The Astronomy Files

Got A Good Idea?

There is a slim chance that asteroid Apophis will meet and collide with Earth in the year 2036.  I won't be around to worry about it but there are a lot of people who are worrying.  Now the Planetary Society is offering a $50,000 prize for the person who comes up with the best idea for planting a transponder on the 400 meter rock.  Personally I think we should call Bruce Willis.

A Helluva Place

The surface of Venus reaches temperatures of 477 degrees Celsius, almost as hot as summer in Texas.  And now Venus Express has, through thermal imaging, started mapping the surface through the CO2 cloud cover that enshrouds the planet.  After many passes the combined images will give us a better look at specific elevations on the surface.

I was always impressed by the Magellan probe's radar images of the planet's surface.  The pictures beamed back from the spacecraft look to me almost like photographs.  Absolutely amazing.

Another Eruption

Sunspot 930 flared again overnight.  I've been trying to get into the Stanford Solar Center server to see what's happening but it must be overwhelmed.  Fox News says the "storm" will arrive here around noon eastern time.  What happens then is anybody's guess. 

On the other hand, the writers at Fox need a little lesson in physics.  Here's an example of wrong thinking:

Sometimes a cap blows, and a visible flare results. The flares are loaded with X-rays and other radiation, all of which reaches Earth moments after the eruption and can be accompanied by a shower of protons.

Notice that the writer says the components of the flare will reach Earth "moments after the eruption".  This is, of course, impossible.  Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light and light takes 8 minutes to reach Earth from the Sun.  Hope they catch their mistake but I'm not holding my breath.

Update:  Al Gore explains the problem with sunspots and how to overcome the situation.

The Mountains Of Titan

Sounds like the title of a science fiction book but it's actually a new set of images from Cassini's latest flyby showing what NASA calls "massive mountains" on the surface of Titan.  I just have to say that the science gained by this probe is staggering.  We're going to find many new things in the coming months as it continues around Saturn.

One Lonely Sunspot

has forced the ISS and Shuttle crew inside for a while.  I knew nothing about it until today and this story on FoxNews website.  I guess I need to finish up my solar ionosphere disturbance detector installation ASAP.

Update:  Actually I should have said one lonely sunspot complex!

Santa Visits The George Observatory

The person responsible for obtaining the research telescope at the George Observatory has done it again.  Acccording to Barbara Wilson, the observatory director, Mr. Gueymard (sorry I can't recall the rest of his name right now) just donated enough money for us to buy a new golf cart, a whole slew of stuff that will make the main dome easier to operate, and a new focuser for the 36" scope.  But, miracle of miracles and the most outstanding to me, is a brand spanking new Paramount ME, the premier German Equatorial mount of our time.  The ME will replace the aging and cranky Compustar mount that the C-14 rides on now, one of the reasons I have avoided using that scope.  What a great gift for this time of year. 

Asteroid Texas

In 1997, FBAC club member, Bill Dillon, discovered asteroid 1997 PD2.  In 2006 the spaceborne rock received a new name:  Asteroid Texas.  Good story on Fox 26 News here.  Good promotion for the observatory, too.

The Threat of Apophis

Not exactly recent news but this in Popular Mechanics may start another round of MSM asteroid madness.  Well written article, though, even mentioning contributions from amateur astronomers in resolving the orbit.  There's more to be found here.

What Were They Thinking?

If there is intelligent life out there and they have really good optical systems that, say are able to image the surface of our planet, what would they think about this?  On the other hand, what were these boneheads thinking in the first place.

Now I'm A Real Astronomer

Got certified last night on the 36" telescope at the George Observatory.  It's not exactly an easy process since there's a lot of things that can go wrong.  Moving the scope is fraught with danger because there's lots of stuff it can run into in the dark.  But using common sense and keeping a sharp eye on the scope and counterweight will prevent problems.

I did have a problem in the beginning when one the "Point and View" screens came up blank.  But we found that if MegaStar is running in night vision mode, it causes problems with PnV.  Turning off night vision and putting the red filter on the CRT solved the problem.

So now I'm a big time astronomer and I can spend Saturday nights describing the same object over and over and over to people.