Astronomy News
Dr. Neal Sumerlin keeps us abreast of happenings in the night sky and the progress of the new Belk Astronomical Observatory.
Blogs we recommend
Other Posts:
Describing the Indescribable (07/22/2009)
Total Solar Eclipse in July (06/07/2009)
Other Earths (05/20/2009)
Save Those Old Computers! (04/13/2009)
Play With Pictures from Mars! (04/13/2009)
Saturn in 2009 (04/13/2009)
The New Worlds (02/04/2009)
Christmas at the Moon (12/10/2008)
Night Sky Happenings (11/17/2008)
Power Sources for Space Probes (11/17/2008)
R.I.P., Mars Phoenix Lander (11/17/2008)
Pictures of Planets (11/17/2008)
Ice Geysers of Enceladus (09/22/2008)
Constellations (09/22/2008)
Happy Equinox Day! (09/22/2008)
More News from Mars (06/04/2008)
Search (but no rescue) on Mars (05/20/2008)
We lose a friend (05/03/2008)
Quiz winner! (04/29/2008)
Seeing and Patience (04/22/2008)
The World at Night (03/31/2008)
New Stars that are Really Old (03/14/2008)
Latest From Planetary Spacecraft (03/14/2008)
Lunar Eclipse Update (02/18/2008)
Aiming a Telescope (02/18/2008)
Observatory Update (02/04/2008)
Venus and Jupiter in the Morning (02/04/2008)
Total Lunar Eclipse (02/04/2008)
Messenger Mission to Mercury (02/04/2008)
Potpourri of Space News
Posted on 12/10/2008Rather than risk leaving out something of interest, I am listing several short items with links for those who would like to read more detail.
· For my money, the very best blog about solar system matters is maintained by Emily Lakdawalla at this site: http://planetary.org/blog/. Her two most recent posts concern new evidence for ice glaciers on Mars, and a status review of current interplanetary missions.
· While we are on the subject of web sites you should bookmark (We were, weren't we?), the Astronomy Picture of the Day (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html) should be at the top of the list for anyone interested in beautiful and fascinating images.
· If you have some 3D glasses (I just happen to have a pair sitting on my desk; evidence if it were ever needed of my charter membership in the Society of Nerds), you can take advantage of these new image pairs taken from Mars orbit: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/anaglyph/index.php
· In 1572, 37 years before the invention of the telescope, Tycho Brahe observed a "new star" where none had been seen before. It was bright enough to be visible in the daytime for several weeks, and only faded from night time visibility over many months. We have known for some time that it was a supernova; the question was-what kind? We now have some answers: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article5282644.ece
· Mars Science Laboratory, the next planned mission to Mars, has been postponed. Originally scheduled for launch late in the summer of 2009, it has been delayed until late in 2011. Even though the project is a few months behind schedule (not two years behind), Earth and Mars are favorably aligned for launch only every 26 months; the next launch window closes too soon, and the one after that does not open until two years later: http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/12/04/nasa-delays-mars-science-laboratory-launch-to-2011/
· The Hubble Space Telescope continues to provide us with breathtaking images. One of the latest is of the heart of M13, a globular cluster located about 25,000 light years away from us. M13 is an easy object for even small telescopes, and one guaranteed to draw gasps from viewers seeing it for the first time. But of course this level of detail is only seen with an instrument like the Hubble: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/40/. For those of you who won't refuse to click on a Wikipedia link, here is a very good and comprehensive article about globular clusters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_cluster.
· Water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a star 63 light years away. Just pause for a moment to let that last sentence sink in. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/081210-exoplanet-water-vapor.html