Astronomy Folk | Planets, Meteors, Comets, Telescopes: November 2009

Monday, November 30, 2009

Astronomy Question of the Week: Is there a photograph of the universe?

If the question means “Has anyone stepped outside of the universe with a camera and taken a picture of it?” then the answer is, of course, no.
The concept of ‘universe’ means the totality of all things, including space and time. So logically, there can be no ‘outside’ to the universe. (Although speculative cosmological theories [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/2009/11/30/astronomy-question-of-the-week-is-there-a-photograph-of-the-universe/

Puzzling Lake Asymmetry on Titan Explained

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) suggest that the eccentricity of Saturn’s orbit around the sun may be responsible for the unusually uneven distribution of lakes over the northern and southern polar regions of the planet?s largest moon, Titan. A paper describing the theory appears in the November 29th advance online edition of [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/2009/11/30/puzzling-lake-asymmetry-on-titan-explained/

Black Hole Caught Zapping Galaxy into Existence!

Which come first, the supermassive black holes that frantically devour matter or the enormous galaxies where they reside? A brand new scenario has emerged from a recent set of outstanding observations of a black hole without a home: black holes may be ?building? their own host galaxy.
This could be the long-sought missing link to [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/2009/11/30/black-hole-caught-zapping-galaxy-into-existence/

SMBC and alt-med woo

Regular readers know of the man love I have for Zach Weiner, who pens the web comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. It frequently features great skeptical material, and this new one is a great example:

Click to see the punch line. He’s exactly right, of course. My favorite is when people complain about food not being natural enough, like that makes any difference. As I am fond of pointing out, arsenic is an element, one of the basic building blocks of all of nature. You don’t get any more natural than that, but I’d probably avoid buying any food with that on its label.

Full story at http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/11/29/smbc-and-alt-med-woo/

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Japan orbits satellite to spy on North Korea

TOKYO, (RIA Novosti) – Japan successfully orbited on Saturday an information gathering satellite, the Kyodo news agency said.
A Japanese H-2A rocket carrying the satellite lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 10:21 a.m. local time [01:21 GMT], Kyodo said.
Japan’s national space agency JAXA launched the satellite, the third of its kind, [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/2009/11/28/japan-orbits-satellite-to-spy-on-north-korea/

Russia completes engine tests for Angara rocket

MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti) – Russia has successfully completed bench trials of the first stage of the new Angara carrier rocket, Russia’s Khrunichev Space and Research Center said on Friday.
The family of Angara rockets will complement, and eventually replace, the existing line of Rockot and Proton launch vehicles. It will be available in a range of [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/2009/11/28/russia-completes-engine-tests-for-angara-rocket/

Picture of the Day ? Annapurna Star Trails

In myth, Atlas holds up the heavens. But in this moonlit mountainscape, peaks of the Himalayan Annapurna Range appear to prop up the sky as seen from Ghandruk, Nepal. From left to right the three main peaks are Annapurna South (7,219 meters), Hiunchuli (6,441 metes), and Machapuchare (6,995 meters). Of course the mountains are moving [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/2009/11/28/picture-of-the-day-%e2%80%93-annapurna-star-trails/

Ironic icon

Sigh.

OK, so a woman in Massachusetts thinks she sees Jesus in her iron. If she wants to believe that, it’s fine. It should come as no surprise to anyone that I think she is mistaken, and that this is simply a random happenstance, and that it’s so ill-formed and fuzzy that it could be anyone with long hair, and actually looks more like a woman to me, or someone in a straight jacket, and that none of this matters because it’s simply pareidolia anyway.

But I have to give her a bit of credit. She says, "I?m not telling anybody they?re going to be cured or anything if they look at my iron. It?s just a nice story to share," and that the iron "… was my sign that things will be good."

If she wants to interpret this personally, that’s her right, and I’m glad she’s not trying to foist this on others (and I can’t assume that by having a newspaper cover the story, she’s actively promoting it; we don’t know how the paper found out, we don’t know how or if she pursued this, and she doesn’t appear to be trying to profit from this).

Still, I can hope for a world where someday people won’t think that an omnipotent and omniscient God would purposely appear to them as a polymerized chain of organic molecules on a laundry appliance. Or a fried sandwich. I’d think He would have better things to do. But that’s just me.

Full story at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BadAstronomyBlog/~3/8wpox3GQcMM/

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Observing News: Nova Eridani or Flash Fire?

K. Itagaki of Yamagata, Japan was photographing the night sky in Eridanus two days ago when Hitoshi Yamaoka of Kyushu University noticed an anomaly – a possible classic nova event. Just how big a jump in amplitude did this star make? Try at least seven magnitudes within hours… and Joe Brimacombe was on it. (...)
Read the rest of Observing News: Nova Eridani or Flash Fire? (491 words)

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Full story at http://www.universetoday.com/2009/11/27/observing-news-nova-eridani-flash-fire/

Podcast: Launch Facilities

Launching a rocket into space requires a big effort on the ground. Space agencies have built up huge infrastructures to store, prepare and launch rockets. Let's take a look at what's involved on the ground at a place like Cape Canaveral. What happens before, during and after a launch.

Click here to download the episode.

Or subscribe to: astronomycast.com/podcast.xml with your podcatching software.

Launch Facilities show notes and transcript.

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Full story at http://www.universetoday.com/2009/11/27/podcast-launch-facilities/

Podcast: Edwin Hubble

You might know the name "Hubble" because of the Hubble Space Telescope. But this phenomenal observatory was named after one of the most influential astronomers in modern history. Hubble discovered that galaxies are speeding away from us in all directions, leading to our current understanding of an expanding Universe. Let's learn about the man behind the telescope.

Click here to download the episode.

Or subscribe to: astronomycast.com/podcast.xml with your podcatching software.

Edwin Hubble show notes and transcript.

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Full story at http://www.universetoday.com/2009/11/27/podcast-edwin-hubble/

Find the Answer for This Week's WITU Challenge

The answer for this week's Where In The Universe Challenge is now available back on the original post. Find out how you did, and then check back next week for another test of your visual knowledge of the cosmos!