6degrees, Irwin Horowitz
6degrees Astroblog
Early Morning Flash in Sky was MeteorWhen I woke up this morning, I found a voicemail message on my cell phone left by someone named “Steven.” He informed me that he had observed a bright flash of light earlier and was wondering if I could help him figure out what it was.
While checking out the Idaho Statesman website, I came across this report describing a bright flash seen across western Idaho and eastern Washington around 6:30 a.m MST. A pilot for Horizon Airlines observed an object hit the earth somewhere in Adams County, Washington.
UPDATE: According to scientists from the University of Washington, the meteor apparently disintegrated at an altitude of about 19 miles above La Grande, Oregon. It is unlikely that any fragments would have managed to make it to the surface.
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6degrees AstroBlog
Of Hunters and Babies
This month, I want to focus on one of the most awe-inspiring objects in the night sky, the Orion Nebula.
When one looks at the constellation of Orion, which dominates the night sky at this time of year, the three belt stars (Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka) bisect his midsection in a straight line. Above them lies Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star that is so vast that if it were placed in the center of our solar system its outer fringes would extend beyond the orbit of Mars. Below and to the right of the belt lies brilliant Rigel, a hot blue supergiant star with a surface temperature of 11000 K, about twice as hot as our Sun.
The nebula is located within the sword that dangles under the belt of Orion. From a dark sky site, it is readily visible to the unaided eye as a faint smudge. Charles Messier, the 18th century French comet hunter, listed it as the 42nd object in his famous catalog (M42). Viewing the object through a telescope barely provides the merest glimpse of its stunning beauty, as our eyes are too weak to capture the rich colors seen in long exposure images such as this fantastic mosaic acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope.
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6degrees AstroBlog
A Somber Anniversary
Memories are tricky things. I often can’t recall what I did last week, but can remember vividly what I was doing over two decades ago. Of course, major historical events have a way of burning such memories into us. No doubt, those who were alive at the time recall where they were and what they were doing on December 7, 1941 as if it were yesterday. On November 22, 1963, everyone who was old enough can recount the horrors of what occurred on the streets of Dallas. 9/11 is a date that everyone reading this will forever remember.
January 28, 1986 was such a date.
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6degrees AstroBlog
Red Planet Dominates Winter Skies
The end of the year brings with it the long awaited return of the Red Planet, Mars, to our evening skies. On Christmas Eve, Mars will be in opposition, meaning that it lies on the opposite side of the Sun as seen from the Earth. It will rise as the sun sets that evening and will be visible all night long, weather permitting. It shines brighter than all of the stars in the sky (except the Sun, of course) and is only bested by the Full Moon and the morning star, Venus.
The previous evening (23 Dec) we will be fortunate to see both the full moon and Mars pass right by each other in the early evening after sunset. If you have clear skies that night, I highly encourage you to bundle up and spend a few minutes outside marveling at the sight. You’ll need a clear view of the northeastern horizon to enjoy this conjunction of these two celestial bodies.
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6degrees AstroBlog
Citizenre Installation Broadcast on “Living With Ed”
The first beta-install of a Citizenre solar panel array was broadcast last night on HGTV’s Living with Ed program. Each week on the show, actor and environmental activist Ed Begley, Jr., along with his wife Rachelle Carson employ a broad range of sustainable and eco-friendly improvements to their San Fernando Valley home and visit many of their friends from both the entertainment industry and in their community to assist them with upgrading their homes to make them more green.
In last night’s episode, their friends Paul and Hala are in the process of completely renovating their Venice Beach bungalow and want to employ sustainable building materials and techniques. They also are excited about getting solar panels installed. However, since they have limited means, they could never afford to purchase a modest solar panel system for their new home. Citizenre provides them with an affordable option by renting the panels and charging them a monthly fee for the equipment.
Here is the press release from Citizenre’s Vice-President of Communications Erika Morgan:
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6degrees AstroBlog
How to Choose a Telescope for Your Family
The holiday season is fast approaching and some of my readers may be considering the purchase of a new telescope for their families to enjoy in the coming year. Oftentimes, well meaning parents will spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a shiny new gift for their precocious child, only to see it sit in a closet unused or else to be overwhelmed by the complex instructions on how to set it up and use it. As a result, interest in and excitement for astronomy fades away, and all that is left in its wake is a sense of frustration and resentment. I would like to offer my services in order for you to avoid such an unfortunate situation.
The first question a prospective telescope buyer should ask is: How interested in this hobby is the recipient of my gift? Are you trying to encourage him or her to take it up as an alternative to some other interest? Have they expressed a direct interest in astronomy to you? Have they asked for a new telescope? Depending on the answers to these initial questions, you may choose to purchase anything from a subscription to one of the popular astronomy magazines (my recommendation for true beginners would be Astronomy magazine, while for more advanced individuals, a subscription to Sky & Telescope may be more appropriate) all the way up to the purchase of a serious piece of equipment that may cost several thousands of dollars.
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6degrees AstroBlog
Comet Undergoes Massive Outburst and is Visible All Night Long
Four days ago, on 2007 October 24, the faint periodic comet 17P/Holmes underwent a superoutburst during which it increased in brightness by a factor of nearly 1 million! It has gone from a barely noticeable speck in the cosmos to a naked eye object in just a matter of a few hours.
Comets will occasionally undergo an outburst in brightness, though never to such a degree. The usual cause of such outbursts is the sudden venting of gases and dust from a subsurface pocket. This pocket gets exposed after the surface material has been ablated by solar heating. What is so unusual about this event is that this particular comet never approaches close enough to the Sun for this process to strongly affect its surface.
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6degrees AstroBlog
A Golden Anniversary for Space Exploration
This past observing season has been quite successful here in Boise, with a very well attended public star party at Bogus Basin back in July, the Perseid meteor shower and a total lunar eclipse in August, and the Idaho Star Party™ last month. In addition, Idahoans were very proud of our own Educator-Astronaut Barbara Morgan on her highly successful space shuttle mission to the International Space Station and of the 18 students who posed very sophisticated questions from the Discovery Center in Boise to Barbara and her shuttle colleagues.
As the summer fades into autumn, which officially began last Sunday morning, the days start to get shorter, the air starts to get cooler and the sky starts to get cloudier over much of the intermountain west. While these shorter days (and consequently longer nights) mean more time to observe the heavens each night, the other two effects tend to make such observations less comfortable and less frequent than they were during warm summer nights.
Astronomy activities tend to cool down along with the temperature, so I will focus my next several monthly columns on issues other than observing and star parties. This month I wish to discuss a very important anniversary that will occur later this week.
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6degrees AstroBlog
Morning Skies in the West
The pre-dawn sky is beautiful this time of year.
Recently, I looked outside my window towards the eastern horizon and noticed an extremely bright object in the pre-dawn sky. I thought it might be an airplane, but after watching it for a minute or two, I noted that it didn't move like an airplane would.
Could it be the first visible supernova in the northern hemisphere in over 400 years? I pondered as my level of excitement slowly increased. This object was much brighter than the star Sirius, the brightest star visible in the nighttime sky, which I could see to the south of this object.
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6degrees AstroBlog
Par…tay! Under the Stars!
As promised last month, I will be talking about next weekend’s Idaho Star Party™ in this column.
Star parties are gatherings of amateur astronomers where we go and experience the awesome majesty of the night sky. Typically, they take place far from city lights and over a weekend evening when moonlight does not interfere with that view. This way, we can best observe some truly stunning objects in our universe. These objects range from planets to star clusters to gaseous nebulae to galaxies. All are generally on the menu when astronomers gather at these events.
Most communities in our country have a local astronomy club or society. The members will organize star parties for their own enjoyment and occasionally for public involvement. Many such groups also organize larger gatherings where amateurs come from far away to enjoy the spectacle of a dark, clear sky.
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