Astronomy Group

[SeanPatrick]

Originally Posted by Astrochef

At totality I was able to take off the filter and actually capture some nice solar activity shooting out from behind the moon. Was using about 36x magnification with my cell phone attached to the eyepiece.

Magnificent!

[grantmc]

An amazing photo (in my view). This photo, released by NASA is of the South Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter. It's been orbiting the Moon for some months and that's a story in itself. And the photo was captured by the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

I am blown away that one spacecraft can take a photo, in space, of another craft, whilst both are in motion to boot. It's not that long ago that the idea of seeing someone on my phone in real time was science fiction.

There are many news articles about this, but here's a short story for those interested. Here's a NASA link.

Oh any flat Earthers out there want to chime in?

[GordMay]

This first ‘DSCOVR’ [Deep Space Climate Observatory], and its ‘EPIC’ [Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera] image of our planet, from 2015, shows the effects of sunlight, scattered by air molecules, giving the disk a characteristic bluish tint.




Early balloon, and later rocket, launches gave us a view of Earth, from as high as 100 miles above the planet.
Today we can look back, at home, from 100 million miles away.
Satellite ‘1958 Alpha’, later and better known as ‘Explorer 1', successfully lifted off, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 31, 1958.
The success of ‘Explorer 1' [&other satellites that soon followed] in 1958, lead Congress to pass the National Aeronautics and Space Act, that summer, which was signed into law, by President Eisenhower, on July 29, 1958.
On Oct. 1, 1958 NASA opened for business.

More NASA photos, of Earth:

Eyes On The Earth ➥ https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/earth/#/

HD Earth Views from Space ➥ https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10766/

Looking at Earth: From 100 miles to 100 million miles ➥ https://explorer1.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...th-from-space/

[GordMay]

“Did the solar eclipse make this week’s tides more extreme?
Kind of…”
Meteorologist Jay Scotland walks us through the science.
➥ https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7169757

[Astrochef]

I got a little distracted with work this week, but here are some of the pics I took during the partial phase of the eclipse. As I mentioned up thread, some nice sunspots were visible as well.

[GordMay]

NASA has announced the winners of its Photographer of the Year awards, for 2023, showcasing stunning images, from the space agency's Earth-based activities, captured by staff photographers.
➥ https://images.nasa.gov/album/2023_N...e_Year_Winners

[GordMay]

New Images from Euclid’s Telescope
The European Space Agency’s [ESA] ‘Euclid’ [1] space mission has released five unprecedented new views of [2] the Universe. These, never-before-seen images, demonstrate Euclid’s remarkable ability, to unravel the secrets of the cosmos. Scientists are now equipped to hunt for rogue planets, study mysterious matter, through lensed galaxies, and explore the evolution of the Universe.
Explore these groundbreaking discoveries, and what they mean for the future of space exploration.

ESA's Euclid celebrates first science with sparkling cosmic views [Streamed live on May 23, 2024]
➥ https://youtu.be/vwwZ0bjORI4

[1]ESA’s “Euclid” Mission ➥ https://www.esa.int/Science_Explorat...Science/Euclid

[2] 5 New Images ➥ https://www.esa.int/Science_Explorat...Science/Euclid

Video [6:08] ➥ https://dlmultimedia.esa.int/downloa..._034_AR_EN.mp4

[GordMay]

An Asteroid, called “2024 MK”, will pass between Earth and the moon, on Saturday, June 29.
At its closest, ±290,000km from Earth, ‘2024 MK’ may be visible [via telescope], from the southern hemisphere. The following night, it will be in the constellation Scorpius, which is low in the south, in Canada.

The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System [ATLAS] just discovered ‘2024 MK’ last week, on June 16, 2024.
➥ https://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/....planning.html

Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System [ATLAS]
➥ https://fallingstar.com/home.php

Coincidentally, Asteroid Day occurs on June 30, annually.
“International Asteroid Day 30 June” ➥ https://www.un.org/en/observances/asteroid-day

See also: Asteroid “Apophis” in April 2029 ➥ https://spacenews.com/aiming-for-apophis/

[GordMay]

Rare Double Meteor Shower

Two meteor showers [the Southern Delta Aquariids July 18th to August 21st, and the Alpha Capricornids July 30 to July 31] will reach maximum activity, at nearly the same time, on July 30, when both showers will overlap.

The Delta Aquariids are predicted to peak late night on July 29, through early morning on July 30.
The Capricornids are expected to reach max activity late night on July 30. into early morning on July 31, 2024.

The American Meteor Society says looking at a section in the sky, away from the moon, will increase your chances of spotting them. If the moon is above your horizon, when viewing these showers, simply view more toward the southwestern sky.

Following the Delta Aquariids and the Capricornids, the next meteor shower to take place is the Perseids. They became active on July 14, and will peak between Aug. 11-12.

From The American Meteor Society [AMS]:

Meteor Activity Outlook for July 27- August 2, 2024
➥ https://amsmeteors.org/2024/07/meteo...august-2-2024/

Meteor Shower Calendar 2024-2025 ➥ https://amsmeteors.org/meteor-shower...ower-calendar/

[GordMay]

Another Northern Lights Display

The sun has been very active [solar maximum, in 11-year cycle], over the past few days, sending out several strong solar flares, and coronal mass ejections [CMEs], which can produce the northern [and southern] lights [aurora borealis].
Over the weekend, the sun produced several mid-class M-flares (X-flares are the strongest) and two CMEs, both of which are heading our way.

If you'd like to increase the chances of seeing the northern lights, the first thing is to keep abreast of the forecast. You can visit websites such as SpaceWeather.com [1] and SpaceWeatherLive.com [2]. There are also several free apps, if you search "aurora alerts."

To see them, it's best to get to a dark-sky location, away from city lights. If you can see the stars, you can see aurora.

[1] ➥ https://www.spaceweather.com/
[2]➥ https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/solar-activity.html

Geomagnetic Storm Watches in Effect 29-31 July [up to G3; Strong]
➥ https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/geoma...july-g3-strong

A major geomagnetic storm WATCH is in effect from 29 JUL 2024 13:00 EDT to 31 JUL 2024 10:00 EDT.
➥ https://www.spaceweather.gc.ca/forec...one-en.php#map

[GordMay]

Perseid meteor shower - This Weekend
This year [2024], the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, occurs on the night of Saturday, August 11, and before dawn on Sun., Aug.12, 2024, with good viewing conditions for a few days on either side of the peak.

We get these showers, as Earth plows through material left over from comets or asteroids, that orbit the sun. As we pass through these trails, the small particles of dust and rocks burn up, through our atmosphere, producing beautiful, yet fleeting, streaks in the sky. In this case, comet 109/P Swift-Tuttle.

More about ➥ https://www.space.com/32868-perseid-...wer-guide.html

[GordMay]

This composite image shows several Perseid meteors, over the course of a night, near Mount Forest, Ont.

[CaptTom]

I got to see one before the clouds rolled in.

[GordMay]

Low-Mass Star, Brown Dwarf, or Gas-Giant Planet

A recently discovered, colossal celestial object, named “CWISE J1249", was made by citizen scientists [Backyard Worlds: Planet 9], analyzing data from NASA’s WISE [Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer] telescope.

‘CWISE J1249' is roughly 27,306 times the size of Earth, and is travelling through space, at a breakneck speed of one million miles per hour; so fast, it may even leave the Milky Way Galaxy.

Martin Kabatnik, a citizen scientist from Nuremberg, along with colleagues Thomas P. Bickle and Dan Caselden, discovered the object years ago, but their findings [1] were only published recently.

More about:
“NASA Citizen Scientists Spot Object Moving 1 Million Miles Per Hour”
➥ https://science.nasa.gov/get-involve...iles-per-hour/

[1]“Discovery of a Hypervelocity L Subdwarf at the Star/Brown Dwarf Mass Limit” ~ by Adam J. Burgasser et al
Abstract ➥ https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.08578
Full Paper ➥ https://arxiv.org/pdf/2407.08578

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by GordMay

...‘CWISE J1249' is roughly 27,306 times the size of Earth, and is travelling through space, at a breakneck speed of one million miles per hour; so fast, it may even leave the Milky Way Galaxy...

Aliens. Definitely aliens.

(I figured I'd be the first to say it this time. But seriously, pretty cool. Thanks!)