Astronomical Events!

I wanted to start this thread for everyone who is even mildly interested in the goings on around us in the Universe. I wanted to post this in the Astronomy section, but since it was under Project Discussion, I decided to go ahead and put it here.

First of all, if you are going to be outside tonight doing anything, the Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower reaches its peak. Although it's a pretty weak shower with around 10-20 meteors an hour, viewing should be good with a moonless night. Look to the Southeast after dark, but the best viewing will be when the radiant, Aquarius rises higher towards the early hours of Saturday morning. Also, the best shower of the year has begun. Rates right now are very weak with only a couple an hour. These should seem to come from the Northeast. Remember, you don't have to be looking in the exact direction to see meteors. I will post updates to the Persied Shower as the peak gets closer on the 12th and 13th of August. They can be in any part of the sky, but their track will lead back to the radiant. Clear Skies and good luck.

http://www.astronomy.com/~/media/Ima...=ffffff&mw=200

If you have any news, please post it to this thread so we can all enjoy it!:D

Sweet! I'll be watching!

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Originally Posted by YoDude9999

Sweet! I'll be watching!

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+1 :-bd

Went out Friday night for about a half hour. Whether was great and surprisingly the bugs weren't bad. Saw 1 from each shower, so not a bust.

Heads up for Friday the 5th. Sun Spot 1261 has released 3 M class solar flares. The latest being an M9.3 almost into the X range. The latest CME is earth bound and should actually engulf the first 2 CME's before it's arrival. It should hit earth sometime tomorrow and create the possibility of Northern Lights. Keep your fingers crossed and you eyes on this.
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN/sw_dials.gif

Hopefully it will update itself everytime someone opens the thread. The BZ component needs to be as far South as possible and the higher the speed and pressure of the solar wind is the better.

Say Hello to Vesta.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/video...a_id=104094441

As you can see above, it looks like the CME has impacted us. Magnetic field is tipped slightly South and Solar wind speed and pressure is up significantly. Now if it will last into the night, we might see some lights!

Update on the perseid meteor shower. Was able to go out for a little while over the weekend. Mosquitos were nasty, so we didn't stay out long. We did see 2 pretty decent meteors in about 20 minutes, so all in all not too bad. Remember, Thursday through probably Saturday are going to be the best night, weather permitting. Set up some chairs with the family and watch the show.

This morning, sunspot 1263 burped and belched out an X7 solar flare. It also through out a Coronal Mass Ejection, but fortunately, or unfortunately, it was not Earth directed. We might get a glancing blow though.
http://spaceweather.com/images2011/09aug11/x7_strip.jpg
http://spaceweather.com/images2011/09aug11/cme_c3.gif

Sunspot 1283 erupted twice in the last day with an M class flare and an X class flare. It is directly pointed at Earth, so the chances for Northern Lights goes way up. Impact should happen sometime on the 8th, to the 10th depending on the speed of the cloud. If I see any new updates, I'll post them here.

http://www.spaceweather.com/images20...11/x2flash.mov

Shock waves from the recent eruptions by sunspot 1283 have impacted Earth and are causing a geomagnetic storm. Electrical currents have already been detected by ground instruments in Norway. Be on the look out for Northern Lights tonight as more shock waves are expected to impact Earth.

Of course it's cloudy by me. :(

Looks like Northern latitudes that are in the dark right now are having a pretty good show.

http://www.spaceweather.com/POES_PIC...rthamerica.gif

There is a meteor shower comming up, that usually I wouldn't even mention. The Draconids peak on Saturday. This shower usually throws 5-10 meteors an hour at it's peak. This year however, scientists think it might put on a great show. Good news is that it could be possibly 600 an hour, but the bad news is the peak favors Europe and not North America. The peak should come somewhere around 4PM Eastern time and only last a few hours. Some scientists are so sure of a good show, they are going to launch 2 planes to fly above Scandanavia with as many cameras as possible to record and track meteors to verify their origin and chemical make-up. There has also been talk of observing the dark side of the moon for impacts. Might be worth a shot, specially if they are off on their predictions by a couple of hours. The radiant for this show is the peak of a triangle formed by the last star in the handle of the big dipper, the North Star, going NorthEast and Northwest. Have fun and clear skies!
http://meteorshowersonline.com/showe.../draconids.jpg

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Originally Posted by Crazybob

There is a meteor shower comming up, that usually I wouldn't even mention. The Draconids peak on Saturday. This shower usually throws 5-10 meteors an hour at it's peak. This year however, scientists think it might put on a great show. Good news is that it could be possibly 600 an hour, but the bad news is the peak favors Europe and not North America. The peak should come somewhere around 4PM Eastern time and only last a few hours. Some scientists are so sure of a good show, they are going to launch 2 planes to fly above Scandanavia with as many cameras as possible to record and track meteors to verify their origin and chemical make-up. There has also been talk of observing the dark side of the moon for impacts. Might be worth a shot, specially if they are off on their predictions by a couple of hours. The radiant for this show is the peak of a triangle formed by the last star in the handle of the big dipper, the North Star, going NorthEast and Northwest. Have fun and clear skies!

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Here's a Sky & Telescope article about it.

The airplanes they are using are Falcon 20's. Obviously I'm a Falcon fanboy since I work there.

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Still, Jenniskens encourages you to look anyway during the day on Saturday. "Use binoculars looking 10° to 40° elevation away from the Sun (toward north) to spot bright Draconids from 19h to 21h UT," he suggests. "In the hours after the shower, telescopic observers might find it interesting to watch for possible lunar impacts in the sliver of darkness on the Moon near the north pole." (Make sure you identify which pole is which in your eyepiece.)

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sucks we wont be able to veiw it ,,, grrrrrrrrrr my son and i love this shit :)

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Originally Posted by Cappy

sucks we wont be able to veiw it ,,, grrrrrrrrrr my son and i love this shit :)

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We also really looked forward to this spectacular show...But at the time of the event (which has already accoured here in DK) the sky got overclouded....DAMN! Coulden´t see a thing!!

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Originally Posted by Beerdrinker

We also really looked forward to this spectacular show...But at the time of the event (which has already accoured here in DK) the sky got overclouded....DAMN! Coulden´t see a thing!!

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It's not supposed to be until 19-21 hr UTC. It's only 17:30.

Crud, especially since MI had perfectly clear skies the last several nights. Thats what I get for overlooking this thread. My bad... :(

A second chance for everyone who missed the last shower. Halley's Comet makes an appearance tonight! Or at least parts of it. The annual Orionid Meteor shower will peak tonight into tommorow morning. Onlookers can expect between 20-30 meteors an hour at the peak. A crescent moon will be a little bit of an annoyance, but not that big of a deal. Of course, as with most meteor showers, it is best after midnight into the dawn as the planet plows into the meteor stream. These are fast meteors at 148,000 MPH, the leave a quick bright streak. Look towards the SouthEast as the constellation of Orion rises. The further up in the sky it gets, the more meteors you can see.

Good Luck and Clear Skies!:o

http://www.astronomy.com/~/media/Ima...&mw=900&mh=650

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Originally Posted by Crazybob

A second chance for everyone who missed the last shower. Halley's Comet makes an appearance tonight! Or at least parts of it. The annual Orionid Meteor shower will peak tonight into tommorow morning. Onlookers can expect between 20-30 meteors an hour at the peak. A crescent moon will be a little bit of an annoyance, but not that big of a deal. Of course, as with most meteor showers, it is best after midnight into the dawn as the planet plows into the meteor stream. These are fast meteors at 148,000 MPH, the leave a quick bright streak. Look towards the SouthEast as the constellation of Orion rises. The further up in the sky it gets, the more meteors you can see.

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Well, that sucks. I didn't see this post until just now.

Should have posted this earlier, but just found out myself. The Leonid meteor shower peaks tomorrow night, but there is a chance in about an hour or 2 to catch a brief outburst of meteors. If it's dark enough in your area, look to the east. Might be a show. If not, there is always tomorrow night.;)

Comet survives close encounter with the sun. Should have vaporized, but didn't. Might even make for some sky watching. Interesting videos at this site.

http://sungrazer.nrl.navy.mil/index....birthday_comet

For all of you in the Southern Hemishere, If you get out looking for Santa before sunrise, make sure to take a look at this!

http://spaceweather.com/submissions/...729062_med.jpg

There is also a video taken by the ISS crew. You can see thunderstorms popping below as they come up on the comet before sunrise.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/video...a_id=125774121

If you want to brave the cold tonight, the Quadrantid meteor shower will be peeking at about 2:20 AM Eastern time. The further west you are, the earlier you can see the peek. The radiant for this shower is very near the North Star, but meteors can be seen in any part of the sky. Good Luck!

Update: Observers from Europe to the US reported up to 70 meteors an hour with last nights shower. Of course for me, the clouds rolled in right after sunset and moved out right before sunrise. :(

A large solar flare erupted on the Sun the other day hurling a large CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) towards Earth and Mars. This wave of charged plasma struck the Earth at about 10:30 AM Central time this morning. It has already sparked Auroras in Europe and could have the potential to create great displays for the US if it holds together long enough. Make sure to take a look at the sky tonight if it's clear near you!
http://www.spaceweather.com/images20...act1_strip.jpg

The strange crap that happens while your getting a ticket in texas.

http://www.spaceweather.com/images20...5c1flk87pfics5

A very nice sized fireball was caught on this dash camera.

Got a decent telescope, clear skies and can actually find crap by the coordinates? Then tonight might be the night for you. Comet Garradd is approaching the globular cluster, M92 in Hercules. Should make for a good view and pictures.

http://www.spaceweather.com/images20...tri1_strip.jpghttp://media.skyandtelescope.com/ima...dd_Oct_Jan.jpg

The Lyrid meteor shower will peak this weekend on the night of the 21st, through the 22nd. There should be no lunar interference. Set yourself up watching towards the Northeast. Lyra should rise soon after sun down. It will slowly rise through the night and be straight above at sunrise. Lyra is a small constellation shaped mainly by 4 stars in the shape of a lyre. With a good telescope, you can see a planetary nebula between the stars. Good luck!

It's raining here. :(

But, there's one heck of a pretty aura around all the clouds this evening. :)

Not doing anything in the we hours of the morning? Well, there's another meteor shower for you if you happen to be awake. Here are the details.

http://www.astronomy.com/News-Observ...l&utm_content=

If you haven't heard it by now, Today starting at 5:04 P.M. CDT, lasting for 6 hours and 40 minutes, Venus will be making a transit of the Sun. This will not happen again for 105 years, so if your young enough and eat your vegies, you can blow this one off and wait for the next. DO NOT!, under any circumstances, look directly at the Sun. This could cause permanent eye damage. Use a filter, or a welders mask, or make a pinhole projector to see the hole in the Sun, as it is called. There is also what they call the tear drop effect, when the planet reaches either edge of the Sun. Good luck and clear skies!

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Originally Posted by Crazybob

If you haven't heard it by now, Today starting at 5:04 P.M. CDT, lasting for 6 hours and 40 minutes, Venus will be making a transit of the Sun. This will not happen again for 105 years, so if your young enough and eat your vegies, you can blow this one off and wait for the next. DO NOT!, under any circumstances, look directly at the Sun. This could cause permanent eye damage. Use a filter, or a welders mask, or make a pinhole projector to see the hole in the Sun, as it is called. There is also what they call the tear drop effect, when the planet reaches either edge of the Sun. Good luck and clear skies!

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Seen it and showed it to the wife. I could barely see it, but she could see it pretty well. I bought some solar shades for the occasion. :-B

The sky cleared up nicely for us to view it.

Watched the first part of it on live feed from Hawaii. Then using a couple pairs of sunglasses with a cheap welders goggles we were able to see it without damaging our eyes. Looked pretty cool.:cool:

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Co...otoblog900.jpg
Thierry Legault / Astrophoto.fr
French astrophotographer Thierry Legault captured this view of the Hubble Space Telescope passing over the sun's disk during this week's transit of Venus. The circles highlight the Hubble on multiple exposures taken every tenth of a second during the telescope's 0.9-second transit.

By Alan Boyle
Over the past few days, we've seen lots of amazing photos showing Venus' last-in-a-lifetime crossing of the sun, but this shot of the Hubble Space Telescope zooming past Venus may be the only picture of its kind.

It's actually a combination of photographs, snapped every tenth of a second by master astrophotographer Thierry Legault. Nine speck-sized images of Hubble are highlighted with circles in the image. Legault, who is famed for his pictures of spacecraft transits across the sun, traveled from his home base in France to northern Australia for the shot.
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After conducting the calculations with CalSky software, Legault made sure he was in Queensland at 01:42:25 UTC June 6, pointing his Takahashi FSQ-106ED telescope at the sun with the proper filters attached. "Thanks to the continuous shooting mode of the Nikon D4 DSLR running at 10 fps [frames per second], nine images of the HST were recorded during its 0.9s transit (1/8000s, 100 iso, raw mode). Turbulence was moderate to high," Legault reported on his website.

You read that right: While it took Venus more than six hours to inch its way in front of the solar disk, the Hubble Space Telescope zipped across in just nine-tenths of a second. Imagine how disappointing it would have been to have a cloud in the way at that moment!

Legault is promising more pictures of Venus, taken during the transit and afterward. But it'll be hard to match this one. The next transit of Venus won't occur until the year 2117, and even though Hubble has long outlasted its projected lifetime, the space telescope will surely be sent down to its fiery doom by then. So chances are this is the only picture that will ever be taken of Hubble and Venus simultaneously silhouetted by the sun.

By the way, Hubble was conducting its own transit tasks during Venus' crossing. Hubble focused on the moon and analyzed the reflected sunlight to find out how easy it will be for future telescopes to pick out the spectral signature of Earthlike planets passing over alien suns. Stay tuned for more about the results of that experiment.

Where in the Cosmos
This picture served as today's photo puzzle for our "Where in the Cosmos" contest, open to Cosmic Log Facebook followers. It took just a couple of minutes for Ollie Nanyes to tell me what those little specks represented. For being so quick on the draw, I'm sending Nanyes a pair of 3-D glasses donated by Microsoft Research's WorldWide Telescope project. Kent Avery, the runner-up in the guessing game, is getting 3-D specs as well. (Microsoft is a partner along with NBC Universal in the msnbc.com joint venture.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=VkvaOvI_gNY

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

X-Flare: Big sunspot AR1520 unleashed an X1.4-class solar flare on July 12th. Because the sunspot is directly facing Earth, everything about the blast was geoeffective. For one thing, it hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) directly toward our planet. According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME will hit Earth on July 14th around 10:20 UT (+/- 7 hours) and could spark strong geomagnetic storms. Sky watchers should be alert for auroras this weekend.

Curtesy of Spaceweather.COM

I would wish for you to have clear skies, but with the lack of moisture, I would rather get some rain.:)

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Originally Posted by Crazybob

X-Flare: Big sunspot AR1520 unleashed an X1.4-class solar flare on July 12th. Because the sunspot is directly facing Earth, everything about the blast was geoeffective. For one thing, it hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) directly toward our planet. According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME will hit Earth on July 14th around 10:20 UT (+/- 7 hours) and could spark strong geomagnetic storms. Sky watchers should be alert for auroras this weekend.

Curtesy of Spaceweather.COM

I would wish for you to have clear skies, but with the lack of moisture, I would rather get some rain.:)

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Yeah I heard about this today. They say my part of Michigan is good for sky watching. And for the record... Rain? We don't need no stinking rain! says the Fire$torm. >:)

What part of Michigan you in. Couldn't find Dead Broke on the map.=)) I used to have a good place to go West of here about 70 miles, but they sold it and now when the Perseids come around in August I have limited good sky locations. I have a Niece about 100 miles Southwest and a friend about 60 miles West, but both live inside of their towns. Their light pollution isn't too bad, but trying to watch anything from my house is almost impossible. Have a park 2 blocks away that leave the big lights for the ball diamond on until about 11:30 P.M. Getting harder and harder to find a good dark spot.

Looks like I'm gonna get clouds for the night, but probably no rain. We had 1 rain storm since June 1st. It knocked down probably 5,000 trees in the area and gave about 3-4 inches of rain which ran down the sewers. 90 mile an hour wind was clocked about 3-4 miles from me. Now the ground is cracked, lawn dead and piles of brush everywhere. Got some firewood though.:) They even cancelled all 4th of July festivities due to the dry conditions.:mad:

Wow, that doesn't sound good...

For this area, NW of Detroit, there has been sporadic ran, about once a week, that lasts about 20 minutes and then an hour later everything is dry. It's a little dusty and most lawns are a faded brown. But the trees are still growing, along with the weeds as we have a fairly high water table. On the bright side no lawn mowing needs to be done. :) The forecast has tonight being the only cloud free one for the next 4~5 days :(

Well I didn't see anything from my location, however, there were reports of sightings as far south as Saint Louis. Just my luck I guess. Will have to wait for next time.

Update: I got that wrong. Ozark Arkansas......
http://spaceweather.com/submissions/...362853_med.jpg

It's that time of year again. The Perseid meteor shower peaks on the nights of Sat-Sun, and Sun-Mon. This is one of the best showers of the year, mainly bacause the whether is usually warm and the rates can be up near 100 an hour. The shower started on July 25th and has been gaining in intensity since then. You can go out tonight if you want, but the rates will be lower, but your chances are still good. The radiant for this shower id the constellation of Perseus, which rises in the Northeast and is in rising near it's zenith near dawn. You can still see meteors as soon as it gets dark, but you will see more the closer to dawn you get. Meteors can be seen in just about any part of the sjy you look at, but more towards the Northeast. The moon doesn't rise until later, so thee shouldn't be much interference and much less over the weekend.

Cleear Skies!