AstroDave

AstroDave, 5 days ago to random

A Cosmic Arrow Pierced Pluto's Heart; is it Still There? - Via Sky and Telescope - https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/a-cosmic-arrow-pierced-plutos-heart-is-it-still-there/ - Pluto underwent a major cataclysm in the past.

AstroDave, 12 days ago to random

Hmmmm… it’s raining… Starlink(s)? I noticed that we seem to have a small but noticeable uptick in reentries from low Earth orbit as of late, and I’m wondering if the recent surge in solar activity is to blame. We’re not quite at mid-May today, and we’ve already seen large-size 16 reentries in not as many days, half of which were Starlinks. https://aerospace.org/reentries

D’know, could be a coincidence… but increased solar activity does increase atmospheric drag on satellites, causing more reentries.

AstroDave, 15 days ago to random

Very clever design - The Unique Design of a Zero Gravity Cup That Helps Astronauts Drink in Space - via @laughingsquid - https://laughingsquid.com/zero-gravity-space-cup/

AstroDave, 17 days ago to random

Just. Wow. Massive sunspot group Active Region 3664 has grown in recent days to over ~200,000 km in size, large enough to span over half the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The spot is crackling with potential to unleash more X-class flares, and is thankfully rotating away from us. I can easily see the spot with eclipse glasses today from here in central Germany… no magnification required. SDO’s view is equally amazing:

NASA SDO view

AstroDave, 27 days ago to random

Tomorrow: the planet Mars passes 0.04° SE (<3) from Neptune at ~5:00 Universal Time (UT); both are 40° and 41° from Sun in morning sky respectively, shining at magnitudes +1.1 and +7.9; the conjunction is one of the closer planet versus planet pairings for 2024. Mars is visible with the naked eye, but you’ll need binoculars or a telescope to tease out Neptune, which is over 100x fainter. Mercury and Saturn fill out the dawn view.

AstroDave, 1 month ago to random

Very cool. This past Monday, astronomer Karl Battams sent out a notice shortly before the total solar eclipse that there was indeed an inbound sungrazing comet for observers to watch for… astrophotographer Lin Zixuan observing from New Hampshire actually nabbed the doom’d comet, posthumously dubbed SOHO-5008. Sighting a SOHO sungrazer during totality has only happened twice before, in 2020 and 2008. An amazing capture!

AstroDave, 1 month ago to random

Tomorrow: the planet Venus passes just 0.3 degrees (~18’, just over half the diameter of a Full Moon) from Neptune at ~13:00 UT/9:00 AM EDT; Venus shines at magnitude -3.8, while Neptune is a challenge at magnitude +8. Mars, Saturn and the waning crescent Moon also join the dawn view.

The pairing is just 16 degrees west of the Sun, but will make for a challenging telescopic view low at dawn. Watch for Venus during totality during next week’s total solar eclipse.

Dawn

AstroDave, 2 months ago to random

Most Astronauts Get ‘Space Headaches.’ Scientists Want to Know Why - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/most-astronauts-get-space-headaches-scientists-want-to-know-why/ An interesting mystery.

AstroDave, 2 months ago to random

In Kyrgyzstan, creeping authoritarianism rubs up against proud tradition of people power -https://theconversation.com/in-kyrgyzstan-creeping-authoritarianism-rubs-up-against-proud-tradition-of-people-power-216572?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=bylinetwitterbutton via @TheConversationUS - "Japarov is not only adopting many of Putin’s methods, he is taking a calculated bet against the country’s recent history of democratic activism."

AstroDave, 2 months ago to random

We have an interesting launch coming up tonite: It’s ‘take 2’ for the launch of Space One’s KAIROS rocket. This will be the first launch for the 4-stage solid fueled KAIROS rocket, Japan’s first private sector space launch, and the first orbital launch from Space Port Kii in Japan. About the size of Rocket Labs’ Electron, KAIROS can hoist a 100 kg single or multiple smallsat payload to low Earth orbit.

Liftoff is set for 10:01 PM EDT/2:01 UT. Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ_tADK3BYo

AstroDave, 2 months ago to random

A great recent comet v. galaxy capture, courtesy of Dan Bartlett: Comet 12P/ Pons-Brooks Bypassing the Great Andromeda Galaxy on March 8, 2024 - https://www.astrobin.com/bckwq9/B/

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

Interesting: Alert Notice 849 from the AAVSO announces the discovery of a moderately bright nova in the constellation of Scorpius the Scorpion, listed as V1723 Scorpii (N Sco 2024): https://www.aavso.org/aavso-alert-notice-849

The nova was picked up on the night of February 9th, and seems to be topping out at +7th magnitude, well in range of binoculars under dark skies. The nova is currently in the dawn sky, not far from the stinger of the Scorpion, the +1.6 magnitude star Shaula (Lambda Scorpii).

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

The Heart Shaped Antennae Galaxies - Image Credit: Kent E. Biggs - Astronomy Picture of the Day (from February 7th) #APOD - https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240207.html

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

They got it. RadioLab fans can rejoice, as asteroid 2002 VE was officially named ‘Zoozve’ this past week: https://radiolab.org/podcast/breaking-newsve-about-zoozve

The announcement came from a recent International Astronomical Union Bulletin: https://www.wgsbn-iau.org/files/Bulletins/V004/WGSBNBull_V004_002.pdf

The backstory: 2002 VE68 is a ‘quasi-moon’ of Venus. The moon was misspelled as ‘Zoozve’ on a children’s poster of the solar system, and RadioLab hosts recently campaigned to have the name changed. It’s really gonna confuse future asteroid miners…

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

NGC 1566: A Spiral Galaxy from Webb and Hubble
Image Credit & Copyright: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), R. Chandar (UToledo), D. Calzetti (UMass), PHANGS Team - The Spanish Dancer Galaxy across the spectrum. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240206.html

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

Billion-dollar NASA mission will provide unprecedented view of ocean life - PACE satellite will capture subtle differences between plankton critical to their carbon-absorbing capacity - https://www.science.org/content/article/billion-dollar-nasa-mission-will-provide-unprecedented-view-ocean-life - Now delayed til early Thursday AM due to weather.

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

Hubble Reveals Possible Water World - Via Sky and Telescope - https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/hubble-reveals-possible-water-vapor-world/ - The intriguing tale of sub-Neptune GJ 9827 d:

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

Planets around dead stars offer glimpse of the Solar System’s future—after the Sun swallows us up - Via Science.Org -
https://www.science.org/content/article/planets-around-dead-stars-offer-glimpse-solar-system-s-future-after-sun-swallows-us - Encouraging; 2 of the 4 white dwarfs sampled had remnant planets.

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

Water Batteries - How pumped storage hydropower plants can bank energy for times when wind and solar power fall short - Via Science.Org - https://www.science.org/content/article/how-giant-water-batteries-could-make-green-power-reliable - Tennessee's own Raccoon Mountain storage facility can generate "1700 megawatts of electricity—the output of a large power plant, enough to power 1 million homes. The lake stores enough water and thus enough energy to do that for 20 hours."

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

SpaceX launched two more batches of Starlink satellites (Group 7-12 and Group 6-38) over the past 24 hours… and there are good evening passes of both coming right up tonight for mid-northern latitudes (both are up on Heavens-Above).
www.heavens-above.com
https://youtu.be/AkA3PHlK8MU?si=N5tox7o_X1B82xfS
https://youtu.be/Yz4GYRpxJcU?si=eftx-J6wuAdHR662
That's seven Starlink launches already for 2024, in what promises to be another busy year in spaceflight.

AstroDave, 3 months ago to random

DJI FlyCart 30, A Rugged Aerial Delivery Drone That Can Reach the World’s Most Remote Locations - via @laughingsquid - 30kg payload capacity, not bad... https://laughingsquid.com/dji-flycart-30-aerial-delivery-drone/

AstroDave, 4 months ago to random

An Insightful Explanation of Philosophical Razors - Via @laughingsquid - Because Occam's gets way to much air time: https://laughingsquid.com/philosophical-razors-explained/

AstroDave, 4 months ago to random

Is NASA too down on space-based solar power? - Via Science.Org - a nifty (and expensive) idea that goes way back: https://www.science.org/content/article/nasa-too-down-space-based-solar-power

AstroDave, 4 months ago to random

Webb Finds That Many Old, Distant Galaxies Look Like Surfboards - Via PetaPixel - surfing the ancient cosmos - https://petapixel.com/2024/01/21/webb-finds-that-many-old-distant-galaxies-look-like-surfboards/

AstroDave, 4 months ago to random

A little bit of space drama occurred overnight: astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky discovered one meter-wide asteroid 2024 BX1… only three hours before it harmlessly burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere near Berlin, Germany early this morning at 00:33 UT. Astronomer Luca Buzzi managed to catch the asteroid before its demise, and a live cam view near Leipzig, Germany caught the asteroid’s end. The animation is courtesy of Tony Dunn.

Asteroid
Animation