Space and astronomy news
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! If we can keep the clouds and rain away, this will be an incredible weekend to enjoy some peaceful and relaxing time under the Moon and stars. We’ll begin with a heads up on a partial lunar eclipse whose beginning – or end – will be visible to most of us. Check …
Continue reading “Weekend SkyWatcher’s Forecast: June 25-27, 2010”
[/caption] To date, SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) has focused on ETs who ‘phone home’ using the radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and even a very small region within that. But what if ET’s phone doesn’t use radio waves? Sure the xkcd comic, is funny, but maybe it points to a deep flaw in …
Continue reading “Maybe ET’s Calling, But We Have the Wrong Phone”
Time is an illusion caused by the passage of history (Douglas Adams 1952-2001). The way that we deal with time is central to a major current schism in physics. Under classic Newtonian physics and also quantum mechanics – time is absolute, a universal metronome allowing you determine whether events occur simultaneously or in sequence. Under Einstein’s …
Continue reading “Astronomy Without A Telescope – Is Time Real?”
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It is just amazing how much the night sky can change when you’re out of commission for a few weeks. Where did Orion go? If you’ve been missing your own “starry nights”, then why not celebrate the weekend with some of the finest objects this time of year has to offer? It’s …
Continue reading “Weekend SkyWatcher Forecast: May 14-16, 2010”
[/caption] Researchers sifting through the pristine, cold snow in Antarctica have found micrometeorites that contain a bit of a surprise. The two micrometeorites, known as particles 19 and 119, contain extremely large amounts of carbon as well as excesses of deuterium. While this high organic content usually comes from distant interstellar space where molecular clouds …
Continue reading “Antarctic Micrometeorites Provide Clues to Solar System Formation”
[/caption] In a manner somewhat like the formation of an alliance to defeat Darth Vader’s Death Star, more than a decade ago astronomers formed the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope consortium to understand Nature’s Death Ray Gun (a.k.a. blazars). And contrary to its at-death’s-door sounding name, the GASP has proved crucial to unraveling the secrets of …
Continue reading “World-wide Campaign Sheds New Light on Nature’s “LHC””
Over the years, scientists have debated the cause of the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Now, a panel of 41 international experts says it’s official: a massive asteroid around 15 kilometers wide slamming into Earth at Chicxulub, Mexico is the culprit. After surveying a wide variety of evidence for …
Continue reading “Scientists Come to a Conclusion: Asteroid Killed the Dinosaurs”
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It’s another snowy, moonlit weekend, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some astronomy together! It’s time to check out Saturn, walk along the ejecta on the Moon and just take a look at a very beautiful star. If you’re ready to learn some history, mystery and facts, then follow me into …
Continue reading “Weekend SkyWatcher’s Forecast – February 26-28, 2010”
[/caption]The image on the left is a basic atom diagram. This one shows the protons, neutrons, and electrons of a carbon atom. Each is in a group of six. That makes the atom very stable. There have been many atomic models over the years, but this type of model is now widely considered a sound …
Now that we’ve discovered the easy constellation of Orion “The Hunter”, it’s time to take a look at what else is around! Instead of chasing down game with a bow and magic sword, this time we’ll be cowboys and rope the heavenly steer – Taurus – and take him for a ride! There won’t be …