Astronomy | Universe Today

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Yep. The Moon is back, but this weekend can still present some great opportunities for enjoying astronomy. If you're up early or out late? Well, hey… The Leonid meteor shower is still producing activity! Why not take a few minutes to learn about a great variable star you can follow without optical aid or study a new lunar feature? There's plenty to do for binoculars and small telescopes – and perhaps even a clever new study you haven't looked at yet! Whenever you're ready, I'll see you in the dark… Read more…

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Type Ia supernovae are a mystery because no one can predict when or where one might occur. But astronomers are hedging their bets on V445 Puppis. A so-called "vampire white dwarf" that underwent a nova outburst after gulping down part of its companion’s matter in 2000, now, it appears this double star system is a prime candidate for exploding. “Whether V445 Puppis will eventually explode as a supernova, or if the current nova outburst has pre-empted that pathway by ejecting too much matter back into space is still unclear,” said Patrick Woudt, from the University of Cape Town and lead author of the paper reporting the results. “But we have here a pretty good suspect for a future Type Ia supernova!”
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Ever wondered what the largest telescope on the Earth is? Well, this coming Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the largest telescope ever assembled here will take observations for a whole day. How big is the telescope? About the size of the whole Earth! 35 radio telescopes on 7 continents will link together for one whole day in an effort to observe distant quasars as part of an initiative to improve the reference frame that scientists use to measure positions in the sky. Read more…

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A two-year look at "proplyds," or protoplanetary disks in the constellation Orion has provided astronomers with a new high-resolution time-lapse movie that reveals the process of how massive star form. The birth of the largest stars has been mysterious, in part, because massive stars are rare and tend to spend their youth enshrouded by dust and gas hiding them from view. "We know how these stars die, but not how they are born," said Lincoln Greenhill, a principal investigator for team using radio images a thousand times sharper and more detailed than any previously obtained.
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Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It's a dark sky weekend and for many of us, the weather scene is improving greatly. Are you ready to enjoy some astronomy? Then take the chance to get out in the early morning and admire the alluring dance of the "Old Moon in the New Moon's Arms" as it silently changes planetary partners over the next few days and catch some bright and early Leonid meteors. You won't need gigantic optics to enjoy this weekend's studies as we have a look at some very impressive double stars, galaxies and open clusters. Dust off those optics! And meet me in the backyard…. Read more…

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White dwarfs are strange stars, but researchers recently discovered two of the strangest yet. However, these two oddballs are a missing link of sorts, between massive stars that end their lives as supernovae and small to medium sized stars that become white dwarfs. Somehow, these two once-massive stars avoided the core collapse of a supernova, and are the only two white dwarfs known to have oxygen-rich atmospheres. These so-called massive white dwarfs have been predicted, but never before observed.
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Though it may seem an unlikely location to happen upon a conference on astrobiology, the Vatican recently held a "study week" of over 30 astronomers, biologists, geologists and religious leaders to discuss the question of the existence of extraterrestrials. This follows the statement made last year by the Pope's chief astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, that the existence of extraterrestrials does not preclude a belief in God, and that it's a question to be explored by the Catholic Church. The event, put on by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, took place at the Casina Pio IV on the Vatican grounds from November 6-11. Read more…

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Today would have been Carl Sagan's 75th birthday. His life and work were monumental in astronomy and public outreach, and he had a profound influence on many people. I count myself among those who say they might not be where they are today were it not for Carl Sagan. Reading his books such as "Cosmos" and "Demon Haunted World" broadened my horizons when I needed it most. One of my favorite books of all time is "Pale Blue Dot" which really puts everything in perspective. Above is a video excerpt from the book.

If you choose, there are a few different ways you can remember Sagan and celebrate his life:
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Astronomers have identified a type of supernova that appears to be a type predicted in theory but never actually observed before. Two years ago Lars Bildsten from UC Santa Barbara and his colleagues predicted a new type of supernova in distant galaxies which they dubbed the “.Ia” (point one a) mechanism, involving a helium detonation on a white dwarf, ejecting a small envelope of material. This theoretical explosion would be fainter than most other supernovae and its brightness would rise and fall in only a few weeks. Dovi Poznanski from Berkeley went back and looked at seven-year-old observations and found this unusual kind of supernova. Poznanski and colleagues say supernova 2002bj belongs in its own category, as its spectra suggest that it evolved extremely fast and produced an unusual combination of elements.
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From the left: Klaus Beuermann (group leader), Jens Diese (back,teacher), and the high-school students Joshua Zachmann (front), Alexander-Maria Ploch (back), Sang Paik (front). JD, JZ, and AMP are from the Max-Planck-Gymnasium, SP is from the Felix-Klein-Gymnasium.

High school students from Germany have now done what many scientists strive for: had their research work published by a science journal. The Astronomy & Astrophysics science journal published a paper co-authored by three students who observed the light variations of the faint (19th magnitude) cataclysmic variable EK Ursae Majoris (EK UMa) over two months. Led by astronomer Klaus Beuermann from the University of Göttingen, and the students' high school physics teacher, the team made use of a remotely-controlled 1.2-meter telescope in Texas. Astronomy & Astrophysics says the team "presents an accurate, long-term ephemeris," and that "they participated in all the steps of a real research program, from initial observations to the publication process, and the result they obtained bears scientific significance."
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Nothing in my jewelry box compares to the Kappa Crucis Cluster, also known as NGC 4755 or simply the “Jewel Box.” This object is just bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye, but a combination of images taken by three exceptional telescopes, the Very Large Telescope, the 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope, has allowed the stunning Jewel Box star cluster to be seen in a whole new light. Above is the image from ESO' Very Large Telescope, which zooms in for a close look at the cluster itself. This new image is one of the best ever taken of this cluster from the ground, taken with an exposure time of just 5 seconds.
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Far away in the constellation of Aries, in a 14th magnitude barred spiral galaxy designated as NGC 918… a star exploded with enough candlepower to briefly outshine its home. Discovered independently by Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) and Koichi Itagaki (Japan) on October 11, 2009, this Type II supernova might be hiding in the intergalactic dust, but it isn't hiding from Joe Brimacombe. Read more…

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Gazing at the Moon seems to be universal among humans. So why not share the experience with the rest of the world using the hottest social media tool? From Oct. 26-28 you can join in on Moonwatch on Twitter. Various Twitterers will be live-tweeting conversation and images of the Moon, planets and other astronomical objects. Moonwatch was headed up by astronomers from the Newbury Astronomical Society in the UK. Additionally, the Faulkes Telescope Network of professional telescopes will also be taking part and taking images with their 2-metre telescope situated in New South Wales, Australia.
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Need to know the answer to this week's Where In The Universe Challenge? Find out back at the original post. And check back next week for another test of your visual knowledge of the cosmos!

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If you had the opportunity this morning to witness the offspring of Comet Halley, then I'm curious as to what you might have noticed about this reliable annual meteor shower. Read more…

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