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Planets Above The Clouds
| Title |
Planets Above The Clouds |
| Explanation |
Clouds scatter the faint orange rays of the setting sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000115.html ] in the foreground of this breathtaking photograph from the summit [ http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/mko.html ] of Mauna Kea, Hawaii [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980725.html ]. Taken on April 7th, this skyscape features a dramatic lunar and planetary alignment [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000406.html ]. An overexposed crescent moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991108.html ] dominates the celestial scene, but the bright "star" just below and to its right is Saturn [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/Kids/stories/ ] while further below Saturn is a close pairing of brilliant Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000429.html ] and a fainter, yellowish Mars [ http://marsnt3.jpl.nasa.gov/education/students.html ]. Red giant star Aldebaran [ http://www.bo.astro.it/copernic/alde-eng.html ] is almost directly above the moon near the top of the image and the bright blue stars of the Pleiades cluster [ http://www.aao.gov.au/images.html/captions/uks018.html ] are visible about midway up and to the right of the moon-Aldebaran line. The good news is that planetary alignments [ http://www.skypub.com/news/special/whypanic.html ] like this one do not portend [ http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/Tragedy/macbeth/ macbeth.html ] disasters, are relatively common, and can clearly make inspirational viewing for casual stargazers and astronomers alike. The bad [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planets.html ] news is that the world is not going to end because of the highly publicized planetary alignment [ http://www.griffithobs.org/SkyAlignments.html ] occurring tomorrow, May 5th -- so you probably will have to go to work [ http://www.nasa.gov/newsinfo/alignment.html ]! |
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Mount Megantic Magnetic Stor
…
| Title |
Mount Megantic Magnetic Storm |
| Explanation |
Plasma from the Sun and debris from a comet both collided with planet Earth last Saturday morning triggering magnetic storms [ http://www.sec.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/ ] and a meteor shower in a dazzling atmospheric spectacle [ http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ ast14aug_1.htm ]. The debris stream from comet Swift-Tuttle is anticipated [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000812.html ] yearly, and many skygazers [ http://www.imo.net/news/news.html ] already planned to watch the peak of the annual Perseids [ http://comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors/showers/ perseids.html ] meteor shower in the dark hours of August 11/12. But the simultaneous, widely reported [ http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrummel/Aurora/ Aurora.html ] auroras were [ http://www.infowest.com/personal/s/schmutz/ aurora.HTML ] triggered by the chance arrival of something much less predictable -- a solar coronal mass ejection [ http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/ cmes.htm ]. This massive bubble of energetic plasma was seen leaving the active Sun's surface on August 9, just in time to travel to Earth and disrupt the planet's magnetic field [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/ Intro.html ] triggering extensive auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/ apod_ts?aurora ] during the meteor shower's peak! Inspired by the cosmic light show, Sebastien Gauthier photographed the [ http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Station/3622/ AlbumPhotoAstronomie/AlbumAstronomie3.htm ] colorful auroral displays above the dramatic dome of the Mount-Megantic [ http://astrolab.interlinx.qc.ca/ ] Popular Observatory [ http://astrolab.interlinx.qc.ca/Obs_pop/ OPMM/ob_pop_choix.htm ] in southern Quebec, Canada. Bright Jupiter and giant star Aldebaran can be seen peering through [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000504.html ] the shimmering northern lights at the upper right. |
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September Sky
| Title |
September Sky |
| Explanation |
Star clusters, planets, and a red giant posed for this portrait of the night [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000708.html ] sky from rural Jasper County, Iowa, USA. Astrophotographer [ http://geocities.com/stanzman_2001/ ] Stan Richard recorded the four minute time exposure looking east around midnight on September 3rd at Ashton-Wildwood Park. To avoid star trails [ http://pages.prodigy.net/pam.orman/JoeTrails.html ], his camera was mounted on a barndoor-style [ http://casa.colorado.edu/~rachford/widefield/ barndoor.html ] tracker to compensate for the Earth's rotation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000715.html ]. Can you identify his celestial subjects? (Click on the image for a labeled version.) The Pleiades [ http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/articles/p/ pleiades.html ] and Hyades [ http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/articles/h/hyades.html ], the closest open or galactic star clusters [ http://www.seds.org/messier/open.html ] to the Sun, should be recognizable to beginning stargazers [ http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]. Of course gas giant Jupiter [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter.html ] rules as the brightest object in the picture and the largest planet in the Solar System, but second largest planet Saturn [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/Kids/stories/ ] is also visible nearby. For sheer size cool red giant star Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/aldebaran.html ] is more impressive though, spanning about forty times the diameter of the Sun. Sixty light-years away and yellowish in this picture, Aldebaran is known as Alpha Tauri, the brightest star in Taurus [ http://aibn47.astro.uni-bonn.de/~gallery/constellations/ taurus/ ], the Bull. |
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Long Leonid
| Title |
Long Leonid |
| Explanation |
Just last week this long lovely Leonid shower [ http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ ast21nov_1.htm ] meteor arced through the night. Captured on [ http://www.comet-track.com/meteor/leonids00/ leonids00.html ] November 17/18 by photographer [ http://www.comet-track.com ] Bob Yen, the meteor trail spans about 70 times the apparent diameter of the full moon in the skies above Mt. Wilson, California, USA. The Leonid's path flashes from the outskirts of constellation Gemini [ http://www.seds.org/Maps/Stars_en/Fig/ gemini.html ] to the triangle-shaped head of Taurus [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/ taurus-p.html ] (lower right). Of course, the trail points back toward Leo, the shower's [ http://comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors/showers/ leonids.html ] eponymous radiant, while passing near such night sky notables as galactic star cluster M35 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m035.html ] (upper left) and Taurus's brightest star, red giant Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/ aldebaran.html ]. Though the sky was ruled by a bright but waning Moon and brilliant Jupiter, the Leonid meteor shower [ http://www.spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_18nov00.html ] still awed observers at dark sky locations with peak rates of hundreds of meteors per hour. |
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Venus by the Lake
| Title |
Venus by the Lake |
| Explanation |
Finding Venus [ http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2007-07/ ssc2007-07c.shtml ] in the night sky is not too hard these days. Now appearing as the evening star, Venus rules as the brightest celestial beacon in west just after sunset [ http://www.baltastro.org/AstroPoetry.html#Learned ]. And if you can find Venus tonight, you can also easily find the lovely Pleiades [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050111.html ] star cluster (aka M45) close by. In this serene skyview, recorded on Tuesday near Bolu, Turkey, Venus and [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040415.html ] the Pleiades are on the right, with brilliant Venus reflected in the calm waters of the small lake in the foreground. Left of Venus, the bright star Aldebaran anchors [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060720.html ] the V-shaped Hyades star cluster. Farther left are stars of the familiar constellation Orion with Rigel, at the foot of Orion, also reflected in the lake. Meanwhile, Sirius, in Canis Major, [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070203.html ] is the brightest star on the left side of the view. But the bright terrestrial light below Sirius is not a reflection, it's just a light near the lake shore. |
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Moonless Perseid Sky
| Title |
Moonless Perseid Sky |
| Explanation |
Last weekend, dark, moonless night skies brought many sightings of Perseid meteors [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/ 11jul_greatperseids.htm ] to skygazers all over [ http://spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_12aug07.htm ] planet Earth. Early Sunday morning astronomer John Chumack's camera captured this Perseid [ http://meteorshowersonline.com/perseids.html ] meteor streak with a flare near the end of its track over Yellow Springs, Ohio. The single, four minute long exposure looks toward the constellation of Taurus and the eastern horizon. The meteor streak points back to the annual meteor [ http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?meteor_streams ] shower's radiant [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070812.html ] in Perseus off the upper left corner of the picture. Of course [ http://spaceweather.com/meteors/perseids/images2007/ skymap_north.gif ], the view includes the well-known Pleiades [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/pleiades-p.html ] Star cluster (near top center) with a bright yellowish planet Mars below it. Also seen with a yellowish tint but not quite as bright as Mars, the giant star Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/aldebaran.html ] anchors the V-shaped Hyades [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/hyades-p.html ] star cluster left of center, above the trees. |
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A Leonids Star Field
| Title |
A Leonids Star Field |
| Explanation |
As meteor after meteor streaked across a moonless sky, photographers [ http://leonids.hq.nasa.gov/leonids/gallery/date/all.html ] across the world snapped pictures [ http://SpaceWeather.com/meteors/gallery_18nov01.html ] of the 2001 Leonids Meteor Shower [ http://comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors/showers/leonidhistory.html ]. Many recognized this as the best meteor shower they had ever seen. In fact, the 2001 Leonids [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast15nov_1.htm ] was the most active meteor [ http://www.nineplanets.org/meteorites.html ] shower since the mid-1960s. The above photo captures three Leonid meteors [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011104.html ] crossing a photogenic star-field [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000929.html ]. On the far right is the Pleiades [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010506.html ] star cluster [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/open_clusters.html ]. The brightest meteor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011119.html ] crosses right in front of the Hyades star cluster [ http://www.aspsky.org/mercury/mercury/9803/hyades.html ], situated below the image center. Just left of center is the bright planet Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/saturn.html ], and the bright star below Saturn is Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/aldebaran.html ]. The ten-minute exposure was taken near Victoria [ http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca/ ], British Columbia [ http://www.gov.bc.ca/ ], Canada [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ] at 2:45 am PST [ http://atm.geo.nsf.gov/ieis/time.html ] on 2001 November 18. |
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Starry Night Castle
| Title |
Starry Night Castle |
| Explanation |
The tantalizing Pleiades [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071122.html ] star cluster seems to lie just beyond the trees above a dark castle tower [ http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3001176 ] in this dramatic view [ http://www.clearskies.se/Castle%20ruin%20and%20Holmes.htm ] of The World at Night [ http://www.twanight.org/ ]. Recorded earlier this month, the starry sky also features bright star Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/ aldebaran.html ] below the Pleiades and a small, faint, fuzzy cloud otherwise known as Comet Holmes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071121.html ] near picture center at the top of the field. Starry Night Castle might be [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050218.html ] an appropriate name for the medieval castle ruin in the foreground. But its traditional name is Mörby Castle [ http://www.castlesontheweb.com/photoarchive/ index.php?action=album&id=1421&sessionid= ], found north of Stockholm, near lake Skedviken in Norrtälje, Sweden. |
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Saturn and Vesta in Taurus
| Title |
Saturn and Vesta in Taurus |
| Explanation |
Last November, while skygazing [ http://pages.prodigy.net/pam.orman/ JoeGallery.html ] toward the constellation Taurus [ http://hou.lbl.gov/~vhoette/Explorations/StarHop/ ], astrophotographer Joe Orman arranged this time exposure to include the lovely Hyades and Pleiades star clusters in the field of his telephoto lens. A distance of 400 light-years [ http://school.discovery.com/ schooladventures/universe/itsawesome/lightyears/ ] for the close-knit Pleiades [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010506.html ] and 150 light-years for the V-shaped [ http://www.aspsky.org/mercury/mercury/9803/hyades.html ] Hyades [ http://astro.estec.esa.nl/Hipparcos/hyades.html ] puts these clusters in the general galactic neighborhood [ http://www.anzwers.org/free/universe/ 250lys.html ] of the Sun. Punctuating the Hyades' appearance, bright yellow Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/aldebaran.html ], 60 light-years away, is not actually a member of the cluster, but it is Taurus' brightest star. Above Aldebaran a yellower, even brighter Saturn [ http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/wspace?tbody=6& vbody=3&month=11&day=17¢ury=20&decade=0&year=1&hour=00& minute=0&rfov=30&fovmul=-1&bfov=30 ] is is seen about 1.2 light-hours [ http://casswww.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/Intro.html ] from our fair planet. Last and least massive [ http://aa.usno.navy.mil/hilton/asteroid_masses.htm ], one of the faint specks below Aldebaran is main-belt asteroid [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/ asteroids.html ] Vesta, a mere 13 light-minutes [ http://www.unmuseum.org/speed.htm ] away. Still cruising through Taurus, Vesta [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/95/20.html ] is steadily approaching a close alignment or conjunction [ http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/ Conjunction.html ] with Saturn on March 19. Need a program [ http://pages.prodigy.net/pam.orman/ JoeAlmanac2002.html ] to follow the players? Click on the image for a labeled version. |
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Planets in the West
| Title |
Planets in the West |
| Explanation |
Have you seen any bright planets lately? Chances are if you've been outside under clear skies [ http://currentsky.com/ ] just after sunset, then you have. Now shining in the west as bright "stars [ http://nfo.edu/astro/planets.htm ]" in the night sky, are all five planets of the solar system known to [ http://www.nasm.si.edu/ceps/etp/discovery/ etpdiscovery.html ] ancient astronomers - Mercury, Venus, Mars [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ funzone.html ], Saturn, and Jupiter [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/ jupiter.html ]. Recorded from Holt, Michigan, USA about 40 minutes after sunset on April 14th, this digital image [ http://www.pa.msu.edu/people/frenchj/const/index2.html ] captures three of them, Venus, Mars, and Saturn [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/planets/ saturn_index.html ], along with a young crescent Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000728.html ]. Also indicated are the Pleiades [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010506.html ] star cluster and bright red giant star Aldebaran [ http://www.earthsky.com/Features/ Skywatching/pronounce.html ] in Taurus. Mercury [ http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Jan97/ MercuryUnveiled.html ], setting, is lost in the trees and glow along the horizon, while Jupiter is off the top of this view. The coming weeks [ http://www.darkhorizons.org/planets.htm ] will see photo opportunities galore as all five planets gradually move closer together, posing after sunset with the Moon and stars in the western sky [ http://www.skyviewcafe.com/skyview.shtml ]. Venus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020330.html ], Mars, and Saturn will form the closest trio, drawing within a 5 degree circle (about the apparent size of your fist with arm extended) above Aldebaran by May 3rd. |
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The Winter Hexagon
| Title |
The Winter Hexagon |
| Explanation |
Some of the brightest stars [ http://www.seds.org/Maps/Stars_en/ ] form a large and easily found pattern [ http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~pbourke/geometry/hexagon/ ] in the winter sky [ http://www.astro.uu.nl/~bassa/gallery/wintersky.htm ] of Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ]'s northern hemisphere [ http://www.sel.noaa.gov/pmap/pmapN.html ]. Dubbed the Winter Hexagon [ http://www.earthvisions.net/bcp/aster/constellations/win6.htm ], the stars involved can usually be identified even in the bright night skies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010827.html ] of a big city. The six stars that compose the Winter Hexagon are Aldebaren [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/aldebaran.html ], Capella [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/hr/1708.html ], Castor [ http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/constellns/castor.html ], Procyon [ http://www.solstation.com/stars/procyon2.htm ], Rigel [ http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/astron/const/orion/Rigel.html ], and Sirius [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000611.html ]. Rolling your cursor over the above image [ http://www.astropix.com/HTML/SHOWCASE/HEXAGON.HTM ] will identify them. The Winter Hexagon [ http://newton.dep.anl.gov/newton/askasci/1993/astron/AST015.HTM ] asterism [ http://www.seds.org/Maps/Const/asterism.html ] engulfs several constellations [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html ] including Orion [ http://www.seds.org/Maps/Stars_en/Fig/orion.html ] and Canis Major [ http://www.astronomical.org/constellations/cma.html ]. |
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Hale-Bopp: Climbing Into Sou
…
| Title |
Hale-Bopp: Climbing Into Southern Skies |
| Explanation |
Fighting the glow of the setting sun and the city lights of Cape Town, South Africa, comet Hale-Bopp [ http://www.saao.ac.za/sky/comet.html ] is just visible near the center of this panoramic view - photographed on May 3rd. In the foreground is the Strand beach front, about 50 km East of Cape Town, while the Cape Peninsula mountain ranges can be seen at the left along the horizon. The bright star visible above and to the left of the comet is the red giant Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/hr/1457.html ] in the constellation Taurus. As Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970505.html ] continues its outbound journey during the month of May it will climb higher into evening southern skies. Still a bright comet [ http://galileo.ivv.nasa.gov/comet/news82.html ] it is now providing an enjoyable and much anticipated showing [ http://galileo.ivv.nasa.gov/comet/brown4.html ] for Southern Hemisphere observers [ http://www.saao.ac.za/ ]. |
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Help Aldebaran Map the Moon
| Title |
Help Aldebaran Map the Moon |
| Explanation |
Turn on your camcorder, go outside, and become an astronomer. How? [ http://www.sky.net/~robinson/0729prls.htm ]. Tomorrow morning, our Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970728.html ap960730.html ] will pass directly in front of Aldebaran [ http://www.bo.astro.it/copernic/alde-eng.html ], the brightest star in this picture and in entire constellation of Taurus [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Taurus.html ]. Aldebaran [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970728.html http://www.adler.uchicago.edu/ISE/TAURUS4.HTM ] is visible to the left and below Comet Hale-Bopp in the above photograph [ http://galileo.ivv.nasa.gov/comet/cat1.html ], which was taken on April 30th in Tenerife [ http://www.cistia.es/cabildotf/ ], Spain. This occultation is valuable because disappearance times from different locations can be used to map the height of the lunar terrain [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960420.html ] at the occultation points. You can help by clicking here [ http://www.sky.net/~robinson/iotandx.htm ], where a site will detail how to tape a familiar cable channel and then take your still-running camcorder [ http://www.sky.net/~robinson/0729camc.htm ] outside to tape the occultation of Aldebaran [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1983ApJ%2E%2E%2E265%2E%2E325S&db_key=AST&nosetcookie=1 ] by the Moon. You can then donate your VCR tape to science by mailing it to this address [ http://www.sky.net/~robinson/0729prls.htm ]. Leave yourself plenty of time [ http://www.sky.net/~robinson/0729tysd.htm ] for a practice run and be sure to check the weather before going to a lot of trouble! |
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A Fisheye View of Comet Hale
…
| Title |
A Fisheye View of Comet Hale-Bopp |
| Explanation |
Thousands of stars, several constellations, a planet and a comet all graced the western horizon over Ujue, Spain [ http://www.okspain.org/ ] just after sunset on April 4th, 1997. Because the picture was taken with a fisheye lens, much of the whole night sky [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/sky.html ] is visible. Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970415.html ], with both tails blazing, appears right of center. The brightest [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/brightest.html ] star is Sirius [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960902.html ] near the edge, well to the left of the constellation Orion [ http://astro.gmu.edu/constellation/ORI.html ]. The red star above the belt of Orion [ http://www.adler.uchicago.edu/ISE/ORION4.HTM ] is Betelgeuse [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970216.html ], while the red star near the center is Aldebaran [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970728.html ], just to the left of the bright Pleaides [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960903.html ] star cluster. Many other interesting astronomical objects are visible, including zodiacal light [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970826.html ], which is the diffuse triangular glow in the center. Even the planet Mercury [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mercury.html ] appears just over the horizon. |
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Cold Mountain Sky
| Title |
Cold Mountain Sky |
| Explanation |
This lovely celestial view is surely a familiar one to winter skygazers [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021106.html ] in the northern hemisphere. Lights silhouetting the trees are from nearby towns Morganton and Rutherford College, North Carolina [ http://www.nps.gov/blri/ ], USA. But the scene may also look familiar to attentive fans of the movie Cold Mountain, whose fictional characters discuss this same factual starry sky [ http://www.davidcortner.com/coldmountain/ ]. Sporting belt [ http://www.gb.nrao.edu/~rmaddale/Education/ OrionTourCenter/belt.html ] and sword, Orion the hunter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030207.html ] is an easily identifiable constellation [ http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Puzzles/Connect/ Connect.asp ] above center. Above and to his right lies a V-shaped arrangement of stars in the Hyades star cluster anchored by bright Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/aldebaran.html ]. Below and at the left of the hunter are his dogs Canis Major [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/cma/index.html ] and Canis Minor [ http://www.dibonsmith.com/cmi_con.htm ], and their respective alpha stars Sirius [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/sirius.html ] and Procyon [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/procyon.html ]. Need a program to follow the stars? Just put your cursor over the Cold Mountain Sky. |
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Moon and Planets Sky Credit
…
| Title |
Moon and Planets Sky Credit & Copyright: Wojtek Rychlik [ http://www.pikespeakphoto.com ] |
| Explanation |
Look up into the sky tonight [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/ 19mar_planets.htm ] and without a telescope or binoculars you might have a view [ http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/gmackie/billions.html ] like this one of Moon, planets and stars. The lovely photo [ http://www.pikespeakphoto.com/planets.html ] was taken on March 23rd, and captures the crescent Moon on the horizon with Venus above it. Both brilliant celestial bodies are over-exposed. Farther above Venus is the tinted glow of Mars with the Pleiades star cluster just to the red planet's right. The V-shaped arrangement of stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040304.html ] to the left of Mars is the Hydaes star cluster. Bright red giant Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/ aldebaran.html ], not itself a member of the Hyades cluster, marks the top left of the V. During the next week [ http://www.griffithobs.org/planetsgather.html ], all five naked-eye planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, along with the Moon will grace the evening sky [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/ article_1226_1.asp ] together - a lunar and planetary spectacle that can be enjoyed by skygazers [ http://www.spaceweather.com/ ] around the world. But look just after sunset, low on the western horizon, to see Mercury [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030412.html ] before it sets. The next similar gathering [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000524.html ] of the planets will be in 2008. |
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Planets Over Easter Island
| Title |
Planets Over Easter Island |
| Explanation |
It isn't every day that planets line up behind a stone giant. For one thing, it helps to have a good planet line-up [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040501.html ], such as occurred in the sky just last month. For another, it helps to be on Easter Island [ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/ ], where over 800 large stone statues exist. The Easter Island statues [ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/civilization/giants.html ], stand, on the average, over twice as tall as a person and have over 200 times as much mass. Few specifics are known about the history or meaning of the unusual statues [ http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/ioa/eisp/ ], but many believe that they were created about 500 years ago in the images of local leaders of a lost civilization. Pictured above, the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030810.html ], Venus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040516.html ], and Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ] can be seen behind Ahu Tahai [ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/explore/ahutahai.html ], a famous Easter Island statue. The bright star Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/aldebaran.html ] is also visible. |
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Canaries Sky
| Title |
Canaries Sky |
| Explanation |
This gorgeous view of [ http://www.mclink.it/personal/MC7872/deepvoid/deepskyen.htm ] stars, nebulae, and the Milky Way comes from the dark night sky [ http://www.mclink.it/personal/MC7872/deepvoid/index.html ] above the lovely island of La Palma in the Canaries archipelago [ http://www.ing.iac.es/lapalma/history.html ]. The picture was made by a group of experienced astrophotographers who traveled there to take advantage of the ideal observing conditions [ http://www.ing.iac.es/ ] near La Palma's Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos [ http://www.ing.iac.es/orm/orm.html ]. Skygazers can easily pick out several of their favorite astronomical objects [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980214.html ] in this wide angle time exposure which covers about 40 degrees on winter the sky. Faint stars along the plane of our Galaxy compose the delicate, luminous band of the Milky Way [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980226.html ] stretching across the image from the bottom left. The familiar constellation [ http://www.adler.uchicago.edu/ISE/menu.html ] of Orion [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970817.html ] the hunter is also easy to find, with glowing nebulae [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980127.html ] highlighting [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980201.html ] the hunter's belt and sword. Orion's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961202.html ] famous red giant star Betelgeuse [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970216.html ], near picture center, has a yellowish cast and Rigel is [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980209.html ] the bright star in Orion at lower right. Brilliant white Sirius [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960902.html ], near the bottom, is the brightest star in the picture (and in Earth's night sky). Sirius, is part of the constellation Canis Major [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/ constellations/Canis_Major.html ] (Big Dog). Across the Milky Way, above and to the left of Sirius, is slightly less brilliant Procyon, brightest star of Canis Minor [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/ constellations/Canis_Minor.html ]. A V-shaped group [ http://www.adler.uchicago.edu/ISE/HYAPLEIA.HTM ] of yellowish stars at the upper right, part of Taurus the bull [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/ constellations/Taurus.html ], is dominated by the red giant Aldebaran [ http://www.bo.astro.it/copernic/alde-eng.html ]. |
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Help Map The Moon
| Title |
Help Map The Moon |
| Explanation |
You can help map the Moon [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/ ]. Early tomorrow morning (Saturday, September 12) the Moon will occult [ http://www.skypub.com/occults/aldebaran/980912a.html ], or pass in front of, the bright star Aldebaran [ http://www.adler.uchicago.edu/ISE/TAURUS4.HTM ] as viewed from some Southern and Eastern areas of the U.S. as well as regions in the Caribbean Sea, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Mexico, and Central America. Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/hr/1457.html ] will disappear behind the bright edge of the third quarter moon and reappear behind the darkened edge. Accurately timed [ http://www.skypub.com/occults/timings.html ] home video camera recordings from different locations can be used to make improved maps of the height of the lunar terrain at these occultation points. Interested? Follow the instructions [ http://www.sky.net/~robinson/camcord.htm ] on the International Occultation Timing Association HomePage [ http://www.sky.net/~robinson/iotandx.htm ] which detail how to tape a familiar TV channel, take your running camcorder outside to record the occultation, and then return to tape a few more minutes of the TV channel. (First, determine if the occultation will be visible from your location!) You can then donate your tape by mailing it to the address given. Leave yourself plenty of time for a practice run and be sure to check the weather before going to a lot of trouble! This mosaic [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/ cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA00128 ] mapping the North polar region of the lunar surface was constructed from images recorded by the Galileo spacecraft in 1992. |
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Moon Over California
| Title |
Moon Over California |
| Explanation |
The Moon, Saturn, and Venus shine above while city lights twinkle below in the deepening twilight of [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990325.html ] March 19. Taken from outside Indio, California, the photo shows [ http://members.home.com/rmscott/orman_index.html ] the city lights of Indio and nearby Palm Springs. The brilliant lunar crescent [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990129.html ] is over exposed here with Saturn about 4 degrees away to the upper right and bright Venus still farther to the right only another 2 degrees or so. This Sunday evening, April 18, another dramatic lunar spectacle should be easily visible to stargazers [ http://eclipse.span.ch/18apr99.htm ] in the western and midwestern US when the crescent moon passes in front of the bright star Aldebaran [ http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/9904skyevents.html ]. |
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![Moon and Planets Sky Credit & Copyright: Wojtek Rychlik [ http://www.pikespeakphoto.com ]](http://mm04.nasaimages.org/MediaManager/srvr?mediafile=/Size1/NVA2-4-NA/6310/moonplanets_rychlik_full.jpg&userid=1&username=admin&resolution=1&servertype=JVA&cid=4&iid=NVA2&vcid=NA&usergroup=NASA_Astronomy_Picture_of_the_Day_Collecti-4-Admin&profileid=16)
