04.02.10: Pluto Re-imaged.

The most controversial planet (or do you say dwarf planet, or plutoid?) got a new look today. In a press conference, NASA researchers revealed the new “face” of Pluto; a series of images spanning 270 degrees of rotation. To complete these, astronomers scoured 384 images for 4 years using no less than 20 computers. These [...]

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 [...]

How Far Can YOU See?

“How far can you see with that thing?” I hear that one a lot at star parties. It’s a sort of ambiguous question to an astronomer; distance varies with the scale of the structures in our universe observed, and a myriad of factors both near and far conspire to make this number an enigma not [...]

09.10.09: An LCROSS Update.

NASA’s LCROSS spacecraft performed its promised “moon crash” early this AM at 0731 AM EDT… all eyes, electronic and otherwise were on Cabeus crater. Unfortunately, no impact was detected here at Astroguyz HQ in Hudson, Florida, although we did have a rising Sun and a brightening sky to contend with. The 10 AM news conference [...]

Astro-Event of the Week: 05.18.09: Spot a Hubble Classic!

A close up shot of one of the pillars. (Credit: APOD/NASA/Hubble Hertitage Team/STS.I/AURA). 
As all eyes are now in orbit following the intrepid crew of the shuttle Atlantis as they carry out the final repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope, now is a good time to track down one of its classic targets. One of Hubble’s [...]

Viewing the STS-125 launch and a Servicing Mission 4 Update.

Blast-off! (Photo by Author).
On Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 2:01PM EDT local the Shuttle Atlantis blasted off on a historic mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope(HST) one last time. The day was blistering hot at the Kennedy Space Center(KSC), but the launch went off without a hitch. I’d like to share our notes on [...]

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