The Sky is Waiting.
Cue spaceship… it’s Devil’s Tower!
Terror is laying awake in a tent the middle of the night in a South Dakota summer thunderstorm, listening to the tree limbs crack in the distance and waiting for the “half-dollar – do they still make half dollars? – sized hail” that the weather radio promises to arrive. [Read more...]
Looking out over Lake Superior.
(All photos by author).
Well, it’s great to be up north in the summertime once again. Summer season, whether it’s in Wisconsin or our home of Northern Maine, is so drop-dead gorgeous that it can convince you to endure the depth of a long winter, one more time. Of course, it’s not that winter doesn’t have its own charms… and while the past week has seen us slow down our pace for the long Fourth of July weekend a bit, we did manage to take in some unique sites, along with a very distinctive planetarium. [Read more...]
A stellar recipe!
It’s the hottest topic in modern astrophysics. What exactly is dark matter and dark energy? It is kind of amazing to think that astrophysicists do not yet completely understand just what most of the universe is made of. [Read more...]
Grand Yerkes!
Ahhh, cooler weather at last… and while the sixth week of our North American adventure has yet to see us encounter a run on clear skies, we have gotten back out camping once again for the first time in six years. This week has seen us explore the great state of Wisconsin, from its southern Illinois hinterland across to its farmland heart. [Read more...]
Observatories, old and new at Yerkes…
All photos by author.
This past week, we ventured into the crossroads of two future eclipses.
Where will you be in 2017? Last week, we crossed paths with the upcoming total solar eclipse that will span the United States, now just over three years away. It’s not too early to start planning on where you’ll greet the Moon’s umbra now, as the residents of Hopkinsville Kentucky already know. [Read more...]
The Knoxville Sunsphere. All photos by the author.
Well, week three on the road is now in progress, and the past week has seen us span from northern Georgia to eastern Tennessee. Unfortunately, weather hasn’t been our friend thus far during the trip, and while it is indeed cooler here in the Appalachian Mountains, it hasn’t been clear much either. [Read more...]
A properly ring’d Jupiter at the Wetherbee Planetarium in Albany, Georgia. Photo by Author.
Summer’s here and our thoughts have turned northward. Our first full week of Dark Skies 2014 has seen us traverse the great state of Florida into the wilds of western Georgia. And never fear… we’re just entering dark sky territory now.
First up was the Wyndham Orlando Resort on International Drive. Newly refurbished, the Wyndham is favorably located a short shuttle ride from Universal Studios. [Read more...]
The Hubble at the new Atlantis exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center.
(Photo by author).
It has begun.
Last week, we issued the preamble to all that is Dark Skies 2014. This week sees wheels a rollin’ with a quick stop over on the Florida Space Coast. A small step (for a) man, sure, and not the darkest skies, but a stop over at the Kennedy Space Center is a must for any space fan. We’ve been by the KSC both as press and as a tourist about a dozen times over the past six years, and there’s always something new to be seen. Atlantis is now up for exhibit, and we always find that the Holiday Inn in Titusville is a great jump off point for hitting the Space Center. [Read more...]
Astro-Lab, ready for departure…
The first single step is almost upon us…
Welcome to the brave new world of Astroguyz. Ever since we decided to “check out that blogging thing” seven years ago in May 2007, we’ve been about change. Sure, the web has changed and we’ve evolved along with it.
This week, we’re taking that evolution a step further as we prepare to embark on an extended sabbatical across the United States, and perhaps, beyond. Starting in Florida next week on June 1st, we’ll be meandering northward in search of that most elusive and mythical beastie of all: truly dark skies. [Read more...]
Cepheid variable star RS Puppis. Credit: NASA/HST.
It’s arguably one of the greatest questions in modern science. Where are they? Are we truly rare as an intelligent species, or does our brand of curiosity permeate the cosmos? We recently watched a fascinating presentation in the SETI Talks series by Tony Zee that brought up one interesting possibility, a mode of communication that might be staring us in the face right now. [Read more...]
Out May 20th!
It’s out! One of the most prestigious awards in all of science fiction-dom is the annual Nebula Awards. Hey, Hollywood has the Oscars and the Grammys, and sci-fi has the Hugos and the Nebulas, as well as a scattering of other secondary awards. And every year around springtime, Pyr Books puts together an outstanding compilation of the “best of the best” as selected by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. [Read more...]
Ah, tis the month of May.
Perhaps April showers may bring May flowers, but here at Astroguyz HQ, it also marks the very precipice of science fiction movie blockbuster season. The X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man 2 are all on our must see list. Is Marvel about to rule the world? And keep an eye out for those dark horse unknowns that often jump the gate just ahead of those sure-fire bets just prior to Memorial Day weekend. And hey, next year we’ll get a third Hunger Games, an Avengers sequel and a reboot of the Star Wars franchise… can the internet survive? Will fans take a shine to a galaxy far, far away according to Abrams? In the meantime, here’s some science fiction and more hot off of the press to keep you satiated: [Read more...]
Coming up this Wednesday.
Credit: The Virtual Telescope Project.
One of the most photogenic celestial events of the month occurs this Wednesday, as the waxing gibbous Moon meets the planet Saturn.
And although this conjunction will be a near miss for most of the planet, observers in southern Australia and New Zealand will see the Moon occult (pass in front of) the ringed planet around 12:00 Universal Time (UT) on the evening of May14th/15th. [Read more...]
On sale now.
Space is becoming a crowded place. In the past 50+ years, the environs of space around our fair planet have evolved, and the political and even legal landscape has struggled to keep up with it.
This week’s review entitled Crowded Orbits: Conflict and Cooperation in Space by James Clay Moltz out from Columbia University Press is a fascinating look at where we’ve come from in commercial and military space, and where we may be headed. Fans of this “space” (bad pun intended) will recall our review of Mr. Moltz’s book Asia’s Space Race recently. [Read more...]
Astro-gear, old and new.
It was one of the biggest blessings and curses as a teenager and astronomy enthusiast growing up in Northern Maine back in the pre-internet days of the 1980’s.
An interest in astronomy – or any academic pursuit, for that matter – was largely a solitary affair, conducted mainly in a vacuum. Once I had devoured the two outdated books on astronomy or any topic of interest at the local public library, it was up to me to simply approach and learn the night sky. The Bangor Daily News ran one monthly column on astronomy by science writer Clair Wood, and the Farmer’s Almanac gave local rising and setting times for my location. [Read more...]
It’s not the Death Star… firing up the laser at LIGO.
Credit: NSF/LIGO, Used with permission.
It has arrived.
The search for gravitational waves is big news right now, and the hunt has heated up thanks to direct evidence for inflation in the early universe from the BICEP 2 project based in Antarctica.
But there’s another unique observatory on the hunt for gravity’s ghost: LIGO, or the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory. [Read more...]
On sale now!
What if? Is a great historical thought exercise to play. What if the Germans got the bomb first? What if Gettysburg had ended differently? Are we existing in some sort of strange alternate history now, and is there a reality in which Paris Hilton is the lizard-tailed President of the United States? [Read more...]
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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.
Week 8: Of Angles and Astrophysics
The CHIPS neutrino detector in the lab.
All photos by author.
Us men are forever looking for a clandestine domain to call our own. Batman has the Batcave, Superman has his Arctic Fortress of Solitude, and supervillians seem to be forever finding secluded islands on which to build their secret lairs. And while one could argue about the psychology that underpins the drive to head to such a remote locale, said heroes and villains would have plenty of islands to choose from in our present base of operations at Lake of the Woods in northern Minnesota. [Read more...]