Astro-Event:The Vernal Equinox.

Watch for that rising/setting equinox Sun! (Credit: Art Explosion).
     Batten down the hatches; spring is here in a most astronomical way. The vernal equinox occurs this Saturday, March 20th at 17:32 Universal Time; expect uniform amounts of sunshine and darkness worldwide as well as a Sun rising directly due east and setting due west. The [...]

12.03.10:Update: A Phobos Flyby/Martian Moons Ephemeris II.

 
 Mars Express scouts the proposed landing site(s) for Phobos-Grunt.
    The pictures are in: ESA’s Mars Express has performed two close flybys of Phobos in the past weeks and performed sensitive gravimetric as well as photographic reconnaissance passes of the bizarre moon. Of course, the data reveals more questions than it solves. Is Phobos solid rock, or [...]

In Defense of the Farmer’s Almanac.

 
    Sometimes, astronomical information comes from the most unlikely of sources. I first started into a lifelong interest of astronomy as a kid, growing up in the backwoods of northern Maine. There, a pristine sky that would be the envy of any backyard astronomer awaited almost every night, right beyond my doorstep. But I soon [...]

04.03.10: A Close Flyby of Phobos.

Phobos on a pass of Mars Express last July. (Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/G. Neukum).

  
 The European Space Agencies’ (ESA) Mars Express orbiter completed the closest ever flyby of the misshapen Martian moon, Phobos, but don’t expect to see any mind blowing pictures…yet. Part of a series of 12 flybys, last nights’ pass skimmed to worldlet by 67 [...]

04.03.10- The Edgar Wilson Award: A Look at Last Year’s Winners.

 
   In this age of astronomical automation and ever increasingly deeper sky surveys, many believe the era of the amateur comet discoveries to be over. A look at last year’s Edgar Wilson Award winners, however, tells a different tale. Established in 1998, this award has historically split a $20,000 purse among 2 to 6 individuals [...]

24.02.10: A Robotic Telescope Raffle!

   Ever wish you could have your very own robotic telescope based at a world class dark sky site to utilize on those murky winter nights? Well, the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is having a raffle next month to award a winner a years’ free access to their recently established AAVSONet, a [...]

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