Observing – Sky & Telescope

The essential guide to astronomy

FaviconAugust: Saturn & the Perseids 1 Aug 2022, 2:00 pm

August marks the return of the Perseid meteor shower — and as you’re looking out for shooting stars while listening to this month’s Sky Tour podcast, look for Saturn low in the southeast as soon as night begins to fall.

The post August: Saturn & the Perseids appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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FaviconThis Week's Sky at a Glance, July 29 – August 6 29 Jul 2022, 5:57 am

As the Big Dipper dips and the Guardians of the Pole align one over the other, Saturn looms low in the southeast and the False Comet teases at its highest.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 29 – August 6 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconSolving an Earthshine Mystery 27 Jul 2022, 10:05 am

Something we take for granted about the crescent Moon's appearance may be nothing more than an optical illusion.

The post Solving an Earthshine Mystery appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconThis Week's Sky at a Glance, July 22 – 30 22 Jul 2022, 4:54 am

Bright Arcturus is still pretty high after dark, but as summer progresses, it moves down the western side of the evening sky. Its pale ginger-ale tint always helps identify it.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 22 – 30 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconThis Week's Sky at a Glance, July 15 – 23 15 Jul 2022, 11:58 am

The waning Moon says hi to late-night Saturn, the Teapot starts tilting, the Great Square thrusts up, and the Milky Way arches high.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 15 – 23 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomy & Observing News – Sky & Telescope

The essential guide to astronomy

FaviconHubble's Future in the Webb Era 3 Aug 2022, 9:49 am

Even though it's far past its warranty, Hubble is still proving its worth in this new era that includes the James Webb Space Telescope.

The post Hubble's Future in the Webb Era appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconAugust: Saturn & the Perseids 1 Aug 2022, 2:00 pm

August marks the return of the Perseid meteor shower — and as you’re looking out for shooting stars while listening to this month’s Sky Tour podcast, look for Saturn low in the southeast as soon as night begins to fall.

The post August: Saturn & the Perseids appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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FaviconWhy Are Jupiter's Rings So Thin? 1 Aug 2022, 12:00 pm

Why does the biggest planet in the solar system have such flimsy rings? New research shows Jupiter's moons may be to blame.

The post Why Are Jupiter's Rings So Thin? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconThin Red Lines: Webb Space Telescope Captures Star Creation on Grand Scale 30 Jul 2022, 12:00 pm

New imagery from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a nearby galaxy in a whole new light.

The post Thin Red Lines: Webb Space Telescope Captures Star Creation on Grand Scale appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

FaviconThis Week's Sky at a Glance, July 29 – August 6 29 Jul 2022, 5:57 am

As the Big Dipper dips and the Guardians of the Pole align one over the other, Saturn looms low in the southeast and the False Comet teases at its highest.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 29 – August 6 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

NASACast Video

NASACast combines the content of all the NASACast subject area podcasts into a single omnibus podcast. Here you'll find the latest news and features on NASA's missions as well as the popular "This Week @NASA" newsreel.

FaviconThis Week @NASA Sept. 22, 2023 22 Sep 2023, 3:15 pm

Tracking Our First Asteroid Sample Return Mission and more ...

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FaviconThis Week @NASA Sept. 15, 2023 15 Sep 2023, 5:01 pm

Rubio Sets U.S. Record for Longest Single Spaceflight and more ...

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FaviconThis Week @NASA Sept. 8, 2023 8 Sep 2023, 3:06 pm

Our SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Safely Returns to Earth and more ...

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FaviconWhat's Up - September 2023 1 Sep 2023, 6:07 pm

Enjoy the bright beacon of Venus on September mornings, end the month with a Harvest Moon, and seek the elusive zodiacal light under dark skies.

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FaviconThis Week @NASA Sept. 1, 2023 1 Sep 2023, 4:52 pm

Our SpaceX Crew-7 Mission Launches to the Space Station

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StarDate Online - Your guide to the universe

FaviconHearth Fire 29 Nov 2023, 1:00 am

Orion climbs into good view in the east and southeast by about 8 p.m. In European mythology, Orion was a hunter. But to the Maya, those stars probably represented a turtle and the “hearth” of the heavens, corresponding to the central fire in a Mayan household.

FaviconX Flares 29 Nov 2023, 1:00 am

The letter X has a big reputation. It’s used to designate things that are powerful, scary, mysterious, or all of the above. So we have X-rays and X Men, the X Files and X planes, and in the movies, at least a couple of spies designated triple-X.

The Sun gets into the act, too, with X-class solar flares — eruptions that are powerful, scary, and a bit mysterious.

Solar flares are massive explosions. They occur when the lines of the Sun’s magnetic field tangle up, snap, then reconnect. They generate outbursts of particles and radiation that race into the solar system — and they can have dramatic impacts on Earth.

Scientists use five letters to designate the power of a solar flare. From weakest to strongest, they’re A, B, C, M, and X.

The first three categories are fairly mild. Class M flares can have some impact on Earth, but the really nasty ones are the X-class. The largest can produce as much energy as a billion hydrogen bombs.

They’re often accompanied by massive outbursts of charged particles. They can fry orbiting satellites, disrupt radio broadcasts, and knock out power grids. They can force airlines to reroute flights away from the north pole to avoid dangerous levels of radiation. And they can produce displays of the northern lights in places that seldom see them.

The Sun is getting more active these days, building toward the peak of its magnetic cycle in a couple of years — a lot of X-flares in our future.
 

Script by Damond Benningfield

StarDate: 
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Teaser: 
The Sun’s “X” factor

FaviconX Flare! 29 Nov 2023, 1:00 am

An "X-class" solar flare erupts from the limb of the Sun in this 2014 image. X flares are the most powerful solar flares, which are giant eruptions of radiation and charged particles. Such flares can disrupt spacecraft, knock out power grids on Earth's surface, and cause other problems. Such flares are most common near the peak of the Sun's 11-year magnetic cycle. The next cycle currently is forecast to peak in 2024. [NASA/GSFC/SDO/Wiessinger]

 

an x-flare erupts from the sun

FaviconRare Birds 28 Nov 2023, 1:00 am

Two birds wade low across the southern sky early tonight. They are the constellations Grus, the crane, and Phoenix, the firebird. They are best seen from the southern third of the country, with Grus standing a little taller than its cousin.

FaviconBrighter Sun 28 Nov 2023, 1:00 am

The Sun is getting brighter.

Not enough to notice, mind you. In fact, it’ll take more than a hundred thousand human lifetimes to tick up by even one percent. But that gradual change will add up. In a billion years or so, the extra energy should be enough to boil away Earth’s oceans and atmosphere, leaving nothing but a burned-out ball of rock.

The change is the result of changes deep inside the Sun.

Our star shines because its core is a giant nuclear reactor. It “fuses” lightweight hydrogen atoms to make heavier helium atoms — a process that produces enough energy to power the Sun.

As more hydrogen is converted to helium, the core shrinks and gets denser, which makes it hotter. And as the temperature goes up, so does the rate of nuclear reactions. That yields more energy, making the surface of the Sun brighter.

The Sun has already converted a large fraction of its hydrogen to helium. As a result, it beams about 25 percent more energy into space today than when it was born.

A billion years from now, it’ll shine about 10 percent brighter still — bright enough to heat Earth’s surface above the boiling point of water. And a few billion years after that, it’ll shine roughly twice as bright as when it was born.

By then, the Sun will have used up the hydrogen in its core, triggering changes that’ll make it shine hundreds of times brighter — a brilliant flare-up before it fades away for good.

More about the Sun tomorrow.
 

Script by Damond Benningfield

StarDate: 
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Teaser: 
The Sun gets a lot brighter

ESOcast HD

ESOcast is a video podcast series dedicated to bringing you the latest news and research from ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Here we explore the Universe's ultimate frontier.

FaviconThe furthest ever galactic magnetic field (ESOcast 267 Light) 6 Sep 2023, 11:00 am

Using ALMA, astronomers have detected the magnetic field of a galaxy so far away that its light has taken more than 11 billion years to reach us. Never before had we detected a galaxy’s magnetic field this far away. This video summarises the discovery.

FaviconESO telescopes help solve pulsar puzzle (ESOcast 266 Light) 30 Aug 2023, 8:00 am

FaviconMysterious Neptune Dark Spot Detected from Earth (ESOcast 265 Light) 24 Aug 2023, 11:00 am

FaviconNew type of star gives clues to magnetars' origins (ESOcast 264 Light) 17 Aug 2023, 2:00 pm

Using multiple telescopes around the world, including European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar, an ultra-magnetic dead star. This video summarises the discovery.

FaviconDoes this planet have a “sibling” sharing the same orbit? (ESOcast 263 Light) 19 Jul 2023, 8:00 am

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found the possible ‘sibling’ of a planet orbiting a distant star. This video summarises the discovery.

HD - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

High-definition (HD) videos from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory feature the latest news on space and science findings from JPL and NASA. Topics include discoveries made by spacecraft studying planets in our solar system, including Mars, Saturn and our home planet, Earth. Missions also study stars and galaxies in our universe.

FaviconWhat's Up - August 2020 31 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



What are some skywatching highlights in August 2020? See the Moon posing with various planets throughout the month, plus catch the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.



FaviconNASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Launches With Your #CountdownToMars 30 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



To get ready for the launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, NASA invited the public to join a global, collective #CountdownToMars project.



FaviconNASA's Perseverance Rover Launches to Mars 30 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



NASA’s Perseverance Rover began its long journey to Mars today by successfully launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a ULA Atlas V rocket.



FaviconMission Overview: NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover 27 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is heading to the Red Planet to search for signs of ancient life, collect samples for future return to Earth and help pave the way for human exploration.



FaviconGetting Perseverance to the Launch Pad 22 Jul 2020, 3:00 am



In February 2020, NASA’s Perseverance Rover began its long journey to Mars by first traveling across the United States.