What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! Get out those calendars and mark them for May 20th, 2012 - the date of an annular eclipse of the Sun. In an annular eclipse the New Moon cannot completely cover the Sun so a "ring of fire" - actually just the Sun's surface that is not eclipsed - is seen. The viewing area for the eclipse is primarily the western U.S. and all of the details can be seen here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/27jan_annulareclipse/ . I travelled to Michigan from VA and back the SAME DAY - about 20 hours total, to see my first ever eclipse back in 1994. It was pretty impressive and I had to find a hole in the clouds as my first site was great until clouds started moving in less than an hour to go. I took down all of my equipment and searched for a spot free of clouds. I got set up just as the eclipse began. I have slides of that eclipse. I haven't decided if I am going to drive for this one....may wait for the total solar eclipse that occu...

Hey Space Placers! Come out to GMU tonight, 1/30/12 at 6:30 and look at Venus, the Moon and Jupiter. Check out the latest http://physics.gmu.edu/~hgeller/observing.html C U there! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! I think the civilized world (anyone with Internet/TV) learned this week that space weather exists and the Sun does impact our daily lives. This awareness was due to a large solar flare and resulting coronal mass ejection (see my blogs this past week) that generated the most powerful solar radiation storm since 2005. Our modern infrastructure - GPS, communications, satellites, power grid, and astronauts can all be effected by space weather. The Sun is showing signs of solar maximum activity with this week's events, and we have at least another 20 months to predicted maximum. The good news is that we have a fleet of new spacecraft that gives us far better technical capability AND 24x7 and 360 degree coverage. SDO, SOHO and STEREO A and B now monitor the Sun simultaneously with multiple instruments and the latter two can even be the far side of the Sun so we can see what is coming. All of this technical capability/data needs methods to interpret and thereby ...

Hey Space Placers! The Sun got our attention this week with the M9 class solar flare blown out on the 23rd by Sunspot 1402. Well, bad boy 1402 blew another blast into space on the 27th, an X Class - the highest class of solar flare, - see the videos below. Fortunately 1402 was facing away from our planet so the effect was minimal, but it does give us notice that the Sun is becoming more active. It is almost a sure bet that more solar activity is coming our way as we head to solar maximum next year. X Class solar flare on January 27 videos:  http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=178940655546787  and  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YzDH6is924Y Here is a NASA video that explains solar flares:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h1_QI8EboA . It gives good information on what I think will become a fairly regular event for the next 20 months or so. Tomorrow I will have more on the Sun. Sky Guy in 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. Apollo1 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. Today we see how an ocean liner can take lives in this modern age 100 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 worth the risk. A new ...

Hey Space Placers! The waxing crescent Moon complete with earthsine will be just above Venus tonight right at dusk. As soon as it starts to get dark go out and face the west and you will see the two brightest objects in our night sky. This celestial duo is ALWAYS a beautiful sight to see so make it a point to get out and enjoy the view. Mount your camera on a tripod and take some pictures. ISO 200-400 is a good setting and 1-3 seconds should capture the scene perfectly. Try a longer exposure to get the earthshine. Get a good pic send it to me and we can share with others. The Washington D.C. area will most likely be raining so we will have to wait until next month. The stars and constellations of winter are in full view and Jupiter is high in the south and reddish-orange Mars is in the east after 11 p.m. Enjoy the sky show! Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! The strong solar radiation storm and large CME (see my 1-24-12 post) have come and gone. The media response was superb as here in DC I did radio and TV segments and the printed media had good, solid stories. So a lot of people now know our Sun can have an impact on their lives and space weather matters.   There were some flight diversions around the polar regions and the auroras lit up the Arctic Circle but I have not read about any satellite, GPS, power grid or communication disruptions. It might have been different if the CME had been a direct hit instead of a glancing blow. I have read some opinions that the upcoming/ongoing solar maximum may be an active one. If so, there is a good possibility that the Northern Lights - aurora - will make it down to the lower latitudes in the northern hemisphere. This happened last October when auroras made it down to Atlanta and Florida! I have seen the Northern Lights twice in my life, once in Minnesota and once in ...