light-years distant, fills the scene. Other galaxies far beyond the Milky Way are visible through the ghostly apparitions, including the striking spiral galaxy NGC 7497 some 60 million light-years away. Seen almost edge-on near the center of the field, NGC 7497's own spiral arms and dust lanes echo the colors of the Milky Way's stars and dust.

October 12, 2012
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In myth, Atlas holds up the heavens, but in this scene they seem to pivot around a lighthouse beacon. Photographed with a camera fixed to a tripod, the well-planned 30 minute exposure records star trails in the northern sky, reflecting the daily rotation of planet Earth. Hidden behind the top of the prominent Nauset Lighthouse on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, the North Celestial Pole is at the center of all the star trail arcs. Making a complete circle, 360 degrees, in 24 hours, the star trail arcs cover 15 degrees each hour or 7.5 degrees in thirty minutes. Foreground lighting is courtesy of September 23rd's first quarter moonlight.

October 11, 2012
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North America at night is easy to recognize in this view of our fair planet from orbit, acquired by the Suomi-NPP satellite on October 8. The spectacular waves of visible light emission rolling above the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario in the upper half of the frame are the Aurora Borealis or northern lights. Encircling the poles and extending to lower latitudes, impressive aurorae seen during the past few days are due to strong geomagnetic storms. The storms were triggered by a solar coronal mass ejection on October 4/5, impacting Earth's magnetosphere some three days later. The curtains of light, shining well over 100 kilometers above the surface, are formed as charged particles accelerated in the magnetosphere excite oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere.

October 10, 2012
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How could a galaxy become shaped like a ring? Even more strange: how could two? The rim of the blue galaxy pictured on the right shows an immense ring-like structure 30,000 light years in diameter composed of newly formed, extremely bright, massive stars. This blue galaxy is part of the interacting galaxy system known as Arp 147, and shows a ring because it has recently collided with the other galaxy in the frame, the red galaxy on the left. Unusually, even this red galaxy shows a ring like band, although it is seen nearly edge-on. When galaxies collide, they pass through each other - their individual stars rarely come into contact. Clouds of interstellar gas and dust become condensed, causing a wave of star formation to move out from the impact point like a ripple across the surface of a pond. The above image was taken last week by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to demonstrate the ability of its Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 after some recent technical difficulties.

October 9, 2012
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It's easy to get lost following the intricate filaments in this detailed mosaic image of faint supernova remnant Simeis 147 (S147). Also cataloged as Sh2-240, it covers nearly 3 degrees or 6 full moons on the sky. That's about 150 light-years at the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years. Anchoring the frame at the right, bright star Elnath (Beta Tauri) is seen towards the boundary of the constellations Taurus and Auriga, almost exactly opposite the galactic center in planet Earth's sky. This sharp composite includes image data taken through a narrow-band filter to highlight emission from hydrogen atoms tracing the shocked, glowing gas. The supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000 years, meaning light from the massive stellar explosion first reached Earth 40,000 years ago. But the expanding remnant is not the only aftermath. The cosmic catastrophe also left behind a spinning neutron star or pulsar, all that remains of the original star's core.

October 8, 2012
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Ghostly in appearance, Abell 39 is a remarkably simple, spherical nebula about five light-years across. Well within our own Milky Way galaxy, the cosmic sphere is roughly 7,000 light-years distant toward the constellation Hercules. Abell 39 is a planetary nebula, formed as a once sun-like star's outer atmosphere was expelled over a period of thousands of years. Still visible, the nebula's central star is evolving into a hot white dwarf. Although faint, the nebula's simple geometry has proven to be a boon to astronomers exploring the chemical abundances and life cycles of stars. In this deep image recorded under dark night skies, very distant background galaxies can be found - some visible right through the nebula itself.

October 7, 2012
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The 16th century Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew had plenty of time to study the southern sky during the first circumnavigation of planet Earth. As a result, two fuzzy cloud-like objects easily visible to southern hemisphere skygazers are known as the Clouds of Magellan, now understood to be satellite galaxies of our much larger, spiral Milky Way galaxy. About 160,000 light-years distant in the constellation Dorado, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is seen here in a remarkably deep, colorful composite image, starlight from the central bluish bar contrasting with the telltale reddish glow of ionized atomic hydrogen gas. Spanning about 15,000 light-years or so, it is the most massive of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies and is the home of the closest supernova in modern times, SN 1987A. The prominent patch at top left is 30 Doradus, also known as the magnificent Tarantula Nebula. The giant star-forming region is about 1,000 light-years across.

October 6, 2012
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Near the center of this sharp cosmic portrait, at the heart of the Orion Nebula, are four hot, massive stars known as the Trapezium. Gathered within a region about 1.5 light-years in radius, they dominate the core of the dense Orion Nebula Star Cluster. Ultraviolet ionizing radiation from the Trapezium stars, mostly from the brightest star Theta 1 Orionis C powers the complex star forming region's entire visible glow. About three million years old, the Orion Nebula Cluster was even more compact in its younger years and a recent dynamical study indicates that runaway stellar collisions at an earlier age may have formed a black hole with more than 100 times the mass of the Sun. The presence of a black hole within the cluster could explain the observed high velocities of the Trapezium stars, The Orion Nebula's distance of some 1500 light-years would make it the closest known black hole to planet Earth.

October 5, 2012
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What's happening behind that mountain? A convergence of variable sky spectacles. One night in mid-September near Tromsø, Norway, high red aurora could be seen shimmering through lower green aurora in a way that created a striking and somewhat unusual violet glow. Suddenly, though, the sky flashed with the brightest fireball the astrophotographer had ever seen, as a small pebble from outer space violently crashed into the Earth's atmosphere. The glow illuminated the distant mountain peak known as Otertinden of the Lyngen Alps. The bright meteor, which coincidently disappeared behind the same mountain, was also reflected in the foreground Signalelva River. Although you might consider yourself lucky to see either an aurora or a bright meteor, pictures of them together have been recorded several times previously.

October 4, 2012

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A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, in the constellation Aquarius, a sun-like star is dying. Its last few thousand years have produced the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), a well studied and nearby example of a Planetary Nebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution. A total of 58 hours of exposure time have gone in to creating this deep view of the nebula. Accumulating narrow band data from emission lines of hydrogen atoms in red and and oxygen atoms in blue-green hues, it shows remarkable details of the Helix's brighter inner region, about 3 light-years across, but also follows fainter outer halo features that give the nebula a span of well over six light-years. The white dot at the Helix's center is this Planetary Nebula's hot, central star. A simple looking nebula at first glance, the Helix is now understood to have a surprisingly complex geometry.

October 3, 2012


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Sometimes it's hard to believe what you see in the sky. During the Shelios Expedition to Greenland in late August, even veteran sky enthusiasts saw auroras so colorful, so fast changing, and so unusual in form that they could remember nothing like it. As the ever changing auroras evolved, huge shapes spread across the sky morphed from one familiar form into another, including what looked to be the head of a goat (shown above), the head of an elephant, a strange green-tailed comet, and fingers on a celestial hand. Even without the aurora, the sky would be notable for the arching band of our Milky Way Galaxy and the interesting field of stars, nebulas, and galaxies. In contrast, in the foreground is a farm house in Tasiusaq, Kujalleq. Greenland. The Shelios project exists not only to observe auroras but to motivate students to consider a career in science.

October 2, 2012
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Fresh evidence of an ancient stream has been found on Mars. The robotic rover Curiosity has run across unusual surface features that carry a strong resemblance to stream banks on Earth. Visible in the above image, for example, is a small overhanging rock ledge that was quite possibly created by water erosion beneath. The texture of the ledge appears to be a sedimentary conglomerate, the dried remains of many smaller rocks stuck together. Beneath the ledge are numerous small pebbles, possibly made smooth by tumbling in and around the once-flowing stream. Pebbles in the streambed likely fell there as the bank eroded. Circled at the upper right is a larger rock possibly also made smooth by stream erosion. Curiosity has now discovered several indications of dried streambeds on Mars on its way to its present location where it will be exploring the unusual conjunction of three different types of landscape.

October 1, 2012
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Could this dim spot brighten into one of the brightest comets ever? It's possible. Alternatively, the comet could break up when it gets closer to the Sun, or brighten much more modestly. Sky enthusiasts the world over are all abuzz, though, from the more optimistic speculations -- that the newly discovered C/2012 S1 (ISON) could develop a spectacular tail or briefly approach the brightness of the full Moon toward the end of 2013. Comet ISON currently is very faint but is just visible at magnitude 18 in the above image. The comet, discovered just over a week ago from Russia by Vitali Nevski (Belarus) and Artyom Novichonok (Russia), is currently falling toward the Sun from between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. In early 2013 October it will pass very near Mars and possibly be visible to rovers and orbiting spacecraft. Comet ISON appears on course to achieve sungrazer status as it passes within a solar diameter of Sun's surface in late 2013 November. Whatever survives will then pass nearest the Earth in late 2013 December. Astronomers around the world will be tracking this large dirty snowball closely to better understand its nature and how it might evolve during the next 15 months.

September 30, 2012
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Galaxies don't normally look like this. NGC 6745 actually shows the results of two galaxies that have been colliding for only hundreds of millions of years. Just off the above digitally sharpened photograph to the lower right is the smaller galaxy, moving away. The larger galaxy, pictured above, used to be a spiral galaxy but now is damaged and appears peculiar. Gravity has distorted the shapes of the galaxies. Although it is likely that no stars in the two galaxies directly collided, the gas, dust, and ambient magnetic fields do interact directly. In fact, a knot of gas pulled off the larger galaxy on the lower right has now begun to form stars. NGC 6745 spans about 80 thousand light-years across and is located about 200 million light-years away.

September 29, 2012
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Like delicate cosmic petals, these clouds of interstellar dust and gas have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile star fields of the constellation Cepheus. Sometimes called the Iris Nebula and dutifully cataloged as NGC 7023 this is not the only nebula in the sky to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this remarkable image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries in impressive detail. Within the Iris, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star. The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the dusty clouds glow with a faint reddish photoluminesence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula may contain complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. The bright blue portion of the Iris Nebula is about six light-years across.

September 28, 2012
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Bright star Markab anchors this dusty skyscape. At the top right corner of the frame, Markab itself marks a corner of an asterism known as the Great Square, found within the boundaries of the constellation Pegasus, the flying horse. The wide and deep telescopic view rides along for some 5 degrees or about 10 times the angular diameter of the Full Moon, with blue reflection nebulae scattered around the scene. And even though this line-of-sight looks away from the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, it covers a region known to be filled with nearby molecular clouds. The associated dust clouds, high latitude galactic cirrus, are less than 1,000 light-years distant. Still apparent, but far beyond the Milky Way, are background galaxies, like the prominent edge-on spiral NGC 7497 near picture center.

September 27, 2012
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Cosmic dust clouds sprawl across a rich field of stars in this sweeping telescopic vista near the northern boundary of Corona Australis, the Southern Crown. Probably less than 500 light-years away and effectively blocking light from more distant, background stars in the Milky Way, the densest part of the dust cloud is about 8 light-years long. At its tip (upper right) is a group of lovely reflection nebulae cataloged as NGC 6726, 6727, 6729, and IC 4812. A characteristic blue color is produced as light from hot stars is reflected by the cosmic dust. The smaller yellowish nebula (NGC 6729) surrounds young variable star R Coronae Australis. Magnificent globular star cluster NGC 6723 is toward the upper right corner of the view. While NGC 6723 appears to be part of the group, it actually lies nearly 30,000 light-years away, far beyond the Corona Australis dust clouds.


September 26, 2012
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It's not every day that a space shuttle lands at LAX. Although this was a first for the major Los Angeles airport hub, it was a last for the space shuttle Endeavour, as it completed its tour of California skies and landed, albeit atop a 747, for the last time. During its last flight the iconic shuttle and its chase planes were photographed near several of California's own icons including the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Hollywood Sign, and the skyline of Los Angeles. Previously, in May, the space shuttle Enterprise was captured passing behind several of New York City's icons on its way to the Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum. Pictured above, the piggybacking shuttle was snapped on approach last week to LAX as it crossed above and beyond a major Los Angeles street. Now retired, the space shuttles are all museum pieces, with the above shuttle scheduled to be towed along the streets of LA to the California Science Center.

September 25, 2012
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What surrounds the florid Rosette nebula? To better picture this area of the sky, the famous flowery emission nebula on the far right has been captured recently in a deep and dramatic wide field image that features several other sky highlights. Designated NGC 2237, the center of the Rosette nebula is populated by the bright blue stars of open cluster NGC 2244, whose winds and energetic light are evacuating the nebula's center. Below the famous flower, a symbol of Valentine's Day, is a column of dust and gas that appears like a rose's stem but extends hundreds of light years. Across the above image, the bright blue star just left and below the center is called S Monocerotis. The star is part of the open cluster of stars labelled NGC 2264 and known as the Snowflake cluster. To the right of S Mon is a dark pointy featured called the Cone nebula, a nebula likely shaped by winds flowing out a massive star obscured by dust. To the left of S Mon is the Fox Fur nebula, a tumultuous region created by the rapidly evolving Snowflake cluster. The Rosette region, at about 5,000 light years distant, is about twice as far away as the region surrounding S Mon. The entire field can be seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros).

September 24, 2012
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This shock wave plows through space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour. Moving toward to bottom of this beautifully detailed color composite, the thin, braided filaments are actually long ripples in a sheet of glowing gas seen almost edge on. Cataloged as NGC 2736, its narrow appearance suggests its popular name, the Pencil Nebula. About 5 light-years long and a mere 800 light-years away, the Pencil Nebula is only a small part of the Vela supernova remnant. The Vela remnant itself is around 100 light-years in diameter and is the expanding debris cloud of a star that was seen to explode about 11,000 years ago. Initially, the shock wave was moving at millions of kilometers per hour but has slowed considerably, sweeping up surrounding interstellar gas.

September 23, 2012
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Yesterday was an equinox, a date when day and night are equal. Today, and every day until the next equinox, the night will be longer than the day in Earth's northern hemisphere, and the day will be longer than the night in Earth's southern hemisphere. An equinox occurs midway between the two solstices, when the days and nights are the least equal. The picture is a composite of hourly images taken of the Sun above Bursa, Turkey on key days from solstice to equinox to solstice. The bottom Sun band was taken during the winter solstice in 2007 December, when the Sun could not rise very high in the sky nor stay above the horizon very long. This lack of Sun caused winter. The top Sun band was taken during the summer solstice in 2008 June, when the Sun rose highest in the sky and stayed above the horizon for more than 12 hours. This abundance of Sun caused summer. The middle band was taken during the Vernal Equinox in 2008 March, but it is the same sun band that Earthlings saw yesterday, the day of the Autumnal Equinox.

September 22, 2012
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Today, the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading south at 14:49 Universal Time. An equinox (equal night), this astronomical event marks the first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the south. With the Sun on the celestial equator, Earth dwellers will experience nearly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. To celebrate, consider this careful record of the Sun's yearly journey through southern Austrian skies. The scene is composed of images made at the same time each day, capturing the Sun's position on dates from September 29, 2011 through September 9, 2012. The multiple suns trace an intersecting curve known as an analemma. In fact, the past year's two equinox dates correspond to the middle (not the intersection point) of the curve. The summer and winter solstices are at the top and bottom. Of course, many would also consider it a good idea to travel the mountain road toward the left, passing the vineyards along the way to reach the nearby town of Kitzeck and toast the equinox with a glass of wine. Near the roadside bench is a windmill-like klapotetz, traditionally used in this wine-growing region to keep the birds away.

September 21, 2012
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September's equinox arrives tomorrow as the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading south. The event marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the southern hemisphere and autumn in the north. And though the connection is still puzzling, the equinox seasons bring an increase in geomagnetic storms. So as northern nights grow longer, the equinox also heralds the arrival of a good season for aurora hunters. Recorded on September 20, these colorful northern lights were captured with camera and wide-angle lens near the Norwegian Sea coast outside Tromsø in Northern Norway. Shining at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so, the aurora rays are parallel, but perspective makes them appear to radiate from a vanishing point behind the silhouetted pine tree. Stars in this enchanting northern night include Polaris above and right of the tree top, and yellowish giant stars Shedar (Alpha Cassiopiae) to the left and Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris) to the right. Bright Altair shines through the greenish auroral curtain at the lower left of the scene.

September 20, 2012
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An analemma is that figure-8 curve that you get when you mark the position of the Sun at the same time each day throughout planet Earth's year. In this case, 17 individual images taken at 0231 UT on dates between April 2 and September 16 follow half the analemma curve, looking east toward the rising sun and the Caspian sea from the boardwalk in the port city of Baku, Azerbaijan. With the sun nearest the horizon, those dates almost span the period between the 2012 equinoxes on March 20 and September 22. The northern summer Solstice on June 20 corresponds to the top of the figure 8 at the left, when the Sun stood at its northernmost declination. Of course, this year the exposure made on June 6 contained a little something extra. Slightly enhanced, the little black spot on the bright solar disk near the top of the frame is planet Venus, caught in a rare transit during this well-planned sunrise analemma project.

September 19, 2012
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Is it art? Earlier this month, space station astronaut Aki Hoshide (Japan) recorded this striking image while helping to augment the capabilities of the Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS). Visible in this outworldly assemblage is the Sun, the Earth, two portions of a robotic arm, an astronaut's spacesuit, the deep darkness of space, and the unusual camera taking the picture. This image joins other historic - and possibly artistic -- self-portraits taken previously in space. The Expedition 32 mission ended yesterday when an attached capsule undocked with the ISS and returned some of the crew to Earth.

September 18, 2012
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This shot of the Milky Way's galactic core was taken by one of my friends who went up to Algonquin Park this weekend to shoot the stars, as I went up north to Wasaga Beach to test my new tripod. He did not add any colour, but simply took 15 images via the Astrotrac star tracker he bought and stacked them. The picture was Shot on the Canon 5DMk2 and Zeiss 50mm at f2.8, ISO1600. The yellow glow at the bottom is light pollution from the distant town of Whitney. How many messier objects can you see in this photo? The spout of the Saggitarius Teapot is visible at the bottom left of this image, bordering the Saggitarius Star Cloud.

September 17, 2012
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What's happened to our Sun? Nothing very unusual -- it just threw a filament. At the end of last month, a long standing solar filament suddenly erupted into space producing an energetic Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). The filament had been held up for days by the Sun's ever changing magnetic field and the timing of the eruption was unexpected. Watched closely by the Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory, the resulting explosion shot electrons and ions into the Solar System, some of which arrived at Earth three days later and impacted Earth's magnetosphere, causing visible aurorae. Loops of plasma surrounding an active region can be seen above the erupting filament in the ultraviolet image. If you missed this auroral display please do not despair - over the next two years our Sun will be experiencing a solar maximum of activity which promises to produce more CMEs that induce more Earthly auroras.

September 16, 2012
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How old are Saturn's rings? No one is quite sure. One possibility is that the rings formed relatively recently in our Solar System's history, perhaps only about 100 million years ago when a moon-sized object broke up near Saturn. Evidence for a young ring age includes a basic stability analysis for rings, and the fact that the rings are so bright and relatively unaffected by numerous small dark meteor impacts. More recent evidence, however, raises the possibility that some of Saturn's rings may be billions of years old and so almost as old as Saturn itself. Inspection of images by the Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft indicates that some of Saturn's ring particles temporarily bunch and collide, effectively recycling ring particles by bringing fresh bright ices to the surface. Seen here, Saturn's rings were imaged in their true colors by the robotic Cassini in late October. Icy bright Tethys, a moon of Saturn likely brightened by a sandblasting rain of ice from sister moon Enceladus, is visible in front of the darker rings.

September 15, 2012
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Inspired by the night skies of planet Earth in the International Year of Astronomy, photographer Larry Landolfi created this tantalizing fantasy view. The composited image suggests a luminous Milky Way is the heavenly extension of a country road. Of course, the name for our galaxy, the Milky Way (in Latin, Via Lactea), does refer to its appearance as a milky band or path in the sky. In fact, the word galaxy itself derives from the Greek for milk. Visible on moonless nights from dark sky areas, though not so bright or colorful as in this image, the glowing celestial band is due to the collective light of myriad stars along the plane of our galaxy, too faint to be distinguished individually. The diffuse starlight is cut by dark swaths of obscuring galactic dust clouds. Four hundred years ago, Galileo turned his telescope on the Milky Way and announced it to be "... a congeries of innumerable stars ..."

September 14, 2012
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Giant elliptical galaxy M60 and spiral galaxy NGC 4647 do look like an odd couple in this sharp cosmic portrait from the Hubble Space Telescope. But they are found in a region of space where galaxies tend to gather, on the eastern side of the nearby Virgo Galaxy Cluster. About 54 million light-years distant, bright M60's simpler egg-like shape is created by its randomly swarming older stars, while NGC 4647's young blue stars, gas and dust are organized into winding arms rotating in a flattened disk. Spiral NGC 4647 is estimated to be more distant than M60, some 63 million light-years away. Also known as Arp 116, the pair of galaxies may be on the verge of a significant gravitational encounter, though. M60 (aka NGC 4649) is about 120,000 light-years across. The smaller NGC 4647 spans around 90,000 light-years, about the size of our own Milky Way.

September 13, 2012
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In this crowded starfield covering over 2 degrees within the high flying constellation Cygnus, the eye is drawn to the Cocoon Nebula. A compact star forming region, the cosmic Cocoon punctuates a long trail of obscuring interstellar dust clouds. Cataloged as IC 5146, the nebula is nearly 15 light-years wide, located some 4,000 light years away. Like other star forming regions, it stands out in red, glowing, hydrogen gas excited by the young, hot stars and blue, dust-reflected starlight at the edge of an otherwise invisible molecular cloud. In fact, the bright star near the center of this nebula is likely only a few hundred thousand years old, powering the nebular glow as it clears out a cavity in the molecular cloud's star forming dust and gas. But the long dusty filaments that appear dark in this visible light image are themselves hiding stars in the process of formation, seen at infrared wavelengths.

September 12, 2012
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M7 is one of the most prominent open clusters of stars on the sky. The cluster, dominated by bright blue stars, can be seen with the naked eye in a dark sky in the tail of the constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius). M7 contains about 100 stars in total, is about 200 million years old, spans 25 light-years across, and lies about 1000 light-years away. The above deep exposure was taken from Hakos Farm in Namabia. The M7 star cluster has been known since ancient times, being noted by Ptolemy in the year 130 AD. Also visible are a dark dust cloud and literally millions of unrelated stars towards the Galactic center.

September 11, 2012
Source:
Which part of this picture do you find more interesting -- the land or the sky? Advocates for the land might cite the beauty of the ancient domes of the Bungle Bungle Range in Western Australia. These picturesque domes appear as huge layered beehives and are made of sandstones and conglomerates deposited over 350 million years ago. Advocates for the sky might laud the beauty of the Milky Way's central band shown arching from horizon to horizon. The photogenic Milky Way band formed over 10 billion years ago and now includes many well-known nebulae and bright stars. Fortunately, you don't have to decide and can enjoy both together in this beautiful 8-frame panorama taken from the dark skies of Purnululu National Park about two months ago.

September 10, 2012
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Curiosity is on the move across Mars -- but where is it going? The car-sized rover's path after 29 Martian days on the surface is shown on the above map. Curiosity is still almost 300 meters from its first major destination, though, a meeting of different types of terrain called Glenelg and visible on the image right. It may take Curiosity two months or so to get to Glenelg as it stops to inspect interesting rocks or landscape features along the way. The above image was taken about one week ago from high up by the HiRise camera onboard the robotic Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

September 9, 2012
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The famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion is not alone. A deep exposure shows that the dark familiar shaped indentation, visible just below center, is part of a vast complex of absorbing dust and glowing gas. To bring out details of the Horsehead's pasture, amateur astronomers at the Star Shadow Remote Observatory in New Mexico, USA fixed a small telescope on the region for over seven hours filtering out all but a very specific color of red light emitted by hydrogen. They then added the image to a full color frame taken over three hours. The resulting spectacular picture details an intricate tapestry of gaseous wisps and dust-laden filaments that were created and sculpted over eons by stellar winds and ancient supernovas. The Horsehead Nebula lies 1,500 light years distant towards the constellation of Orion. Two stars from the Orion's Belt can be found in the above image.

September 8, 2012
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Launched on a grand tour of the outer planets in 1977, by good fortune the twin Voyager spacecraft were also headed in the general direction of the Sun's motion relative to nearby stars. Thirty five years later, Voyager 1 appears to be nearing the boundary of the Sun's heliosphere and interstellar space. Of course the heliosphere is the realm of the Sun defined by the influence of the solar wind and the Sun's magnetic field. But how can you tell when your spacecraft crosses the boundary into interstellar space? One clue would be a sudden increase in the detection of energetic cosmic rays. The high energy particles stream through interstellar space accelerated by distant supernovae in our galaxy, but are normally deflected or slowed by the heliosphere. Covering a 12 month period (September 2011 to 2012), this plot does show a dramatic increase in the rate of cosmic ray particle detection in past months by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. Voyager 1 is now 18 billion kilometers (17 light hours, 122 Astronomical Units) from the Sun and may soon be the first spacecraft from Earth to enter the realm of the stars.

September 7, 2012
Source:
South of Antares, in the tail of the nebula-rich constellation Scorpius, lies emission nebula IC 4628. Nearby hot, massive stars, millions of years young, radiate the nebula with invisible ultraviolet light, stripping electrons from atoms. The electrons eventually recombine with the atoms to produce the visible nebular glow, dominated by the red emission of hydrogen. At an estimated distance of 6,000 light-years, the region shown is about 250 light-years across, spanning an area equivalent to four full moons on the sky. The nebula is also cataloged as Gum 56 for Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum, but seafood-loving astronomers might know this cosmic cloud as The Prawn Nebula.

September 6, 2012
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In this serene night skyscape, the Milky Way's graceful arc stretches over prominent peaks in the Italian Alps known as Tre Cime di Lavaredo. A 180 degree wide-angle panorama made in four exposures on August 24, the scene does look to the north and the sky is suffused with an eerie greenish light. Still, the subtle glowing bands are not aurorae, but airglow. Unlike aurorae powered by collisions with energetic charged particles and seen at high latitudes, airglow is due to chemiluminescence, the production of light in a chemical reaction, and found around the globe. The chemical energy is provided by the Sun's extreme ultraviolet radiation. Like aurorae, the greenish hue of this airglow does originate at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so dominated by emission from excited oxygen atoms. More easily seen near the horizon, airglow keeps the night sky from ever being completely dark.

September 5, 2012
Source:
Does air glow? It does, but it is usually hard to see. When conditions are right, however, a faint glow about 90 kilometers up can be observed, most easily with a wide-angle long-duration camera exposure. The same airglow can also frequently be seen looking down - in pictures taken from Earth orbit - as a faint arc hovering above the surface. Pictured above between the beige clouds, above the curving Earth, behind the streaking airplane, and in front of the sparkling stars are some green bands of airglow. The glow is predominantly created by the excitation of atoms by ultraviolet light from the Sun, with the bands resulting from density fluctuations caused by upward moving atmospheric gravity waves. The above image was taken in mid-July above Weikersheim, Germany. Lightning and aurorae can also cause air to glow, but result from particle collisions and are more fleeting.

September 4, 2012
Source:
Should you be worried about hurricanes? To find out, it is useful to know where hurricanes have gone in the past. The above Earth map shows the path of every hurricane reported since 1851, Although striking, a growing incompleteness exists in the data the further one looks back in time. The above map graphically indicates that hurricanes - sometimes called cyclones or typhoons depending on where they form - usually occur over water, which makes sense since evaporating warm water gives them energy. The map also shows that hurricanes never cross - or even occur very near - the Earth's equator, since the Coriolis effect goes to zero there, and hurricanes need the Coriolis force to circulate. The Coriolis force also causes hurricane paths to arc away from the equator. Although incompleteness fogs long term trends and the prevalence of hurricanes remains a topic of research, evidence is accumulating that hurricanes are, on the average, more common and more powerful in the North Atlantic Ocean over the past 20 years.

September 3, 2012
Source:
Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars from even the depths of a light-polluted city. Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades is one of the brightest and closest open clusters. The Pleiades contains over 3000 stars, is about 400 light years away, and only 13 light years across. Quite evident in the above photograph are the blue reflection nebulae that surround the brighter cluster stars. Low mass, faint, brown dwarfs have also been found in the Pleiades. (Editors' note: The prominent diffraction spikes are caused by the telescope itself and may be either distracting or provide aesthetic enhancement, depending on your point of view.)

September 2, 2012
Source:
This graceful arc traces a Delta rocket climbing through Thursday's early morning skies over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA. Snug inside the rocket's Centaur upper stage were NASA's twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP), now in separate orbits within planet Earth's Van Allen radiation belts. Reflected in the Turn Basin from a vantage point about 3 miles from Space Launch Complex 41, the scene was captured in a composite of two exposures. One highlights the dramatic play of launch pad lighting, clouds, and sky. A subsequent 3 minute long exposure records the rocket's fiery trail. While most spacecraft try to avoid the radiation belts, named for their discoverer James Van Allen, RBSP's mission will be to explore their dynamic and harsh conditions.

September 1, 2012
Source:
Rising at sunset, the gorgeous Full Moon of August 31 became the second Full Moon in a month. According to modern reckoning, that makes it a Blue Moon. In fact, parts of the Full Moon do look a little blue in this sharp lunar portrait. Taken just hours before the exact full phase in delightfully clear skies over Nottingham, UK, it features eye-catching bright rays extending from the prominent young crater Tycho in the Moon's southern hemisphere. The slightly color enhanced image also brings out subtle shades of blue, a real characteristic of terrain with a high content of titanium oxide and iron. The blue lunar terrain on the right includes the dark flat expanse of the Sea of Tranquility and the Apollo 11 landing site.
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Old 03-29-2012, 10:32 AM   #42
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

What's in the sky tonight?
March 29, 2012
-This is the time of year when the dim Little Dipper juts to the right from Polaris (its handle-end) during evening hours. The much brighter Big Dipper curls over high above it, "dumping water" into it.

-This is also the time of year when Orion, declining in the southwest after dark, displays his three-star Belt more or less horizontally.

Astro Picture of the Day
March 29, 2012

Source:
On March 27, five sounding rockets leapt into early morning skies from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Part of the Anomalous Transport Rocket EXperiment (ATREX), begining at 4:58 am EDT the rockets launched consecutively at 80 second intervals. Releasing a chemical tracer they created luminous white clouds within Earth's ionosphere at altitudes above 60 to 65 miles, swept along by the poorly understood high-altitude jet stream. (Not the same jet stream that airliners fly through at altitudes of 5 to 6 miles.) Seen along the mid-atlantic region of the United States, the clouds drifted through starry skies, captured in this clear photograph from East Point, New Jersey. Looking south toward the launch site, the tantalizing celestial background includes the stars of Sagittarius, Scorpius, and the more permanent faint, white, luminous clouds of the Milky Way. Can you distinguish these constellations?
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Old 03-30-2012, 11:33 AM   #43
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

What's in the sky tonight?
March 30, 2012
-First-quarter Moon (exact at 3:41 p.m. EDT). The Moon shines in the legs of Gemini, below Pollux and Castor and high above sinking Betelgeuse.

-Saturn is high in the south by 1:00 a.m. near Spica.

Astro Picture of the Day:
March 30, 2012

Source:
In this alluring night skyscape recorded on March 26, a young Moon stands over the distant western horizon in conjunction with brilliant planet Venus. In the foreground, the Colorado River glistens in moonlight as it winds through the Grand Canyon, seen from the canyon's southern rim at Lipan Point. The Grand Canyon is known as one of the wonders of planet Earth. Carved by the river, the enormous fissure is about 270 miles (440 kilometers) long, up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) wide and approaches 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) deep. On this date, wonders of the night sky included the compact Pleiades and V-shaped Hyades star clusters poised just above the Moon. Bright planet Jupiter is below the closer Moon/Venus pairing, near the western horizon.
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Old 03-30-2012, 11:55 AM   #44
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

These pictures are so amazing, keep em coming :')
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Old 03-30-2012, 12:11 PM   #45
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

I spend more time looking at the night sky when I'm out at night thanks to this thread haha
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Old 03-31-2012, 12:22 PM   #46
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

Thanks Winrar for the compliment! And i'm glad that you spend more time looking at the night sky hi19hi19, but has this thread helped you distinguish what some of the night time objects are? That's part of the goal of this thread.

What's in the sky tonight?
March 31, 2012
-The Moon shines high in the southwest this evening. It forms a gently curving line (as seen from North America) with Pollux and Castor to its upper right and Procyon below it. Procyon is one of the 3 stars in the Winter Triangle, and as it sets earlier and earlier every day, it's an astronomical sign spring and summer are upon us.

Astro Picture of the Day:
March 31, 2012

Source:
Meet M9. M9 is a globular cluster discovered by Charles Messier, and listed it as the 9th entry in his catalogue (hence Messier 9). He listed this globular cluster as a "Nebula, without star, in the right leg of Ophiuchus ...". Optics have improved since the 18th century however, and this 'starless nebula' has been found to contain over 300,000 stars within a diameter of 90 light years. It is some 25,000 light years distant near the central bulge of our milky way galaxy. This picture takes a look at the central 25 light years of the cluster. At least twice the age of the Sun and deficient in heavy elements, the cluster stars have colors corresponding to their temperatures, redder stars are cooler, bluer stars are hotter. Many of the cluster's cool red giant stars show a yellowish tint in the sharp Hubble view. Globular clusters are typically found -outside- the disk of spiral galaxies, and are evidence that a spiral galaxy was once more spherical in shape before flattening into a disk with a bulge.
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Old 03-31-2012, 03:42 PM   #47
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

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Originally Posted by Bluearrowll View Post
And i'm glad that you spend more time looking at the night sky hi19hi19, but has this thread helped you distinguish what some of the night time objects are? That's part of the goal of this thread.
Yes! Back on the 26th I think it was, there was a bright light next to the moon, and it was cool to know it was Venus. I saw it rather early too, the sun had just gone down and it wasn't even totally dark yet.
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Old 04-1-2012, 11:38 AM   #48
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

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Originally Posted by hi19hi19 View Post
Yes! Back on the 26th I think it was, there was a bright light next to the moon, and it was cool to know it was Venus. I saw it rather early too, the sun had just gone down and it wasn't even totally dark yet.
That's great Venus is currently at maximum elongation, meaning it's at its furthest point (from our vantage point) away from the Sun. It's over 40 degrees above the sun from our view, which also gives it that very bright image. Try to give yourself a challenge, see how early you can spot the planet. I've been able to see it as early as 5:20pm EST without binoculars.


What's in the sky tonight?
April 1, 2012
-The Belt of Orion points left toward Sirius, and right toward Aldebaran and (farther on) brilliant Venus. The winter constellations continue to sink in the west as April rolls in.

-Look for Venus to dance with the Pleiades between now and April 5! This is the best chance to understand the Pleiades' location in the sky and how they look like in general.

-That V-Shaped cluster with the brilliant red star Alderbaran manning the top of the V is the other popular star cluster, the Hyades. It is much closer to us, and as such spans about 5 degrees of the sky. Aldebaran is actually not part of the cluster however, it's merely a red giant that happens to be in the line of sight between the Earth and the cluster.



Astro Picture of the Day:
April 1, 2012

Source:
This rugged road through the dark Atacama Desert seems to lead skyward toward the bright stars and glowing nebulae of the southern Milky Way. If you follow the road you will get to Cerro Armazones peak in Chile, future construction site for the 40-meter class European Extremely Large Telescope. For now though, sliding your cursor across the image will identify wonders of the southern skies in view. The scene is dominated by the reddish glow of the Great Carina Nebula, one of our galaxy's largest star forming regions. In fact, the remarkable skyscape is not a composite of varying exposures or a photomontage. Far from sources of light pollution, the landscape illuminated by starlight and the Milky Way above were recorded by a modified digital camera and fast lens. The sensitive system captured both planet Earth and deep sky in a relatively short exposure.
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Old 04-2-2012, 07:24 AM   #49
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

Thank you to whoever mod or admin decided to sticky this thread.

What's in the sky tonight?
April 2, 2012
-Venus is passing through the outskirts of the Pleiades this evening through Wednesday evening, as shown below. Binoculars or a wide-field telescope give a fine view of the delicate cluster behind Venus's overpowering glare.

-The waxing gibbous Moon forms a slightly curving line with Mars and Regulus, as shown below.





Astro Picture of the Day:
April 2, 2012

Source:
What's large and blue and can wrap itself around an entire galaxy? A gravitational lens mirage. Pictured above, the gravity of a luminous red galaxy (LRG) has gravitationally distorted the light from a much more distant blue galaxy. More typically, such light bending results in two discernible images of the distant galaxy, but here the lens alignment is so precise that the background galaxy is distorted into a horseshoe -- a nearly complete ring. Since such a lensing effect was generally predicted in some detail by Albert Einstein over 70 years ago, rings like this are now known as Einstein Rings. Although LRG 3-757 was discovered in 2007 in data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the image shown above is a follow-up observation taken with the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3. Strong gravitational lenses like LRG 3-757 are more than oddities -- their multiple properties allow astronomers to determine the mass and dark matter content of the foreground galaxy lenses.
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Old 04-2-2012, 07:33 AM   #50
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

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Thank you to whoever mod or admin decided to sticky this thread.
I told you in pc mang, yw ;D
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Old 04-2-2012, 01:09 PM   #51
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

Wow, every image is breathtaking. Thank you for sharing
I'm getting into astronomy myself but unfortunately i live in one of the worst light polluted area's in the UK.
I've managed to get a few decent views of Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon but i'm really interested in viewing some DSOs. Currently saving my pennies for a telescope upgrade and trying to locate a dark site near where i live.
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Old 04-3-2012, 07:47 AM   #52
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

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Originally Posted by Myattboy View Post
Wow, every image is breathtaking. Thank you for sharing
I'm getting into astronomy myself but unfortunately i live in one of the worst light polluted area's in the UK.
I've managed to get a few decent views of Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon but i'm really interested in viewing some DSOs. Currently saving my pennies for a telescope upgrade and trying to locate a dark site near where i live.
Where abouts in the UK? I can pull up a light pollution map for the UK so you can see places that aren't as polluted that may or may not be nearby for the telescope you're after. Also, what kind of telescope are you looking for?


What's in the Sky Tonight?
April 3, 2012
-The Moon now forms the bottom point of a narrow triangle with Mars and Regulus, as shown below.

-Venus is the closest it will come to the middle of the Pleiades. This evening for the Americas, Venus is passing just ½° southeast of Alcyone (the brightest Pleiad) and ¼° south of the Atlas-Pleione pair. Venus is magnitude –4.5, which means Alcyone, at magnitude 2.85, is 900 times fainter!

-Saturn rises with Spica in Virgo late in the evening, clearly visible by midnight.




Astro Picture of the Day:
April 3, 2012

Source:
Many stars form in clusters. Galactic or open star clusters are relatively young swarms of bright stars born together near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Separated by about a degree on the sky, two nice examples are M46 (upper left) 5,400 light-years in the distance and M47 (lower right) only 1,600 light-years away toward the nautical constellation Puppis. Around 300 million years young M46 contains a few hundred stars in a region about 30 light-years across. Aged 80 million years, M47 is a smaller but looser cluster of about 50 stars spanning 10 light-years. But this portrait of stellar youth also contains an ancient interloper. The small, colorful patch of glowing gas in M46 of the same colour is actually the planetary nebula NGC 2438 - the final phase in the life of a sun-like star billions of years old. It is found near the bottom of M46 within our line of sight to the cluster. NGC 2438 is estimated to be only 3,000 light-years distant and likely represents a foreground object, only by chance appearing along our line of sight to youthful M46.
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Bluearrowll = The Canadian player who can not detect awkward patterns. If it's awkward for most people, it's normal for Terry. If the file is difficult but super straight forward, he has issues. If he's AAAing a FGO but then heard that his favorite Hockey team was losing by a point, Hockey > FFR
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Old 04-4-2012, 09:15 AM   #53
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

What's in the Sky Tonight?
April 4, 2012
-Two planet-and-star pairings mark the evening sky of spring 2012. After nightfall this week, Mars shines high in the south with Regulus to its right (by 5°). As evening advances, Saturn rises into view low in the east-southeast with Spica to its right (by 5½°).



Astro Picture of the Day:
April 4, 2012

Source:
What's the closest active galaxy to planet Earth? That would be Centaurus A, only 11 million light-years distant. Spanning over 60,000 light-years, the peculiar elliptical galaxy is also known as NGC 5128. Forged in a collision of two otherwise normal galaxies, Centaurus A's fantastic jumble of young blue star clusters, pinkish star forming regions, and imposing dark dust lanes are seen here in remarkable detail. The colorful galaxy portrait was recorded under clear Chilean skies at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Near the galaxy's center, left over cosmic debris is steadily being consumed by a central black hole with a billion times the mass of the Sun. That process likely generates the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy radiated by Centaurus A.
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Bluearrowll = The Canadian player who can not detect awkward patterns. If it's awkward for most people, it's normal for Terry. If the file is difficult but super straight forward, he has issues. If he's AAAing a FGO but then heard that his favorite Hockey team was losing by a point, Hockey > FFR
PS: Cool AAA's Terry
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Old 04-4-2012, 09:29 AM   #54
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluearrowll View Post
Where abouts in the UK? I can pull up a light pollution map for the UK so you can see places that aren't as polluted that may or may not be nearby for the telescope you're after. Also, what kind of telescope are you looking for?
Stoke-on-Trent. That would be great, thank you.
Something suited for Astrophotography but not ridiculously priced as i know I'll be needing a good camera as well.
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Old 04-4-2012, 12:36 PM   #55
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

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Originally Posted by Myattboy View Post
Stoke-on-Trent. That would be great, thank you.
Something suited for Astrophotography but not ridiculously priced as i know I'll be needing a good camera as well.
Light pollution help:
This is the United Kingdom.

Use this to make out the difference between the different colours of the light pollution map.



Seeing as you are here, your best bet is to head southwest in order to find some good starry area. Find the road A487 until you get to Aberaeron which looks to be a small town you've never heard of before. If you go there and maybe slightly south of the town, and plant your telescope on a good, clear night, you should be very happy. This is a 3 hour trek according to google directions though. If you don't want to drive that far, you can try heading into the blue zone and head just west of Montgomery, which you can get to in just under 1 hr 45 minutes. Hope this helps! (But remember, you're from the UK and I'm not, so you may know a better way.)


As for telescopes, do you have a budget limit on what you're willing to spend on a telescope? The spoiler will list telescopes under $250.00 that are good.

Be prepared to spend a couple hundred, it is very rare to find something decent under $180.

Depending on budget, I will list a few options taken straight from this article:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/equip.../69745547.html

Orion XT4.5 Classic Dobsonian
Orion Starblast 4.5 Astro Reflector
Orion SpaceProbe 3 Altazimuth Reflector
Orion Observer 70-mm Altazimuth Refractor
Edmund Scientifics Astroscan

My list is in order of most expensive to least expensive.

The Astroscan Plus is the most expensive of the 5 that I am listing at $249.00 but is ultra portable in the sense that it is small. It has a field of view the equivalent of 6 full moons and the two eye pieces it comes with are 16x and 30x magnification. the 30x magnification will allow you to see Saturn's rings. This one is best for the moon, and nearby planets.

If you want a stellar (astronomy pun!) telescope for a beginner, the Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Classic Dobsonian Telescope retails for about $239.99 (I have found it here for $209 temporarily). Magnification with included eye pieces are 36x and 91x. The finder magnification is 6x. Fully assembled it weighs 17.6 lbs. Of the 30 reviews it has been given, 27 have rated it 5 stars, and it has also been recommended by SkyandTelescope.
http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/...yCategoryId=13

The Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector Telescope is cheaper at $199 (on sale for $179.99) and has eye piece magnifications of 26x and 75x. Fully assembled it weighs 13.0 lbs. Link to it here:
http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/.../28/p/9814.uts

The Orion SpaceProbe 3 Equitorial Reflector Telescope costs $149.99 and is best used for lunar and planetary viewing. the eye piece magnification is 28x and 70x and weighs 16.6 lbs when assembled.
http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/.../11/p/9843.uts

The Orion Observer 70mm Altazimuth Refractor Telescope is more traditional looking in terms of how one would think a telescope looks like, and is much more budget friendly at $139.99 (on sale for $119.99). Also featuring eye pieces with 28x and 70x magnification, it only weighs 6.5 lbs when fully assembled. Because of this, it might be more difficult taking pictures through this one.


Of the 5, I like the Orion StarBlast the best in this scenario. One of the biggest reasons for this is because it comes to you pre-assembled. It is $179 well spent! Keep in mind these are online orders. I will see if I can find these in a store somewhere, but I have a feeling they're likely to be priced higher at retail level.

For additional telescope reading, refer to here (this page also includes a few great links to finding the first telescope for a specific need) :
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/letsg.../12511616.html
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Bluearrowll = The Canadian player who can not detect awkward patterns. If it's awkward for most people, it's normal for Terry. If the file is difficult but super straight forward, he has issues. If he's AAAing a FGO but then heard that his favorite Hockey team was losing by a point, Hockey > FFR
PS: Cool AAA's Terry
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Old 04-4-2012, 01:12 PM   #56
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

This actually made me aware that I've never seen the milky way cause of light pollution....
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Old 04-4-2012, 03:50 PM   #57
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluearrowll View Post
Light pollution help:
This is the United Kingdom.

Use this to make out the difference between the different colours of the light pollution map.



Seeing as you are here, your best bet is to head southwest in order to find some good starry area. Find the road A487 until you get to Aberaeron which looks to be a small town you've never heard of before. If you go there and maybe slightly south of the town, and plant your telescope on a good, clear night, you should be very happy. This is a 3 hour trek according to google directions though. If you don't want to drive that far, you can try heading into the blue zone and head just west of Montgomery, which you can get to in just under 1 hr 45 minutes. Hope this helps! (But remember, you're from the UK and I'm not, so you may know a better way.)


As for telescopes, do you have a budget limit on what you're willing to spend on a telescope? The spoiler will list telescopes under $250.00 that are good.

Be prepared to spend a couple hundred, it is very rare to find something decent under $180.

Depending on budget, I will list a few options taken straight from this article:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/equip.../69745547.html

Orion XT4.5 Classic Dobsonian
Orion Starblast 4.5 Astro Reflector
Orion SpaceProbe 3 Altazimuth Reflector
Orion Observer 70-mm Altazimuth Refractor
Edmund Scientifics Astroscan

My list is in order of most expensive to least expensive.

The Astroscan Plus is the most expensive of the 5 that I am listing at $249.00 but is ultra portable in the sense that it is small. It has a field of view the equivalent of 6 full moons and the two eye pieces it comes with are 16x and 30x magnification. the 30x magnification will allow you to see Saturn's rings. This one is best for the moon, and nearby planets.

If you want a stellar (astronomy pun!) telescope for a beginner, the Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Classic Dobsonian Telescope retails for about $239.99 (I have found it here for $209 temporarily). Magnification with included eye pieces are 36x and 91x. The finder magnification is 6x. Fully assembled it weighs 17.6 lbs. Of the 30 reviews it has been given, 27 have rated it 5 stars, and it has also been recommended by SkyandTelescope.
http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/...yCategoryId=13

The Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector Telescope is cheaper at $199 (on sale for $179.99) and has eye piece magnifications of 26x and 75x. Fully assembled it weighs 13.0 lbs. Link to it here:
http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/.../28/p/9814.uts

The Orion SpaceProbe 3 Equitorial Reflector Telescope costs $149.99 and is best used for lunar and planetary viewing. the eye piece magnification is 28x and 70x and weighs 16.6 lbs when assembled.
http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/.../11/p/9843.uts

The Orion Observer 70mm Altazimuth Refractor Telescope is more traditional looking in terms of how one would think a telescope looks like, and is much more budget friendly at $139.99 (on sale for $119.99). Also featuring eye pieces with 28x and 70x magnification, it only weighs 6.5 lbs when fully assembled. Because of this, it might be more difficult taking pictures through this one.


Of the 5, I like the Orion StarBlast the best in this scenario. One of the biggest reasons for this is because it comes to you pre-assembled. It is $179 well spent! Keep in mind these are online orders. I will see if I can find these in a store somewhere, but I have a feeling they're likely to be priced higher at retail level.

For additional telescope reading, refer to here (this page also includes a few great links to finding the first telescope for a specific need) :
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/letsg.../12511616.html
I'll probably take my current telescope to the area near Montgomery first then take my new one to Aberaeron. Much closer than what i've been thinking. I was planning on going north to Scotland, haha. Thank you for the info.

I do like the look of the Orion StarBlast and the fact it comes pre-assembled does sound good as mine was a pain in the ass.
My current telescope is an Astromaster 130EQ : http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/celestron-astromaster-130-eq-md-telescope_d3424.html
I've learned how to align it but am now interested in a computerised mount. My budget would be around £400-£600 and i maybe able to stretch a little further.
Again, thank you for help mate.
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Old 04-4-2012, 04:09 PM   #58
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Myattboy View Post
I'll probably take my current telescope to the area near Montgomery first then take my new one to Aberaeron. Much closer than what i've been thinking. I was planning on going north to Scotland, haha. Thank you for the info.

I do like the look of the Orion StarBlast and the fact it comes pre-assembled does sound good as mine was a pain in the ass.
My current telescope is an Astromaster 130EQ : http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/celestron-astromaster-130-eq-md-telescope_d3424.html
I've learned how to align it but am now interested in a computerised mount. My budget would be around £400-£600 and i maybe able to stretch a little further.
Again, thank you for help mate.
With a budget in that area, you enter a whole new field of view.

http://www.telescope.com/Orion-StarB...on%20StarBlast

Take a look at this telescope. It comes with a computer object finder which becomes functional after you align it with 2 very bright stars. Its database contains thousands of objects that you can punch in and the telescope will move to that specific spot in the sky that it should be in (provided it's been aligned correctly).

I am getting ready to leave for class now, and I need to prepare for my astronomy final exam tomorrow, and I can go into further detail if you want. But this is definitely one to take a look at. As an added bonus it's one of Skyandtelescope's hot products of 2010 (means it's very good.)

I suggest taking a look at the video gallery and customer reviews, they're quite helpful and sometimes customer reviews have photos taken with the product!
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Bluearrowll = The Canadian player who can not detect awkward patterns. If it's awkward for most people, it's normal for Terry. If the file is difficult but super straight forward, he has issues. If he's AAAing a FGO but then heard that his favorite Hockey team was losing by a point, Hockey > FFR
PS: Cool AAA's Terry
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Old 04-5-2012, 07:33 AM   #59
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

And as I'm posting this, I'm getting ready to depart for my astronomy exam. I'll find out how I did next week. I added some new features to the thread throughout yesterday.

What's in the Sky Tonight?
April 5, 2012
-The Moon is nearly full this evening. Look left of it for Gamma (γ) Virginis (Porrima), a tight telescopic double star. (Its separation is 1.8 arcseconds this spring; it's widening year by year). Look farther lower left of the Moon for steady-shining Saturn and twinkly Spica, as shown here. And look to the Moon's lower right for the four-star pattern of the constellation Corvus, the Crow.



Astro Picture of the Day:
April 5, 2012

Source:
Sweeping from the eastern to western horizon, this 360 degree panorama follows the band of zodiacal light along the solar system's ecliptic plane. Dust scattering sunlight produces the faint zodiacal glow that spans this fundamental coordinate plane of the celestial sphere, corresponding to the apparent yearly path of the Sun through the sky and the plane of Earth's orbit. The fascinating panorama is a mosaic of images taken from dusk to dawn over the course of a single night at two different locations on Mauna Kea. The lights of Hilo, Hawaii are on the eastern (left) horizon, with the Subaru and twin Keck telescope structures near the western horizon. On that well chosen moonless night, Venus was shining as the morning star just above the eastern horizon, and Saturn was close to opposition. In fact, Saturn is seen immersed in a brightening of the zodiacal band known as the gegenschein. The gegenschein also lies near 180 degrees in elongation or angular distance from the Sun along the ecliptic. In the mosaic projection, the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy runs at an angle, crossing the horizontal band of zodiacal light above the two horizons. Nebulae, stars, and dust clouds of the bulging galactic center are rising in the east.
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3rd in EnR's Mashfest '08 tournament
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10th in D5 of the 2010 5th Official FFR Tournament
10th in D6 of the 2011-2012 6th Official FFR Tournament

FMO AAA Count: 71
FGO AAA Count: 10

Bluearrowll = The Canadian player who can not detect awkward patterns. If it's awkward for most people, it's normal for Terry. If the file is difficult but super straight forward, he has issues. If he's AAAing a FGO but then heard that his favorite Hockey team was losing by a point, Hockey > FFR
PS: Cool AAA's Terry
- I Love You


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Old 04-5-2012, 02:54 PM   #60
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Default Re: Terry's Astronomy Thread.

Oh man, one night I'd love to come to the east side and see what you're probably seeing every night.
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