Tuesday, July 31, 2018

NIKON'S SCALE OF THE UNIVERSE

Hey Space Placers!

I am getting down to the wire on submitting my book to the publisher next week so I am and will be a bit uneven on blogging.

While working on the book I came across this very nifty scale of the Universe done by Nikon. 

I think you will enjoy looking at it.

Sky Guy Greg

Sunday, July 29, 2018

MEET BOEING'S PRIVATE ASTRONAUT

Hey Space Placers!

Been looking at Mars? The Red Planet beckons you in the SE right after sunset and will be closest Tuesday.

America's return to space using American built hardware launched for America is coming via NASA, SpaceX and Boeing.

Well, here is an amazing story about Boeing's private astronaut - Chris Ferguson.

Someday we'll be sending astronauts into space from American soil. I hope to be there to see that.

Sky Guy in VA

Friday, July 27, 2018

SKY GUY VIEWING ALERT!! LUNAR ECLIPSE & MARS 7/27/18

Hey Space Placers!

Tonight Mars is at opposition and the century's longest eclipse happens for the Eastern Hemisphere.




Top, Bottom, Mars in 2016 from Shenandoah National Park
Middle: Mars In My Telescope 2016


Details here.

Sky Guy Greg

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

JUNO AT JUPITER UPDATE

Hey Space Placers!

THANK YOU for putting my blog over the 3,000,000 views mark yesterday!!! It took not quite 8 years and 1,898 posts to reach that milestone.

Here's an excellent article that summarizes what NASA's Juno spacecraft has learned about Jupiter to date.


What’s inside Jupiter? Scientists believe almost 90% of the planet is hydrogen, with the rest mainly helium and other trace elements. A gaseous atmosphere covers the surface. Below that, increasing pressure liquefies the hydrogen and helium. Below the liquid is a layer where droplets of helium and neon – and possibly diamond – fall like rain. Further in, heat and enormous pressure push hydrogen into a bizarre metallic state. At the very centre is a rocky core more than 10 times the size of Earth.
What’s inside Jupiter? Scientists believe almost 90% of the planet is hydrogen, with the rest mainly helium and other trace elements. A gaseous atmosphere covers the surface. Below that, increasing pressure liquefies the hydrogen and helium. Below the liquid is a layer where droplets of helium and neon – and possibly diamond – fall like rain. Further in, heat and enormous pressure push hydrogen into a bizarre metallic state. At the very centre is a rocky core more than 10 times the size of Earth.
MARK GARLICK / GETTY IMAGES

Hopefully Juno will be continued by NASA and Congress.

Sky Guy in VA

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

WHERE ARE THEY?

Hey Space Placers!

When we look up and see the stars odds are pretty good that each and every one of them has planets. Astronomers think it is possible for each star in the Milky Way Galaxy to have as many as 10 major planets.

Do the math and you are looking at possibly TRILLIONS of planets in our galaxy alone. Oh, and there are TRILLIONS of galaxies out there in the observable Universe.

We have been searching for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence for decades with no credible and verifiable signal to indicate anyone is out there. Space is a BIG place but.....

Here is a good article that discuses the possibility that we are it as far as intelligent life goes in the galaxy.

Read and ponder......if this is true what a waste of space.

Sky Guy in VA

Monday, July 23, 2018

THE TOXIC SIDE OF THE MOON

Hey Space Placers!

Here is a troubling but fascinating article about the health of people who have been and will be going to the Moon.

Lunar dust is a problem and an asset that will have to be taken into consideration for humanity's return to and stay on the Moon.

It will be interesting to see how we solve the problem and use the asset.

Sky Guy in VA

Saturday, July 21, 2018

MOONLIGHT

Hey Space Placers!

Take 4 minutes and 47 seconds out of your hectic day for some beautiful music and imagery of our Moon.

 Images courtesy of my beloved Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Done by the great folks at NASA Goddard.



You will be glad you did......

Sky Guy in VA

Friday, July 20, 2018

49 YEARS AGO - APOLLO 11 LANDED ON THE MOON

Hey Space Placers!

Look at the Moon tonight and remember humans WALKED ON THE MOON 49 years ago today. When you do don't forget to wink at the Moon in remembrance of Neil Armstrong.




Here are some great articles for you to read:

NASA

Earth Sky

TIME

I hope I am alive to see the return of humans to the Moon....to stay this time.

Sky Guy in VA

Thursday, July 19, 2018

OUR GALAXY LIKE YOU HAVE NVER SEEN IT

Hey Space Placers!

Wow oh WOW!!!!!

Just LOOK at this radio wavelength view of the center of our galaxy! This is the most detailed image ever taken and shows new structures never before seen. South Africa's new MeerKAT radio telescope
took the image and this is what the LOW resolution image looks like.

This image, based on observations made with South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope, shows the clearest view yet of the central regions of our galaxy. At the distance of the galactic centre (located within the white area near image centre), this 2 degree by 1 degree panorama corresponds to an area of approximately 1,000 light-years by 500 light-years.
The colour scheme chosen here to display the signals represents the brightness of the radio waves recorded by the telescope (ranging from red for faint emission to orange to yellow to white for the brightest areas). This image shows a wealth of never before seen features, as well as a clearer view of previously known supernova remnants, star-forming regions, and radio filaments.
Credit: South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)

Simply amazing.......

Sky Guy in VA

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

NEW MOONS FOR JUPITER

Hey Space Placers!

WOW!

Astronomers have discovered that Jupiter has another 12 moons for a whopping 79 total - the most by far in the solar system.



 Jupiter can be seen in the south right after sunset
Image




























We still are making amazing discoveries in our own solar system and I think many more are still to come.

Sky Guy in VA

Friday, July 13, 2018

SKY GUY VIEWING ALERT!!!! MARS MESMERIZES, MOON AND VENUS AMAZE

Hey Space Placers!

Happy Friday the 13th!

Now is the time to get out and see the summer sky as I explain in this article. Mars will mesmerize you and the Venus and the Moon amaze you.

Enjoy!

Sky Guy in VA

Thursday, July 12, 2018

FIRE AND ICE

Hey Space Placers!

Read all about today's big astronomy news that involved the 4 billion light year travel of a single article spewed out of the blazing heart of a feeding black hole to be detected in a mile of ice at the bottom of the world........


Gif of neutrinos traveling through ice.
When a neutrino travels through ice, it gives off a faint glow that can be picked up by IceCube’s photodetectors and tracked back to the area of the sky where the neutrino originated.
Credit: ICECUBE COLLABORATION


Quite a story stemming from fire and ice.....

Sky Guy in VA

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

JULY 2019 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

Hey Space Placers!

Did you see last year's total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017?

There is a total solar eclipse occurring on July 2, 2019  that will occur in Chile and the Pacific.

I will be going with SKY AND TELESCOPE to see the eclipse. This tour is sold out but there are others you can find.

The totality will be visible from La Silla Observatory in Chile and they will be open to the public for the event. Details are in this video.



Sky Guy in VA

Saturday, July 7, 2018

GREAT VIEDO ON THE BIRTH OF THE SUN AND SOLAR SYSTEM

Hey Space Placers!

On the road at the Inn at Perry Cabin doing stargazing and lecture outreach this weekend.

Here is a GREAT video on the birth of our Sun and Solar System.




Enjoy!

Sky Guy in MD

Thursday, July 5, 2018

ARE UFO'S REAL?

Hey Space Placers!



This question gets asked a lot and the answer is  yes - Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO's) are real. There are reports spanning decades that cannot be explained due to weather, astronomical, aeronautical or meteorological causes. The question then becomes what are these unexplainable?

This article is one of the best I have seen recently and I totally and wholeheartedly agree with its theme - these unexplained sightings need to be scrutinized. The question "Have Aliens Visited Earth?" is also worthy of scrutiny but as the author points out these are considered taboo for professional scientists. So was the study of the Moon and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

I have seen things that I cannot explain and I consider myself a pretty good observer of all things in the sky. And yes, I too have experienced a sighting in the telescope that I could not explain decades ago. I also am open minded enough to know that we do NOT know everything there is to know about the Universe. I don't think we can be so cavalier in our outward dismissal of this topics.

But we also have to be rigorous in our pursuit of the truth and adhere to scientific standards in doing so. The F/A-18F sighting is really compelling to me. Maybe we will the "Rosetta Stone" sighting some day.

The Truth is Out There........

Sky Guy in VA

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

1ST CONFIRMED IMAGE OF A NEW PLANET BEING FORMED

Hey Space Placers!

Here is humanity's first confirmed image of a planet in the making - it is the bright spot to the right:

SPHERE, a planet-hunting instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, has captured the first confirmed image of a planet caught in the act of forming in the dusty disc surrounding a young star. The young planet is carving a path through the primordial disc of gas and dust around the very young star PDS 70. The data suggest that the planet’s atmosphere is cloudy.


Think of it......this is a new world formed out of the same material that created its star. It is currently a cloudy world.

Planets are natural and plentiful byproducts of star formation. There are probably trillions upon trillions of planets in our galaxy alone. We know of almost 4,000 confirmed planets beyond our own Sun with 3,000+ more awaiting conformation and new candidates being spotted all the time.

What a Universe.....

Sky Guy in VA


Sunday, July 1, 2018

THE WORLD'S HUNT FOR ASTEROIDS

Hey Space Placers!

Here's a GREAT video to follow up on yesterday's Asteroid Day.



There are MILLIONS of Chelyabinsk sized asteroids out there and they are very hard to detect due to their size. So the more assets the world has to find them the better off we are.

Sky Guy in VA