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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 Algonquin Indians had names for each of the seasonal Full Moons, many of which survive today. The Full Snow Moon pictured occurs in the month of December, when the first large winter storms coat the ground with snow. This Full Moon also tends to fall near the Winter Solstice, and thus rides high in the nightly sky opposite to the Sun on long winter nights.
Every rocket launch is unique, but twilight shuttle launches where by far the most impressive. The image pictured was of the April 5th, 2010 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center at dawn. The exhaust plume caught the rising Sun overhead just right, and numerous noctilucent clouds persisted right up until sunrise. Unfortunately, space shuttle launches are now relegated to the pages of history.
Review: The Princeton Tec Red-Light.
An indispensable piece of astronomical gear!
We always find astronomy in unexpected places. Recently, a new review product came to our attention while reading No Easy Day, an account of the Navy SEAL/DEVGRU raid that took out Osama bin Laden. The May 2nd, 2011 raid was timed to coincide with the darkness afforded by a New Moon (another astronomical tie-in), but it was a piece of SEAL gear and its cross-over potential for astronomy that caught our attention.
As noted in the book, The Princeton Tec MPLS series of headlamps are the favored personal illuminator of Navy SEALs in the field. Though usually advertized for military/tactical applications, astronomers are looking for the same thing as Special Forces operators; a source of illumination that won’t destroy precious dark adapted vision.
Our review sample was Princeton Tec’s Fred Tactical MPLS headlamp. 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 cellophane!
We’re proud to say that the Fred is a top performer. The 1” wide band is meant to fit around a Kevlar helmet, but this also makes for a comfortable (and non-scalp cutting) fit around the head after even hours of wear. The 45 Lumen light is powered by 3 AAA batteries giving it up to 180 hours of use. We prefer the AAA setup, as we can use either recharables or alkaline batteries for years to come. No hunting for obscure (& also expensive and non-rechargeable) flat watch batteries like with other headlamps. The Fred weighs 78 grams “loaded,” and has 1 red LED and 3 white LEDs affording high and low settings for each.
We took the Fred out on an astronomical expedition under some of the darkest skies that Georgia and North Carolina had to offer. The Fred is a first-rate piece of astronomical gear! First off, it provides a night light that is truly red; many competitors on the market actually have a pinkish cast or orange hue. We find that we can easily turn it off and on while wearing convertible gloves, a real plus in cold weather. The Fred is vertical adjustment only, but of course, the owner can easily do the adjustments “to the horizontal” simply by turning their head.
We only found one possible objection to astronomical use; the bulk of the Fred on our forehead meant we had to slide it to the side to look through the telescope eyepiece. This is an easy enough maneuver, and the price you pay for the 3 x AA battery setup. Still, its handiness overcomes this one drawback, making the Fred our new headlamp of choice. We could also easily see its application for nighttime jogging, bike riding, hunting and late night hostel-book reading. The Fred retails on Amazon for about 25$ US, and fits our time honored criterion of “great tech that just works.” Consider the Fred tactical MPLS headlamp the next time you and your crew pop in on a terrorist baddie or visit that secret dark sky observing site!