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[...] Fans of this site will recall that we’re no stranger to red-light illumination, including the red-light glove. Heck, we’ve made our own red-lights with red [...]
The Sky is Waiting.
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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.
The Rise of Glovelite.
In our never-ending quest to explore the cosmos, we here at Astroguyz HQ probably own more red lights than conventional flashlights. As we mentioned last month in our post about tips for observing, light at red wavelengths can give us star chart reading capability while still preserving that all important night vision.
Still, the quest to find an available red-light can be humbling in the dark. Headlamps are a good solution, but often can blind a fellow astronomer, and are often more orange than red besides…
Enter Glovelite. Manufactured by Mission Lights out of Bangor Maine, Glovelite is the wearable light that “You can’t drop.” Glovelite puts light at your fingertips, perfect for map reading, writing, or keyboarding (for those of us who “hunt and peck”) in the dark. We received our product sample just in time for a field test at two local back-to-back star parties in one 24 hour period. We used Glovelite exclusively and extensively, and let me just say it fits our two most vaunted criterions for new gizmos… its simple and it “just works!” Whether using it to guide eyeballs to the eyepiece or reading a chart to find M37 in the constellation Aurigae, Glovelite performed flawlessly. In fact, it was so comfortable and unobtrusive that I drove home and nearly fell asleep with it on!
Glovelite comes in green, white, and the all important red LED with left and right-handed versions. Sizes run from medium to large to over-glove sizes for cold weather applications. Glovelite runs on two each #2016 size batteries, and will operate at a rating of 5,000 millicandelas for 8 continuous hours of operation. Pilots, the military, hunters and boaters will all love Glovelite; anytime you need to see without being seen or ruin your night version, Glovelite would be for you. In fact, I could see the brighter white light applications being good for Trick or Treaters, or just reading books after lights out. Staying in hostels as we backpacked around the world, my wife and I can attest to the usefulness of a ready source of personal light in a packed bunk room after hours.
Do give Glovelite a try at that next crucial star party or serious astro-imaging run. At $28.95 US, we’ve paid much more for less light. As mentioned on their website, Glovelite is waterproof and can be machine washed, and the dual 2016 batteries can be replaced by a single 2032 lithium watch battery for applications that call for reduced brightness. At very least, a pair of Glovelites at that next Star Trek convention will give you a neat, Borg-like appearance!
Next week, it’s back to the science books (we promise, this time!) With intrigue in a time of Gravity Waves with Gravity’s Ghost!