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Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.
Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.
The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.
Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.
Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.
Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.
A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.
15.02.11: New Views of Comet Tempel 1 Courtesy of StardustNExT.
The re-designated StardustNExT spacecraft performed another first this Valentine’s Day, completing the first ever follow-up encounter of comet Tempel 1.
The images show a stunning approach culminating in a pass from a crescent through gibbous phase as the probe approached the comet at 10.9 kilometers per second. Closest approach was 200 kilometers at 04:42 UTC early on the 15th and the probe nabbed a series of 30 frames that has already be stitched together into a pretty nifty animation. The images above show a new face to the terrain of this enigmatic object with familiar craters but also a varied terrain of smooth areas laced with fault scarps… Comet Tempel 1 has obviously been subject to extensive periods of recent resurfacing in this armchair observer’s opinion.
Of course the big question on everybody’s mind is: where’s THE crater? Deep Impact released a 816 lb impactor which struck the comet on July 4th, 2005 which presumably left a pretty decent sized scar. As these words go to blog, legions of eagle-eyed astronomers professional and amateur are scouring the images for a comparison correlation. Keep in mind, we’re seeing Tempel 1 at a different vantage point, and as any lunar observer will tell you, regions of an alien surface can look radically different due to light and illumination angle. NASA plans a news conference coming right up at 3:30 PM live this afternoon on NASA TV to discuss preliminary results.
And the future of StardustNExT? With its remaining fuel exhausted, the gallant spacecraft will stay in an elongated heliocentric orbit looping near 1 to 1.5 A.U. But what a rich bonanza of science the 12 year mission has been; Two comets, one asteroid (Annefrank), one sample return, and one followup!