Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Satellite Spotting: A Quick How-to Guide.

 

Two objects you can see tonite; the Hubble Space Telescope & (if it’s in orbit) the Space Shuttle! (Credit: Art Explosion).

Go out any reasonably clear night around dawn or dusk and look up. Chances are, after a few minutes, a moving “star” will drift silently by. What you’ve just seen is a satellite in low [...]

Meteor Shower Observing.

November 6, 2008 by David Dickinson  
Filed under Real Science, Real Science you can do

The Geminid meteors. (Credit: APOD/Erno Berko).
Stand outside, on any clear, moonless night, and watch the sky. Odds are within a few minutes a meteor will slide silently by. While most things in universe and astronomy seem to happen on geological time scales, meteors are quick and fleeting, and a meteor storm can be one of [...]

Join Forces with the Great Star Count!

October 16, 2008 by David Dickinson  
Filed under Real Science, Real Science you can do

Good news; its time to take action in the fight against light pollution!

A Distribution of North American Participants. (Credit: Windows on the Universe).
   On October 20th, 2008, Windows on the Universe will be launching the 2nd Annual World Wide Star Count  as part of its citizen sciece based initiative. The premise is dirt simple; look [...]

The Drake Equation: A Primer.

August 28, 2008 by David Dickinson  
Filed under Real Science, Real Science you can do

Patiently Listening…(Credit: APOD/NASA).
   Nothing fires the ol’ mental juices like the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Only recently has the very idea of alien life moved from the realm of science fiction to a possible science reality in our lifetimes.  

Science on Your Desktop

Last week’s answer: Our luckless Venus transit astronomer was none other than 18th century French scientist Guillaume Le Gentil. Had he been successful, he would have no doubt been a more recognizable name today!

 
(Courtesy: Flickr 2.0).

  When nights turn cloudy, we here at Astroguyz head for ye’ ole Internet. The proliferation of online science programs [...]

Determine your Longitude: the Lunar Eclipse Method Part II

(All Photos by Author).
Hopefully, you had clear skies at your locale. My luck was pretty good… mostly clear skies through-out! My initial impressions were that of a very bright eclipse; the southern rim of the moon seemed especially bright. The color ranged from a dark blood red on the northern edge to an overall brownish glow. [...]

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