This composite shows some of the satellite trails polluting Hubble Space Telescope images. Image Credit: Kruk et al. 2023.
Astronomy is poised for another leap. In the next several years, major ground-based telescopes will come online, including the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT,) the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT,) the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT,) and the Vera Rubin Observatory. The combined power of these telescopes will help drive discovery in the next couple of decades.
But something threatens to undermine astronomical observing in the coming years: Starlink and other internet satellite constellations.
Now a group of astronomers have shown that even the Hubble can’t escape the satellite problem.
We are pleased to once again welcome Casey Dreier from the Planetary Society to the WSH. Casey will update us (as much as possible) about Space Policy changes that may occur once the new American Presidential administration takes office on January 20, 2021.
Global climate change's effects will reach right up the skies, affecting such places as the VLTI in Chile. Courtesy ESO.
Modern astronomical telescopes are extraordinarly powerful. And we keep making them more powerful. With telescopes like the Extremely Large Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope seeing first light in the coming years, our astronomical observing power will be greater than ever.
But a new commentary says that climate change could limit the power of our astronomical observatories.
We’re in uncharted territory as the world faces the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While the medical community is on the front lines of dealing with this, as well as others who provide critical services in our communities, the best thing many of us can do is to stay home (and wash our hands).
If you’re looking for ways to keep occupied, keep your kids in learning-mode while school is canceled, and expand your horizons — all at the same time — luckily there are lots of space and astronomy-related activities you can do at home and online. We’ve compiled a few of our favorites, including this first one, one that just became available yesterday.
SpaceX has been garnering all the headlines when it comes to satellite constellations. Their Starlink system will eventually have thousands of tiny satellites working together to provide internet access, though only 242 of them have been deployed so far. But now another company is getting on the action: OneWeb.
Asteroid 2012 TC4 captured remotely on October 11, 2017 from the iTelescope SRO Observatory. Credit and copyright: Ernesto Guido/Remanzacco Observatory.
On Oct. 12, a house-size asteroid will pass quite close to Earth – only 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers) away. This is just above the orbital altitude of communications satellites and a little over one-tenth the distance to the Moon. But not to fear, it has no chance of hitting Earth.
Artists concept of Asteroid 2012 TC4’s close pass of Earth on Oct. 12, 2017. Based on continuing observations, scientists have determined that it will pass the Earth at a distance of about 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers). Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Asteroid 2012 TC4 was discovered almost 4 years ago to the day, on October 4, 2012, just a week before it made another close pass by Earth.
With a little more advance notice this time around, NASA and asteroid trackers around the world are using the close pass to test their ability to operate as a coordinated International Asteroid Warning Network. This is a growing global observing network to communicate and coordinate their optical and radar observations in a real scenario.
“Asteroid trackers are using this flyby to test the worldwide asteroid detection and tracking network, assessing our capability to work together in response to finding a potential real asteroid-impact threat,” said Michael Kelley, program scientist and NASA lead for the TC4 observation campaign. You can read more details about the observing campaign in our previous article.
Summer is almost here, and for the northern hemisphere, that means warm nights for observing. But what to observe? We’re here with a list of events and targets for you to enjoy over the summer. Get your calendars handy, and start organizing some events with your friends, and then get out there!
We usually record Astronomy Cast as a live Google+ Hangout on Air every Friday at 1:30 pm Pacific / 4:30 pm Eastern. You can watch here on Universe Today or from the Astronomy Cast Google+ page.
Mars in all its red-hued glory. Image: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), J. Bell (ASU), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute)
If you have a telescope, (What?! You don’t have one?) you’re in for a visual treat tonight. Mars will be at its closest point to Earth in 11 years on May 30. This event is worth checking out, whether with a telescope, astronomy binoculars, or online.
While today is when Mars is at its closest, you actually have a couple weeks to check this out, as the distance between Mars and Earth gradually becomes greater and greater. Today, Mars is 76 million kilometers (47.2 million miles) away, but up until June 12th it will still be no further than 77 million kilometers (48 million miles) away.
The furthest Mars can be from Earth is 401 million kilometers (249 million miles), when the two planets are on the opposite side of the Sun from each other.
For most of us with backyard ‘scopes, it’s difficult to make out much detail. You can see Mars, and at the most you can make out a polar cap. But it’s still fascinating knowing you’re looking at another planet, one that was totally unknowable for most humans who preceded us. A planet that we have rovers on, and that we have several craft in orbit around.
If you don’t have a scope, have no fear. There will be a flood of great astro-photos of Mars in the next few days. There are also options for live streaming feeds from powerful Earth-based telescopes.
The last time Mars was this close to Earth was 2005. A couple years before, the distance shrank to 55.7 million km (34.6 million miles.) That was the closest Mars and Earth have been in several thousand years. In 2018, the two planets will be nearly that close again.
This event is often called “opposition”, but it’s actually more correctly called “closest approach.” Opposition occurs a couple weeks before closest approach, when Mars is directly opposite the Sun.
A top-down image of the orbits of Earth and Mars. Image: NASA
But whether you call it opposition, or closest approach, the event itself is significant for more than just looking at it. Missions to Mars are planned when the two planets are close to each other. This reduces mission times drastically.
Mars Express, the mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA) was launched in 2003, when the two planets were as close to each other as they’ve been in thousands of years. All missions to Mars can’t be so lucky, but they all strive to take advantage of the orbital cycles of the two planets, by nailing launch dates that work in our favour.
As for finding Mars in the night sky, it’s not that difficult. If you have clear skies where you are, Mars will appear as a bright, fire-yellow star.
“Just look southeast after the end of twilight, and you can’t miss it,” says Alan MacRobert, a senior editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, in a statement. “Mars looks almost scary now, compared to how it normally looks in the sky.”
This image shows how Mars appears at different times of the year in a typical backyard telescope. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Although Mars is the closest thing in the sky to Earth right now, other than the Moon, it isn’t the brightest thing in the night sky. That honour is reserved for Jupiter, even though it’s ten times further away. Jupiter is twenty times larger in diameter than Mars, so it reflects much more sunlight and appears much brighter. (Obviously, everything in the night sky pales in comparison to the Moon.)
The reason for such a variation in distances between the planets lies in their elliptical orbits around the Sun. There’s a great video showing how their orbits change the distance between the two planets, here.
If you don’t have a telescope, you can still check Mars out. Go to slooh.com to check out live feeds from a proper telescope.
Rays of aurora borealis reach 60 miles and higher over the Pacific Northwest on Jan. 20, 2016 in this photo taken by astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Peake from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
I hadn’t been paying attention, so I was pleasantly surprised two nights ago to see the International Space Station (ISS) made a bright pass in the southwestern sky. A quick check revealed that another round of evening passes had begun for locations across the central and northern U.S., Canada and Europe. I like the evening ones because they’re so much convenient to view than those that occur at dawn. You can find out when the space station passes over your house at NASA’s Spot the Station site or Heavens Above.
The six-member Expedition 46 crew are wrapping up their work week on different types of research including botany, bone loss and pilot testing. Plants are being grown on the International Space Station so future crews can learn to become self-sustainable as they go farther out in space. While they work their jobs speeding at more than 17,000 mph overhead, we carry on here on the surface of the blue planet.
Edgar Mitchell stands by the U.S. flag he and fellow astronaut Alan Shepard planted on the Fra Mauro region of the moon back in February 1971. Credit: NASA
U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly regularly tweets photos from the station and recently noted the passing of Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who died Thursday at age 85 on the eve of the 45th anniversary of his lunar landing on February 5, 1971. Mitchell was one of only 12 people to walk on the moon and described the experience to the UK Telegraph in 2014:
Relive the Mitchell’s Apollo 14 mission to the moon in 9 minutes and 57 seconds
“Looking at Earth from space and seeing it was a planet in isolation … that was an experience of ecstasy, realizing that every molecule in our bodies is a system of matter created from a star hanging in space. The experience I had was called Samadhi in the ancient Sanskrit, a feeling of overwhelming joy at seeing the Earth from that perspective.”
A pair of binoculars will make the “Curlicue” pop in Orion’s Belt. Although the stars aren’t related, they form a delightfully curvy line-of-sight pattern. Credit: Bob King
Only a human could stand in so barren and forbidding a place and experience such profound joy. You don’t have to go to the moon to be moved by sights in the night. Just step outside and watch the ISS glide by or grab a pair of binoculars and aim them at Orion’s Belt. Orion stands due south around 8 o’clock in in mid-February practically shouting to be looked at.
This wider view shows the Belt, Curlicue and the Orion Nebula just to the south — all excellent objects for binocular study. Stellarium
The Belt is lovely enough, but its surroundings glitter with stars just below the naked eye limit, in particular a little curlicue or “S” between Alnilam and Mintaka composed of 6th and 7th magnitude stars. Look for it in any pair of binoculars and don’t stop there. Take a few minutes to sweep the area and enjoy the starry goodness about then drop a field of view south for a look at the Orion Nebula. Inside this fuzzy spot 10 light years across and 1,350 light years away, hundreds of new stars are incubating, waiting for the day they can blaze forth like their compadres that make up the rest of Orion.
A thin crescent moon visited Venus and fainter Mercury this morning Feb. 6th at dawn over Rome, Italy. Credit: Gianluca Masi
After touting the advantages of evening sky watching, forgive me if I also direct you to the morning sky and potential sleep loss. Although the waning crescent moon has now departed the scene, the wonderful alignment of Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter remains visible in the coming week even as Mercury slowly sinks back toward the eastern horizon. If you haven’t seen this “gang of 5”, set your alarm for a look starting about an hour before sunrise.
This map shows the entire southern sky around 45 minutes to an hour before sunrise Sunday morning Feb. 7. The ecliptic is the plane of Earth’s orbit projected into space and the “highway” taken by the sun, Moon and planets as they orbit the sun. Although Mercury is lowest, it’s only about 4.5 degrees from Venus and easy to find. Stellarium
Find a location with as wide open a view as possible of the southeastern horizon. Jupiter, Mars and Saturn are plenty high up at that time and easy to spot, but Venus and Mercury hover only 5°-10° high. Both will pose no problem if you can get the trees and buildings out of the way! By the end of the coming week, Mercury will become challenging and then slip away.
