Posted by Larry Sessions in Astronomy Essentials | Clusters Nebulae Galaxies|3 days ago
Myriads of galaxies, visible only to those with medium-to-large telescopes, shine among the stars in the “Realm of the Galaxies.” Study of the Coma Cluster of galaxies aided in the discovery of dark matter.
Posted by Kelly Kizer Whitt in Astronomy Essentials | Human World|4 days ago
Celebrate dark night skies and help limit light pollution by raising awareness through the annual International Dark Sky Week, April 5 to 12, 2021. Find links to global events here.
April 2021 showcases 3 bright planets. Mars is the only easy-to-see bright planet in the evening sky. Jupiter and Saturn adorn the early morning hours. Mercury and Venus hover too close to the sun’s glare for easy viewing.
Posted by Bruce McClure in Astronomy Essentials|1 week ago
The king planet Jupiter reaches its equinox on May 2, 2021, an event that always causes mutual events of Jupiter’s 4 major moons. It’s an eclipse season of the moons.
Posted by Bruce McClure in Astronomy Essentials|3 weeks ago
The full moon on March 28, 2021, ranks as the 4th-closest (and therefore 4th-largest and 4th-brightest) of the 12 full moons of 2021. Is it a supermoon? Here’s why experts disagree.
Posted by Eddie Irizarry in Astronomy Essentials | Space|3 weeks ago
When the asteroid labeled 2001 FO32 sweeps closest to Earth on March 21, 2021, it’ll be moving at such a fast pace that observers using telescopes might be able to detect its motion – its drift in front of the stars – in real time. Charts and info here.
Posted by Deborah Byrd in Astronomy Essentials|3 weeks ago
Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere at the equinox on March 20, 2021, at 09:37 UTC. At the same moment, the Southern Hemisphere enters the autumn season.
The zodiacal light is an eerie light extending up from the horizon. This is a good time of the year to see it in the evening from the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere, look before dawn!
Posted by EarthSky in Astronomy Essentials|1 month ago
Did you see the awe-inspiring total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017? Millions across North America witnessed it. When and where will the next North American total solar eclipse take place? Turns out … it’s sooner than you might think.
Posted by Andy Briggs in Astronomy Essentials | Space|1 month ago
A quasar is an extremely bright and distant point-like source visible to radio telescopes. The source is a so-called Active Galactic Nucleus, fueled by a supermassive black hole.
What are the best solar system and deep-sky objects to view to get the most out of your binoculars? From moon-encircled worlds to starry knots in the Milky Way, our list makes the sky’s wonders easy to find.
Posted by Deborah Byrd in Astronomy Essentials | Moon Phases|2 months ago
No matter where you are on the globe, we all see the same moon. So why do photos from a distant location sometimes look different from what you’re seeing?
Posted by Deborah Byrd in Astronomy Essentials | Earth|2 months ago
If you considered only Earth’s brightness, you could still see our world from as far away as the orbit of the 8th planet, Neptune. In practice, though, from that distance, Earth would be lost in the sun’s glare. How does Earth look from space? Spacecraft photos tell the tale.
Asteroids and comets are generally composed of different stuff. They both orbit our sun, but, for the most part, reside in different parts of our solar system. Yet some rare objects display characteristics of both asteroids and comets.
Posted by Kelly Kizer Whitt in Astronomy Essentials | Human World|2 months ago
Meteorite hunters find terrain to hike in that is light-colored, with few plants to obscure the ground. They look for rocks that are dissimilar to their surroundings. Later, they analyze the properties of unusual rocks to see if they’ve discovered a meteorite.