24.10.09: Enceladan Seas?

Move over Europa ; yet another moon may harbor a subsurface sea. Saturn’s moon Enceladus has been inching its way up the charts as of late as a candidate world for extraterrestrial life. Barely 300 miles in diameter, the tiny world is repeatedly flexed by Saturn’s gravity and an increased orbital eccentricity pumped up by [...]

21.9.9: The Autumnal Equinox.

Can you feel it? The brunt of northern hemisphere summer is about over, giving  way to our favorite season here at Astroguyz; Fall. It’s not just our collective imagination; this Tuesday marks the Autumnal Equinox, or the spring (vernal) Equinox for those down under. This marks the mid way point for the Sun’s apparent journey [...]

Astro-event of the Week: July 15-21st 2008

 
A Dawn Comet. Looking Eastward from mid-northern Latitudes.
(Credit: Stellarium). 
     Comets are the great surprise packages of the solar system. Often appearing out of nowhere, they can brighten up with surprising rapidity, or unexpectedly fizzle, like Kahoutek did in the 1970s. Hence, astronomers are very reluctant to cry “comet of the century” unless they are very certain.