What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! Happy New Year’s Eve everyone. Last year at this time I was in the Indian Ocean enjoying the stars way down under and couldn’t get out a ‘Top Space Pick for 2015’. The July flyby of Pluto   http://wtop.com/the-space-place-tech/2015/07/pluto-come-finally/       would have been my pick. For 2016’s pick  we leave the solar system and enter the realm of the Cosmos. February’s announcement regarding the discovery of gravitational waves   http://wtop.com/science/2016/02/breakthrough-scientists-detect-einstein-predicted-ripples/slide/1/   is my pick for 2016’s “Top Space Story”.  Illustration of gravitational waves produced by two orbiting black holes. (Image: Henze/NASA) Ever since humans looked up at the night sky 2.5 million years ago and the invention of the astronomical telescope by Galileo in 1609, almost all information we have gleaned about the Universe has come to us in the form of electromagnetic radiation. L...

Hey Space Placers! Ever dreamed of roaming the Universe? Well, now you can from the comfort of your computer! Here is the full news release: PAN-STARRS RELEASES LARGEST DIGITAL SKY SURVEY TO THE WORLD: SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE TO HOST PAN-STARRS DATA ARCHIVE The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, in conjunction with the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy in Honolulu, Hawaii, is publicly releasing data today from Pan-STARRS -- the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System -- the world’s largest digital sky survey. The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) is among the partners who contributed to the Pan-STARRS1 Surveys. “The Pan-STARRS1 Surveys allow anyone to access millions of images and use the database and catalogs containing precision measurements of billions of stars and galaxies,” said Dr. Ken Chambers, Director of the Pan-STARRS Observatories. “Pan-STARRS has made discoveries from near Earth objects...

Hey Space Placers! 2016 has taken another space great from us - Vera Rubin. Read all about her here . The stars and galaxies shin a little brighter now...... Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Not even heavy fog can dim the stars of Orion and Sirius on Christmas Eve and this Holiday season. May you and Yours have a SAFE and wondrous Holiday season....... Orion & Sirius in Heavy Ground Fog Christmas Eve 2016 Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Go to http://greetings.esa.int for a wonderful selection of space oriented holidays cards you can email to friends and family. Here are some of my own "cards" from this morning of the Moon, Jupiter and Spica. Moon, Jupiter (top) and Spica Celestial Trio The Waning Crescent Moon The Waning Crescent Moon & Earthshine Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! With the Anniversary of Apollo 8's orbiting the Moon coming up I thought this would be appropriate to view . Moon Village Concept Credit: ESA The Moon is no longer the "Rodney Dangerfield" of solar system exploration. Nations are planning lunar missions designed to explore new regions, prospect for resources and eventually land humans once again on the Moon. No more one and done - humanity will come and stay this time. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Today is the Solstice so the Northern Hemisphere is in winter and the Southern enjoys summer. Here's a great article to explain it all . The nights start getting shorter and the days longer each for us in the North...... Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Taken this morning, the last Moon of Fall. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Ceres NASA/JPL Read about the Water World Ceres located in the asteroid belt. Water, water everywhere in the solar system! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Look at this wondrous GIF  that was part of today's Earth & Sky . CREDIT: John Nelson IDV Solutions It brings our beautiful and wondrous planet alive which it is in the sense of being an ecosystem that supports ALL life. We are doing harm to Earth and ultimately ourselves and the other life forms that exist with us. The planet doesn't need us, WE need the planet. Humanity is causing climate change regardless of what clueless and ill informed politicians or others say.  In my personal opinion we are entering the Dark Ages of old with this new Trump Administration where petro-dollars, big oil/fossil fuels come first and political attempts to disrupt, discredit and attack climate science will happen. Scientists, informed citizens and politicians, US Government employees and world leaders will have to stand up for Earth in the Trump era. Nothing less than the future of the planet, which determines our future, is at stake. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Great read on the latest from Mars . Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Today is Tycho Brahe's   birthday. Here is his Round Top Observatory in Copenhagen which I visited earlier this year. Greg Redfern Greg Redfern Tycho's observations led to Kepler's 3 laws of planetary motion which carried over to Issac Newton's Laws of Gravitation. Happy Birthday Tycho! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Back in Virginia after 24 hours in the air. A celestial duel takes place in our skies the night of December 13-14 - the Full Cold Supermoon   http://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-december     versus the peak of the annual Geminid Meteor Shower   http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/supermoon-clashes-with-the-geminids/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=sky-mya-nl-161209&utm_content=905470_SKY_HP_eNL_161209&utm_medium=email     . Our third of three Supermoons in a row will win the fight overall as the Full Cold Moon’s light will significantly diminish the number of meteors that can be seen from 75-100+ an hour from an ideal viewing site to about 12. But oh those 12 we can see will be worth the effort. I say worth the effort as I think is the Geminids  http://www.amsmeteors.org/2016/12/viewing-the-geminid-meteor-shower-in-2016/     are the best meteor shower of the year. I say best because it r...

Hey Space Placers! John Glenn - Marine Colonel, Distinguished Naval Aviator,  Mercury 7 and Space Shuttle Astronaut, U.S. Senator - a true American hero and one of the finest human beings to ever walk and orbit the Earth, now belongs to the ages with his passing today at the age of 95  https://www.nasa.gov/johnglenn . With his death an era comes to an earthly end. An era when seven white military men who were proven warriors and pilots of the sky were chosen by the fledgling National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to be America’s Mercury 7 astronauts https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/program-toc.html     . These 7 would go up against the Communist Cosmonauts in the declared Space Race - America and democracy against the Communists of the U.S.S.R in competition for the hearts and minds of the earthbound via the new high ground of space. It was a different time for the world and humanity, much simpler and everything was in bla...

Hey Space Placers! The European Space Agency (ESA) will supply a fully functional service module for the 1st Orion crewed mission set for sometime in 2021. Orion & Service Module ESA This mission will be essentially a repeat of Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) currently scheduled for 2018 which will be an unmanned Orion launched by the new Space Launch System (SLS) on a 3 week plus mission out to lunar orbit & beyond. Sky Guy in the South China Sea

Hey Space Placers! UPDATED: Here was my view of Mars, Moon, Venus and Mercury in the South China Sea 12/5/16: Top to bottom: Mars, Moon, Venus, Mercury at sea Greg Redfern Here was sunset that evening: Sunset South China Sea Greg Redfern Be sure to get outside on Dec 2-4 after sunset and watch the crescent Moon approach Venus on 12/2 & 3 and then Mars on 12/4. As an added bonus Mercury is very low on the horizon as well. I hope to get pics art sea to share but the weather has to improve! Sky Guy at Sea

Hey Space Placers! At sea off the coast of Thailand on Azamara Journey. We have had some heavy weather so no sky pics yet. Astronomers have discovered an asteroid that is ONLY 6 feet across! That is quite a find. Read all about it here. Sky Guy at Sea