What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! I hope you got to see the Lunar Transit today as it was impressive (see my blog of 1-29-14). This pic from SDO was at about the half way point in the transit. With this view of the Moon I thought it appropriate to share with you something that I found just way too cool - one lunar spacecraft photographing another while both are in lunar orbit. I am not aware of this being done for two unmanned spacecraft although it was common during the Apollo lunar landings  for the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) to be photographed by the Command Module (CM). NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was able to photograph NASA's other active lunar spacecraft Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)   9 km below as both were zipping around at 3,600 mph - no small feat! You have to look very closely at the center of the image to see the "streak" caused by LADEE. But take a look at the computer wizardry done with the image that allows ...

Hey Space Placers! Tired of winter and being cooped up? How about some Internet observing from the comfort of your hopefully warm room. On 1-30-14 at 8:31a.m EST tune in on the Internet to SpaceWeather watch the Moon transit the Sun. This lunar transit of the Sun is NOT visible from Earth but it is from space. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) will have a ring side seat and will be capturing the eclipse which will cover about 90% of the Sun and last for about 2.5 hours. SDO will be taking pictures of the eclipse and relaying them back to Earth. This should be an Internet astronomer's dream to watch. I'll be tuned in and it is interesting that the Moon will not be "New" or directly between us and the Sun until 8 hours later at 4:38 p.m. EST. Here's to good Internet connections! Sky Guy in Arctic VA

Hey Space Placers! This time every year I remind my readers of the 17 American astronauts that gave their lives in the pursuit of spaceflight. The crews of Apollo 1 , Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia were killed on January 27, 1967,  January 28, 1986, and February 1, 2003 respectively. Apollo 1 was on the launch pad in a full dress rehearsal when fire broke out in the Command Module and suffocated Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. Challenger was in flight and exploded 73 seconds after liftoff while Columbia disintegrated on re-entry. In each instance the cause of the disaster was found, fixed and as a result, made the successive flights safer. But we cannot forget that these lessons learned were at the cost of human lives. We have seen how an ocean liner can take lives in this modern age 100 plus years after the sinking of the Titanic. Spaceflight and space exploration are a risky business. But the rewards of discovery and furthering human knowledge are ...

Hey Space Placers! Now is the time to see all of the bright planets. Mercury and Jupiter are visible in the west and east respectively after sunset while Mars, Saturn and Venus adorn the sky in the hours before dawn. Now is prime time for Mercury for all of 2014 . It is fairly easy to spot now until 2/4/14. Sky & Telescope Diagram Be sure to look on 1/31/14 in the west as the beautiful young crescent Moon will be to the right of Mercury and will make a good photo op. Jupiter is up in the east right after sunset and is the brightest object in the sky besides the Moon so you can't miss the King of the Planets. A pair of binoculars will show you the four main moons of Jupiter although there may be fewer when you look as they can pass in front of and behind the planet, You can photograph the moons with a 200mm lens as I did below (enlarged view). Mars is headed towards closest approach to Earth in mid-April and is getting brighter every week. It rises in the...

Hey Space Placers! Drop what you are doing and watch this trailer for the New Horizons Mission to Pluto. I will be amazed if you do not get goose bumps and play it more than once and save it to see again. July 2015 can't get here fast enough. Sky Guy in Arctic VA

Hey Space Placers! Today marks the 10th year of operations on the Red Planet for rover Opportunity . Not bad for a vehicle that was expected to last 90 days! Her twin rover Spirit died in 2011 when she became mired in sand and could not receive enough sunlight to survive. NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell Univ. / Arizona State Univ. Oppy as she is called is still going strong in Meridiani Planum returning photographs and data. She was in the news lately because of the "Jelly Donut Rock From Nowhere" . This rock is nothing like anything that has been studied before and is really stirring the pot among planetary geologists. Oppy has found that Mars was once a habitable place for life as we know it to exist on the Red Planet which certainly begs the question if life ever existed on Mars. Oppy has a bad wheel and some arthritis in her robotic arm but she will continue to add to the more than 25 miles she has driven on Mars. As long as she receives enough sunlight for power...

Hey Space Placers! Unmanned missions have been getting a lot of attention lately and rightfully so - Rosetta to a comet, Curiosity and Opportunity on Mars with Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter above the Red Planet with Maven to arrive, New Horizons to Pluto next year, Dawn to Ceres next year, Juno to Jupiter and Dragon and Cygnus (the resupply ships to ISS). Even the Dream Chaser space plane just announced that it will fly to space on a test flight November 1, 2016 atop an Atlas-V launch vehicle. The Atlas-V is the same rocket NASA used last night to place its newest Tracking Data and Relay Satellite (TDRS) into orbit. But what about NASA's return to manned spaceflight? It has been years since an American went into space using a U.S. vehicle. We have been buying seats from Russia at $76 million a pop to get the space station. NASA has been working towards manned spaceflight capability quite spectacularly without a lot of public fanfare in my opinion. NASA has been posting upda...

Hey Space Placers! Here is my first EVER pic of a supernova taken in 7 degrees temp on 1-24-14: The supernova is the bright "star" in the galaxy's left side. This is a magnified image from the original pic here: Read about the supernova and the new discovery of water on Ceres here . Sky Guy Hitting the Sack in VA

Hey Space Placers! As I look outside and see the snow blowing in sub-zero temps (a rarity in Virginia) I just read about NASA's determination that 2013 was tied with 2009 and 2006 for the 7th warmest year since 1880. The planet has warmed up an average of 1.4 degrees F since 1880. 2013 was the 42nd warmest for the U.S. while the warmest on record for Australia. I have to cut this short as I have to leave for my observatory so I can photograph the new supernova in a close galaxy, M-82. I hope to have a pic for you and more on the supernova tomorrow. For those of you in the mid-Atlantic, be safe in this bitter wind and cold. Sky Guy in Frozen VA

Hey Space Placers! As I watch the fat snowflakes start to get bigger and more numerous here in Virginia, I got this update on Rosetta . For a spacecraft that is soon to be 10-years-old, been asleep for 957 days and is a half a billion miles from home, this is just an incredible testament as to how well the European Space Agency (ESA) and their partners, including NASA, build spacecraft. NASA has old-timers still operating after years in space - the oldest of old Voyagers 1 and 2 (we're talking DECADES) , Cassini at Saturn, New Horizons enroute to Pluto next year and of course rover Opportunity on Mars for 10 years now. Rosetta will have many challenges this year and especially next when she arrives at her cometary destination. But what a ride we are all in for with this mission that will give us a front row seat to the life a comet that swings by the Sun. Sky Guy in Snowy & Cold VA

Hey Space Placers! WOW - you could't have scripted a Hollywood scene any better than how Rosetta's much anticipated call to home went today. The spacecraft was to send a signal half a billion miles back to Earth between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. EST to indicate that Rosetta had awakened from a 957 day lumber - see my story from yesterday. With each passing minute after 1:00 p.m. EST you could feel the tension building in ESA's Operations Room. All eyes including mine and almost 12,000 others watching via Livestream were glued to the monitor showing the signal from NASA's Deep Space Network antennas……a mostly flat signal that never showed the much anticipated spike until 1:18 p.m. EST. ESA That was when I noticed an obvious spike in the background signal which moments later ESA Ops confirmed by shouts, applause and cheers - that Rosetta had indeed woken up, aligned herself with the energy of the Sun and phoned home. ESA The power of technology was on display t...

Hey Space Placers! The European Space Agency (ESA) , NASA and countless people who follow space missions are holding their collective breath for the biggest wake up call in the solar system. Tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. EST, ESA's Rosetta spacecraft is scheduled to wake up after 957 days of hibernation.  The spacecraft is supposed to wakeup, turn on heaters for its star trackers, fire thrusters and get aligned with the Sun and call home. Being 500 million miles away this most anticipated signal to NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas is expected between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. EST. There will be a lot of people, including me, waiting for Rosetta's call home. Because Rosetta is solar powered the spacecraft had to shutdown everything but its computer and a couple of heaters in order to conserve power. The spacecraft can now wake up because the solar panels are receiving enough energy from the Sun to power up all systems. Rosetta was launched in March 2004 and m...

Hey Space Placers! Interested in knowing what NASA wants to know about astrophysics for the next 3 decades? You can read the 110 page document like I am now - it just came out on January 15th. Titled "Enduring Quests -  Daring Visions: NASA Astrophysics for the Next Three Decades" , it asks the following three questions: Are we alone? How did we get here? How does the universe work?  The study is the result of a team chartered to put together a roadmap for NASA Astrophysics that was set in motion in May of last year. The group came from a wide variety of institutions and backgrounds. I look forward to reading the results and to seeing where the roadmap takes us. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! UPDATE:  READ THIS GREAT ARTICLE ON PLUTO . NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto has less than a year to go until it starts preparations to finally close in on that far away world and its moons. Closest approach to Pluto will be on July 14, 2015 at a distance of 10,000 km or 6,000 mi. New Horizons is zipping along at over a million miles per day and was launched in 2006. It has been traveling in frigid space longer than some space missions last! New Horizons was brought out of hibernation recently for check out and communications and will be placed back in hibernation until late June. 2 1/2 months later the spacecraft will slumber again until December 7, 2014 and then wake up for good to start 2 years of Pluto encounter preparations and operations. New Horizons is a flyby mission as it does not have the fuel to enter orbit around Pluto and its main moon Charon. NASA is looking for where to send New Horizons post-Pluto encounter 2016-2020. A telescopic...

Hey Space Placers! Want a wonderful winter get away under the stars? I have the perfect place for you - the Inn at Perry Cabin, MD January 31- February 2, 2014. We will be hosting Starfest 2014 , the perfect answer to winter-time blues. We'll have 2 star parties if the weather is clear, 3 lectures and a grand time . You can book your reservation at   410-745-2200. I hope to see you there! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! I t has become a tradition of the space faring agencies to invite the public to submit their names online to be included on spacecraft in the form of a microchip. I have done this for several missions and have done so again for NASA's  Origins-Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer , or OSIRIS-REx, spacecraft: You can do so as well by going to this link . You can print the certificate out and you can submit as many names as you like. OSIRIS-Rex is a mission to the Bennu asteroid that will include a two year study of the 1,760-foot space rock and a sample return to Earth of at least 60 grams of material. The submitted names will fly round trip to Bennu and back to Earth plus remain on the asteroid with the lander on a second microchip. The mission is scheduled for launch in September 2016 and arrive at Bennu in October 2018. OSIRIS-Rex will map Bennu from orbit and eventually touchdown to begin su...

Hey Space Placers! The smallest Full Moon for 2014 occurs tonight, 1-15-14 at 11:52 p.m. EST. The Full Moon will be at the farthest apogee (greatest distance) from Earth for the year at 9:00 p.m. EST at a distance of 406,532km or 243,919mi. You probably will not be able to detect any size or light difference by the unaided eye. I was planning on photographing the Full Wolf Moon - the name the American Indian tribes gave January's Full Moon due to the roaming packs of hungry wolves - but clouds will cover VA with MORE rain - the ground is SQUISHY we've had so much rain! Enjoy the view and check out bright Jupiter in the vicinity. Here's my pic of them last night: Sky Guy in SQUISHY VA

Hey Space Placers! What do three spacecraft - Chang'e 3 and rover Yutu , New Horizons and Rosetta  - have in common? All 3 have experienced hibernation or sleep mode during their missions. This is done by spacecraft controllers to protect the spacecraft from extreme cold and to conserve resources such as power and fuel      during long transits to a destination. The Chinese lunar lander and rover went into hibernation during the holidays to protect the two from the extreme cold of the lunar night and were awakened on January 12th to begin science operations. New Horizons was awakened on January 5th to begin preparations for next year's flyby of Pluto. Launched on January 19, 2006, New Horizons is now over 2 billion miles from Earth and preparing for a busy year of pre-flyby operations and preparations . New Horizons will go back into hibernation again  and wake up December 7th to begin final preps for flyby of Pluto beginning January 12, 2015. I can hard...

Hey Space Placers! Here's Part 2 to yesterday's blog on AAS highlights. Supermassive Black Holes in Dwarf Galaxies It was a bit of a surprise to learn that dwarf galaxies - galaxies that are much smaller than galaxies like our own Milky Way - harbor supermassive black holes. What was even more of a surprise is that no one had ever looked before to see if this was the case. The prevailing belief was that only big galaxies could have massive black holes at their center. A large sample review of dwarf galaxies found over 100 of them had black holes at their center. This definitely changes the landscape on black holes and galaxies. I look forward to more research findings. Speaking of Dwarf Galaxies, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Finds Ancient  Dwarfs HST has found the "Holy Grail" of ancient dwarf galaxies suspected to exist but never imaged, until now. In a deep (i.e. long exposure) photograph taken by HST in ultraviolet light 58 dwarf galaxies at a distance of o...

Hey Space Placers! It was a wonderful week attending the 223rd American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting held at the beautiful (it truly is) Gaylord Convention Center at National Harbor, MD - note Jupiter and Orion in the pic below of the Center. It was impossible to attend all of the presentations and poster sessions as each day was chock full. The latest in astronomy through a never ending firehose of information, data, photographs and the people involved - what a delightful experience. Rock Star Attending the talk on Monday evening by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson - truly the "rock star" of astronomy and heir apparent to Dr. Carl Sagan - was informative and entertaining. He discussed social media and astronomy/science and his personal experiences in the "Twitterverse". He has over 1.5 million followers which he claimed was "not bad for a scientist". He also mused that "I have power and I cannot abuse it" which is in reference to the foll...

Hey Space Placers! You have to read this story that comes to us from research done on the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts have been able to make water start a fire  in experiments aboard ISS. This would have profound applications here on Earth for helping to cut pollution. More on AAS tomorrow. Sky Guy in Rainy VA

Hey Space Placers! The AAS meeting is over and I have a lot to digest. I will be blogging on WOW and some other items that are truly incredible in the next couple of days. Here is a neat look at Mars rover Curiosity from orbit in the meantime. I also was just notified by NASA that I have been selected to attend a NASA Social Event on the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) to be held at Goddard Space Flight Center on January 22nd. I am so EXCITED about this as it will be an up close and personal visit to see JWST flight hardware, mirror segments and interview the scientists and engineers who are building Hubble Space Telescope's replacement. I look forward to sharing with you all that I see and learn. Sky Guy in VA is PUMPED UP about NASA JWST Social

Hey Space Placers! Great news. Yesterday the President has extended the lifetime of the International Space Station (ISS) to at least 2024. This is an extension of at least 4 years for ISS that will allow more crews and science to be done. This is being done as part of the international collaboration on ISS and is really a no-brainer because it would be near impossible to get something like ISS done today because of financial and political (probably) issues. Read More About It . Sky Guy at AAS Waiting to See Antares-Cygnus

Hey Space Placers! NASA and Orbital Sciences Corporation are counting down to the scheduled launch today  at 1:07 pm EST from NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility of the Antares-Cygnus resupply mission to the ISS. The launch had been scrubbed from yesterday as a precaution due to the solar radiation storm caused by sunspot AR1944 - see my blog for yesterday for details on AR1944. Although not as spectacular as a night launch, viewers in the DMV will be able to see the launch in certain areas: We might be able to see Cygnus in orbit as it catches up to the ISS but viewing details will have to wait until launch and orbit. Good luck! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! UPDATE 1: 2014-01-08 12:30 UTC  G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storming Expected SWPC Forecasters are anticipating G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm conditions to occur on January 9 and 10.  The source of this disturbance is a fairly fast Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME) launched from centrally-located Region 1944 at 1832 UTC (1:32 p.m. EST) on January 7.  Full evaluation and modeling of this event has refined the forecast and indicates a fairly direct interaction with Earth, with the WSA-Enlil model putting arrival mid-morning UTC on January 9 (very early morning EST).  In addition, the S2 (Moderate) Solar Radiation Storm associated with this event is currently near, but below, the S3 (Strong) threshold, with values leveling off at this time.  At the Sun, Region 1944 remains well-placed and energetic. The incoming CME has slowed down which means it will take longer to get here BUT the predicted geomagnetic storm has increased...

Hey Space Placers! Astronomers now have the ability to detect clouds and the characteristics associated with them on brown dwarfs - or failed stars. I will be learning more about this in the next few days at AAS and will provide a more in depth blog on it. I think you will be amazed by it all - I know I was. Sky Guy at AAS

Hey Space Placers! NASA's reactivated  Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE)  spacecraft has discovered its first Near Earth Asteroid (NEO) since its reactivation in December 2013. NEO 2013 YP139 was discovered on December 29, 2013 and is pictured in the series of NASA photos below: NEOWISE is a welcome addition to our planetary resources for searching and finding hazardous space rocks. NEOWISE is expected to discover hundreds of NEOs and will be discussed here at AAS on Thursday.  I hope to have more for you then. Sky Guy at AAS

Hey Space Placers! Tomorrow, 1/7/14, NASA and the Smithsonian invite the public and media to attend a commemoration of the 10 years spent on Mars by rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The event will be televised and carried on the Web. NASA JPL will host its commemoration event on Thursday, 1/16/14. Get more information here . Sky Guy at AAS

Hey Space Placers! I am here in the press room of the AAS and I wanted to share my impressions. First, the National Harbor complex is stunning in its locale - along the Potomac River on the Maryland side - and its facilities. The Convention Center is huge and the surrounding hotels, restaurants and businesses is impressive. Over 3,000 attendees from all over the astronomical community and world, literally, are here. The exhibits have on display the very latest in detectors, spacecraft, textbooks, telescopes, research organizations and of course, radio and optical observatories. NASA's booth has been one of the busiest in terms of foot traffic. There are presentations ranging the whole spectrum of astronomy and there is what seems to be an acre of floor space for the poster papers. The researchers/authors are present to answer questions and discuss their research. I will be attending press conferences and presentations which I will pass on. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! On a more down to Earth note, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) is having its 223rd meeting at National Harbor starting today and lasting until Thursday. Over 3,000 professional astronomers are expected to attend. The public is invited to attend daily special sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday that feature professional astronomers speaking about current topics. A star party is scheduled for Tuesday night at Gaylord pier from 7:30-10:30 pm EST. I spoke with AAS today and if it is clear the “show” will go on even with the bitter cold - just BUNDLE UP. You can get the latest updates at the AAS Facebook page . There will be a number of press briefings and major astronomical news announcements during this meeting. I will be attending sessions and look forward to reporting back to  readers on my experiences and what I learn. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Here in the DMV we are enjoying freezing rain while awaiting the dreaded "polar vortex" to bring us record setting low temps I am sure on Monday night-Tuesday morning. In the meantime the solar system continues to move and Jupiter is at opposition today, or directly opposite the Sun at 4 pm EST. The brightest object in the night sky besides the Moon, the "King of the Planets" will rise in the East at sunset and be visible all night. Jupiter will dominate the night sky for months to come. G. Redfern 12-24-13 Jupiter is also at its closest approach to the Earth for 2014 (closest was 1-4-14 at 391 million miles) and will be a prime viewing target in telescope and binoculars. In good binoculars you can see the four main moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo. Galileo first observed these moons on January 7, 1610 and he noticed that they moved over a period of time.  You can tune in to watch Jupiter live today on the SLOOH network at 3 p...

Hey Space Placers! Enjoy:

Hey Space Placers! Enjoy white light pic of Sunspot Group AR1944. It is complex and could cause some outbursts on the Sun : UPDATE: SOLAR FLARE AT 2:35 PM EST FROM AR1944 More pics later….. Sky Guy in COLD VA

Hey Space Placers! This is my 1,000th post and I think it is appropriate that it would be about an asteroid, 2014 AA , the very first one discovered for the new year. I'm writing this as I listen to http://topaz.streamguys.tv/~spaceweather/ hoping to hear the Quadrantids peak which is predicted for 3 p.m. EST today (1-3-14) - see my previous blog. NASA 2014 AA was discovered on January 1, 2014 (Universal Time, 12/31/13 local time) by the Catalina Sky Survey and was determined to be only 3-4 meters across. The initial orbital determination indicated with a virtual certainty that 2014 AA would impact the Earth, sometime on the 1st or 2nd. No visual evidence has been reported of the impact but analysis of infrasound waves from the global network by Dr. Peter Brown, indicates that the asteroid hit the atmosphere on January 2nd (0230 Universal Time) and very likely was destroyed. His analysis indicates a release of 500-1000 tons of TNT energy - a respectable amount of energy...

Hey Space Placers! Tune in to hear a preview of 2014 skies . I will have blogs covering these events so you can see them yourself. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Updated: Correction - peak is on the 3rd, not the 2nd. Sorry for the confusion. Although the DMV will be clouded out tonight and perhaps part of tomorrow morning, NASA will be carrying a Livestream of the Quadrantids meteor shower starting at 6 p.m. EST on 1-2-14. You can also try to tune in on radar to listen to the shower during the peak which is predicted for 3 p.m. EST on 1-3-14. For my worldwide followers who may be able to see the first main meteor shower of 2014 tonight and tomorrow morning, here are some details to help you. Quadrantids Comet of Origin: 2003 EH1  Radiant: constellation Bootes Active: Dec. 28, 2013-Jan.12, 2014 Peak Activity: Jan. 2-3, 2014 Peak Activity Meteor Count: 80 meteors per hour Meteor Velocity: 25.5 miles (41 kilometers) per second Notes: The thin crescent moon will set at dusk, providing moon-free darkness ideal for meteor watching. Note: This shower has a very sharp peak, usually only lasting a few hours, and is ofte...

Hey Space Placers! Keep trying to improve. Never ceases to amaze me how we can collect photons in a telescope and an ordinary camera and see galaxies….. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Venus at 3% illumination and only 15 degrees from the SUn. Tough to photograph because of atmospheric turbulence. Going to keep trying each day but weather is going to move in on Thursday and Friday. Sky Guy in VA

Wishing all of you a safe, peaceful and WONDERFUL 2014! Thank you for following my blog. Sky Guy in 2014