What's Up? The Space Place

 Hey, Space Placers! The waning crescent Moon hangs with Venus, Mercury, and Antares in the dawns of January 7th through 9th. On the 8th the Moon occults Antares in morning darkness for the West Coast. Farther east, the occultation happens in twilight or broad daylight. Credit: SkyandTelescope.org From  SkyandTelescope.org: ■ On Monday morning the 8th, the waning crescent Moon  will occult 1st-magnitude Antares  low in the southeast during darkness or dawn for the western U.S. and Canada. The occultation will happen in full daylight for most of the rest North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. In a bright sky the event may be a tough catch even with a telescope, depending on the atmospheric seeing (usually poor in the daytime but often excellent around sunrise) and also the clarity of the air. Map and timetables  for this event. The first two tables, for many cities, are very long. The first gives the times of Antares's disappearance; the second its re...

Hey Space Placers! As March progresses make an effort to watch the movements of Mercury and Venus in the Western sky this month. I got this pic on 8/3/18 when the two were at their closest to one another. Venus is on the left and always the brighter of the two. Venus (L) and Mercury in the West after sunset Greg Redfern For the next two weeks the planetary pair will rise higher in the West making them easier to see and on the 18th the Waxing Crescent Moon will join them to make a nice view. To see them find a Western horizon clear of obstructions, and go outside about 20 minutes after sunset. Look to the left of where the Sun set, or to the left go the bright horizon glow of the set Sun. If you have binoculars this will help too although they will be visible to the unaided eye as the month progresses. Venus and Mercury will change their positions in the sky due to their respective orbits around the Sun as well as that of our own planet. It is viewing opportunities like th...

Hey Space Placers! Read this article about SpaceX   making history. I was amazed at how the Falcon 9 1st stage could remain upright on the landing ship in the white capped Atlantic! Then look at this photograph of SpaceX - on the left - and Orbital ATK -with the circular solar cells - resupply spacecraft being at the International Space Station ISS) together for 1st time ever. That makes SIX spacecraft currently at the ISS! Image by NASA TV The SpaceX Dragon joined ISS today at 9:57 a.m. EDT and is carrying 7,000 pounds of cargo including the inflatable Bigelow module . A good day in space! Here is what Mercury looks like in the West after it starts to get dark...be sure to look for the planet closest to the Sun as it is bright and easy. Mercury 4-9-16 Greg Redfern Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! NASA/JHU  Please   Read my previous blog for background on NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft. The spacecraft completed its final maneuver on April 24th . The spacecraft is predicted to impact Mercury on April 30th and make a crater 52 feet across. We will not be able to see this crater until there is another orbital mission, if ever, to Mercury. UPDATE: The European Space Agency (ESA) has a mission to Mercury planned for launch in 2017 with an arrival of 2024 MESSENGER has been a very successful mission and has given us vast amounts of information, over 10 terabytes, about the planet closest to the Sun. It is now an explored world that will keep planetary scientists busy for quite awhile trying to understand all that MESSENGER has told us. Well done MESSENGER. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! UPDATED: I have updated the links for Mercury-Venus pairing and Comet Lovejoy. All 3 are STILL prime time viewing objects as it gets dark. Here is my pic of Comet Lovejoy from 1/10/15 I know it is cold - hey, it IS winter - but there are some sights to see in the night sky that ARE worth bundling up and getting out to see. First up right after sunset is the pairing of bright Venus and Mercury in the Southwest sky. Venus is easy to see when it starts to get dark and Mercury is just to the lower right. These two inner planets of our solar system have been getting closer to one another each night and they will be closest, less than the width of your little finger at arm's length, on Saturday. Use this to help find them . Binoculars are a big help and will show the color contrast between the two. To me Venus is a greenish-white while Mercury is a yellowish-golden-white color. If you have never seen Mercury, most of humanity hasn't, this is your c...

Hey Space Placers! Mercury has always fascinated me because we knew so little about the planet closest to the Sun. NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has changed this as " MESSENGER completed its one-year primary mission on March 17. Since moving into orbit about Mercury a little over one year ago, the spacecraft has captured nearly 100,000 images and returned data that have revealed new information about the planet, including its topography, the structure of its core, and areas of permanent shadow at the poles that host the mysterious polar deposits." So goes the opening paragraph of the news release from Johns Hopkins to mark the one-year anniversary of MESSENGER in robot around Mercury. MESSENGER will now enter the extended mission phase and conduct further data and photographs. As stated by NASA, " "During the extended mission we will spend more time close to the planet than during the primary mission, we'll have a broader range of scientific objectives, an...

Hey Space Placers! What a great weekend for sky watching! The show is not over as Venus and Jupiter will continue to get closer to one another by a finger width a day and Mars will start gracing our evening skies all night long when it gets to opposition (directly opposite the Sun) on March 3rd. Mars is bright orangish-red and is in the east at 8 p.m. Saturn rises in the east around 10 pm so we have planets aplenty. Oh, and don't forget Mercury in the west about a fist-width above the horizon in the west. It is bright yellowish-white and to the lower right of Venus by several fist widths. Sky Guy in VA Watchin' the Sky

Hey Space Placers! Round two of our skywatching weekend. Jupiter and the Moon dance tonight after sunset in the west with Venus and Mercury looking on. This will be a pretty sight to see and enjoy. Find a clear view of the western horizon and abut a half hour after sunset look for golden-yellow Mercury  about a its width above the horizon. The planet closest to the Sun will be to the lower left of Venus several fist-widths. Venus will be beautiful and brilliant to the lower left of the crescent Moon and Jupiter. As an extra bonus, Mars is now gracing the eastern sky during the early evening hours. Look for orangish Mars at 8 p.m. It is the brightest object in that portion of the sky. Enjoy the view tonight! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! If you have clear skies and a clear western horizon, make sure you look for the heavenly trio in the west right after sunset. Binoculars will help your search. The Moon will get higher in the western sky over the next few days and Venus and Mercury will remain close to one another. A great view if you can see it!

Hey Space Placers! NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft that has been in orbit around Mercury since March 2011, has been gathering data and photographs about the planet closest to the Sun. Some of the first results were released by NASA this past week and offers some intriguing insights. One thing MESSENGER has shown is that Mercury is not "just like our Moon", nad that it is quite a fascinating world. There was hope in the meteorite community that Mercury might have been the source of a meteorite called NWA-011 but it seems that is not the case. Also, the presence of some rimless, pit like features, high sulphur content, an offset magnetic field core and much more makes for interesting reading. Read More About It: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/jun/HQ_11-186_MESSENGER_Update.html and http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/newsblog/124079034.html Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Here is the 1st ever picture from a spacecraft orbiting Mercury. It so looks like our own Moon. MESSENGER took another 363 photographs today and these are being reviewed and processed before they are made public. Read More About It: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/multimedia/mercury_orbit_image.html Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Starting tonight (the 13th) and lasting through next week is your best chance to view the elusive planet closest to the Sun, Mercury. It has been estimated that less than 1% of the ENTIRE human race has ever recognized Mercury when seen in the morning or evening sky. The reason for this is simple - Mercury, although bright, is never very far from the horizon or in dark skies. What makes this week a GREAT week for seeing this planet is twofold. First, Mercury will be keeping much brighter Jupiter company in the sky which will make finding Mercury pretty easy. Second, on the 17th the MESSENGER spacecraft goes into orbit around the planet - a first in spaceflight and planetary exploration history. See http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/ To see Jupiter and Mercury you will need to find a view of the western horizon that is free of buildings and trees. After the Sun goes down, wait about 30 minutes and start looking for a bright "star" in the w...