Posted on by Tammy Plotner

Celestron SkyScout Review

Celestron SkyScout

My initial reaction to the Celestron SkyScout was why in heaven – and on Earth – would someone want a personal planetarium when they have the real deal at their disposal? Like most folks my age, I can’t resist new technology and the more I read and heard about what the Celestron Sky Scout could do, the more I wanted to examine one. Could a little piece of equipment provide as much information, knowledge and entertainment as a live astronomer? Could an electronic box take the place of a book? But most of all… What can the Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium really do?

When I saw the Celestron SkyScout in person, the young man who let me examine it told me, “Ma’am? You’d be much better off getting a book of star charts or finding someone to teach you about the stars.” Ultimately, I love it when someone doesn’t recognize me or simply sees the blond hair and doesn’t think there’s much going on underneath it. Although a secret part of me agreed with him, I simply flashed him my best vacant smile and gave him the line that all of us techno geeks use when we’re caught out buying a new toy… “It’s a present.”

Grinning wickedly, I snatched the box from him and hurried off where I could examine the SkyScout in private. On the way, I picked up a jumbo package of batteries and sat down to see how much of its operation was intuitive and how often I’d have to refer to the instructions. Surprisingly enough, anyone who has mastered an iPod and has at least a passing knowledge of the written English language would be well on their way to using a Celestron SkyScout. My second point of curiosity was its resemblance to a digital camcorder… Another techno-gadget I’m familiar with. After a quick consultation with the instructions, all I needed was dark.

Personal Planetarium? Snort. Show me what you can do…

Turn it on and GPS technology takes over. Within minutes, the Celestron Sky Scout had pinpointed my location on Earth and was aware of every movement in right ascension and declination of the unit. It knew where I was at, and it knew where it was pointed. Aiming the Celestron SkyScout is precisely like using a camcorder. Inside of its viewfinder you’ll see a red “bullseye” that’s adjustable in brightness so it doesn’t overpower dimmer stars. When you get the object you’re aiming at centered, you just push a button on top and it fixes the position and displays a screen of options as to what you’re looking at. Well, duh! I know it’s Mars… But when the soothing, melodic female voice started whispering stories in my ear? I knew I was hooked.

Needless to say, I took off on my own tour of the heavens with the Celestron SkyScout, happily eating up all of the information it gave me. Not all things have audio to accompany them, only 200. But, for many of us having RA, Dec, magnitudes and more at the push of a button is simply the cat’s asteroid. While you’ll never visually see all 6000 objects the Celestron SkyScout is capable of, what matters most is that it’s in there… And just waiting on you to release it.

Next up? Show me tonight’s “Must See” list. With the cool, calculated precision that only a data base could deliver, the Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium gave me a tour that even I would have been proud of. It virtually walked me star by star through constellation lessons that impressed even me. What’s best? I know that it can also tell me when the ISS is passing by or where the latest comet is located. How many friends can you carry around in a backpack that can tell you that? True. These are all things I know, things I present in astronomy outreach programs, but the Celestron SkyScout is much more than that.

For seasoned astronomers? Don’t laugh the Celestron SkyScout off. Instead, tell me how many times you’ve had difficulty distinguishing Pi and Xi Draconis from background stars. If you’re a star hopper, what would you give if you could just point a little box at the star in question and have it immediately tell you that it is indeed Delta Librae you’re aimed at and you’re ready to head to your charts? Ah… You’re getting the real picture now, aren’t you?!

But, I told you these Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium thingies were a lot more didn’t I? Yes. And I meant it. My teenage son once enjoyed telescoping with me, but there came an age when it simply wasn’t “cool” to be seen with Mom, and I understood. Yet, when I handed him the SkyScout, he and his girlfriend took off in the dark together and had a wonderful astronomy experience alone that I couldn’t give them. At star parties, I’ve handed the Celestron SkyScout to people that I knew were too afraid to ask questions… and hours later they’d hand it back with the most wonderful smiles on their faces. They’d tell me how much they enjoyed using it and how much they learned. Even the most hard-core astronomers I know have found something undeniably “cool” about this gadget.

So why the Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium and not the competitor model with its “stunning” full color images? Reality check. I use the astronomy equipment I buy and I use it hard. I buy the brands I want and I put them to the test. Over the years I’ve dropped, I’ve kicked, I’ve banged, I’ve slammed, I’ve traveled, I’ve shared, I’ve abused and I have absolutely loved and appreciated the long term durability and quality of Celestron products. Why should the Celestron SkyScout be any different? Eight months and countless hands later…

It’s still on the original batteries.

The Celestron SkyScout has the ability to have a green laser attached to it and external speakers so it can do a “show and tell” program for large groups. But the most awesome feature of all is the Celestron SkyScout really will put the Universe in your hands.

Posted on by Nicholos Wethington

Galaxy Zoo Gets a Makeover

In the near future, Galaxy Zoo will get a facelift. The project – which has already classified a large portion of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey – will be moving to its second phase, and members will be helping the science community get better information on the formation and distribution of galaxies.

In the first phase, the science team wanted to make the task as simple as possible: is the galaxy you see an elliptical or spiral galaxy, and if it’s spiral, which way is it turning (clockwise or counter-clockwise)? As we reported the first results published using the Galaxy Zoo data showed that people have a bias for clicking on counter-clockwise images.

Galaxy Zoo 2.0 will probe more deeply some of the best classified images of the first stage. “The experience will be a bit different. Users will be asked a series of more detailed questions, and based on their answers they will be lead to answer different questions…One of the things we will incorporate is how to get people to answer the questions in a way that is interesting for them” said Chris Lintott a member of the Galaxy Zoo team and a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford.

The more detailed questions will focus on a few hundred thousand of the million galaxies used in the first phase. The researchers want users to answer questions such as where on the Hubble Diagram a galaxy is, how many spiral arms it has or how close together are the spiral arms are.

Galaxy Zoo 2.0 will also improve upon the ability for people to point out unusual galaxies or objects, including them even more in the science behind the project. The “poster child” of interesting objects from the site is Hanny’s Voorwerp (pictured).

It popped up as an unusual object in the forums, and the science team has since gotten time on the Swift and SARA telescopes for observation. The object turned out to be a ‘light echo’ from a long-dead quasar. More information (and pictures) can be found here and here.

From April 25th-29th, part of the science team will be observing a few of the over 500 overlapping galaxies pointed out by Galaxy Zoo members, using the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona. Overlapping galaxies provide astronomers with a chance to study the interstellar dust in each galaxy, which aids in understanding how galaxies evolve.

“The new GZ will make it easier for people to point out what they think is interesting…One thing that the users are going to probably have the most fun with is a button that basically says, ‘Hey, somebody should look at this,'” Lintott said.

After they had asked users in the first few weeks of the project to email them with interesting finds – like ring galaxies, which they had thought were rare, but turned out to be rather abundant – the team received a barrage of emails. The new function for picking out interesting finds should streamline the process, making a shorter turnaround for observations of objects such as the Voorwerp.

“I like to compare Galaxy Zoo one to eating a bag of crisps. You start by eating one and then soon enough you’ve finished the whole bag. Galaxy Zoo two is like eating Michelin starred food: you want to spend time considering it and thinking about it and wondering about what is going on,” Lintott said.

The site will be connected to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey – a robotic survey of 1/4 of the Northern sky, where the images on the site originate – so people can go there and check out the objects in more detailif they would like.

Harnessing the power of 125,000 registered users and counting, the site has become a powerful (and popular!) tool for classification. There are currently over 20 projects underway using the Galaxy Zoo data. Galaxy Zoo 3.0 is already in the planning stages, and will likely include a look at more sky surveys, such as the upcoming Pan-STARRS.

“People looking at the data should become something that happens to astronomy surveys, more as a matter of course. Some human beings should look at it, or we’ll never find things like the Voorwerp and overlapping galaxies. Things like Galaxy Zoo let people play a part in the science,” remarked Lintott.

Source: Interview with Chris Lintott, Galaxy Zoo Blog

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Solar Sail Space Travel One Step Closer to Reality

An artist concept of the solar sail. The center package contains the solar panels powering an electron gun that keeps the many tethers charged. (Allt om vetenskap)

Solar sails were once thought to belong in the realms of science fiction. Huge canopies of lightweight tin foil catching the solar photon breeze, slowly allowing spacecraft to cruise around our solar system propelled by the small but continuous radiation pressure. Recent years however have shown that solar sail spacecraft could be engineered in reality, and a new solar sail invention from the Finnish Meteorological Institute could push this goal one step closer. Rather than using solar radiation pressure, this new concept makes use of the highly charged particles in the solar wind to give the craft its propulsion. Additionally, through radio wave electron excitation, the system may amplify the solar wind acceleration effects, giving the spacecraft a “boost” function…

A traditional solar sail concept from NASA (NASA)

Traditionally, solar sails make use for the momentum carried by photons of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. Using a huge canopy of ultra-lightweight (but robust) material, the sail experiences a force from the incident sunlight. Some advanced concepts also theorized the use of planetary lasers to propel solar sail-powered spacecraft from A to B. Opting for solar propulsion would be the ultimate energy conservation method yet, optimizing payload transportation, maximizing fuel efficiency. Make a solar sail big enough, steady momentum can be transferred from the solar photons, accelerating the spacecraft. There are of course many hurdles to this design, but prototypes have been built (although many failed to make it into space due to rocket launch failures).

Dr. Pekka Janhunen demonstrating the solar sail design (Antonin Halas)

In a departure from the photon-powered solar sail, scientists and engineers have started to look into the properties of solar wind particles as a possible source of propulsion. The advantages of using solar wind particles are they a) are electrically charged, b) have high velocity (interplanetary scintillation observations have deduced velocities as high as 800 km/s, or 1.8 million miles per hour), and c) are abundant in interplanetary space throughout the solar system (particularly at solar maximum). So the new Finnish concept will take full advantage of this highly charged interplanetary medium. Using a fan of very long, electrically charged cables (stretching many kilometres from the central spacecraft), the similarly charged solar wind particles (mainly positively-charged protons) will hit the fan of positively-charged cables (generating a repulsive electric field), giving the cables a small proton-sized “kick”, exchanging their momentum into spacecraft thrust. Cable charge is maintained by a solar-powered electron gun, using two conventional solar panels as an energy source. A radio-frequency “boost” will also be tested in the prototype model. Radio waves will cause electron heating, possibly enhancing the solar sail’s thrust.

The project is currently being engineered and researchers from Finland, Germany, Sweden, Russia, and Italy are currently developing various components of the solar sail. Successful implementation of the prototype that could be launched in three years depends on securing $8 million (5 million euros) in funding.

Sources: Finnish Meteorological Institute, Live Science

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

This Week’s “Where In The World (and What World) Is This?”

Everyone seemed to enjoy the “Where In The World (and What World) Is This?” post last week, so here’s another one for you. This interesting feature was taken by an orbiting spacecraft on May 31, 2006. This striking circular landform could possibly be an impact crater, or a volcanic rim, or another physical feature that is so large, it can only be seen as a whole from the lofty vantage point that a spacecraft in orbit provides. Is this feature on Earth, or is it located on one of the other 176 worlds in our solar system (that’s 7 other planets and 169 known moons)? And what spacecraft is responsible for this image?

Since it’s so close to Earth Day, I had to choose an image from Earth. But what in the world is this a picture of? This is Nukuoro Atoll, a circular island of coral that completely encircles a lagoon. Nukuoro Atoll is part of the Caroline Islands, which stretch northeast of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific. It is one of 607 islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia. It is located just north of the equator (3.85° North, 154.9° East). This image reinforces that we live on a wonderfully diverse and endlessly fascinating planet.

Nukuoro Atoll is almost a little world by itself. About 900 people live on Nukuoro, but is very remote. It has no airstrip, and a passenger boat comes to visit irregularly only once a month. The tiny population speaks its own unique language.

The lagoon is 6 kilometers (about 3.7 miles) in diameter. Fishing, animal husbandry, and agriculture are the main occupations. The atoll is mostly sandy, but the dark areas are green vegetation.

In the close-up image, structures are visible. The white dots found in the lagoon are coral heads. The most prominent one is almost directly in the middle of the lagoon.

The picture was taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station as part of the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment. They used a Kodak 760C digital camera with an 800 mm lens.

Original News Source: Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth

Posted on by Ian O'Neill

Soyuz Capsule Hatch Nearly Burned Up and Crew’s Lives Were on a “Razor’s Edge”

The blackened Soyuz descent capsule after re-entry (BBC)

First, Russian space officials tried to cover up the emergency landing of the Soyuz descent capsule on Saturday. Then they blamed the crew for changing their flight plan without communicating with mission control. Compounding the problem, an official cited a bad omen as a contributing factor to the hard landing. Within a couple of days, the truth behind the Soyuz “ballistic re-entry” began to come to light. Today, even more shocking revelations are being reported, including how the escape hatch nearly failed during the uncontrolled, fiery re-entry…

On Sunday, the Universe Today reported on the off-target landing of the Russian Soyuz descent capsule carrying South Korea’s first astronaut, Yi So-yeon, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and NASA record breaker (for most time spent in space) American Peggy Whitson back from the International Space Station (ISS). The capsule had landed short of its intended target, 20 minutes behind schedule. The authorities later blamed the mishap on a change in flight plan and suggested the crew were to blame. Then, surprisingly, Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov placed some of the blame on the female dominant crew, saying women on board space missions were bad luck.

Yesterday, I reported on some updates to the drama that had unfolded. Apparently, even before the rescue helicopters had located the capsule, the Russian space agency publicised the crew’s safe return, covering up the fact they had no idea where they were. What’s more, the helicopters had been sent to the wrong location, and it was by chance that the capsule’s parachutes were spotted. The capsule had landed in a zone reserved for emergency touch-downs and the crew suffered a “hard landing”. Not being able to send a signal to mission control, the crew remained upside down, strapped to their seats for 25 minutes. Malenchenko was able to unlatch himself to get outside to use a satellite phone. Some news agencies reported that the parachute had even caught alight and set the surrounding vegetation on fire.

Today, even more revelations have been reported. According to an unnamed Russian space official, the capsule had entered the atmosphere in an uncontrolled manner. Rather than the capsule’s heat shield taking the frictional re-entry burn, the escape hatch became exposed and bore the brunt of the high temperatures outside. The hatch sustained substantial damage. The antenna was also exposed to the heat, completely burning it up, explaining why the crew were unable to communicate with the ground. A valve that equalizes cabin with atmospheric pressure was also damaged.

“The fact that the entire crew ended up whole and undamaged is a great success. Everything could have turned out much worse. You could say the situation was on a razor’s edge.” – Anonymous Russian space official involved in the descent investigation.

Russian Federal Space Agency spokesman, Alexander Vorobyov, continued to downplay the series of events saying that antennae were regularly damaged during capsule re-entries. He rated Saturday’s event as a “3”, where “5” on the scale would be critical.

This troubled landing has naturally raised questions about the safety record of the Soyuz capsules currently being used. This is the second time in a row (and the third since 2003) that there have been serious problems during re-entry of Soyuz capsules. The official continued to say that there can be no guarantee that this will not happen again:

“Considering that this situation has repeated itself, it is obvious that the technological discipline in preparing space equipment for a flight is declining. There is no guarantee that the crew of a Soyuz spacecraft landing a half a year from now would not face the same difficulties.” – Anonymous Russian space official

During the confusion as to where the Soyuz capsule had landed, there are unconfirmed reports that the U.S. Defence Department tracked the off-target landing and pinpointed its location for Russian helicopters. NASA is reserving comment until the Russian Federal Space Agency finds the cause of the uncontrolled descent.

Investigators suspect that the ballistic re-entry was caused by an electrical short in the cable that connects the crew capsule’s control panel with the Soyuz descent hardware. A short circuit in this cable can automatically trigger the ballistic re-entry mode and there is little the crew could have done to prevent it.

Sources: The Associated Press, New Scientist

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the Earth?

Large Hadron Collider
Large Hadron Collider

Question: Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the Earth?

Answer: No.

As you might have heard in the news recently, several people are suing to try and get the Large Hadron Collider project canceled. When it finally comes online, the LHC will be the largest, most powerful particle accelerator ever constructed.

If there’s something wrong with it, the LHC might have the power to damage itself, but it can’t do anything to the Earth, or the Universe in general.

There are two worries that people have: black holes and strange matter.

One of the goals of the Large Hadron Collider is to simulate microscopic black holes that might have been generated in the first few moments of the Big Bang. Some people are worried that these artificial black holes might get loose, and then consume the Earth from within, eventually moving on to destroy the Solar System.

The physicists are confident that any black holes they create will evaporate almost instantaneously into a shower of particles. In fact, the theories that predict that black holes can be created also predicts that black holes will evaporate. The two concepts go hand in hand.

The other worry is that the Large Hadron Collider will create a theorized material called strangelets. This “strange matter” would then be able to infect other matter, turning the entire planet into a blog of strange matter.

This strange matter is completely theoretical, and once again, the same theories that say it might be produced in the Large Hadron Collider also rule out any risks from it.

One of the most important considerations is the fact that the Moon is struck by high energy cosmic rays that dwarf the power of the Large Hadron Collider. They were likely blasted out of the environment around a supermassive black hole.

These have been raining down on the Moon for billions of years, and so far, it hasn’t turned into a black hole or strange matter.

You can read more about the Large Hadron Collider lawsuit here. Or how it might create wormholes, a view into other dimensions, or unparticles.

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Why are Distant Galaxies Moving Away Faster?

Question: Why are more distant galaxies moving away faster?

Answer: As you know, the Universe is expanding after the Big Bang. That means that every part of the Universe was once crammed into a tiny spot smaller than a grain of sand. Then it began expanding, and here we are, 13.7 billion years later with a growing Universe.

The expansive force of dark energy is actually accelerating the expansion even faster. But we won’t bring that in to make things even more complex.

As we look out into the Universe, we see galaxies moving away from us faster and faster. The more distant a galaxy is, the more quickly it’s moving away.

To understand why this is happening, go and get a balloon (or blow one up in your mind). Once you’ve got it blown up a little, draw a bunch of dots on the surface of the balloon; some close and others much further away. Then blow up the balloon more and watch how the dots expand away from each other.

From the perspective of any one dot on the surface of the balloon, the nearby dots aren’t expanding away too quickly, maybe just a few centimeters. But the dots on the other side of the balloon are quite far away. It took the same amount of time for all the dots to change their positions, so the more distant dots appeared to be moving faster.

That’s how it works with the Universe. Because space itself is expanding, the more further a galaxy is, the faster it seems to be receding.

Thanks to Cassandra for the question.

Posted on by Tammy Plotner

What to Look at With Binoculars

Binocular Observing

Last week we gave you advice on how to choose a pair of binoculars for astronomy. This week we help you put them to use by viewing some great binocular astronomy targets. Now that the Moon is quickly leaving the early evening skies, we’re ready to begin. Just give yourself ample time to allow your eyes to dark adapt. No matter what size binoculars you have, or what your binocular astronomy experience may be, there are things I think you’ll enjoy viewing. All you’ll need to do is follow the instructions, wait for some clear skies and use the rough location binocular star charts provided. Remember, if you don’t have success the first time, try again! Now, if you’re ready, then dust off your optics and let’s step outside…

Binocular Astronomy Targets for Small Binoculars

Binocular Star Chart for CancerFor those using binoculars in the 5X25, 10X25, 5X30 and 10X30 range, there’s many cool objects that you can see. For now, lets start in the constellation of Cancer. For most observers, the Cancer is terribly dim and difficult to spot in light polluted skies – but it’s deep space objects aren’t. If you cannot locate Cancer’s primary stars visually, begin scanning the skies equidistantly between Gemini and Leo. Our first binocular object is seen as a hazy visual patch at a dark sky location and will leap out in small binoculars.


Courtesy of CaltechM44 – Galileo was one of the first to view this open star cluster with a visual aid. When you find it, you will know the “Beehive” because it is literally a swarm of stars! At about 577 light years distant and an estimated 730 million years old, this bright cluster averages a magnitude of 3.5 and will cover about 1/3 the field of view. While only about 20 or more stars will be readily visible to small aperature, the cluster contains more than 200 of the 350 stars in the area which have been confirmed as members.

Now, move the binoculars slowly southeast and you’ll spy our next target:


Courtesy of CaltechM67 – Discovered before 1779 by Johann Gottfried Koehler, the open cluster is one of the oldest known at 3.2 billion years. Charles Messier independently rediscovered M67, resolved it into stars, and cataloged it on April 6, 1780 and you can see why its faint signature could have been mistaken as cometary for small astronomy binoculars can’t quite resolve it either! Believe it or not, M67 is about the same age as our solar system and has about the same order of magnitude when seen from space. Enjoy its small, galaxy like appearance.


Courtesy of CaltechTime to head over to the Big Dipper and star our hunt for another two difficult to recognize constellations – Canes Venetici and Coma Berenices. Our two binocular targets in this area are also very bright, but not easy to find under bright skies. Using Ursa Major as your guide, follow the arc of the handle to the east for Arcturus. Got it? Good! Now look at the end of the handle again and you will see a faint star just a couple of fingerwidths away… That’s Cor Caroli. Move your binoculars between these two stars and our next target will smack you right in the eye…


Courtesy of CaltechM3 – Outstanding globular cluster M3 was discovered 1764 by Charles Messier and contains roughly a half million stars. It was Messier’s first original discovery and he logged it on May 3rd, 1764. If you’ve ever seen a comet, then you’ll know why this particular object closely resembles one. In smaller optics, you simply cannot resolve the stars in this 33,900 light year distant globular cluster. In small binoculars it will appear as nothing more than a small, round smudge… But what a smudge! It could be as big as 22 light years across and as old as 26 billion years.

Now begin moving south for another one… When the entire field of view explodes into stars? You’ve found it…


Courtesy of CaltechMelotte 111 – Is a real binocular beauty and belongs to a different study class of open clusters. First cataloged by Ptolemy and cataloged again by P.J. Melotte in 1915, these big, loose open clusters took a lot of study to prove the involved stars were truly associated. While apparently the Coma Berenices cluster is essentially “sitting still” in space from our perspective, it just leaves us a much longer time to enjoy this triple handful of bright stars.

Binocular Astronomy Targets for Large Binoculars

If you’re using binoculars that range into the 10X50 or larger size, then a whole new world of binocular astronomy opens up to you. While all of the above binocular targets are equally grand in your view as well, there’s even more waiting to be discovered. If you’re like I am, a challenge of my observing skills and equipment is always welcomed. That having been said, find some dark skies and head towards Leo. Just remember, as more binocular targets come into play, the more wide field star charts become crowded! Head for the area just south of the triangle that marks Leo’s hips…


Courtesy of CaltechM65, M66 and NGC 3628 – Depending on the field of view size of your binoculars, this trio of galaxies will be visible in about one third to one fourth of the area you see. Don’t expect them to walk right out, but don’t sell your binoculars short, either. The M65 and M66 pair have higher surface brightness and sufficient size to be noticed as two opposing faint smudges. NGC 3623 is spot on the same magnitude, but is edge on in presentation instead of face-on. This makes it a lot harder to spot, but chances are very good your averted vision will pick it up while studying the M65/66 pair. The “Leo Trio” makes for a fine challenge!


Courtesy of CaltechM105 – Now back to Leo’s belly and let’s find M105. Discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 24, 1781, M105 is the brightest elliptical galaxy in the Leo I or M96 group of galaxies. Again, it’s a challenge object that requires good skies and decent binocular aperture to make out this egg-shaped contrast change. It you think it’s boring, the be sure to brag to the folks at work that your binoculars are capable of seeing something 38 million light years away!


M96 - Courtesy of CaltechM96 – Not more than a binocular field south, is M96 – the brightest spiral in the group. Pierre Méchain discovered M96, together with M95, on March 20, 1781. While spiral structure is not something you’ll pick out as well in binoculars as a telescope, take your time when you view and you’ll notice the shape of M96 is far more round than that of M105 and that it won’t appear as condensed. If this challenge isn’t enough for you, see if you can spy M95 just to the west. It’s a magnitude fainter!

As always sky conditions play a great role as to what you can see and when. What appears to be a clear night might hold a fine layer of cloud haze that blocks you from seeing M44 unaided, or makes a galaxy harder to see when you know your binoculars are capable. Have patience, get plenty of practice and you’ll enjoy binocular astronomy just like a pro!

Posted on by Fraser Cain

How Can Galaxies Recede Faster than the Speed of Light?

Question: How Can Galaxies Move Away Faster Than Speed of Light?

Answer: Einstein’s Theory of Relativity says that the speed of light – 300,000 km/s – is the maximum speed that anything can travel in the Universe. It requires more and more energy to approach the speed of light. You could use up all the energy in the Universe and still not be traveling at light speed.

As you know, most of the galaxies in the Universe are expanding away from us because of the Big Bang, and the subsequent effects of dark energy, which is providing an additional accelerating force on the expansion of the Universe.

Galaxies, like our own Milky Way are carried along by the expansion of the Universe, and will move apart from every other galaxy, unless they’re close enough to hold together with gravity.

As you look at galaxies further and further away, they appear to be moving faster and faster away from us. And it is possible that they could eventually appear to be moving away from us faster than light. At that point, light leaving the distant galaxy would never reach us.

When that happens, the distant galaxy would just fade away as the last of the photons reached Earth, and then we would never know it was ever there.

This sounds like it breaks Einstein’s theories, but it doesn’t. The galaxies themselves aren’t actually moving very quickly through space, it’s the space itself which is expanding away, and the galaxy is being carried along with it. As long as the galaxy doesn’t try to move quickly through space, no physical laws are broken.

One sad side effect of this expansion is that most of the galaxies will have receded over this horizon in about 3 trillion years, and future cosmologists will never know there’s a great big Universe out there.

You can read more about this in an article I did called the End of Everything.