Target Asteroids!
Published April 19, 2012
Not quite what NASA has in mind when they ask people to target asteroids.
Many of you know by now, I’m quite the citizen science junkie. Any way that people can make contributions to real science is a major “win” in my book. Recently, NASA announced a new outreach project that aims to enlist the help of amateur astronomers in discovering near-Earth objects, and study their characteristics. The project is aptly named, “Target Asteroids!” and will help support NASA’s Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission.
Scheduled for launch in 2016, the OSIRIS-Rex mission will help our understanding of near-Earth objects by studying the properties of asteroids, measuring their non-gravitational forces and provide observations that can be compared with data obtained by telescope observations from Earth. In 2023, OSIRIS-REx will return back to Earth at least 2.11 ounces (60 grams) of surface material from the asteroid.
“Asteroids are a rich and accessible historic archive of the origin of our Solar System and life, a valuable source of mineral resources, and potentially hazardous Earth impactors that civilization must learn to deal with,” said Dante Lauretta (University of Arizona). “Our mission will address all these issues.”
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The Chaotic Jewel of Orion’s Sword
Published April 10, 2012
False-Color image of the Orion Nebula taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA
If you’d like to catch Orion before it sets, look to the south-west after dark. With a moderate telescope, you should still be able to catch somewhat decent views, simply aim your telescope at the middle “star” in Orion’s sword. Additionally, from April 11th – 20th, you can participate in GLOBE at Night by viewing Orion and reporting your findings at http://www.globeatnight.org
72-inch Perkins Telescope in Flagstaff, Az.
Published April 8, 2012
Yep, that's me standing next to the Perkins 72" Telescope. For scale I'm 6'3
For me, this experience was very memorable, as it was my first experience using a “big” telescope. Interestingly enough, the experience wasn’t all that different from using my 8″ reflector on a computerized german equatorial mount. Hell, the Perkins sounded about the same as my telescope does when slewing, just a lot louder!
I plan on doing a feature-length blog post about my experience with the Perkins, but wanted to at least post this pic as a “teaser” for the upcoming post.
If you want to read more about the Perkins Telescope, visit: http://www.lowell.edu/research_telescopes_perkins.php
Separated at Birth?
Published March 27, 2012
Separated at Birth? At left, filaments of gas and dust are visible in ultraviolet light. At right, the space organisms featured in "Encounter at Farpoint". Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech, CBS/Paramount.
A recent image (at left) taken by NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer spacecraft shows the Cygnus Loop Nebula – a supernova remnant about 1,500 light-years from Earth. Featured prominently are “tendrils” of hot dust and gas, which glow brightly in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum.
To compare apparent sizes in the night sky, the Cygnus loop is about half the width of the Andromeda galaxy in our night sky, or about three times wider than the full moon. You can find the Cygnus Loop Nebula next to one of the “wings” in the constellation Cygnus, with the “visible” portions known as several NGC objects (6960, 6974, 6979, 6992, and 6995).
Astronomers estimate that the supernova that created the nebula would have easily been bright enough to be seen from Earth by the naked eye.
Shown to the right is a pair of “Star Jellies” as seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Encounter at Farpoint”.
If you’d like to learn more about NASA’s GALEX mission, you can read more at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/galex/index.html
Source(s):NASA Image of the Day Gallery / CBS-Paramount
Happy 2nd Birthday, Dear Astronomer!
Published March 19, 2012
Cake Day
Yesterday, March 18th marked the two year anniversary of the Dear Astronomer website.
Interestingly enough, I had started about three years back with a Facebook page. The past few years have been truly amazing, and I want to take a moment to sincerely thank each and every site visitor, plusketeer, follower and fan.
Many people have written in with interesting questions, and I’ve been honored to help provide answers that enable people to better understand this strange, amazing, and infinitely complex universe we are a tiny part of.
This site is just a small part of my ever-growing mission to increase science literacy. For the past 8 months, I’ve also been blogging for Universe Today, and occasionally blogging for The Planetary Society Blog, and PhysOrg.com I’ve also spent a considerable amount of time participating in the amazing science communities over on Google+
Looking at the next year (and beyond), there are tons of new opportunities I look forward to participating in. To help usher the start of my fourth year as a space/astronomy blogger, I have a special treat for everyone.
Angry Birds in Spaaaaaaace!
Published March 16, 2012Earlier this week at the SXSW festival, NASA presented the above video featuring astronaut and ISS flight engineer, Don Pettit.
The video is a tongue-in-cheek demonstration of basic physics concepts such as trajectories. In order to show how trajectories work, Pettit used bungee cord to catapult a stuffed Angry Bird toy through the International Space Station.
For those of you who participate on Google+ be sure to add Don Pettit to your circles, as he regularly posts great content from aboard the ISS.
You can view Pettit’s Google+ profile at: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115906812292895633529/posts
Source:NASA/YouTube
