Sunday, November 3, 2024

NEO SURVEYOR - OUR PLANETARY DEFENDER

Hey, Space Placers!

I will breathe a sigh of relief when NEOSURVEYOR is in orbit and on the job sometime around June, 2028.

Why?

Because we will have a spacecraft capable of finding and detecting comets and asteroids that could threaten our planet - and us (!!!!) due to an impact. We have found a high percentage of the really large asteroid threats but millions of other asteroids and interloper comets are out there.

NEO SURVEYOR will also protect our backside as it will be located in space so that it can see threats that we cannot see here on Earth due to the Sun. NEO SURVEYOR can spot these threats we can't due to solar glare. The last two major impact - Tunguska in 1908 and Chelyabinsk in 2013 literally came out of the Sun in the early morning.

We are finding more asteroids and new Earth based telescopes coming on line soon will find more. But only NEO SURVEYOR can complete the defense of the planet and us.

Sky Guy in VA 

Friday, November 1, 2024

NOVEMBER 2024 SKIES

 Hey, Space Placers!

With clocks going back one hour this weekend and daylight decreasing daily, the night skies beckon us!

CHECK IT OUT

Sky Guy in VA

Thursday, October 31, 2024

HAPPY ASTROWEEN!!!

Hey Space Placers!

Did you know that Halloween is an astronomical holiday   https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/halloween-derived-from-ancient-celtic-cross-quarter-day?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=6c1d52234c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_02_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-6c1d52234c-394691157  ?


October 31st is the traditional half way point between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. The Sun gets lower in the sky each day at local noon and the hours of darkness continue to increase with the indicators of Fall all around us.


Halloween is also a time when stories of people seeing “ghost lights” in the sky, including the Blue Ridge Parkway by the way, make their way into our psyche https://earthsky.org/human-world/ghost-lights-believe-in-them-if-you-dare/?mc_cid=2cbc8a2fc0&mc_eid=9aeb2a4318


We are looking at record warmth today and clouds are forecast for tonight https://wtop.com/weather/ . There may be “Sucker Holes” - gaps in the clouds that allow us to see the sky.


After sunset on “Astroween” brilliant Venus greets our view low in the Southwest…you can’t miss it.  Mercury is to the lower right but very low on the horizon. High in the South yellowish Saturn gleams. At 9 PM in the East, low on the horizon, you will see another bright “star”, the brightest in the sky. This is the planet Jupiter. Just to the upper right of Jupiter over a fist-width to the upper right is the beautiful star cluster, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. Reddish Mars becomes visible in the East after midnight.


If you are able to find a dark sky site the Milky Way is visible in the Southwest and arches overhead with the Summer Triangle  https://nineplanets.org/the-summer-triangle/  . Shenandoah National Park https://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm is a great place to see the glorious Milky Way. You can get updates on the Park’s status at their website. I’ll be at Big Meadows Lodge tonight for my “Let’s Talk About Space” presentation https://www.goshenandoah.com/activities-events/astronomy/space , “The Universe and You”.


You may have heard of “it may be really bright Halloween Comet”. Well, our star, the Sun, destroyed it http://www.whatsupthespaceplace.com/2024/10/no-halloween-comet.html October 28th.


Remember the “Spooky Halloween Asteroid” of 2015

https://wtop.com/the-space-place/2015/10/spooky-sighting-in-the-skies-beginning-halloween-night/ ? THAT was something to see when the radar images showed it to resemble a human skull!


As an extra Halloween treat be sure to enjoy this marvelous collection of ghoulish posters courtesy of NASA  https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/galaxy-of-horrors/  and scary space sounds  https://soundcloud.com/nasa/sets/sinister-sounds-of-the-solar  .


To be a bit more astro-spooky, check out the story of the “Demon Star” https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/algol-the-demon-star/?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=0f8cc3c7ac-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_02_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-0f8cc3c7ac-394691157  and find it for yourself in the Northeastern sky.


When you are back home enjoying your “spoils”, here are some spooky space flicks to enjoy https://www.space.com/best-space-horror-movies . I would add wonderfully scary “Europa Report” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2BfobyYOmU , and “Red Planet” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpF691nGMW8 ….boooooooooo!

Oh, and enjoy my pic of the "Skull Nebula"!

Sky Guy in VA 

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

NO HALLOWEEN COMET

 Hey, Space Placers!

Comet S1's Death Dive Into The Sun

Credit: NASA via Spaceweather.com

As promised, here is an update on "The Halloween Comet".

Per Spaceweather.com:

THE SUN JUST SWALLOWED A COMET: The solar system has one less comet. Comet ATLAS (C/2024 S1) melted away yesterday (October 28) when it passed within 0.008 AU of the sun. Coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory witnessed the final moments:

Comet A3 is fading fast and is now essentially a telescope object. It was a beautiful sight to see


Comet A3 

Greg Redfern iPhone

Sky Guy In VA

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Another satellite breakup adds to orbital debris woes

 Hey, Space Placers!

An image of the Earth with all the orbiting satellites.

In 2006, there were 812 active satellites. By 2022, that number had risen to 6,718. 

Credit: Leo Labs.

From the article:

A large communications satellite has broken up in orbit, affecting users in Europe, Central Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, and adding to the growing swarm of space junk clouding our planet’s neighbourhood.

The amount of debris in orbit around Earth is increasing rapidly. The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates there are more than 40,000 pieces larger than 10cm in orbit, and more than 130,000,000 smaller than 1cm.

The total mass of human-made space objects in Earth orbit is some 13,000 tonnes. That’s about the same mass as 90 adult male blue whales. About one third of this mass is debris (4,300 tonnes), mostly in the form of leftover rocket bodies.

We need to limit new junk and pick up the old junk. There are some efforts to do so but only time will tell if they are successful

Sky Guy in VA

Friday, October 25, 2024

New Report Shows NASA’s $75.6 Billion Boost to US Economy

 Hey, Space Placers!

Per NASA report:

"In its third agencywide economic impact report, NASA highlighted how its Moon to Mars activities, climate change research and technology development, and other projects generated more than $75.6 billion in economic output across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in fiscal year 2023." 

Read all about how NASA IS GOOD BUSINESS FOR THE U.S. ECONOMY!

Sky Guy in VA