It’s 1.7 miles long. Its surface is covered in a sticky black substance similar to the gunk at the bottom of a barbecue. If it impacted Earth it would probably result in global extinction. Good thing it is just making a flyby.

Asteroid 1998 QE2 will make its closest pass to Earth on May 31 at 1:59 p.m. PDT.

Read More.

(Source: christinetheastrophysicist)

ScienceCasts: Collision Course? A Comet Heads for Mars
A comet is heading for Mars, and there is a chance that it might hit the Red Planet in October 2014. An impact wouldn’t necessarily mean the end of NASA’s Mars program. But it would transform the program along with Mars itself.

via ScienceAtNASA

The Science Report

by Stuart Gary

Comet century may be telescope’s last

I’ve just written a story for ABC Science about the discovery of the 100th comet by the Uppsala telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory..

The find makes the Uppsala telescope the third most successful ground-based comet discovery observatory in history.

The problem is, the discovery comes at a time when funding is about to run out for the telescope which is the only Near Earth Objects survey in the Southern Hemisphere.

If you missed my radio report on the story and you want to find out more, check out the online version at:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/05/14/3758927.htm

(Source: abcstarstuff)

13 Must See Stargazing Events for 2013

— Listed In Chronological Order 

1) January 21 — Very Close Moon/Jupiter Conjunction

A waxing gibbous moon (78% illuminated) will pass within less than a degree to the south of Jupiter high in the evening sky. Your closed fist held out at arms length covers 10 degrees. These two wont get that close again until 2026.

2) February 2-23 — Best Evening View of Mercury

The planet Mercury will be far enough away from the glare of the Sun to be visible in the Western sky after sunset. It will be at its brightest on the 16th and dim quickly afterwards. On the 8th it will skim by the much dimmer planet Mars by about 0.4 degrees.

3) March 10-24 — Comet PANSTARRS at its best

First discovered in 2011, this comet should be coming back around for about 2 weeks. It will be visible low in the northwest sky after sunset. Here are some sources predicting what the comets may look like in the sky; 1, 2

4) April 25 — Partial Lunar Eclipse

A very minor, partial lunar eclipse (not visible in North America) where only about 2 percent of the moon’s diameter will be inside the dark shadow of the Earth.

5) May 9 — Annular Eclipse of the Sun (“Ring of Fire” Eclipse)

It will be visible in Northern Australia and parts of Papua New Guinea but mostly within the Pacific Ocean. See all the solar eclipse paths for 2001-2020 here.

6) May 24-30 — Dance of the Planets

Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will seemingly dance between each other in the twilight sky just after sunset as they will change their positions from one evening to the next. Venus will be the brightest of all, six times brighter than Jupiter. Look towards the west just above the Sun after it sets to see the three planets grouped together.

7) June 23 — Biggest Full Moon of 2013

It will be the biggest full moon because the moon will be the closest to the Earth (Perigee) at this time (11:32 UT) making it a ‘SuperMoon’. The tides will be affected as well creating exceptionally high and low tides for the next few days. More cool facts about the Moon.

8) August 12 — Perseid Meteor Shower

One of the best and most reliable meteor showers of the year producing ~90 meteors per hour provided the sky is dark. The meteor shower is expected to peak the night of August 11-12, however, you will be able to see a good amount of meteors even in late July. This year (for the peak) the moon won’t be in the way as much as it will set during the evening, leaving the rest of the night dark. Here is a useful dark-sky finder tool to find the best place to watch where you live.

9) October 18 — Penumbral Eclipse of the Moon

Visible mostly in Asia, Europe and Africa, at this time 76% of the moon will be covered by the penumbral shadow of the Earth.

10) November 3 — Hybrid Eclipse of the Sun

A Hybrid Eclipse meaning, along its path, the eclipse will turn from Annular to Total and in this case most of the path will appear to be Total as there will be a slight ring of sunlight visible near the beginning of the track. This one will begin in the Atlantic (near the East Coast of the U.S.) and travel through Africa. See the path here. The greatest eclipse (with 100 seconds of totality) will appear in Liberia, near the West Coast of Africa.

11) Mid-November through December — Comet ISON

The second comet this year, ISON, could potentially be visible in broad daylight as it reaches its closest point to the Sun. It will reach that point on November 28 and it is close enough to the Sun to be categorized as a ‘Sungrazer’. Afterwards it will travel towards Earth (passing by within 40 million miles) a month later. Hopefully it will survive and become brighter than Panstarrs.

12) All of December — Dazzling Venus

The brightest planet of them all will shine a few hours after sundown in the Southwestern sky and for about 1.5 hours approaching New Years Eve. Around December 5th, a crescent moon will pass above the planet and the next night Venus will be at its brightest and wont be again until 2021.

13) December 13-14 — Geminid Meteor Shower

This is another great (if not the best) annual meteor shower. This year put on a show at about 120 meteors per hour and in 2013 it won’t be much different so expect another fantastic show. However, the moon - as it is a few days before full phase - will be in the way for most of the night obscuring some of the fainter meteors. You might have to stay up in the early morning hours (4am) to catch the all the meteors it has to offer. If you missed 2012’s Geminid Meteor Shower, here are some great photo-sets; 1, 2, 3

— Notes
*The gif is of a total solar eclipse, made from this video
* Find a dark sky to watch the meteor showers with this tool
* Estimate your locations meteor shower rate with the Fluxtimator

(via asapscience)

The moon will block part of the sun today (May 9) to create a potentially amazing “ring of fire” and you can watch the celestial sight live online

Stay Curious: How To Safely Photograph The Sun

(Source: facebook.com)

Night Sky Observing for May Brings Spring Constellations

Here’s the latest update on what’s up in the night sky from Jane Houston Jones at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Moon will be your guide on how to spot the spring constellations and other popular astronomical sights this month including nebulae, a galaxy trio and the site of a recent planetary discovery.

(Source: universetoday.com)

ScienceCasts: Comet ISON Meteor Shower

Sungrazing Comet ISON, expected to become a bright naked-eye object later this year, might dust the Earth with meteoroids in early 2014. Researchers discuss the possibilities in this week’s ScienceCast.

via NASA television.

(Source: skeptv.net)

abcstarstuff:

See Saturn at its Best and Brightest

The Solar System is a beautiful place filled with wonders that NASA space probes are only beginning to discover. There’s a tendency, though, for people to become indifferent; every year Hubble, Cassini, MESSENGER and other spacecraft beam back gigabytes of jaw-dropping images. After a while, you don’t have any more “gasps” left in you.

Well, maybe just one more. Inhale deeply, because at the end of April, Saturn will put on a breathtaking display.

No space probe is required to see it. Just set up a telescope in your back yard—even a small department store ‘scope will do—and point the optics toward the constellation Virgo. Saturn is there, not far from the bright star Spica.

On April 28th, Saturn makes its closest approach to Earth, appearing bigger and brighter than at any other time in 2013. Astronomers call this event “an opposition,” because Saturn will be opposite the sun in the skies of Earth. The golden planet rises at sunset, soars almost overhead at midnight, and stays up all night long.

Observers who see Saturn for the first time through the eyepiece of a telescope often gasp. The view is Hubble-esque, but the experience is much more personal. You’re seeing Saturn with your own eyes, a celestial wonder right out of the pages of an Astronomy magazine. The sight of that cloudy sphere suspended in the middle of crisp, thin icy rings is almost unreal.

To the naked eye, Saturn at opposition is about twice as bright as a first-magnitude star. This makes it relatively easy to find. Novices should start looking on April 25-26, when the full Moon passes Saturn only a few degrees away. For that one night, the Moon will act as a beacon, guiding observers straight to the ringed planet. Once you know where Saturn is, you can find it again on subsequent nights.

Look again on April 28th. That’s when Saturn will be closest to Earth—about 1.3 billion km away. If clouds intervene, don’t worry; there are many more opportunities to look. Saturn will remain a golden jewel in the midnight sky for weeks to come.

Meanwhile, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is circling Saturn, exploring the planet and its environment at point-blank range. Since it reached the Saturn system in 2004, Cassini has found a moon with “tiger stripes” spewing geysers of salty water; an electrical storm big enough to swallow Earth; methane lakes and rain on Titan; braids, spokes and other strange ripples in Saturn’s rings; a hexagonal cloud system surrounding Saturn’s north pole; a satellite that looks like a sponge, and much more.

Saturn is near. Save the indifference for another planet!

Credits:

Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA

2013 Lyrid Meteor Shower

Contrary to popular belief, meteor showers are not rare. It’s just that most of the time we don’t look up! So mark these dates on your calendar and make sure you don’t miss any more this year.

Meteor Showers Viewing Tips:
To answer the most common question: Yes, you can see these meteor showers from ANYWHERE in the sky, provided it’s clear and dark, away from all the city lights.

The best times to view meteors or typically predawn and late evening. Partially because this is when it is darkest, but also because this is when Earth turns into the path of meteoroids as they enter the atmosphere.

via I fucking love science

electricspacekoolaid:

Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight - April 21st

he annual Lyrid meteor shower will peak tonight (April 21) and early Monday, but the moon’s bright light may spoil the celestial fireworks display.

The Lyrid meteor shower occurs each year in mid-April when the Earth passes through a trail of dusty debris from the Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1), which orbits the sun once every 415 years. Humans have been observing this particular meteor shower for at least 2,600 years.

Typically, the Lyrid meteor shower is a relatively faint stargazing event, though observers with clear dark skies away from city lights can usually spot up to 15 or 20 meteors an hour. The meteors appear to radiate out of the constellation Lyra (hence their name), which can be found in the eastern night sky tonight. [Amazing Lyrid meteor shower photos of 2012]

(Source: questionall)

How to Spot the Antares Launch from NASA Wallops on Wednesday

A space launch marking a new era is departing from the Virginia coast this Wednesday evening, and if you live anywhere along a wide area of the US Eastern seaboard, you’ll have a great opportunity to witness the launch with your own eyes. Here’s all the information you’ll need to see it, plus some tips for capturing it with your camera.

Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket will launch from Pad 0A at NASA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport based on Wallops Island, Virginia. This will mark not only the first launch of Antares, but the first orbital launch of a liquid-fueled rocket from Wallops. The launch window runs from 5:00 to 8:00 PM EDT (21:00-24:00 UT).

There were some concerns when a technical anomaly shutdown a “Wet Dress Rehearsal” test this weekend at T-16 minutes, but Orbital Sciences has stated that the problems have been resolved and the launch is pressing ahead as planned.

Space shots are a familiar sight to the residents of the Florida Space Coast, but will provide a unique show for residents of the U.S. central Atlantic region. The launch of Antares from Wallops will be visible for hundreds of miles and be over 10° above the horizon for an arc spanning from Wilmington, North Carolina to Washington D.C. and north to the New York City tri-state area as it heads off to the southeast. Antares is a two stage rocket with a 1st stage liquid fueled engine and a solid-fueled 2nd stage. The primary mission for Wednesday’s Antares A-One flight will be to demonstrate the ability for the Antares rocket to place a payload into orbit. If all goes well, Orbital Sciences will join SpaceX this summer in the select club of private companies with the ability provide cargo delivery access to the International Space Station in Low Earth Orbit.

Antares will deploy a dummy mass simulating the Cygnus module. Also onboard are the Phonesat-1a, -1b, and -1c micro-cubesats and the Dove 1 satellite.

Be sure to watch for the launch of Antares if you live in the region. Find a spot with a low uncluttered eastern horizon and watch from an elevated rooftop or hilltop location if possible. I live a hundred miles west of Cape Canaveral and I’ve followed launches all the way through Main Engine Cutoff and first stage separation with binoculars.

Be sure to also follow the launch broadcast live for any last minute delays via NASA TV or Universe Today will have a live feed as well. Antares is aiming to put the Cygnus test mass in a 250 x 300 kilometre orbit with a 51.6° inclination. This is similar to what will be necessary to head to the ISS, but this week’s launch will not be trailing the ISS in its path. This also means that the launch window can be extended over three hours rather than having to be instantaneous.

If the launch goes at the beginning of the window, the local sun angle over the launch facility will be 30° to the west. Sunset at Wallops on the evening of April 17th occurs at 7:41PM EDT, meaning we could be in for a photogenic dusk launch of Antares if it stretches to the end of the target window.

And speaking of which, a pre-sunset launch means short daytime exposure settings for photography. Be prepared to switch over for dusk conditions if the launch extends into the end of the window. Conditions during twilight can change almost moment-to-moment. One of the most memorable launches we witnessed was the pre-dawn liftoff of STS-131 on April 5th, 2010:

Once in orbit, the launch of Antares should generate four visible objects; the test mass payload, the two clam-shell fairings, and the stage two booster. This configuration is similar to a Falcon 9/Dragon launch, minus the solar panel covers. These objects should be visible to the naked eye at magnitudes +3 to +5. The cubesat payloads are tiny and below the threshold of naked eye visibility.

Preliminary visibility for the objects will favor latitudes 0-30° north at dusk to 10-40° at dawn. Keep in mind these predictions could change as the launch window evolves. The next NORAD tracking ID in the queue is 2013-015A. Yesterday’s launch of Anik G1 from Baikonur was just cataloged today as 2013-014A plus associated hardware. The weather is forecast to be 45% “go” for tomorrow’s launch. In the event of a scrub, the next launch window for Antares is April 18-21st.

It’ll be exciting to follow this first flight of Antares and its first scheduled mission to the International Space Station this summer. Also watch for the first ever lunar mission to depart Wallops on August 12 with the launch of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE).

Finally, if you’ve got a pass of the International Space Station this week, keep an eye out for Progress M-17M currently about 10 minutes ahead of the station in its orbit. The unmanned Progress vehicle just undocked yesterday from the station and will be conducting a series of experiments monitoring the interactions of its thrusters with the ionosphere before burning up on reentry over the South Pacific on April 21st.

The ISS and more can be tracked using Heavens-Above. Also, we’ll be tweeting all of the updates and orbital action as it evolves as @Astroguyz. Let us know of those launch sightings both near and far. It’ll be interesting to see what, if any, impact launches visible to a large portion of the U.S. population will have on the public’s perception of spaceflight. Be sure to look up tomorrow night!

image 1: Sighting prospects for the US Eastern Seaboard during the ascent of Antares. (credit: The Orbital Sciences Corporation).

image 2: Antares heads to orbit. Artist’s concept. (credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation).

via UniverseToday

ikenbot:

Setting Winter Hexagon

The Winter Hexagon or Winter Circle/Oval is an asterism appearing to be in the form of a hexagon with vertices at Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux, Procyon, and Sirius.

It is mostly upon the Northern Hemisphere’s celestial sphere. On most locations on Earth (except the South Island of New Zealand and the south of Chile and Argentina and further south), this asterism is prominently in the sky from approximately December to March. [**]

mothernaturenetwork:

Try spotting Jupiter in the daylight this weekend

When Jupiter is close to the moon, as it will be this weekend, it is easier to spot.

Comet PANSTARRS … Going … Going … Not Gone Yet!

It’s falling out of the news but Comet PANSTARRS still lives! You can still see it in a clear sky near you with nothing more than a pair of binoculars. And thanks to guidance from the bright zigzag of Cassiopeia, it’s easier than ever to find. Would that we had had this star group to point up comet-ward in March when PANSTARRS was brightest!

Start looking about 75-90 minutes after sunset or the same amount of time before sunrise. Yes, the comet is visible now at both dusk and dawn. Currently it shines at about 4.5-5 magnitude and might still be faintly visible with the naked from a very dark sky location. In 35-50mm binoculars it will look like a faint, fuzzy streak of light with a brighter head. Telescopes still give a wonderful view of the bright nucleus and shapely tail.

The other night a student who helps run our local planetarium described it as looking like a “real comet” through the telescope, the way textbook and online photos had led him to anticipate. Binoculars or telescope will show a misty, plume-like tail, but wide-field, time-exposure photography reveals the comet’s unbelievably broad fan of dust.

The reason for this unusual appearance has much to do with perspective. PANSTARRS is sailing back into deep space directly above the plane of the planets. With the tail blown back by the pressure of sunlight, we look up and across a distance of more than 125 million miles (201 million km) to see it spread like a deck of cards across the constellation Cassiopeia.

In the northern U.S., Cassiopeia is higher up in both morning and evening skies and easy to spot. Once you’ve found its familiar shape, focus your binoculars on the brightest star nearest the comet, and slowly work your way in its direction. Skywatchers in the northern U.S., Canada and Europe are favored because Cassiopeia is a northern constellation and higher up in the sky at both dusk and dawn. Observers in the southern U.S. will get their best views around the start of dawn.

image 1: Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS on the evening of April 9, 2013 from Austria. Dust released when the sun vaporizes the comet’s ice is pushed back by the pressure of sunlight to form the tail. Click to enlarge. credit: Michael Jaeger

image 2: The comet marches along through Cassiopeia the Queen in April. The map shows the evening sky facing northwest about 90 minutes after sunset. Comet positions are shown every 5 nights. credit: Stellarium

image 3: While the northern U.S., Canada and Europe have good views of PANSTARRS at both dusk and dawn, sky watchers in the southern U.S. have their best views at dawn. This map shows the sky at the start of dawn facing northeast about 90 minutes before sunrise. credit: Stellarium

image 4: Comet PANSTARRS moves along a steeply tilted orbit that takes it far above and below the plane of the planets. Right now it’s high above Earth’s north pole and we see its tail broadside. The comet takes about 106,000 years to complete an orbit around the sun. credit: NASA/JPL/Bob King

image 5: Comet PANSTARRS a week ago when it passed near the Andromeda Galaxy (at left). Details: 300mm f/2.8, ISO 800 and 90-second exposure. credit: Bob King