Posts Tagged ‘lunar’

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Astronomy is contagious!

April 29, 2013

by yaska77

The great thing about astronomy is that anyone with a sky over their heads can get involved. You don’t need a truckload of expensive gear, just an interest and a modicum of patience will get you a long way!

Soon after I got my camera and started posting images on this blog, Mick Judd (a talented photographer who I happen to work with) also began skywatching, and he has captured some great shots with limited “astro-specific” equipment.

After we recently discussed the upcoming penumbral eclipse on 25th April (see our images here) Mick went home and over the course of a few evenings has produced the following short video, which we hope you enjoy.

We think it’s great, and just the sort of thing we hope will help others catch the astronomy bug! But how did he do it?  I’ll let him explain that himself!

“To capture the images I used two different eyepieces on a D=60mm F=700mm telescope; an H20 to fit the whole of the moon in the frame and an HF6 for the close-ups of the lunar surface and for Saturn. To attach the camera (a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S mobile phone) I drilled a hole in the middle of a plastic lid from a can of hair mousse, and glued it around the lens hole on the phone’s protective case.

Slotting the plastic lid over the eyepiece housing on the telescope and pushing it into place, it’s then a bit of hit and miss with lining up what I can see in the finder scope with what I can see on the phone’s display. The Xperia Arc S has a lot of camera settings so it’s just a matter of adjusting EV levels and using a bit of digital zoom to fill the frame to avoid seeing the round edge of the eyepiece.

To try and make sure that I capture something that is sharp I slightly tweak the scope’s focus every now and then between shots. The Sunspots were viewed through an additionally fitted Solar filter.  All the footage in the video was captured between 15th and 27th April 2013.”

Top work Judd bloke, and an ingenious set up!

You can see more of Mick’s photos on his Flickr page here

Now everyone get outdoors and enjoy the night sky! :)

Posted in Moon, Saturn, yaska77, Blog gallery, Astronomy, Sun, Eclipse | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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3D printers could construct Moonbase

February 1, 2013

by yaska77

London based architects Foster and Partners have revealed designs for a building on the Moon that could be constructed from the material already on its surface.

Lunar_base_made_with_3D_printing_fullwidth

Foster+Partners have joined with ESA to test the feasibility of 3D printing using lunar soil (click to enlarge) – Credit: Foster+Partners/ESA

Working with the European Space Agency, the plan involves launching a capsule which includes an inflatable structure to deploy near the Moon’s southern pole. This structure will then be covered with an outer shell built by 3D printers.

The robot operated printers would use soil from the Moon, known as regolith, to build the layered cover.

Designed to initially house four people, the firm said there was plenty of scope for wider expansion.

Multi-dome_base_being_constructed_fullwidth

Once assembled, the inflated domes are covered with a layer of 3D-printed lunar regolith by robots to help protect the occupants (click to enlarge) – Credit: Foster+Partners/ESA

Buildings on Earth by the architect firm include Wembley Stadium and Hong Kong International airport.

We may just get that moonbase yet, children of the 70′s and 80′s :)

Sources:

Foster and Partners
European Space Agency

Posted in ESA, Moon, Space, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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Astronomy Events – November 2012

October 31, 2012

by yaska77

Dark early evening skies are back with us now British Summer Time has ended, and winter is fast approaching.  We’ve had little to no opportunity for much observing or photography in recent months, something we’re hoping desperately to rectify as soon as possible!

Listed below are some upcoming astronomical events with something to interest everyone, so we hope you can get out there and get stargazing.

Clear skies all…

Thursday 1st November - Today the Moon is at Apogee (the furthest point of its orbit away from the Earth) at a distance of 406,050 km (252,308 miles)

If you have clear skies and a good pair of binoculars (or a small telescope), Uranus will be visible due south at 21:30 UTC at an altitude of 40°. See below for a guide to locating this often elusive planet!

The planet Uranus will be due south at 21:30 UTC on 1st November (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Sunday 4th November – If you’re up late on Saturday evening, the Great Red Spot of Jupiter will be central in its band at 01:45 UTC on Sunday morning

Up fairly high above the bow of the constellation Orion and close to bright star Aldebaran in Taurus, good binoculars should help you see its moons with Ganymede closest to the gas giant (see below)

The Great Red Spot of Jupiter will be central in its band at 01:45 UTC on 4th November (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Wednesday 7th November - Today is a last Quarter Moon

Friday 9th November – Io, one of the moons of Jupiter, will transit the disc of the gas giant this evening beginning at around 21:40 UTC. A great target for astrophotographers, Io will cast a dark shadow on Jupiter which looks great if you can capture it in an image

Catch it early enough in the transit too and you should also get the Great Red Spot in the same shot!

Sunday 11th November – Bright planet Venus will appear very close to the waning crescent Moon before Sunrise this morning, visible around 05:15 UTC to the east and a great target for a photo or two!

Different Moon phase but similar effect, our image of Venus and the waxing crescent Moon from January this year came with added Earthshine! (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Tuesday 13th November - Today there is a new Moon which rises and sets just before the Sun, so now is a good time (especially with longer evenings!) to view deep sky objects like galaxies and nebulae

Wednesday 14th November - There will be a total eclipse of the Sun today, with totality visible from northern Australia and the southern Pacific Ocean. The most populous city to experience totality will be Cairns, which will experience 2 minutes of totality just an hour after daybreak (06:38 AEST 14th November/20:38 UTC 13th November)

The Moon is also at Perigee (the closest point of its orbit to the Earth) at a distance of 357,360 km (222,053 miles)

Friday 16th November - The annual Leonid Meteor Shower peaks overnight this evening (actually at 09:30 UTC on 17th) but you could see between 5-15 meteors per hour as the night progresses

The Leonid Meteor Radiant shown above at 02:00 UTC on 17th November (where the meteors will appear to enamate from). Leonids are famous for appearing as fireballs with fast tails (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

While it’s not expected this year’s shower will produce the high numbers of meteors seen in previous years, they should still put on a good display for a couple of days yet

And with the Moon out of the way it could be a good show!

Saturday 17th November - Mercury is in Inferior Conjunction, and won’t be visible until the end of the month when it will rise just before the Sun

Also another good evening for Leonid spotting

Tuesday 20th November - First Quarter Moon

Wednesday 28th November - Today’s Full Moon is also sometimes called Beaver Moon, Frost Moon or Hunter’s Moon, which is also at Apogee at a distance of 406,100 km (252,339 miles)

It also sees the second of two Lunar eclipses this year, in what is known as a Penumbral eclipse. This is where the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow rather than directly behind the Earth itself (which is known as an Umbral eclipse), resulting in a partial eclipse (this time visible across the Moon’s northern region)

This image shows where on the Earth the partial eclipse will be visible (click to enlarge) – Credit: Fred Espenak (NASA GSFC)

Observers in Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, or east Asia will catch the whole event, with the US and Canada seeing it at Moonset (see above), and Europe seeing some of the partial eclipse at Moonrise

However, in the UK the Moon will rise at 15:30 UTC so with this partial eclipse only lasting just over an hour it will be very difficult to see

Planets visible this month:

Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Uranus
Neptune
Saturn

Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!

To make it easier to find this list of astronomical happenings you can also locate it in the “Monthly Guide” section in the menu bar to the right. Handy! :)

Guide images created with Stellarium

Archive:
Astronomy Events – October 2012
Astronomy Events – September 2012
Astronomy Events – August 2012

or click on Monthly Guide for the full archive

Posted in Astronomy, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Night sky, Planets, Resources, Space, Stars, Sun, Venus, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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Will new Moon images quiet conspiracy theories?

September 6, 2011

by yaska77

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has recorded the sharpest images ever taken from space of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites. The photos show the twists and turns of the paths made when the astronauts explored the lunar surface, both on foot and in the Lunar Rover Vehicle (LRV).

Apollo 12 landing made astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean the third and fourth humans to walk on the moon (Click to enlarge) - Credit: NASA/Goddard/ASU

Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean performed two moon walks during their mission. In the first walk, they collected samples and determined the best location for monitoring equipment called the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). This experiment continued to send data about the moon’s interior and surface environment back to Earth for over seven years.

The second moon walk saw them set out from the descent stage, loop around Head crater, past Bench and Sharp craters before heading north east to the landing site of Surveyor 3. Here they collected hardware from the unmanned spacecraft that landed two years earlier.

The Apollo 17 landing site with the Challenger descent stage and the LRV visible (Click to enlarge) - Credit: NASA/Goddard/ASU

In the Apollo 17 image above you can determine the last paths made on the moon by humans, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, and the easily recognisable dual tracks left by the lunar rover which can be seen to the east of the lander. The vehicle was “parked” there to provide the best camera view of the departing Challenger module at liftoff.

Will these be enough to silence the conspiracies? Probably not (where’s Apollo 11?!) but they’re still fascinating and beautiful to see.

Have a look at more images, video and info on the NASA LRO site here.

Posted in Moon, NASA, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Astronomy Events – September 2011

September 1, 2011

by yaska77

Here is a list of upcoming Astronomy events for September. Night clouds all but ruined most viewing in August, however we did have some successes!

Friday 2nd September – Looking south, Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd passes in between the easily indentifiable stars Vega and Altair (and directly below Albireo), just south of Brocchi’s Cluster over the next 3 evenings. Also known as the Coathanger Cluster, it resembles an upside down coathanger and the comet will almost pass parallel to the line of the “hanger” part, just below the hook (which it is closest to on the 3rd)

Comet Garradd position on 2nd, 3rd and 4th September, below Albireo (click to enlarge) - Credit: Stellarium/Sky-Watching

Saturday 3rd September – Mercury is at its greatest western elongation, meaning it will rise (and should be visible) just before the Sun early morning

Sunday 4th September – First Quarter Moon. The recently discovered supernova in M101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy, in the Plough constellation) should be visible through binoculars over coming days. Click here for a guide to locating M101!

Thursday 8th September – NASA is due to launch the twin Grail spacecraft to the Moon, where they will map the gravity field and provide details about the inner core. Grail will launch on a Delta II rocket, to be covered on NASA TV. There are two launch windows at 08:37 and 09:16 EDT (13:37 BST and 14:16 BST), but the launch period extends through to 19th October, with launch times occurring around 4 minutes earlier each day

Using precision formation-flying, the GRAIL spacecraft will map the moon's gravity field (artist's rendering) - Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Monday 12th September – The Full Moon tonight is also known as the Harvest or Wine Moon. Due to its tilted orbit the Moon in September runs roughly parallel to the horizon, and rises around the same time for consecutive evenings (18:38 BST on 11th, 18:55 BST on 12th and 19:12 BST on 13th)

Thursday 15th September – Moon at Apogee (the point of its orbit farthest away from the Earth) 406,065 km

Tuesday 20th September – Last Quarter Moon. Jupiter (which is present in the night sky all month) rises at 20:20 BST, about 3 hours before the Moon. A truly beautiful sight through a telescope, we’re hoping to get a better look (and take some more images) this month

Our image of Jupiter taken on 21st September 2010, we're hoping to get more pics this year (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Friday 23rd September – Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (at 09:04 GMT). Equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is inclined neither toward or away from the Sun (the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth’s equator), so day and night are about the same length. This near equilibrium is referred to as the Equilux, where night and day are closest to being 12 hours each (and occurs over 24-25th September)

Sunday 25th September – The gas giant Uranus is at its closest to the Earth today (this year) and should be visible to an unaided eye if your skies are dark enough. Found in the constellation Pisces, Uranus is the only planet to orbit the Sun on its side (possibly the result of a collision in its infancy) and at last count had 27 Moons!

Uranus is closest to Earth this year on 25th September (guide above at 23:30 BST) Click to enlarge - Credit: Stellarium/Sky-Watching

Tuesday 27th September – New Moon, a great time to observe deep sky objects without disruption

Wednesday 28th September – Moon at Perigee, the closest point to Earth in it’s orbit (357,560 km)

We’re hoping to finally get a look at Comet Garradd this month, re-image Jupiter and have a look for the new supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy! Rather ambitious given our luck this year with the weather, but we’ll see!

Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!

We recently added the “Monthly Guide” section in the menu bar to the right (where this guide will appear), so next time you visit you can find it again easily!

Guide images created with Stellarium

Archive:
Astronomy Events – August 2011
Astronomy Events – July 2011
Astronomy Events – June 2011

Posted in Astronomy, Galaxy, Jupiter, Mercury, Moon, NASA, Night sky, Resources, Stars, Supernova, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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