Where is Everyone???

The Fermi Paradox. Ten Reasons intelligent life might never survive long enough to meet us. Dennis Shea thinks you'll like this video. Keep looking up!

Can the Universe Expand Faster Than Light???

 This is a regular topic of discussion at Sky Watcher meetings.  Paul Sutter from The Universe Today has some thoughts on this cosmological question. Check the latest thoughts on the matter...

 While you're at it, why not subscribe to "The Universe Today"? It's free. 

EMP - The what, how and effects

Always wanted to know what'd happen if a nuclear device was detonated in space? Well, thanks to Dennis Shea you can watch a 17 minute video and find out. It's probably not as bad as you thought...

Take a look...

Goodbye to our Solar System as we know it

Astronomers confirm there is a new planet orbiting the Sun beyond Pluto. 

I doubt that it's "new", just newly discovered. Anyway, here 'tis...

Astronomers find a new denizen in the deep black of the solar system

 From Phil Plait's "Bad Astronomy Newsletter" (to which you SHOULD subscriber /free)

2017 OF201 is a giant iceball far, far beyond Neptune...and it complicates things for Planet Nine.

That's a LONG walk... to the most distant galaxy

The James Webb Space Telescope’s latest find is yet another record-breaker: the most distant galaxy ever detected, shining just 280 million years after the Big Bang.

See the Gizmodo Article

Jupiter the Dieter - Used to be twice as big

In a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Konstantin Batygin (PhD '12), professor of planetary science at Caltech; and Fred C. Adams, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Michigan; provide a detailed look into Jupiter's primordial state.

Jupiter Was Formerly Twice Its Current Size and Had a Much Stronger Magnetic Field - www.caltech.edu

Nasa warns of huge solar flares causing blackouts on Earth

The Sun’s most active region is turning to face Earth, bringing spectacular auroras and occasional blackouts.

Looks like it might be an interesting week ..

Take a look: Nasa warns of huge solar flares causing blackouts on Earth

CHINESE ROCKET PLUME AND AN AURORA SURPRISE

 CHINESE ROCKET PLUME AND AN AURORA SURPRISE: A Chinese rocket powered by cutting-edge methane fuel lit up the night sky over the USA last night, putting on an unexpected show. Sky watchers already out photographing auroras—visible as far south as New Mexico thanks to a surprise geomagnetic storm—snapped stunning images of the rocket's glowing exhaust. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

Aurora alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive instant text messages when geomagnetic storms are underway.

Comet 46P Wirtanen - A cosmic event

The periodic comet (number 46P) Wirtanen is visiting us yet again. Does it about every 5 or 6 years depending on how close it gets to Jupiter. The actual nucleus is only about 3/4 of a mile in diameter, but the coma (its gas and dust envelope is currently 1.5 times the size of the Moon and it will probably get bigger still. It will be closest to Earth on this pass on 16 December at 11 million kilometers (a little more than 7 million miles. In the top 20 of close approaches since records were kept (ninth century AD). It might even make it to naked eye visibility even from Sun City. It will be visible to us Northeners beginning around 12 December and hanging in there until near the end of the month. First sighting should take place at about 5 AM on the 12th or 13th just South of the constellation Taurus.

To get more information visit Astronomy Picture of the Day www.APOD.com or www.SpaceWeather. com. It's a beautiful
shade of green. Lots of Pictuers.

There are at leasst three comets visibile from Earth right now but they all require binoculars or small telescopes. Information available at SpaceWeather.com.

Ref List for December Meeting

References for Skywatchers Presentation 2018-12-11

The Christmas Star, aka The Star of Bethlehem

“The Bible,” Various Authors, Translation King James version
Matthew, Luke, and Micah(Old Testament)

“Understanding the Universe, 2nd Edition,” 
Course Guidebook by Professor Alex Filippenko, 2007

Internet Searches:
“Star of Bethlehem,”  Wikipedia 2018-11-08
“When was Christmas First Celebrated,”  Wikipedia 2018-11-26
“www.WhyChristmas.com,”

Fiction:
“The Star,” Arthur C. Clarke, 1954

Orionid Meteor Shower 21 -22 October 2018

This just in: The Orionid Meteor Shower will peak the night of 21-22 October. This meteor shower originates from the debris left by Halley's Comet on its 75 year journey around the Sun. Its debris tail crosses Earth's orbit each year as Earth's motion along its orbit takes it through this debris trail. There is an excellent video depiction of the event on SpaceWeather.com (2018-10-19).

To observe the meteor shower go outside just before dawn on 22 October and look South high in the sky for Constellation Orion. The origination point (radiant) is Orion's right shoulder.

A little light history. Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, was born in 1835 one of the years of Halley's Comet's passage through the inner solar system. He died in 1910 the year of the following passage of said comet through the inner solar system. Clemens is reported to have said that he came in with Halley's Comet and will probably go out with it. He was Right.

Enjoy the show.

Ref List for November Meeting 20181113

Let's see if we can avoid hurricanes and horrible weather in November. The November meeting is all about possible, no probable, impacts from the sky and what we are doing about these rare but inevitable events that have happened many times in our past and continue to occur even today.

The meeting will be on 13 November 2018 in the Lakehouse Ballroom at 7:00 PM, doors open at 6:30 PM.

The reference list follows should you want to read up on the subject before the event.

References for Presentation "Impact from the Sky - A Status Report," 2018 Nov 13

* “The Impact Threat,” Sky &Telescope Magazine, pgs. 12-20, 2018 June
* “Asteroid Plundering,” Sky & Telescope Magazine, 21-28, 2018 June
* “Galileo’s Commandment an Anthology of Great Science Writing,” edited by Edmund Blair Bolles, 1997
** Tunguska, 30 June 1908. “…even the light of the Sun appear[ed] dark…” .” Galileo’s Commandment”, pg. 465, Richard Preston, 1987
** Holbrook, AZ, 1912. “It’s raining rocks out here.” Galileo’s Commandment, pg. 465, Richard Preston, 1987
** Johnstown, CO, 6 July 1924. ”Mr. Clingenpeel, the undertaker,  dug it up.” .” Galileo’s Commandment, pg. 465, Richard Preston, 1987
** Aba, Japan, 28 Apr 1927. “… she cried out. She had been struck on the head by a meteorite the size of a mung bean, …” .” Galileo’s Commandment, pg. 465, Richard Preston, 1987
** Sylacauga, AL, 30 Nov 1954. “… E. Hulitt Hodges… bruised her viciously on the hip. …” .” Galileo’s Commandment, pg. 465, Richard Preston, 1987
** Utah, 10 Aug 1972. “ … something came in from space … at Mach 20 ,,,” .” Galileo’s Commandment, pg. 465, Richard Preston, 1987
** 16 – 22 July 1994. “ …fragments collided with Jupiter's southern hemisphere … at 134,000 mph.” Wikipedia
* Chelyabinsk, Russia 15 Feb 2013. About 1500 people were injured. Wikipedia
* List of Impact Craters on Earth, Wikipedia
* Project Icarus Report – MIT Spring 1967
* “The Comet from Another Star,” Sky &Telescope Magazine, pgs. 20-26, 2018 October
Fiction:
*"Lucifer's Hammer", by Jerry Pournelle and David Niven, 1977
*"Evolution" by Stephen Baxter, 2004
*"The Hammer of God" by Arthur Clarke, 1993

Why is the Sky Dark at Night (2) - Ref List

We got a little washed out by Hurricane Florence and had to move September's Meeting to October 9. Ah, well. The meeting was well attended with 45 folks showing up even though it was raining. So, here is the reference list should you decide you want to know more about why the sky is dark at night after the Earth has rotated the Sun to the other side of the planet.

References for Presentation 2018 Oct 09: Why is the Sky Dark at Night?

Edgar Allan Poe, “Eureka”, 1848
Edward R. Harrison, “Darkness at Night”, @1987
Edmund Blair Bolles, “Galileo’s Commandment”,  @1997
Wikipedia, “Minute and Second of Arc”, 2018-07-03
Wikipedia, “Steradian”, 2018-03-03
Wikipedia, “Universe”, 2018-07-01
Wikipedia, “Angular Diameter”, 2018-06-30
Wikipedia, “Olbers’ Paradox”, 2018-05-20
Wikipedia, “Heinrich W. M. Olbers”, 2018-05-20
https://www.sciencealert.com/universe-expanding-hubble-constant-record-discrepancy-latest-estimate-cepheid-brightness, 2018-07-15

Enjoy.

Why it's dark at night!!

Ever wonder why the sky is dark at night. Never thought about it have you?

Think about it. If the universe were in fact infinite and not expanding, then the sky would be full of stars ALL THE TIME. There are other conditions of course. So this is a heads up for our September meeting. Do a little research. Recommended is NASA's short blurb about it and Edward Harrison's book: Darkness at Night (1987).

But let's not look at the dark side of things right now since there are things going on in our solar system that bear watching. Mars is the brightest planet in the sky right now. You can see it most of the night but it is especially bright in the morning hours around 4 to 5 AM. Mars is undergoing a planet wide dust storm. The storm has caused the shut down of the Opportunity Rover, from which it may not recover. These things can go on for months.

Even Jupiter is making a show of it.

Visit Heavens-above.com and SpaceWeather.com for a complete rundown

Enjoy.

References for April's Meeting (2018-04-10)

Science and Science Fiction References - predictions of the future - movies and books, Apr 2018

MOVIES

Forbidden Planet - Alien Evil in the form of planet girdling super machines (AIs)

2001: A Space Odyssey-They were here before us and helped our predecessors become intelligent, 1968

Books and magazines

2001: A Space Odyssey by Clarke and Kubrick, 1968-They were here before us and helped our predecessors become intelligent, 1968

Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, 1985 - They came from space and tried to take over

The Berserker Series of short stories by Saberhagen, 1960s and 70s, Kill all biological life

There Was a Knock On The Door, a short story by Frederick Brown, 1949 - "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door..."

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, 2005, The advantage of having a green skin.

Astrobiology Strategy 2015, by NASA (Lindsey Hays, JPL), 2016 (Final), What we’re looking for and how we plan to find it (them, they, etc.)

Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederick Pohl, 1980, The Heechee left a space subway system, but they were afraid of something so they ran and hid

Newsweek 03-09-2018, Intelligent Life; The Alien Hunter’s Guide; To the Future

Scientific American, April 2018, Tiny Killers

Scientific American, March 2018, The Search for Other Earths

Are We Alone, A Popular Science Special Edition, 2017

The Planet Hunters, A Columbia Magazine Special Edition, Winter 2017-18

Smithsonian, 2018 April

Astrobiology Strategy 2015, NASA FINAL 2016-04-12

Articles (Not Sci-Fi)

Wikipedia Article “Technological Singularity”

Wikipedia Article “CHON”

Wikipedia Article “Astrobiology”

Wikipedia Article “Exobiology”

Extraterrestrial Life, Wikipedia

Planetary Atmospheres Exobiology Magazine, 2014

Websites (Not Sci-Fi)

http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/exoplanets/radial-velocity.html

http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/exoplanets/transit-photometry.html

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/the-search-for-life/life-signs/

Below is web images for Signs of Extraterrestrial life:

https://www.google.com/search?q=signs+of+extraterrestrial+life&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSq5iD-Y7aAhVFnlkKHVfsB5IQ_AUICigB&biw=1181&bih=578

http://www.searchforlife.net/exoplanet-missions/

Big Coronal Mass Ejection Due today

The Sun burped day before yesterday and emitted a coronal mass ejection towards Earth when the magnetic field around a sunspot collapsed. The CME and the solar wind should combine today and cause a lot of aurorae at both poles and possibly into the northern tier of the lower 48. If your are going to be in the North country look for green skies tonight. A video of the ejection can be seen on nasa.sdo.gov or at spaceweather.com.

iPhone and iPad Apps (Dave Sorgen)(Some run on other platforms)

Dave uses the following Astronomy apps on his iPhone and iPad. He has included some comments about the apps.

1.  SkyWeek - Events going on in the sky described with an option to view what each item would look like from your location. Provided by Sky & Telescope.

2. 360 Science - News/videos from the National Science Foundation. Wide range of topics including astronomy. 

3. Startracker(HD) - Planetarium app with LOTS of options. Nice music too…

4. Star Rover - Similar to #3, but without the music.

Both 3 & 4 use the iPad’s camera to locate objects in the sky at night to provide an enhanced experience. That is, it’ll find stuff for you, so basically you don’t have to know anything.

5. Earthviewer - Not exactly astronomy. Runs through the last half billion years of tectonic activity interactively. Want to see what California looked like 200 million years ago? This app is for you. Since tectonic activity has a great deal to do with life on our planet this is particularly appropriate especially for the Feb and Mar 2018 sessions.

6. Satellites - Uses tracking data to show the current location of all the space junk/satellites/spent boosters, etc. To keep from overwhelming the user, the user is allowed to select among the following categories for display: Favorites (you pick), Space Stations, Brightest, Weather satellites; Miscellaneous, Communications, Navigation, Scientific, Military and lastly, Rocket Bodies and Debris. Presents a globe with green dots. Tap the dot, get the info on that item. Pretty neat. Lotsa junk up there. Similar to Heavens-Above.com satellite tracker for PCs.

7. Stellarium - Runs on iMac as well as other common operating systems. It’s a FREE, open source planetarium app. Comes with a 350 page manual (.pdf file, 28Mb). The whole package has been under development since 2000. Has the capability of running the sky backwards and forwards in time. Provides a few “canned” events, e.g., historical supernovae.

We will eventually consolidate a list of apps using everyone's input.

References for Feb 2018 Meeting

Below is the reference list for the presentations: “Are We Alone,” 2018-02-13 and 2018-03-13

1. Drake, Frank, “The Drake Equation: Conference on Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life,” @ 1961 Nov
2. Dvorsky, George, “Is It Time to Accept That We Are Alone in the Universe,” iO9.Gizmodo.com @20141105 (a review and expansion of Ward and Brownlee)
3. Grinspoon, David, “Lonely Planets – The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life,” Harper Collins @2003
4. Sagan, Carl E. & Shklovskii, I. S., “Intelligent life in the Universe,” Holden-Day, Inc. @1966 (Currently an e-book – available as a free pdf)
5. Sagan, Carl E., “The Cosmic Connection,” Doubleday @1973
6. Ward, Peter D. and Brownlee, Donald, “Rare Earth – Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe,” Copernicus Books @2000
7. Weisman, Alan. “The World Without Us,” Thomas Dunne Books @2007

 The primary references are: 2, 3 and 6.

Cell Phone/Tablet Astronomy Apps

What's your favorite Astronomy App(s)? Why not share this information with your friends? We are going to publish a list of favorite Astronomy Apps on this Blog and would like your input. My favorites are: Heavens-Above, MoonPhasePro, dateandtime.com, and ISSTracker. Send you favorites (Apple or Android) to: Skywatcherhost@gmail.com