Thursday, February 11, 2016

Einstein Was Right (Again)

Hey Space Placers!

History was made today as it was announced that a prediction in 1916 by Albert Einstein that gravitational waves should exist,  has been proven correct.

I am at the airport writing this and will give you some links to read.

But this is HUGE as we now have a new way to observe and HEAR the Universe......and the technology to make this all happen is truly mind boggling.

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=137628

https://www.advancedligo.mit.edu

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2016/february/scientists-celebrate-advances-021116.html

We also now KNOW that black holes exist!!!!

There are new discoveries in the Universe that await us due to gravitational wave astronomy coming of age as of today.

Thank you Professor Einstein and the thousand+ scientists, engineers and NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (which funded the LIGO project decades ago) for making this possible.

BTW the gravitational wave signal came from the southern skies and near the Magellanic Clouds!!!

Sky Guy Headed to Australia

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Recent Space Rock News

Hey Space Placers!

Check out my column on recent space rock news at WTOP.

Getting ready to return to Australia aboard Azamara Quest this Saturday to travel to the Great Barrier Reef. I hope to share much with you during those 17 days.

Sky Guy in VA

Monday, February 8, 2016

Sky Shots From Down Under

Hey Space Placers!

Here are my best sky shots from AU & NZ on Oceania Cruises' Nautica and Azamara Cruises' Azamara Quest. The pics were all taken while the ships were underway and are from the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea. I covered over 12K nautical miles from Durban South Africa to Singapore on the Nautica and Sydney AU to Auckland, NZ on Azamara Quest.

I am returning to Azamara Quest soon to sail from Sydney, AU to Bali. I hope the skies will be clear for more sky shots to share with you.

Venus & Milky Way in Tasman Sea 
Milky Way, Lightning & Large Magellanic Cloud In Indian Ocean

Milky Way Through  (l-r) Canopus & Sirius & Orion - Notice Pinkish Band of Barnard's Loop
Above Orion

Large & Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC-SMC) & Achenar

Southern Cross Above Lightning & Thunderheads

Close Up Of Eta Carinae (Pinkish area) & Milky Way

Fishing Boats Below Orion in the Straits of Malacca

Milky Way Through Sirius & Canis Major

Milky Way W/ "Southern Pleiades (right of center) & Eta Carinae

Venus Dead Ahead in Indian Ocean

Last Quarter Moonset In Indian Ocean

LMC & Canopus

Milky Way & LMC SMC 1

Milky Way & LMC SMC 2


I hope you enjoyed these. It was difficult to get these shots on a brightly lit and moving cruise ship w/ significant winds over the deck.

Sky Guy in VA For A Bit

Friday, February 5, 2016

Ceres Video

Hey Space Placers!

Been awhile, I know.

Just got back from Australian and New Zealand, and will be returning next week for a 17-day voyage on Azamara Quest (AQ) from Sydney to Bali. I am really hoping for some clear skies as clouds dogged AQ for weeks.

The dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt has been observed by NASA's Dawn spacecraft for some time. I have blogged on the mysterious white spots which appear to be salt deposits.

NASA has put together a nifty video of Ceres that is worth seeing. It truly contrasts to the appearance of another dwarf planet, Pluto, especially when it comes to the abundance of craters on the former when compared to the latter.

I'll be posting some down under pics tomorrow.

Sky Guy Back in VA