tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70246951290046707762024-02-06T21:27:59.487-08:00Word from the WetherbeeA weekly publication from the Wetherbee Planetarium at Thronateeska Heritage Center about all things astronomy.Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-68900408242031332802012-05-18T12:19:00.001-07:002012-05-18T12:21:32.142-07:00Dragon takes flight tomorrow! 05.18.12<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
</span><br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 559px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 67.5pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="height: 67.5pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 405.0pt;" valign="top" width="540"><div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">SpaceX,
a commercial spacecraft company, will make history tomorrow if all goes as
planned. It will become the first private company to launch a commercially
designed and built spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. <i>Dragon</i>
(a wonderful name with an even better logo, we think), should launch
tomorrow, May 19, at 4:55 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission
is primarily a safety test. <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/"><span style="color: #006699;">NASA</span></a> and <a href="http://www.spacex.com/"><span style="color: #006699;">SpaceX</span></a> will both offer live coverage of the
launch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMyDNBwLvye7lYjPaNaiBkWeOBTODMVtvwmmv8B4XvSV6vxmsNNLQNWFQGUM85gKgFdEB4aCgfeLU9IGLkxG5l5uGB2bL3PMXpSUmzmIPENgqJ5vME37x02XJs4ws-kmjQdBm99kMOtg/s1600/SpaceXDragon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMyDNBwLvye7lYjPaNaiBkWeOBTODMVtvwmmv8B4XvSV6vxmsNNLQNWFQGUM85gKgFdEB4aCgfeLU9IGLkxG5l5uGB2bL3PMXpSUmzmIPENgqJ5vME37x02XJs4ws-kmjQdBm99kMOtg/s320/SpaceXDragon.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><a href="http://www.spacex.com/downloads/COTS-2-Press-Kit-5-14-12.pdf">http://www.spacex.com/downloads/COTS-2-Press-Kit-5-14-12.pdf</a>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;"><td height="14" style="border: none; height: 10.45pt;" width="0"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 76.5pt; mso-row-margin-right: 175.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;"><td rowspan="3" style="height: 76.5pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 229.5pt;" valign="top" width="306"><div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Read more from </i><a href="http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php"><i><span style="color: #006699;">SpaceX</span></i></a><i>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Read the official </i><a href="http://www.spacex.com/downloads/COTS-2-Press-Kit-5-14-12.pdf"><i><span style="color: #006699;">Dragon press kit</span></i></a><i>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Read the original story
from </i><a href="http://www.space.com/15672-spacex-dragon-capsule-mission-events.html"><i><span style="color: #006699;">SPACE.com</span></i></a><i>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Read
the </i><a href="http://wetherbeeskywatcher.blogspot.com/"><i><span style="color: #006699;">Wetherbee Sky Watcher</span></i></a><i>.</i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td><td style="border: none; mso-cell-special: placeholder; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;" width="234"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td><td height="102" style="border: none; height: 76.5pt;" width="0"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt; mso-row-margin-right: 175.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;"><td style="border: none; mso-cell-special: placeholder; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;" width="234"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td><td height="14" style="border: none; height: 10.45pt;" width="0"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt; mso-row-margin-right: 175.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" width="234"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-62154167241954672062012-05-11T13:56:00.000-07:002012-05-11T13:56:52.430-07:00A Super Discovery, 05.11.12<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">NASA’s Spitzer Space
Telescope has made another monumental discovery: a “super-Earth.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twice as big as Earth, the
super-Earth is, for now, called 55 Cancri e, and is situated in the
constellation Cancer, about 41 light years away. For the first time, scientists
were able to actually measure the light emanating (reflected) from the planet itself,
instead of measuring how much light it blocks as it transits in front of its
star. Because of the low measurements that were taken, scientists guess that
the planet is probably very dark most of the time. It appears to be tidally
locked, though (one side is stuck facing its star), and that side appears to
have temperatures in excess of 3,000 Fahrenheit. Just so we’re clear on how hot
that is, most kinds of metal will be liquid at that temperature.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Based on their observations,
scientists are saying the planet most likely has a rocky core and is covered
with water. Because of the extreme heat on the sunny side, however, the water
is probably in a “supercritical” state, where it exists as both liquid and gas.
NASA claims the atmosphere is covered with steam. Regardless, the atmosphere
appears to be very thin, as it is doing such a poor job of blocking its sun’s
heat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Based on all observations
made at this point, the planet cannot support life. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Read
more from </i><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/may/HQ_12-138_Spitzer_Super_Earth.html"><i><span style="color: #006699;">NASA</span></i></a><i>.</i></span><br />Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-1444637644517176352012-05-05T07:52:00.002-07:002012-05-05T07:52:46.691-07:00Hungry, Hungry Black Holes 05.05.12<br />
<div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 4px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US" style="line-height: 13px;">A black hole has been caught with its hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. Researchers with the space-based Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) have discovered a black hole actually in the act of consuming a nearby star.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.space.com/images/i/17094/original/simulation-black-hole-flare.jpg?1335976058" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/17094/original/simulation-black-hole-flare.jpg?1335976058" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.space.com/15506-giant-black-hole-swallows-star.html" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #1155cc; text-align: -webkit-left;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-US" style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 9px;">CREDIT: NASA, S. Gezari (The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.), A. Rest (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.), and R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Ma.)</span></span></a>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 4px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US" style="line-height: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 4px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US" style="line-height: 13px;">It all started out in such a normal way— no one ever suspected the black hole was capable of doing such a heinous thing, and then blam! All that remained was crumbs.</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US" style="line-height: 13px;">No, that’s not really how it started. In a way, the star itself is almost to blame for its demise. The victim is a star that appears to be going through a major life change, of a sort. The star appears to have been going through its red star phase, and was in the process of swelling to 100 times its original radius. The star only made it a third of the way out, however, before the nearby black hole’s tremendous gravity began stripping off some of the gasses from the edge of the star. Based on the spectrum of the gases, researchers say the star was mostly composed of helium. The researchers with GALEX have made this nifty little computer simulated representation to let us know sort of what it would look like: </span></span><a href="http://www.space.com/15512-black-hole-devours-star-139-days-stellar-devastation-animated-video.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699;"><span lang="en-US" style="line-height: 13px;">http:// www.space.com/15512-black-<wbr></wbr>hole-devours-star-139-days-<wbr></wbr>stellar-devastation-animated-<wbr></wbr>video.html</span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US" style="line-height: 13px;">.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 4px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US" style="line-height: 13px;">So, why is this important? Well, for once, researchers can watch a black hole in the act of “eating” something substantial. Black holes are completely invisible to us— we have no technology that is capable of seeing them— all we can see is the carnage they leave behind. By watching some poor star get sucked into one, though, we will have a much better understanding of how black holes function and “look.”</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US" style="line-height: 13px;">Read more from </span></span></i><a href="http://www.space.com/15506-giant-black-hole-swallows-star.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 13px;">SPACE.com</span></span></a><i><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US" style="line-height: 13px;">.</span></span></i></span></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-9706328077310705012012-04-27T13:16:00.000-07:002012-04-27T13:16:08.407-07:00Help wanted: Moon Mappers<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US">Have you ever wanted to make a contribution to astronomy, but felt helpless because you did not have any good equipment for deep space observation? Not to fear! </span><a href="http://cosmoquest.org/mappers/moon/FullMoonMaker.php"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699; font-style: italic;">Moon Mappers</span></a><span lang="en-US"> needs your help.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An initiative by Cosmo Quest, the project is to attempt to map out at least 1,000,000 craters on the surface of the moon before May 5th.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cosmoquest.org/csb/public/images/MoonMappers.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://cosmoquest.org/csb/public/images/MoonMappers.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Moon Mappers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, it may sound kind of silly to think of going about counting holes in the ground (even if it is on another world), but believe it or not, craters yield a lot of information when studied closely. More and more, scientists are discovering that craters are often sheltering harbors for ice and other frozen chemicals, which would otherwise melt and be evaporated if they were not hidden in shadow. Chemical samples from inside the craters also provide clues as to what sort of things have bombarded the moon in the past.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US">What’s more, </span><a href="http://cosmoquest.org/Moon_Mappers:_The_Mission"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699;">Cosmo Quest has made it easy</span></a><span lang="en-US">. They have managed to partner with NASA and obtain some high-resolution photos from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LROC), so all you have to do it properly mark out craters that appear to be about 1 meter in diameter on the photos. Sound simple? “There are literally millions of craters at that size,” says Dr. Pamela Gray, who is leading the Cosmo Quest project. This is so much more than a preschool counting exercise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, who’s up for adding some “lunar cartography” volunteer experience to their résumé?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US">Read more at </span><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/94769/join-the-million-crater-challenge/"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699;">Universe Today</span></a><span lang="en-US"> or </span><a href="http://cosmoquest.org/mappers/moon/FullMoonMaker.php"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699;">Cosmo Quest’s Moon Mappers Project</span></a><span lang="en-US">.</span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-58299048316384904522012-04-20T18:09:00.000-07:002012-04-20T18:09:48.016-07:00Discovery headed to the Smithsonian, 04.20.12Space Shuttle Discovery is on its way to the public eye at the Smithsonian. Earlier this week,<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image-feature_2226.html" target="_blank"> the space shuttle was spotted</a> hitching a ride to its new home on the back of a specialized 747 aircraft (pictured below).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/639569main_image_2226_946-710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/639569main_image_2226_946-710.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: #545454; color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Image Credit: NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Harold Dorwin</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yesterday, April 19th,<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2229.html" target="_blank"> the Discovery "attended" a ceremony</a> (pictured below) where it traded places with space shuttle Endeavour at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. According to NASA, Discovery will soon be on display at the Smithsonian Institution's Air & Space Museum.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/640666main_image_2229_946-710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/640666main_image_2229_946-710.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: #545454; color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Image Credit: NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Carolyn Russo</span></i>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; width: 559px;"><tbody>
<tr style="min-height: 0.75pt;"><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 0.75pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.3pt;" width="0"></td></tr>
<tr style="min-height: 1.5pt;"><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1.5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.3pt;" width="0"></td></tr>
<tr style="min-height: 1.5pt;"><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1.5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.3pt;" width="0"></td><td colspan="15" rowspan="3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1.5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 128.25pt;" valign="top" width="171"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt;"><map name="136d18fd62fd993d_MicrosoftOfficeMap0"></map><u></u><u></u></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="min-height: 54.75pt;"><td style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 54.75pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.3pt;" width="0"></td><td rowspan="19" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 54.75pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.5pt;" valign="top" width="2"></td><td colspan="3" rowspan="16" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 54.75pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 258.75pt;" valign="top" width="345"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="clear: left; color: windowtext; float: left; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-36346001600443458912012-04-13T14:01:00.001-07:002012-04-13T14:01:46.672-07:00Good visibility for Lyrids 2012, 04.13.12<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Did you ever sit at your
window as a child and marvel at “shooting stars” as they streaked across the
night sky? Those were actually meteors passing across Earth’s atmosphere.
Sometimes, Earth passes through fields of debris in space that cause regular, predicted
“showers” of meteors. In April, we have one such shower: the Lyrids.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/634356main_lyrids_composite_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="147" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/634356main_lyrids_composite_lg.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #d6d6d6; color: #2e2e2e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(NASA/MSFC/Danielle Moser)</span></span>
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Named after the constellation
Lyra, the harp (the meteors’ apparent radiant point, or origin), the meteor
shower is caused by detritus left in the wake of Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher.
Comets have a nasty habit of leaving trails of dust and ice behind them as
they course through the sky. When Earth passes through the trails, the debris
scrapes across the top of our atmosphere, glowing with the energy from the
friction that is generated. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This year, the Lyrids meteor
shower will take place next Saturday evening, on the night of April 21-22. You
can expect to see meteors from about 11:00pm until 5:00am. The Lyrids are always
very predictable, averaging about 15 meteors per hour. Peak hours could
generate as many as 10-100 meteors per hour, though, <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/lyrids2012_chat.html"><span style="color: #006699;">according to NASA</span></a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The moon will also be
cooperating with us this year to offer the best show possible. Luna will be in
her new phase around the 21st of April, so the skies will be much darker,
making it easier to spot the tiny, brief streaks of light.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Do not be worried about where
in the world you are at the time, either. As long as you are not surrounded by
bright city lights and light pollution, you should be able to see the shower
from anywhere in the world.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Read more at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/lyrids2012_chat.html"><span style="color: #006699;">NASA</span></a>.</span>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-56501757748605486672012-04-09T11:49:00.000-07:002012-04-09T11:49:12.485-07:00Seeing the Invisible, 04.05.12<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you have ever paid a visit
to the <a href="http://heritagecenter.org/planetarium.html"><span style="color: #006699;">Wetherbee Planetarium</span></a><span style="color: #006699;">
</span>here at Thronateeska Heritage Center, chances are you have heard a good
deal about our film, “<a href="http://spitzinc.com/fulldome_shows/show_blackholes/index.html"><span style="color: #006699;">Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity</span></a>.” In
the film, all manner of evidence is put forward about the existence of a black
hole in the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. The film describes research done at
the Keck Telescope in Hawai’i, where several stars have been recorded orbiting
in a very strange manner around...something...at the center of the Milky Way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">SPACE.com, today (04.05.12), published
more information detailing recent studies on this supposed supermassive black
hole at the center of the Milky Way. Telescopes have yet to reveal it. With the
technology we have now, we simply cannot see anything there. Plans are in the
works for bigger and better detection methods, but for now, the area known as
Sagittarius A* (pronounced Sagittarius A-Star) seems to be a great big empty
space of nothingness that somehow manages to make some stars orbit around it at
mind-blowing speeds of over 3,000 miles a second.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.space.com/images/i/13375/original/black-hole-02.jpg?1321460178" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/13375/original/black-hole-02.jpg?1321460178" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #727f6e; text-align: -webkit-auto;">CREDIT: Alain R. | Wikimedia Commons</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #727f6e; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Astronomers know that </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">something
</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">has to be there. Analysis shows that something packing more than 4 million
times the mass of our own sun is there, yet it still cannot be seen. It does
emit some radio waves, but aside from that, there is not much else to go on.
Much research remains to be done to know for sure about this monster at the
center of the Milky Way. One thing is certain: whatever it is, it is proving to
be one great big mathematical migraine.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Read more from <a href="http://www.space.com/15166-milky-center-black-hole-sagittariusastar.html"><span style="color: #006699;">SPACE.com</span></a><span style="color: #006699;">.</span></span><br />Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-13462766533852388182012-03-30T13:34:00.001-07:002012-03-30T13:35:10.326-07:00Snowing Microbes<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of all the places in our
solar system (besides Earth) that are most likely to harbor life, none is
better than Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth largest moon. Although extremely cold,
it has been recording spouting geyser-like plumes of liquid water high into the
air. Enceladus is one of only a few other places in our solar system with
recorded geologic activity. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Although it is so very cold on Enceladus, that does not have researchers
worried, because we have life here in our arctic oceans on Earth. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.space.com/images/i/16277/i02/cassini-enceladus-plume.jpg?1333045575" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="299" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/16277/i02/cassini-enceladus-plume.jpg?1333045575" title="CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The lucky thing about the water
being sprayed into the air also means that the probes that have been sent to
Enceladus do not even need to land! All they have to do is fly through the
spray to gather their samples and analyze the liquid. With the environment
being so cold, however, all of the spray is probably being frozen into snow in
the atmosphere. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are also concerns that
perhaps the oceans are far too acidic to support life, but again, it may be
possible for microbes to survive in such conditions.</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Microbes, are, in fact, what
the researchers are looking for; millions of microscopic bacteria and other
organisms that live just about everywhere here on Earth. As the water is likely
being spurted from the oceans beneath the frozen surface of the planet, any
life held within them would be blown up into the atmosphere in the geysers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Read more from <a href="http://www.space.com/15098-cassini-saturn-moon-flybys-photos.html">SPACE.com</a>.</span></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-82549092632208790502012-03-10T07:50:00.000-08:002012-03-10T07:50:00.279-08:00Solar Flares, 03.08.12<br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems like everyone is buzzing about solar flares. We even had a bit of a scare this morning with our power cutting out a few times. Are the flares really to blame, though? Let us take a look.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.space.com/images/i/15707/original/x-class-solar-flare-march-6-2012.jpg?1331122483" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/15707/original/x-class-solar-flare-march-6-2012.jpg?1331122483" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: NASA/SDO.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Solar flares are a sort of burp created by a star when energy concentrates and bubbles in one place, eventually erupting out in a CME, or Coronal Mass Ejection. CMEs send out massive amounts of magnetic, radio, and radiation emissions. In extreme cases, solar flares have caused interruptions in communications and blackouts. Just last year, solar storms made communications for some airplanes and ships difficult over some parts of Alaska and the Pacific. With genuine CME-caused damage, though, the effects are usually very widespread, and last longer than just a power outage of a few minutes.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Do not get us wrong, there is an honest to goodness major solar storm going on right now. <a href="http://spaceweather.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">Spaceweather.com has some excellent photos and footage of it</span></a>. Sunspot AR1429 has been spewing some major emissions, and scientists have been expecting this. The spot has been tracked ever since last month when it was on the far side of the sun, even then creating spikes in energy readings.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Scientists have known for a long time these flares were coming, and in fact, some have even been let down. <a href="http://www.space.com/14826-solar-storm-hitting-earth-today.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">Some are saying the flare is actually weaker then they had expected</span></a>.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, what does this all mean for us? For one, the classic line “do not panic.” We are all still here, and we are not likely to be plunged back into the dark ages. For another, it is not likely that the power outages experienced around town today can be blamed on this flare. Solar flares are the rock stars of outer space. They do major, widespread damage when they come to town, and we just are not seeing that with this flare. Most likely the power outages were caused by overheating and burnout in our local power grid. Lastly, auroras: there is a very slim chance you could see some sort of aurora activity in the night sky. We make no guarantees, though. Most likely, those people further north would be able to see it better. If you want to give it a shot, though, travel out into the country tonight and look towards the northern sky. You may be able to see the greenish opalescence of the auroras, commonly known as the “northern lights.” If you do, send us a picture! We will be keeping our eyes peeled, too.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Read more from <a href="http://spaceweather.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">Spaceweather.com</span></a>.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Read more from <a href="http://www.space.com/14826-solar-storm-hitting-earth-today.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">SPACE.com</span></a>.</span></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-42267690102887978882012-03-02T13:36:00.000-08:002012-03-02T13:36:41.469-08:00Life on Europa: a soda ocean? 03.02.12<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of all of the other places in
our solar system, one of the most promising locations for extraterrestrial life
has been Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Completely covered with ice on the surface,
researchers believe Europa harbors an ocean of liquid water at least 100 miles
deep, which leads down to a rocky interior and a solid core of some type, most
likely metal. Surface studies on the moon have yet to be conducted, however, so
the researchers have no idea how thick the icy crust on the outside of the
planet may be.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.space.com/images/i/15613/original/europe-mole-3-100430-02.jpg?1330642158" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/15613/original/europe-mole-3-100430-02.jpg?1330642158" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: NASA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While the possibility of an
ocean of liquid water is more than enough to be excited about, some researchers
are beginning to doubt whether or not life as we know it would be able to
thrive on the chilling planet. What research has been done on the planet is
beginning to lead the scientists to believe that whatever water is there would
be highly contaminated by </span>extremely<span style="font-family: inherit;"> acidic chemicals. There is some speculation
that it is possible the acidity could be balanced out by more basal </span>minerals<span style="font-family: inherit;"> at the ocean floor, but again, it is all speculation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are a few places on
Earth where some microbes and other life forms thrive in highly acidic
environments, but those areas are few and far between. So, the likelihood of
life surviving on an entire <i>planet </i>like that? Very slim.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Without the bases and
minerals at the ocean floor to balance out the pH, though, the researchers say
the ocean would have moderately corrosive characteristics, “about the same as
your average soft drink,” except it would be more along the lines of hydrogen
peroxide than a cola. Swim time, anyone?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Information credit: <a href="http://www.space.com/14757-europa-moon-ocean-acidic.html"><span style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">SPACE.com</span></a>.</span><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-90501674229503518662012-02-28T06:30:00.001-08:002012-02-28T06:30:22.713-08:00Calling All Thrill Seekers: Microgravity Experience? 02.24.12<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For those that enjoy riding roller coasters, it is a very big deal to find the biggest, fastest, and most exciting ride possible. What if you had the opportunity, even for just a few seconds, to ride a roller coaster that would give the same sensation as floating in outer space’s microgravity? We have to wonder if even those with sensitive stomachs would pass up an opportunity like that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.space.com/images/i/15418/original/vomit-comet-roller-coaster.jpg?1330009279" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="324" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/15418/original/vomit-comet-roller-coaster.jpg?1330009279" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://i.space.com/images/i/15418/original/vomit-comet-roller-coaster.jpg?1330009279"><span lang="en-US" style="color: black; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">CREDIT: BRC Imagination Arts</span></a><span lang="en-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The idea comes from BRC Imagination Arts, a design firm in Southern California. They are putting together plans for one of the most sophisticated roller coasters in the world. The term “roller coaster” is a gross understatement for this monster, however. Because of the extremely precise calculations needed to give the maximum sensation, the ride will be meticulous enough to weigh and recalibrate the controls for every single flight of its passengers, even as the ride is in progress. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The ride is expected to give its passengers the feeling of one-g, zero-g, and then double Earth’s gravity through the duration of the trip. The microgravity sensation would be for about 8 seconds at the top, which, BRC claims, will feel like an eternity in the enclosed space of the ride.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is more, the ride has researchers excited because it could offer a much cheaper alternative for testing experiments in zero gravity. NASA’s current “Vomit Comet,” the KC-135A aircraft used to simulate zero gravity for astronauts in training, is a very costly trip to take. When the zero gravity contraption is built, though, even grade school students can run experiments while they ride the coaster. Who says science cannot be fun, too?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US">Information credit: </span><a href="http://www.space.com/14658-vomit-comet-gravity-roller-coaster.html"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">SPACE.com</span></a><span lang="en-US">.</span></span><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-79498642184912584882012-02-18T10:19:00.000-08:002012-02-18T10:19:07.177-08:00A Shot in the Dark, 01.18.12<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcYOJHvHaAz3DwMtI5YSKjC9t6pT5ha2rvllyEZ3FzlFHJTQ0bB8GbUGhHO5XAxSGnS0J_O8trV218E2qjue7McV22lfMUGJupMxESyEelYsNuVT8bIEYnebg5eso2qT0Jh09dPX5exc/s1600/banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcYOJHvHaAz3DwMtI5YSKjC9t6pT5ha2rvllyEZ3FzlFHJTQ0bB8GbUGhHO5XAxSGnS0J_O8trV218E2qjue7McV22lfMUGJupMxESyEelYsNuVT8bIEYnebg5eso2qT0Jh09dPX5exc/s640/banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.uchicago.edu/features/20120213_dark_matter/"><span lang="en-US" style="color: black; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Main photo courtesy of NASA, ESA, M.J. Jee and H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University)</span></a><span lang="en-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">How do you look for something if you do not know what to look for? This is a challenge being laughed in the face by scientists at the </span><a href="http://kicp.uchicago.edu/" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699;">Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics in Chicago</span></a><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">. The team there will be spending the next five years trying to answer some of the biggest questions about the three main problems in astronomy: dark energy, dark matter, and cosmic inflation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why try to find out about these things, you ask? Well, based on a dizzying amount of calculations done by astronomers and other scientists through the decades, it was determined that there is a lot more “stuff” in outer space than what can be seen. What is more, some of those scientists have a sneaking suspicion that the sleuths they are looking for do “not consist of quarks, neutrons, or protons.” A little review here: neutrons and protons are both parts of atoms, and quarks are the things that make up the parts of atoms. Basically, the scientists were looking for things so small that they could not be seen with the naked eye, but now they are beginning to think that their best guesses were not on track anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Astronomers also know the Big Bang Theory leaves something to be desired as it has no answer for cosmic inflation. So, hopefully getting some more answers could even change what astronomers think about the Big B<span style="font-family: inherit;">ang Theory itself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, when someone does find the answer, rest assured it will be something never before seen in history.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US">Information credit: </span><a href="http://www.uchicago.edu/features/20120213_dark_matter/"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699;">The University of Chicago</span></a><span lang="en-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US">Read more about quarks: </span><a href="http://www.particleadventure.org/index.html"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699;">The Particle Adventure</span></a><span lang="en-US">.</span><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Want to talk with us about discoveries like this? Be sure to come to our MARCH 20th Astronomy Series show in the Wetherbee Planetarium.</span></span></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-23142261517207534422012-02-13T10:16:00.000-08:002012-02-13T10:16:16.840-08:00Hungry, Hungry Black Holes 02.10.12<br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Black Holes have a way of “eating” anything that gets remotely close to them. In astronomical terms, we are talking about 100 million miles away or less.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It turns out, these pesky over-eating habits seem to be the answer for some questions regarding recent flares from the gigantic black hole at the center of Sgr (Sagittarius) A*. Closer studies seem to reveal that the black hole is surrounded by a cloud of asteroids and other detritus that is continually swept into its path. As it gets close, it gets torn to pieces by the black hole, and this friction makes the pieces heat up and glow, much like a meteor in our atmosphere, NASA says. A flare is produced as an astronomical burp of sorts, and the cycle of destruction continues.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/622369main_image_2172_946-710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial;"><i><img border="0" height="480" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/622369main_image_2172_946-710.jpg" width="640" /></i></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Image credit: NASA/CXC</span><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;">/M. Weiss.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is no baby with its first birthday cake, though. Far from it, actually. Needless to say, this monster at the center of our galaxy is getting a lot of attention.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Information credit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2172.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699;">NASA</span></a></span></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-30166909341360727072012-02-06T06:18:00.000-08:002012-02-06T06:18:10.995-08:00No Doubt: a Super-Earth in a Habitable Zone, 02.03.12<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Humans have wondered
throughout history if there is life outside of Earth. Is it possible for it to
exist elsewhere? Could there really be planets hundreds and thousands of light
years away that have their own life forms on them? It is very difficult to
tell. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the first criteria
astronomers say a planet must meet is to be in the habitable zone (or, life
zone) of the star around which it orbits. This is a region that is determined
based on the size and temperature of the star, which would render the
temperature on the planet at a happy sort of medium. It would not be so hot
that everything would dry out and die, and it would not be so cold that it
would become a frozen world. Hundreds of planets have been discovered outside
of our own solar system, and some of them seem promising, but until now, there
has always been a margin of doubt. Most of the planets discovered either missed
the mark entirely or were situated just on the fringe of their life zone. A
study led by the private nonprofit research organization, the Carnegie Institution
for Science, happened to stumble across one particular planet that leaves no
doubt about its orbit. Meet GJ 667Cc.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.space.com/images/i/14996/i02/alien-planet-GJ667Cc-orbit.jpg?1328138488" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/14996/i02/alien-planet-GJ667Cc-orbit.jpg?1328138488" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #727f6e; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">CREDIT: Carnegie Institution for Science</span></span>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This particular planet has
been termed a “super-Earth” because it is about 4.5 times as massive as our
own planet. The gravity there would feel greatly multiplied compared to that on
Earth, but there is no doubt that this terrestrial planet is smack in the
middle of its habitable zone. It is situated relatively close by in the
constellation Scorpio, about 22 light-years away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One other interesting fact
about the planet that is leaving astronomers puzzled is it is in orbit around
a triple star system, all of which are lacking heavier elements typical of
stars with their own solar systems. GJ 667Cc only orbits one of those stars,
but it would still be rather odd to see three in the sky, we think.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Information credit: <a href="http://www.space.com/14444-alien-planet-super-earth-habitable-zone.html"><span style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">SPACE.com</span></a></span>
</div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-17187936436423614492012-01-13T12:53:00.000-08:002012-01-13T12:53:35.841-08:00160,000,000,000 Milky Way Planets? 01.13.11<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have you ever played the party game where you try to guess how many candies were in a jar? You would look at the size of the candies, the size of the container, and try to visualize how many could fit in the space. Now, put that on a galactic scale.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Astronomers use math, not guessing, when trying to determine the number of the planets in our galaxy. There is not much guessing to this at all, really. There is, however, a great deal of calculations and observations. For years, scientists have been trying to track down planets elsewhere in our galaxy using the “transit method” and “radial velocity.” The transit method measures light from distant stars. If the readings from the planet show regular dips in light, that indicates an object passing in front of the star at regular intervals, which, to cause such a measurable dip, must mean a planet in orbit. The radial velocity method measures how much stars “wobble” because of the pull of the planets in orbit around them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US">A new observation method is being employed that is not so biased towards close-orbiting planets, called gravitational microlensing. According to </span><a href="http://www.space.com/14200-160-billion-alien-planets-milky-galaxy.html"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">SPACE.com</span></a><span lang="en-US">, microlensing measures how light is magnified and bent by gravitational fields from distant bodies. Based on the researcher’s calculations, they estimate at least 1.6 planets per star in our galaxy, in orbits from their stars roughly the same orbital range of Venus to Saturn from our own sun. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Based on that estimate—1.6 planets per star—and their estimate of about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, that comes out to quite a few planets. When we here at the Wetherbee Planetarium start to think about how many galaxies are estimated to be in existence in our Universe—100 trillion—it is mind-boggling to try to comprehend how many planets may be in existence outside our tiny little terrestrial world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.space.com/images/i/14430/original/eso-alien-planets-milky-way.jpg?1326241202" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/14430/original/eso-alien-planets-milky-way.jpg?1326241202" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #727f6e; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">An artist's impression of the prevalence of planets in our galaxy.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #727f6e; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">CREDIT: ESO/M. Kornmesser</span></div>
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText3">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US">Information credit: </span><a href="http://www.space.com/14200-160-billion-alien-planets-milky-galaxy.html"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">SPACE.com</span></a></span><span lang="en-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-89945816231592193362011-12-30T13:39:00.000-08:002011-12-30T13:39:59.522-08:00Top 11 in 2011, 12.30.11<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2011 has been a tremendous year for astronomy. It has been a marvelous year for discoveries, yet we look forward to the future as the space program evolves to continue without the space shuttles. Here at the Wetherbee Planetarium, we would like to take a moment to reflect on some of our favorite stories we covered this past year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">11. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/08/diamonds-in-sky-082911.html">Diamonds in the Sky</a></i>, originally published 08.29.11. A diamond planet companion was found orbiting J1719-1438. How is that for twinkle?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">10. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/08/de-blob-it-glows-081911.html">De Blob, it glows!</a></i>, originally published 08.19.11. Lyman-alpha blob 1 (LAB-1), a giant, intergalactic green blob, was discovered. No one knows what it is, but it is big, it glows, and it is green. We think that is pretty awesome.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">9. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/09/sky-is-falling-081511.html">The sky is falling!</a></i>, originally published 09.14.11. The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) took a spiraling descent back to Earth over late September-early October, mostly breaking apart and burning in the atmosphere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">8. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/04/geriatric-non-planet-non-asteroidthing.html">A Geriatric Non-Planet, Non-Asteroid…Thing…</a></i>, originally published 04.04.11. The gargantuan asteroid Vesta was visited by NASA’s Dawn mission in July of this year for a photoshoot rendezvous.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/05/spinstars-may-have-helped-seed-universe.html">“Spinstars” May Have Helped Seed the Universe</a></i>, originally published 05.02.11. Astronomers working with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) theorized the existence of “spinstars,” possibly the fastest rotating objects in the universe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/07/gamma-ray-flares-in-binary-star-are.html">Gamma Ray Flares in Binary Star are a Mystery</a></i>, originally published 07.07.11. A binary star system in January and February of this year was found emitting gamma ray flares as a companion pulsar grazed through the Be-class star’s gaseous disc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-alive-zombie-satellite-galaxy-15.html">“It’s Alive!” Zombie Satellite Galaxy 15 Springs Back to Life</a></i>, originally published 01.04.11. Rebellious satellite-gone-rogue Galaxy 15 came to its senses and rebooted after months of failing to respond to commands and joyriding.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/10/life-friendly-zones-in-galaxy-093011.html">Life-Friendly Zones in the Galaxy?</a></i>, originally published 09.30.11. Astronomers theorized the possibility of a “life zone” or area in galaxies that is most likely to support life as we know it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. <i>Hubble Celebrates Millionth Observation</i>, originally published 07.12.11. The Hubble Space Telescope made its historic millionth observation of outer space, a spectroscopic observation of planet HAT-P-7b.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/12/star-of-bethlehem-122011.html">The Star of Bethlehem</a></i>, originally published 12.20.10, reprinted 12.20.11. The staff at the Wetherbee Planetarium delved into possible explanations for one of the most iconic symbols of the Christmas season.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. <i><a href="http://wordfromthewetherbee.blogspot.com/2011/04/launch-week-last-flight-of-space.html">Launch Week: Last Flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour Scheduled Friday</a></i>, originally published 04.25.11. NASA set the launch date for the last flight of space shuttle Endeavour, one of the final missions for the shuttle program.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, what do we expect for 2012? NASA’s Dawn mission will wrap up its study of Vesta, the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission will make its descent back to Earth after its failed launch, Kepler is confident about the odds of finding an Earth-like planet in the life zone, and the biggest non-event: the supposed “alignment with the core of the galaxy” on December 21. Here’s to 2012!</span><br />Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-53474622478730275292011-12-20T13:18:00.000-08:002011-12-20T13:18:59.715-08:00The Star of Bethlehem, 12.20.11<br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Originally published December 20, 2010</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Throughout time, one object in astronomy has continually puzzled astronomers. Only one source in all of history has recorded it, yet it has fascinated the faithful and obsessed the scientific. Like history, astronomy is not repeatable, and the truth of the matter can only be postulated from the evidence that remains. The evidence left for scientists to mull over, in this case, is everywhere but on Earth, and the mystery is a “star” that is no more. We are, of course, speaking of the Star of Bethlehem, mentioned in manuscripts included in the Christian Bible, and supposedly occurred over 2,000 years ago in what we now refer to as the Middle East, west of the Mesopotamian region.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let us establish the context first. As we mentioned before, the Christian Bible contains the only written records of the Star. While there are multiple allusions to a star throughout the Scriptures, there is one section in particular that directly mentions the Star in question: Matthew, chapter 2.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is e that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him”. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, “in Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, For out of thee shall come a Governor; that shall rule my people Israel.” Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. And when they heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. –Matthew 2:1-10</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The wise men, or magi, were elite scholars of their day who practically knew the night sky and the movements of the objects in our solar system (that they could see) like the backs of their hands. Most likely from ancient Babylon, the magi used the skies to help them establish a calendar, know when to plant and harvest crops, how to plot navigation courses using them as guides, and more pertinent to this case, how to make predications or divinations about their current events.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Why would an elite group of astrologers (astronomy, the scientific study of space, had its roots in and was still closely entwined in astrology—the belief that our lives on earth are affected by the movements of objects in space—at this point, and would not emerge as a respected science for several hundreds of years) care about the birth of a poor Jewish boy several hundreds of miles away? The answer can be inferred from the Biblical book of Daniel. Hundreds of years prior, the astrologers were still busy reading the heavens and, more importantly, attempting to make predications based on the movements of what they saw. Whether he was attempting to test the wise men or merely gain a clear answer is not certain, but the Babylonian king at the time, Nebuchadnezzar, demanded of the wise men that they interpret his dream. Realizing their inability to do so using on astrology, they had to admit to the king that all they had been telling the king before was a bunch of lies. In a rage, the king commanded they all be put to death. Daniel,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">a young Jewish noble who had been brought captive to Babylon intervened and asked the king to give him time. According to the Bible, Daniel prayed to God for an answer, he pleased the king when he provided an interpretation of the dream, and the king made Daniel the ruler of the wise men. It is more than plausible that Daniel would have shared the Jewish prophecies with the wise men about a Messiah, which is probably why they were able to quote the prophecy recorded in the book of Isaiah to king Herod when they arrived near Bethlehem hundreds of years later seeking the Christ child.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is also important to note, concerning the magi, that it was the significance they attributed to the sign that they sought, not so much the object itself that fascinated them. Most ancient cultures had their own sect of sky watchers (even the general population, on average, had a working familiarity with the night sky). That they had their own, unique significance for whatever it was they had seen is evident in the surprise and dismay that Matthew recorded the king Herod and his scribes having. Had they missed something important? Had they seen the sign and not even recognized it? One can only imagine the hurried conversation that took place between the Jewish scholars and their king before these foreign magi regarding a sign in their own, native skies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So we know at least that the magi were expecting some sort of sign to herald the coming of the Messiah. Finding Him, though, was another story entirely. The journey from Babylon, where they most likely began, to Jerusalem, where they met with king Herod, as the crow flies, is a journey of a little over 400 miles. That, of course, would take the wise men straight across the middle of a barren wasteland. More than likely, they would have taken a more northerly course following along the Euphrates and then descending through Judaea, stopping from town to town along their way to Jerusalem. This would have been an even longer course. Granted, it is plausible that they could have gone straight through the desert if they had wished—there is no way to know for sure which route they took, whether just a really long route, or a much longer, really long route. The point of this is that it would have taken them several weeks, even if riding, to make it to Jerusalem. That is a very long amount of time to be “following” an object in the night sky.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So what was the star that sent wise men across the desert to bring gifts and worship the Christ child? Let us examine the candidates from an astronomical point of view. From supernovas to UFO’s, comets, a shooting star, supernovas, and a planetary conjunction, none of these fit exactly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We can dismiss “shooting stars” without a chance. “Shooting stars” are meteors that burn up in Earth’s atmosphere as they fly past our planet. They only last the briefest of moments, and they fall at regular times throughout the year.There would have been nothing remarkable or noteworthy to the magi about just another meteor, or even another meteor shower. Small and only a few seconds in duration each, they were just another sparkly, streaking speck in the sky.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Supernovas can probably be disqualified as well. Supernovas are stars that, for all intents and purposes, explode and end their lives in violent chaos, creating a black hole and emitting a burst of light hundreds of times their normal brightness. While the light from a supernova would have lasted 3-5 weeks at best, the wise men would have had to have made record time to make it to Jerusalem before the light faded. Supernovas also leave behind trace dust clouds that can be seen today with special astronomy equipment, and also many of them have been recorded in history. No mention was made in history of a supernova occurring at this time. The Chinese called them guess stars, and astronomer Tycho Brahe in 1572 made the first scientific records of supernova behavior. The supernova of 1054 AD was recorded by ancient peoples around the world, and is now known as the Crab Nebula in the constellation Taurus the bull. No supernovas are recorded in the time frame surrounding the period during which Jesus was born (somewhere between 8 BC and 4 AD), but then again it is very likely that not all novas and supernovas are recorded. Astronomers have recently discovered that a supernova occurred about 400 years ago that would have been visible in Earth’s southern hemisphere, yet it somehow went without being recorded by a single historian (that they know of). In a period so plentiful with scholars and with such a wide network of communication provided by the Roman Empire at the time, it is curious that no written record of a supernova remains. The absolute lack of such a record makes us more likely to lean towards no such observation having been made in the first place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As for a comet, that theory is laughable. In this day and age, comets are regarded as something unique and special, especially since some comets only pass by earth once and are never to be seen again. Just a few hundred years ago, however, comets were regarded as something to be feared. How much more so for people thousands of years ago who lacked equipment for their closer observation? Comets were often considered heralds of doom and destruction. Even our own Nelson Tift, one of the founders of Albany, GA, had the opportunity to observe a comet in 1835 and recorded some of the reactions of people around the town in his personal diary. He writes:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I saw the comet this evening about 7 o’clock, I think about west 45 degrees above the horizon…it was asserted by some that it would some so near the earth as to set it on fire! & by others that they would come in contact!</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If people not even 200 years ago were terrified at the sight of a comet, how much more might have been the people thousands of years ago. Least of all, comets have tails. The wise men referred to the object they saw as a star, and stars simply do not have tails.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now for the most plausible theory, but by no means a sure bet: a planetary conjunction. A planetary conjunction including Jupiter and Saturn, next to the star Regulus in the constellation Leo the lion would have been highly steeped in symbolism for the magi. The three of them also would have made a great show, but a conjunction is extremely predictable and the wise men, being very familiar with the course of the planets, would have known it was coming for months. Granted, Jupiter is considered a kingly planet and Regulus, the star, is also associated with kings, but it is a far stretch of interpretation to bring the Greek word used in Matthew chapter 2 for the star, astare’, to mean planet. Several months later the planet Venus and the star Regulus overlap, but that is still just a conjunction. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, just to have a better understanding of just what the Matthew meant when he recorded his Gospel 2,000 years ago, let us examine the word he used for “star.” When the book was first written, it was recorded in an ancient Greek dialect. Could something have been lost in translation?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The word he used was άστήρ, which pronunciation we mentioned before is astare’. According to the New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, a long respected resource by Bible scholars, the Greek word can either literally or figuratively mean a star. According to E.W. Bullinger’s Critical Lexicon of the English and Greek New Testment, there is a very slim chance the word could also mean planet or even meteor, but more digging into the roots of the word itself back in Strong’s lends more insight. According to Strong’s, astare’ comes from the roots of another Greek word, strōnnumi, which relates the idea of “strewing” or spreading something out in a space, which certainly brings up images of the stars laid out across the heavens. That word, in turn, is connected to another word, stĕrĕŏs, which have more connotations of something that is “stedfast, strong,” or “sure.” So, now we know that whatever the star was, we can rest assured it was not some fleeting or flickering object. It was solidly there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Stĕrĕŏs, Strong’s claims, is connected to another word, histēmi, and its primary word staō, which can be used “in various applications” either literally or figuratively, to mean bide or appoint, among other things.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The last stop is tithēmi, a word tied to histēmi, from the primary word thĕō, with the widest application as an “upright and active position” of placing something. A curious ending, indeed. It would seem that the etymological trail of the word used for “star” in the book of Matthew, at its deepest roots, means that the “star” really was some object that was deliberately placed, as a solid, enduring object, for a particular appointment. This is what the etymology of that particular word for “star” tells us. Science may lead us to believe otherwise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite all of the theories and conjecture, there really is no way to know for sure. Anything is possible, though, whether you favor a scientific theory or just choose to believe in a miracle. One fact</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">does remain, though: the star has stood for over 2,000 years as a symbol of the coming of the Messiah to people worldwide. That the imagery of stars to Christmas and the subsequent importance that is placed on stars as shining beacons of hope and light in a dark world is undeniable. Perhaps the star is meant to remain a mystery, symbolic in its very nature of the paradox that was the Christ child Jesus, a person fully God yet fully man, ruler of the world born to a poor teenage girl and a carpenter in a stable among the filth and stench of pack animals. A beacon of hope that defies all reason, it is only fitting that it ushered in the single most controversial figure in history.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Information credit: The Bible, E.W. Bullinger (1999), the New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (2003).</span><br />Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-11194919399070143582011-12-16T11:37:00.000-08:002011-12-16T11:37:18.894-08:00Phobos-Grunt a failure, 12.16.11<br />
Russian aerospace company NPO Lavochkin is expected to make the announcement soon that Phobos-Grunt, an unmanned probe mission to Mars, has failed. The probe launched early last month and its last booster rocket failed to go off, leaving the probe stuck in Earth orbit with a full tank of fuel.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhqFDULK9ekz1AVQ4MCUdtH7Ha_tF5t0OG1Tw2OI77cAO_r6VWf-iLzIfoGezhPStFzoq0Rfdk7SiwImTsnWBTRrPwwVu9fO8accVRs-OsHxPwYCqYYofT9b7Gc5VOr8j5JCmnWZeST4/s1600/1964a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhqFDULK9ekz1AVQ4MCUdtH7Ha_tF5t0OG1Tw2OI77cAO_r6VWf-iLzIfoGezhPStFzoq0Rfdk7SiwImTsnWBTRrPwwVu9fO8accVRs-OsHxPwYCqYYofT9b7Gc5VOr8j5JCmnWZeST4/s1600/1964a.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image credit: thespacereview.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The probe’s intended destination was the red planet’s moon Phobos. Its mission was to collect rock and soil samples.<br />
<br />
The probe launched early on November 8 of this year. All seemed to be well as it reached Earth orbit, but the last booster rocket failed to fire, which would have propelled the probe out of orbit and on track towards Phobos. Repeated contact attempts have been made to make the last booster rocket fire, but it failed to respond. In its current state, the probe is too dangerous to approach with another vessel to repair it, so the mission is a bust.<br />
<br />
Russian officials claim the probe should not pose a threat to humans when it descends to Earth, and say most of it should burn up as it falls.<br />
<br />
Information credit: SPACE.com.<br />Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-80144915873490415552011-12-09T12:12:00.001-08:002011-12-09T12:15:03.965-08:00Deep space planet confirmed in "life zone," 12.09.11<br />
A planet roughly 2.4 times the size of Earth has been discovered orbiting its star in the “life zone” or “habitable zone.” Found by NASA’s Kepler mission, the planet is in a solar system approximately 600 light-years away.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqXwb85pT2JIir28DntC35UsVGkpEDGQXZQF9VInt3FVbwb2Jv24fSlMKq2yhyphenhyphenz0CcNKHcI_ysAW4NVVzD83XCRY1MdFhNCDPLVZbYhvFCSue32FPsA2QTrsRr5jgTXov6IZCXtW-oEY/s1600/607770main_Kepler22bDiagram_946-710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqXwb85pT2JIir28DntC35UsVGkpEDGQXZQF9VInt3FVbwb2Jv24fSlMKq2yhyphenhyphenz0CcNKHcI_ysAW4NVVzD83XCRY1MdFhNCDPLVZbYhvFCSue32FPsA2QTrsRr5jgTXov6IZCXtW-oEY/s640/607770main_Kepler22bDiagram_946-710.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The “life zone” is the sort of “sweet spot” around a star that is neither too hot nor too cold for water to exist in its liquid form, and consequently, for life as we know it to thrive on any planets that may be in that region. The star in the system is G-class star, like our own, but a little bit smaller, so the life zone around it is about the same region as the distance between the orbits of Venus through Mars, as illustrated in this diagram here.<br />
<br />
The planet, thus far only referred to as Kepler 22b, is almost 2 1/5 times the size of Earth, and orbits its star a bit closer than Earth does, but having passed this first investigatory hurdle, astronomers will be studying it even more closely to try to determine what manner of planet it may be. As of yet, they do not know whether it is terrestrial (made of rock and soil like Mercury through Mars), covered in liquid (like Uranus and Neptune), or composed of gaseous clouds (like Jupiter and Saturn).<br />
<br />
Credit: NASA.<br />Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-27947604589796293832011-12-02T13:57:00.001-08:002011-12-02T13:59:37.161-08:00Amateur astronomer captures photo of young solar system, 12.02.11<br />
An amateur astronomer in New Zealand has managed to take and clean up a photograph of a new solar system in the works. The stunning part? He was doing it with his own, homemade, 10-inch telescope. That’s some pretty good aim!<br />
<br />
The system is Beta Pictoris, 63 light-years away in the southern hemisphere. The system had been photographed a number of years ago by professional astronomers, but the fact that Rolf Olsen managed to first of all find the system, then photograph it and do such a good job that the “circumstellar disc” was visible, is astounding.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-G4coT-FroDTzRDFgNpBURmcKZ3iYlX-VmyAm80tNgfR-hZ3yWJ4oYZ2thN7Xak-3oXawIH6oWfgGD-BxsUTk2LREaKC2VLF_mqPRYeCYKlweDsLeFPL8QDGo8pcTBc3V15u5kGyiGI/s1600/beta-pictoris-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-G4coT-FroDTzRDFgNpBURmcKZ3iYlX-VmyAm80tNgfR-hZ3yWJ4oYZ2thN7Xak-3oXawIH6oWfgGD-BxsUTk2LREaKC2VLF_mqPRYeCYKlweDsLeFPL8QDGo8pcTBc3V15u5kGyiGI/s400/beta-pictoris-02.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
The circumstellar disc is the cloud of dust and debris orbiting around the star. Eventually, it should turn into planets and various other satellites. Olsen was able to expose it using a very long, detailed set of instructions that had been published in a study on the system. That he was able to achieve such good results shows again that anyone can make a contribution to astronomy if they wish.<br />
<br />
“There certainly could be a lot of interesting things that professional astronomers have missed, that amateur astronomers could clue us in on,” wrote Bryce Croll, an astronomer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in an email to SPACE.com about Olsen’s achievement. So, hang in there, sky watchers! You just might be the next one to have a breakthrough.<br />
<br />
Credit: SPACE.com. Image credit: Rolf Wahl Olsen.<br />Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-33532127756306494812011-11-25T09:01:00.001-08:002011-11-25T09:01:48.954-08:00For now, neutrino calculations holding, 11.25.11<br />
<div align="left" class="MsoBlockText" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Scientists at Cern have
validated some of their calculations regarding neutrinos, tiny particles that
they <i>think</i> can travel faster than
light. We say that with some uncertainty, though, because as soon as the Opera
(Oscillation Project with Emulsion [T]racking Apparatus) collaboration
published their findings regarding the particles, physicists started
desperately trying to find as many flaws in the experiment as possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBlockText" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Why is that? Well,
physics, and all the disciplines that rely on it, have many of their baseline
calculations and formulas based on the idea that nothing can travel faster than
the speed of light. This is especially important to astronomers, because calculating
how long light has to travel before we are able to see it from Earth is one of
the main ways they figure out approximately how old stars are and how far away
they are in space. If all of those calculations are suddenly proved
fundamentally flawed, well…<i>everything</i>
would have to change. If the findings at Cern are eventually proven true, most
of the scientific community will have to undergo a complete overhaul in the way
they think and conduct their calculations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBlockText" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As soon as the earliest
results were published in September (with some trepidation—the scientists
conducting the experiments are practically begging other facilities around the
world to do what they can to try to test the experiments to see what sort of
results they get), a laundry list of possible flaws with the experiment has
started to form. One of the largest problems has just been tested, and the
original results have held. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBlockText" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The idea was that the
bunches of neutrinos that are tested would have produced different results
based on their string size, or the number of neutrinos that are used at one
time during the experiment. To test this, the scientists at Cern ran their
experiments at least 20 more times with smaller test sizes, and the original
results have still held true. There are still many, many more experiments that
need to be conducted to be able to say once and for all that there are some
things that can travel faster than light, but for now, one more step has been
made in that direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBlockText" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal;">Credit: BBC News Science &
Environment.</span></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-5973254081465039972011-11-04T12:59:00.000-07:002011-11-04T12:59:37.787-07:00Scientists re-thinking theories for life on Mars, 11.04.11<br />
New interpretations of data from NASA and European orbiters are beginning to come together, suggesting that the possibility for life on Mars is not so strong on the surface, but much more promising for the subsurface directly underground.<br />
<br />
This interpretation comes after researchers have discovered clay and certain types of minerals in the Martian subsurface. Clay can only be formed through the interaction of liquid water with rock, so finding clay under the surface suggests a much more consistent liquid presence than it does for the surface, which usually only has frozen ice in its craters and at its poles.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8pJ6Ht_jJObein2pQihuYHZkd19Ty_aKKAEoU8d9I-HAJ99OzJtfFb_FB3fhCw8RjElshCT2Grpyyx3-FWf0aISrDsjCwwLta1XU-0ZQgUj6DdWtGgqCr-X2u7vpjDxCUFjNNSurG_g/s1600/prehnite-beads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8pJ6Ht_jJObein2pQihuYHZkd19Ty_aKKAEoU8d9I-HAJ99OzJtfFb_FB3fhCw8RjElshCT2Grpyyx3-FWf0aISrDsjCwwLta1XU-0ZQgUj6DdWtGgqCr-X2u7vpjDxCUFjNNSurG_g/s400/prehnite-beads.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image credit: Geology.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the minerals that they have discovered that supports their new theories is a rather icky-colored stone called prehnite. Prehnite can only form in areas where the temperature is over 400 degrees Fahrenheit, so the presence of prehnite and the abundant clay in the subsurface suggests the likelihood for strong hydrothermal (hot water) activity beneath the Martian surface.<br />
<br />
That being the case, it is not so strange to think about the likelihood of finding life on Mars. Based on earth’s own geothermal and hydrothermal activity, scientists know it is possible for various kinds of life (usually bacteria and all manner of simple microbes) to live in their own environments, underground, away from the light of the sun.<br />
<br />
So, is it time to chuck the rovers and reach for a shovel instead? Not necessarily. More research still needs to be done. There is also more than enough evidence left on the surface of Mars for astronomers to know there was liquid water there at times, and there is still plenty of ice left in some places, so the possibility for life is still there. The idea of finding bacteria on a planet puts the phrase “finding a needle in a haystack” to shame, though. Knowing where to look that is the hard part.<br />
<br />
Credit: NASA.<br />Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-54506534160471813452011-11-04T12:53:00.000-07:002011-11-04T13:02:15.794-07:00Telescope solves ancient historical mystery, 10.28.11<br />
Astronomers recently used NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope to unravel a 2,000 year old mystery. In 185 A.D., Chinese sky watchers made note of something they noticed in the sky. They called it a “guest star” at the time, and continued to make notation of its visibility for about the next 8 months. Astronomers had had ideas about what the object could have been, but now using the power of science, they can peer into the depths of space in the area the Chinese had noted and see what may be left over from this mysterious “guest star.” Their findings? A supernova.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qPIy38asU71TZO97Vu5HDuFl2gq1dTijt_34Emh8YzwBLI4eEjOBs7UCaDkiFg657Ds342fPseHJKn2FN9bLV6e2dBj5LBtlrVX23hKL1zA50GuZSeDxC9S-c3lLyB_C9Kq6vbmM2vU/s1600/598520main_pia14872-43_946-710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qPIy38asU71TZO97Vu5HDuFl2gq1dTijt_34Emh8YzwBLI4eEjOBs7UCaDkiFg657Ds342fPseHJKn2FN9bLV6e2dBj5LBtlrVX23hKL1zA50GuZSeDxC9S-c3lLyB_C9Kq6vbmM2vU/s400/598520main_pia14872-43_946-710.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This particular supernova is a Type 1a supernova. Supernovae happen when a star dies, either by imploding in on itself as its core collapses, creating a black hole, or bursting outward, as was the case with this supernova. However, scientists who had observed it before had been puzzled because the debris left over is far larger and more spread out than a supernova of that age should be.<br />
<br />
With more observation they discovered the star actually exploded inside of some sort of shell of open space. This allowed the material that was ejected from the star as it exploded to travel unimpeded for great distances, much further than it would have traveled before. At any rate, it is an impressive sight. We can only wonder what the Chinese would have said about their “guest star” all those years ago if they could have seen it up close.<br />
<br />
Credit: NASA.Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-75247861433195254112011-10-21T09:03:00.000-07:002011-10-21T09:03:10.366-07:00The sky is falling...again, 10.21.11<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Not only is another meteor
shower coming this way, but yet another gargantuan satellite is making its way
back to Earth this weekend. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Orionids meteor shower
began about three or four days ago, and will continue to build until its climax
on the morning of October 22<sup>nd</sup>, just before sunrise. Called the
“Orionids” because the meteors seem to be falling out of the constellation
Orion the hunter, the bright streaks and fireballs are actually created by
detritus from Halley’s comet, burning up in our atmosphere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Like a trail of fairy dust
behind the Pigpen of fairies, the comet leaves a long, filthy (but sparkly—it
is mostly ice) trail behind it. When Earth passes through the trail of dirt,
dust, and ice, the resulting friction created by the pieces scrubbing against
our atmosphere causes them to burn up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Do not expect the meteor
shower to blow you away, though. The Orionids is only expected to produce about
20-25 meteors per hour. In the past, the Orionids have also been very dim, so
do not expect to see any if you are in an urban area with lights on at night.
The best place to observe a meteor shower (or anything in astronomy, really),
is to find a safe, dark, wide-open field in a rural area. The less light from
nearby cities and towns you see on the horizon, the better. The Orionids are
perfect for a nice calm, quiet evening of sky watching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">You may also want to keep
an eye out for ROSAT, the 2.7-ton German X-ray satellite. Remember UARS, which
fell to its death in the Pacific Ocean late last month? Well, it seems another
one of the mechanical behemoths has bit the dust and is in the process of winding
its way down to Earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Unlike UARS, which mostly
broke up or burned up in our atmosphere, ROSAT is expected to have over 1 ton
of its pieces survive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. While the chances for
getting hit by it are higher than they were for UARS, they are still only about
1 in 2000. It may look great if you happen to catch a glimpse of it through a
nice pair of binoculars, but the odds are far against it doing any real damage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">While it is impossible at
this point to predict exactly when or where ROSAT will make its final resting
place, scientists do guesstimate this it should make landfall over the weekend,
either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. The best predictions they can
manage are about 5 or 6 hours before it hits the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Credit: SPACE.com.<span> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span><br />Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7024695129004670776.post-25255296958520118722011-10-21T09:00:00.000-07:002011-10-21T09:00:30.239-07:00Finding the dark with light, 10.21.11<br />
<div align="left" class="MsoBlockText" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 120%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">NASA
scientists are using the Hubble Space Telescope to detect dark matter using
light. This may sound odd, but the researchers found out it is possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxWWqg7srbISkn1DMn8nFo-XLZFd6-T2RyzUiC3YC7EBk6xbf_z9djEP1iI_4eGZmHfQVv7hkdXJvAJ4Bs2lVWmkvV0MQ-ffmnKDhVtMjj9JxqWQd5D26PAYroheyn1Com9MqPy-kzME/s1600/595601main_image_2080_946-710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxWWqg7srbISkn1DMn8nFo-XLZFd6-T2RyzUiC3YC7EBk6xbf_z9djEP1iI_4eGZmHfQVv7hkdXJvAJ4Bs2lVWmkvV0MQ-ffmnKDhVtMjj9JxqWQd5D26PAYroheyn1Com9MqPy-kzME/s400/595601main_image_2080_946-710.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Image credit: NASA, ESA, M. Postman (STScl), and the CLASH Team.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="left" class="MsoBlockText" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t"
path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/>
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75"
alt="595601main_image_2080_946-710" style='position:absolute;margin-left:16.5pt;
margin-top:1.2pt;width:324.7pt;height:243.65pt;z-index:-1;visibility:visible'
wrapcoords="-100 0 -100 21409 21553 21409 21553 0 -100 0">
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\museum\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"
o:title="595601main_image_2080_946-710"/>
<w:wrap type="tight"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 120%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The
principle that allows it to work is something called gravitational lensing, an
effect predicted by Einstein in the early part of the 20<sup>th</sup> century.
The idea is that when a large object with considerable mass passes in front of
a light source, it causes the light to focus temporarily as it is literally
pulled a little bit towards the object, thus making the light appear a little
brighter for a time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBlockText" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 120%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On
the galactic scale, we do not see it quite so much as a flare, but rather we
see bends or curves in the light. In this image here, you can clearly see some
areas of light that are distorted, seeming to bend around nothing. That
“nothing,” the researchers have determined, is dark matter, the as of yet
enigmatic stuff that is proving very difficult to study. The vast majority of
things that researchers have learned about dark matter can only be gleaned from
its seeming effect on everything else. It is something they cannot see and
cannot reach yet due to the current limitations of our space travel programs. Hopefully
with enough studies they can determine what it is. As dark matter makes up the
bulk of the universe’s mass, scientists are very eager to figure it out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBlockText" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 120%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For
more information please call 229-432-6955. Credit: NASA.gov. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Thronateeska Heritage Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516073640896039423noreply@blogger.com0