Astronomers See Further October 30, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in Science & Math Info.Tags: Astronomy, European Southern Observatory, Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, National Science Foundation, gamma ray burst, GRB 090423
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In this artist's concept, dense knots of dust in otherwise normal galaxies dim the light of a dark gamma-ray burst (center). The dust absorbs most or all of a burst's visible light but not higher-energy X-rays and gamma rays. Image Credit NASA/Swift/Aurore Simonnet
The light from a star that exploded 13 million years ago was recently detected by NASA’s Swift satellite. The explosion is known as a gamma-ray burst (GRB) & has been named GRB 090423. Gamma-ray bursts are thought to be connected to the formation of black holes as massive stars collapse. First seen by Swift in April, teams of astronomers using the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, the European Southern Observatory’s 8.2-meter Very Large Telescope, and the 3.6-meter Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo recently verified the new find. For more information, see Science Daily.
Orionid Meteor Shower Peaking October 20, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in Science & Math Info.Tags: Astronomy, Orionid meteor shower
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A green and red Orionid meteor striking the sky below Milky Way and to the right of Venus. Zodiacal light is also seen at the image The trail appears slightly curved due to edge distortion in the lens. Image credit: Mila Zinkova/Wikipedia
The Orionid meteor shower is peaking on Wednesday. The Orionid meteor shower is due to the Earth passing debris from Halley’s Comet, the source of the Orionids. Peaking viewing time is before sunrise on Wednesday, Oct. 21st. No telescope will be required to view the Orionids. For more information, see the NASA website.
This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license versions 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, and 1.0.
New Exoplanets Discovered October 19, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in Science & Math Info.Tags: Astronomy, ESO, European Southern Observatory, Gliese 667, HARPS
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The newly discovered system Gliese 667 (Artist’s impression). Image credit: ESO
Astronomers using the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) spectrograph, which is attached to the 11.8 foot telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s facility in Chile, have discovered 32 new planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. These planets range in size from about 5 times the size of Earth to about 5 times the size of Jupiter. The team of astronomers also announced that they believe about 40% of all stars like our Sun are orbited by planets. More planets have also been discovered and their discovery will be formally announced later in the year. For more information, see ScienceNews.
Hubble Shows Us A Beautiful Collision October 16, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in Science & Math Info.Tags: Arp 243, Astronomy, Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, NGC 2623
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NGC 2623 or Arp 243. (Image Credit: NASA, ESA and A. Evans (Stony Brook University, New York)).
This image from the Hubble Space Telescope looks like a two-armed galaxy. Instead, what is actually captured in this image are two spiral galaxies in a high-speed collision 250 million light-years away. This double galaxy, NGC 2623 or Arp 243, is located in the constellation Cancer. The collision has caused the two galaxies to merge at their cores, but clusters of young stars are forming in the arms. For more information, see Discover.
Spitzer Space Telescope Used To Find Saturn’s New Ring October 8, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in Science & Math Info.Tags: Astronomy, Saturn, Spitzer Space Telescope
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Artist's conception of the new ring. The inset shows an enlarged image of Saturn, as seen by the W.M. Keck Observatory at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, in infrared light. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Keck
Astronomers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope discovered a new ring around Saturn. The ring is too diffuse to reflect sunlight and cannot be seen with the naked eye. The particles that compose the ring are visible using infrared light, light that Spitzer can see. The newly discovered ring, which is associated with the moon Phoebe, stretches roughly 12.5 million kilometers from Saturn, if not further. For comparison, the outer bound of Saturn’s next largest known ring, the E ring, is less than half a million kilometers from Saturn. For more information, see Discovery.
Rocky, Earth-like Exoplanet Found September 30, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in Science & Math Info.Tags: Astronomy, CoRoT-7b, Exoplanets
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Artist's illustration of CoRoT-7b. Illustration Credit: ESO/L. Calcada
The discovery of the first exoplanet with a density similar to that of Earth was recently announced. While CoRoT-7b has a rocky surface similar to Earth, it is otherwise dissimilar. The planet has an orbit that is very close to its sun — about 1.6 million miles. Being this close, CoRoT-7b’s surface temperatures are scorching, with highs on the side facing its sun above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, the planet is probably tidally locked due to its close location to its sun. This means that one side always facing its sun and the other side always in darkness. For more information, see ScienceNews.
MESSENGER Approaches Mercury September 29, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in Science & Math Info.Tags: Astronomy, Mercury, MESSENGER, NASA
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Image of Mercury in color taken by MESSENGER. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Today, NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft will make its third and final flyby of Mercury. At its closest point in the flyby, around 6pm EDT, MESSENGER will come within 142 miles of the planet’s surface. The probe will orbit Mercury in 2011, studying the planet in a year-long mission to study the planet in detail.
Tuesday’s flyover will observe specific points on the planet’s surface. The probe will photograph craters picked out in previous flyovers and measure Mercury’s magnetosphere and atmosphere, as well as the planet’s comet-like tail of trace gases. MESSENGER will also investigate the complex relationship Mercury has with the sun. For more information, see Space.com.
Look at the Stars with the FHSU Astronomy Club September 15, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in FHSU Events.Tags: Astronomy, FHSU, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas
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Starting this week the FHSU Physics Department & FHSU Astronomy Club will have public viewing times each clear Wednesday and Thursday 9:30pm to 11pm that school is in session (this is not open during Fall Break, and will finish December 10th). If you can see at least six stars in the sky and no pending cloud development come on up to the Tomanek Mechanical Penthouse area to the Observation Deck. Jupiter is the featured object, but you can count on many others from the moon, clusters, galaxies, and nebula.
Equinox for Saturn Today August 11, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in Science & Math Info.Tags: Astronomy, equinox, Saturn
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Image credit: NASA
Today, Saturn experiences its equinox, an event that occurs every 15 years. With a complete orbit of the sun taking 29.7 years, an equinox for Saturn is a rare event. What is most interesting is what happens to Saturn’s rings as a result: they “disappear”. With the equator directly in line with sunlight, the rings are not tipped and, instead, the edge faces the sun. Because the rings are are so thin, only approximately 30 feet thick, they disappear to viewers on Earth. Galileo Galilei was the first to observe this phenomena in the 17th century. For more information on the equinox, see ScienceDaily.
Peak Viewing of Perseid Meteor Shower Next Week August 7, 2009
Posted by fhsukams in Science & Math Info.Tags: Astronomy, comet, Perseid Meteor Shower
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The Earth is entering the debris field of Comet Swift-Tuttle, the source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. The shower will peak on August 11th and 12th, but you can catch some great views before then. Also, while you may be able to see dozens of Perseid every hour during the peak, bright moonlight will hamper the view. For more information on viewing the meteor shower, see the NASA website.
