SUPERMOON January 1, 2018
First Supermoon of the new year is slated as the largest in 2018. I caught it at moonrise.
BUBBLING RED GIANT
Recently, astronomers have seen giant bubbles churning on the surface of a star beyond our solar system. This is a first in observing our interstellar neighbors. The bubbles are so huge individually, by comparison, that they would extend from our sun to Venus. These astronomers used the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO’s) Very Large Telescope to make […]
A Super Lunar New Year
First Super Moon of 2018!
Mysterious Rock Comet Came Close to Earth
Mysterious Rock-Comet 3200 Phaethon came close to Earth Friday night, December 16, 2017 The 2017 Geminid meteor shower, by all accounts, was spectacular. It peaked on the mornings of December 13 and 14. The showers awesomeness was probably due to the fact 3200 Phaethon, an object that thought to be the source of the Geminids, […]
The Ursids are Coming!
Don’t forget to checkout the Urid Meteor Shower later this week.
Will 2017 Be a Big Year for the Geminids?
The mornings of December 13 and 14, the Geminid Meteor shower peaks. The moon will be in a waning crescent and will only be visible just before dawn. Barring the effects local weather conditions, it should be a fine time for viewing the shower. Will 2017 Be a Big Year for the Geminids? Maybe. Here’s […]
Astronomers Complete Global Asteroid Tracking Drill
Back in October, astronomers tested the TC4 Observation Campaign by using a real Near Earth Asteroid to practice global response to a potential threat. There are potentially millions of chunks of flying debris of various sizes in space that constantly sweep past Earth. Astronomers know that there no large, continent-destroying asteroids that are on a […]
`Oumuamua The Interstellar Visitor
Interstellar asteroid A small object designated 1I/2017 U1 visited our solar system a few weeks ago, giving astronomers data to scrutinize. The object has been given a name, ‘Oumuamua. Astronomers believe that it must have travel through space for millions of years before its chance encounter with our star system. Some astronomers at the Pan STARRS […]
Was there an Ocean on Ceres?
Orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, Ceres was first discovered and classified as a planet in 1801. In the 1850s, it was considered one of the largest of the little worlds in the asteroid belt. Astronomers re-classified Ceres as a dwarf planet in 2006. Oddly enough, it is believed that little Ceres, a tiny world that’s […]
Object Visits From Beyond Solar System
NASA reported on October 26, 2017 that astronomers have been watching a small body that could be an asteroid, or perhaps a comet, apparently from beyond our solar system, from somewhere in interstellar space. If that is indeed the case, it would be the first interstellar asteroid or comet to be observed and confirmed. The object […]