... mountains encircling the moon's equator. On the anti-Saturnian side of Iapetus, the ridge appears to break up, forming distinct, partially bright mountains. The Voyager I and Voyager II spacecraft provided the first knowledge of the peaks, and
Posted by Lights in the Dark
Because you simply cannot have enough incredibly beautiful photographs of aurorae in your life, here's one taken near Tromso, Norway, on March 28, 2012 by photographer Helge Mortensen:[Click to coronalmassejectenate, and you should.]What a shot! Dead center in the picture is the Pleiades, the small cluster of bright stars. The bright object is the Moon, and to the lower right is Venus. If you look carefully, just above the horizon, lies Jupiter. To see it, start at the Pleiades, let your eyes mo
Posted by Bad Astronomy
... by the haze-covered moon. It's a color-composite made from images taken in Cassini's red, green and blue color channels, and the resulting image was color adjusted a bit to appear more Saturny. Cassini also made some
Posted by Lights in the Dark
... always enjoy visiting the Morning Show at KFOG to talk astronomy. Listen in to our fun discussion about the Super Full Moon, the Ring of Fire Eclipse, and Lunar Gravity! Click here to listen.
Posted by The Urban Astronomer
In 1572, Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, along with observers around the world, noticed a new star in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Posted by My Astronomy Blog
... the so-called Supermoon, when the Moon happens to be full at the same time it's at perigee, the point in its orbit closest to the Earth.
Posted by My Astronomy Blog
... I deflated the Supermoon stuff over the weekend, I swear I didn't mean it literally!This amazing shot was taken by astronaut Andr Kuipers from the International Space Station on May 5, 2012, as the perigee full Moon set behind the Earth's limb. The Earth's atmosphere bends light from the Moon, acting like a lens, pushing the bottom part of the Moon up into the top. Science once again saves me from embarrassment. I was pretty sure the Moon wouldn't take it personally. I
Posted by Bad Astronomy
... airplane in front of the moon (single frame). The image above is – for now – the closest I can get to this dream. Clear skies!
Posted by The Sky Above
... of Your ‘Supermoon' Images from Around the World (162 words) Â nancy for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink |
Posted by Universe Today
Lunar Feeding FrenzySo, this weekend we're supposed to be seeing something called the “SuperMoon”. ÂI don't know what that means, really. ÂIt's another superlative name like “OctoMom” or “MegaMillions” that really doesn't tell you much. ÂOh, sure, MegaMillions is a come-0n to buy lottery tickets, but honestly, the last time I bought one, the prize
Posted by TheSpacewriter's Ramblings
... the so-called Supermoon, when the Moon happens to be full at the same time it's at perigee, the point in its orbit closest to the Earth. This makes it somewhat larger and brighter than normal, and that's getting a lot of attention in the press. I pointed out a few days ago that in reality, you almost certainly won't notice the difference between this full Moon and any other, mostly because the difference is small, and our eyes and brain are terrible at judging things like that wit
Posted by Bad Astronomy
... another “Supermoon” to our night sky. As the Moon
Posted by Lights in the Dark
Venus moving across the face of the Sun, from our vantage point here on Earth, is such a rare event, that astronomers and observatories around the world have been preparing for this year's Venus Transit, on June 5-6. And one observatory that is literally around the world, — the Hubble Space Telescope — is even
Posted by Universe Today
While many are hoping to see a larger-than-usual view of the Moon this weekend, here's some great 3-D closeups courtesy of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and imaging wizard Nathanial Burton Bradford. This great 3-D view (Red/Cyan glasses needed) shows quite an interesting young impact crater on the Moon, (17. 682ÂS, 144. 408ÂE) west of Isaev crater. Click
Posted by Universe Today
While we are on the subject of the Moon, here is another wonderful Citizen Science project you can be a part of. CosmoQuest. org is a group of astronomers who have created a series of citizen science projects for people who would like to contribute to astronomical science.MoonMappers is a project where you identify and measure craters using high resolution images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. You will need to register first but this is quick and easy. Once you are registered go to the Mo
Posted by Astroblog
Illustration of the orbit of the Moon around the Earth. Distances for apogee and perigee are given for the 2011 Full Moons because I was lazy and didn't want to redraw the diagram. The Full Moon of this Sunday May 6 (in Australian time zones anyway, it's 3:34 May 6 UT, which is 13:34 May 6 AEST), occurs at perigee. Some folks have started to call perigean Full Moons "Super Moons" for reasons that, to my mind, are not entirely justified. Still, we have the name, let's move on. What will
Posted by Astroblog
... fantastic images of the moon's heavily-cratered and frozen surface. Here's just a few of
Posted by Universe Today
We are well into the wonders of the spring night sky when May begins and we may' take advantage of the many clear nights we have been subjected to recently...
Posted by Astronotes
... three years, the little moon didn't disappoint! (...)Read the rest of Enceladus On Display In Newest Images From Cassini (355 words) Â
Posted by Universe Today
This weekend will provide the full Moon's closest approach of the year to Earth. On Saturday, May 5, 2012 the Moon could appear as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full Moons of 2012, according to some calculations. Will you notice it? Not if you aren't really been paying attention, or have
Posted by Universe Today
Astronomy | CosmoQuest | I give talks about asteroid impacts quite often, and sometimes people ask me why we should worry about them. I reply, "Go outside and look at the Moon. The.
Posted by My Astronomy Blog
... give talks about asteroid impacts quite often, and sometimes people ask me why we should worry about them. I reply, "Go outside and look at the Moon. Then tell me we don't need to worry about asteroid impacts!" The Moon is covered in craters, and it really brings home — literally — the fact that we need to understand impacts better. I'm not being facetious, either. Looking at the Moon is a great way to learn about craters. By measuring their size, position, and shape, we can find ou
Posted by Bad Astronomy
... airplane in front of the moon (single frame). The image above is – for now – the closest I can get to this dream. Clear skies!
Posted by The Sky Above
This April, as the weather has improved and I've been conducting star parties, I've found myself focusing on some striking pairs of planets and stars that punctuate the night sky this spring. The pairs are all located in the Zodiac, the band across the sky that houses the well-known 12 signs, and also the planets and the Moon. The pairs of planets and stars are easy to find, and when you find them, you get a big picture of the band of the Zodiac, with the planets in our Solar System superimposed
Posted by The Urban Astronomer
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Are you ready for another week filled with bright planets, a meteor shower, challenging lunar features, interesting stars and astronomy history? Then you have come to the right place! Bring along your telescopes and binoculars and meet me in the backyard… (...)Read the rest of Weekly SkyWatcher's Forecast: April 30-May 6, 2012
Posted by Universe Today
Saturn's curious moon Phoebe features a heavily-cratered shape and orbits the ringed planet backwards at a considerable distance of over 8 million miles (12. 8 million km). According to recent news from the Cassini mission Phoebe may actually be a Kuiper Belt object, having more in common with planets than it does with any of Saturn's
Posted by Universe Today
Even though the Late Heavy Bombardment is somewhat of a controversial idea, new research has revealed this period of impacts to the Earth-Moon system may have lasted much longer than originally estimated and well into the time when early life was forming on Earth. Additionally, this late-late period of impacts — 3. 8 billion to 2. 5
Posted by Universe Today
On April 23, 1972,ÂApollo 16Âastronauts Charlie Duke and John Young embarked on the third and final EVA of the mission,ÂexploringÂthe Descartes Highlands via Lunar Roving Vehicle. During the EVA, just before setting up a Solar Wind Collector, Duke placed a small family photo he had brought along onto the lunar surface and snapped a few
Posted by Lights in the Dark
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) made a low pass over the Apollo 16 site last fall, capturing images of the leftovers from John Young and Charlie Duke's 1972 exploration of the Descartes Highlands. The video above takes us on a tour of the Apollo 16 site from lunar orbit, and includes audio from the original
Posted by Universe Today
Well, the family photo, anyway. On April 23, 1972, Apollo 16 astronauts Charlie Duke and John Young embarked on the third and final EVA of the mission, exploring the Descartes Highlands via Lunar Roving Vehicle. During the EVA, before setting up a Solar Wind Collector, Duke placed a small family photo he had brought along
Posted by Universe Today
Like a challenge? Right now you can join in a contest to mark a million craters, as part of the Moon Mappers project. Our challenge to you is to try and observe 1 million craters on the Moon before the full Moon again rises in the evening sky on May 5, said Dr. Pamela Gay,
Posted by Universe Today
On December 24, 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, William Anders and Jim Lovell were the first humans to witness an Earthrise as our home planet came up over the lunar horizon. The photos they captured were the first of their kind, instantly inspiring the imaginations of millions and highlighting the beauty and fragility of
Posted by Universe Today
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! What a great week to just enjoy some great unaided eye astronomy observations. Who can resist the beautiful appearance of Mars in Leo? Also this week, you'll enjoy not one – but two – meteor showers as the Mu Virginids come to town mid-week and the Bootids light up the weekend. Get
Posted by Universe Today
... man's landing on the moon.
Posted by My Astronomy Blog
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