Sidewalk Astronomy at UNH

UPDATE, April 12:

Tonight’s Sidewalk Astronomy has been canceled due to clouds.

UPDATE, March 1:

Tonight’s Sidewalk Astronomy has been canceled due to snow.

ORIGINAL STORY:

During the spring semester, the University of New Hampshire Observatory is offering three Sidewalk Astronomy events on the streets of Durham.

From 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, February 2; Thursday, March 1 and Thursday, April 12, telescopes will be stationed next to the Wildcat statue in front of the Whittemore Center.

These events free and open to anyone interested in looking at the night sky. However, Sidewalk Astronomy is dependent on weather conditions and will not be held in the event of cloudy skies, rain, or snow.

Public sessions at the UNH Observatory are held every first and third Saturday of the month. Find out more at www.physics.unh.edu/observatory/ or follow the observatory on Facebook and Twitter.

A Wreath in Space

NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, captured an imaginative image of Barnard 3, a nebula that looks like a wreath. WISE is a space telescope that sees infrared wavelengths, but it was put into hibernation in February 2011.

The green areas of the nebula are dense with dust particles, while the red cloud is relatively cooler material; new stars are being born in these clouds. The nebula is surrounded by silvery, bluish-white stars, but the star in the middle of the red cloud, HD 278942, is so bright that it causes the nebula to glow.

The nebula is about 22 light years in diameter and, because it is only 1,000 light years distant from us, it is part of our Milky Way galaxy.

The "wreath nebula," Barnard 3

Seven Planets Grace the Skies

It is a rare occurrence to see all of the eight planets in the solar system in one night, but they will all be shining mightily this week.

The planets are easy to find because they all follow the ecliptic, the apparent path that the sun and the planets trace across the sky, as seen from Earth.

Venus and Jupiter will be very clear in the sky after sunset near the southwest and southeast respectively, and Uranus and Neptune are visible with a telescope in between their brighter comrades.

Then, at about 6:00 a.m., Mars and Saturn will be high in the sky near the south, and Mercury will just be rising in the east. Mercury may be a bit difficult to view because it will be low on the horizon and the sun will be coming up. However, the bright stars Spica, Antares, and Regulus will complement the planets.

Do not forget to look at Earth, too!

If skies are clouded over, try again sometime over the next week.

Comet Survives the Sun

A smallish comet, Comet Lovejoy, was supposed to die Thursday night as it made a close approach to the sun. Hundreds of other comets have made this same journey, and they all melted in the heat of the sun.

Astronomers watched as the comet entered the sun’s atmosphere about 75,000 miles above the scorching surface, but the comet ended up coming out the other side of the sun. It just barely survived the sun’s blaze; only about 10 percent of the comet remains, though this is still millions of tons.

Most unfortunately for the comet, it lost its tail. However, it should not approach the sun again for another 800 to 900 years.

The comet was discovered earlier this month by an amateur astronomer in Australia.

Upcoming Geminids Meteor Shower

On Dec. 13 and 14, 2011, the Geminids meteor shower will peak. Normally one of the best showers of the year, the Geminids will be partly washed out this year by the light of the moon, which will be in its waning gibbous phase.

Even though the moon might not make for the darkest skies, the Geminids are visible earlier in the evening than other meteor showers. Go out at 9 or 10 p.m. when the moon is just rising. The meteors emanate from the constellation of Gemini, near the star Castor.

The Geminids meteor shower can produce up to 60 meteors per hour, but fewer will be visible this year with the moon shining brightly.

Total Lunar Eclipse, LRO Watching

Early in the morning on Dec. 10, a total lunar eclipse will be visible across the United States, but perhaps NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has the best seat of all.

The eclipse begins at 11:33 UT, or 6:33 a.m. EST; but for East Coast viewers, the moon will only just start to enter Earth's shadow, so the slight dimming of the moon will not be extraordinarily noticeable.

However, LRO orbits 31 miles above the moon’s surface, so it is taking this opportunity to study how the surface of the moon changes temperature as it loses sunlight. Depending upon how quickly the temperature changes, scientists can determine the moon’s soil composition.