Holy Planets, Batman!

Quick, my young ward, run outside and view the planets!

No seriously!  Get outside, soon!  There are three planets currently gracing the early evening skies, and you do not want to miss this.

I've been waiting to post this because we've had a serious stretch of rainy weather here in Virginia, and it seemed cruel to write a post telling everybody about the amazing stuff they can't go outside and look at.  But this past weekend was brilliant, and hopefully some nice weather is here for a little while.  So let's talk planets.

Jupiter has been shining bright in our evening sky for some months now.  It's a dramatic, white star-like object high on the western side of the sky in the early evening.  You can't miss it.  It's the brightest thing out there, assuming the Moon is nowhere around.  Grab a pair of binoculars or a small telescope for a real treat - a quick zoom-in will reveal the colorful cloud stripes on the planet and as many as 5 moons orbiting the giant world.

Jupiter and its four largest moons as seen through a small telescope.

Looking more south-southwesterly, you still have time to catch the orangey glow of Mars before it fades away into the distance.  Mars made a close approach to us in April, and is now getting further and further away from us with each passing day.  A good-sized telescope will reveal a mottled surface and possibly a bit of a polar cap on our tiny next door neighbor.  Mars is only half the size of the Earth, so seeing any detail on the planet is difficult.  With Mars being a bit closer now than it normally is to us, here's your best shot at seeing some Martian surface detail for a while...the next close approach will be in about two years.

Mars as seen in a larger telescope during its close approach in April 2014.

Finally, lower in the southwest you will find the golden glow of Saturn.  Here's the big payoff for your binoculars or telescope - those oh-so-spectacular rings.  If you are using binoculars, you'll need to hold them very steady - a tripod will be your best bet.  Remember, you're looking at something about a billion miles away.  But oh, that view is so worth it!

Saturn as seen through a larger telescope.

Don't have a telescope or binoculars?  Not sure exactly where to look?  No worries.  Come on out to the Virginia Living Museum on Saturday May 10 and we'll do the leg work for you.  Our telescopes will be set up (weather permitting) and all you'll have to do is bend your eye to the eyepiece and stare.  Trust me, you'll be glad you came!  For more details on our monthly star party and laser light nights, please visit our website at www.thevlm.org.  And if you can't make the star party, get out there and look up anyway.  No matter which way you face, the universe has a lot to offer!  Enjoy!

Until next time...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

Follow the KISS Principle

I so need to do that in my everyday life.

Well, it's yet again been a month since I could sit down and write a post.  Things have just been flat out crazy here!  Between wacky weather swings (including more snow days than I could shake a stick at), tons of special events (we've seen Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, tons of the general public, teachers, and lots of school kids), and the production of two shows just finished today (come see the public show - The Art of Hubble - beginning this Saturday in the planetarium!)...well...let's just say I've run myself ragged.  In fact, I'm so ragged, I've got a major back spasm going on...so yesterday was spent at the doctor.  Hopefully, I'll be getting back to what passes for normal for me soon.

But, in the spirit of the KISS Principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) I thought I'd just write a nice little post about what's going on up in the sky these days.

The big news right now is still Jupiter.  The king of the solar system is dominating the early evening skies, shining brightly in the constellation Gemini the Twins.  Look for a brilliant white star-like object high in the south in the early evening.  Trust me, you won't be able to miss it. 

Jupiter - King of the Solar System - and its four largest moons.  From left to right they are Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto.  Image courtesy Wikipedia.

In the southeast, you'll see the Moon, on its way to being full in a few days.  It will be the only thing in the sky brighter than Jupiter.  The two will be separated by a fair bit, but will still be close enough to be a beautiful sight together in the evening sky.  The Moon will move further and further to the left of Jupiter as the days go by...so get outside and see them soon.

A lunar calendar, in case you wanted to know the phase of the Moon every day this month.  Available online for printing from http://www.calendar-printable.com/march/mar-2014-calendar.html

The stars of winter haven't given up yet...even though Spring is just around the corner (although you couldn't tell that from the temperature around here today!).   Orion still shines brightly in the south-southwest, just below and to the right of Jupiter.  You'll easily be able to see the three stars of Orion's famous belt, even in fairly bright skies.  Two stars above and two stars below the belt frame out this famous night sky hunter.

The constellation Orion as seen by a camera.  You won't see the intense colors of the stars, but you might notice slight tinges of color. Note the fuzzy pink bit below the belt - that's the famous Orion Nebula Complex.  Image from scienceblogs.

Looking ahead, Mars is going to be more and more prominent in the coming month or so.  It's approaching opposition, meaning it will be exactly opposite the Sun for us.  It's also approaching Earth - meaning that Mars will be at its brightest in the month of April.  Right now, the Red Planet rises late, and isn't well visible until after 1am.  Next month will see it rising at sunset, and hopefully clearing the cluttered horizons around here by about 10pm.  We'll be celebrating Mars next month at our monthly star party on April 12th - make plans to join us!

Now that the major show production push is out of the way, I'm hoping that things will settle down a bit and I can get back to more regular postings.  Tomorrow, by the way, is Pi day (3.14!) so enjoy some circle foods!  And today...well...there's a special shout-out I need to send to a friend.

This is your birthday message, on my blog
This is your birthday message, on my blog
Today is your birthday, so I'm writing you to say
Happy happy birthday to you, on my blog!

Happy birthday, John!  Hope it's a great one.

See you again...hopefully in two weeks!
Until then,
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

I am very sorry, sir, I am behind my time...

It's only once a year, sir, it shall not be repeated.  I was making rather merry yesterday, sir.

Bob Cratchit from Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott.  One of my favorite versions of the classic Christmas tale. 

Happy New Year!  Like Bob Cratchit, I am behind my time (by a day) and was making rather merry yesterday.  And in the process of welcoming 2014, I discovered something amazing.

For many years I have extolled the virtues of getting away from people to enjoy the sky.  Well, more specifically, people's lights.  The city is a terrible place to do astronomy...few stars can be seen, and finding a spot with open sky can prove challenging to say the least.  So I often recommend that folks go somewhere else to see the stars.  Areas with little population (Casper Mountain in Wyoming has astounding skies!), the desert southwest of the United States (my Dad, who loved to hike the Grand Canyon, bought a tent with a special skylight in it for stargazing...he said the sky from down in the canyon was the most incredible thing he'd ever seen), out on the water far away from shore (but not on most cruise ships, which are lit up like bonfires), and other such far away destinations have been my suggestion to people looking to see more of the sky than they usually do.

Or, you could drive about an hour west of Richmond.  No, really!

We generally spend New Year's Eve in a cabin at Bear Creek Lake State Park.  It's wonderful to get away from it all (there's no cell service or internet out there either!) and just enjoy some time with family and friends.  Most years, the sky has been cloudy...especially if I go through the trouble of packing my telescope.  This year, I said the heck with it, and left it home.

On New Year's Eve night we went out to build a fire and make s'mores (always a hit with the kids).  My friend suddenly said "Hey, look at the Milky Way!"

I looked up and almost fell over.

The sky was cold and clear and the air unmoving.  It was deep black, and spangled everywhere with stars so bright they seemed to leap out of the sky at me.  Jupiter shone like a beacon...for a moment, I was disoriented...I thought it was Venus, it seemed so bright to me!  As my eyes adjusted, I could see more and more faint stars playing in the background of the sky...and indeed, the lovely swath of the Milky Way, arcing high above us.  I wasted no time bemoaning my lack of a telescope - I simply took my daughter aside and we looked for constellations.  We spotted a couple of satellites and caught a few meteors in the bargain.  It was breathtaking, delightful, dizzying, and altogether awesome.

So here's my recommendation to you for a new year's resolution - make a reservation and stay at a State or National Park near you sometime this year.  You probably won't have to even travel very far!  Many parks offer traditional camping (bring your own tent) or cabins for rent (very reasonably priced, and come with all the comforts of home like heat, AC, and indoor plumbing!).  Some even have yurts (I hear they can be tons of fun!).  You can make reservations online at Reserve America.  It's great way to get some time away, bond with family and friends, explore your local area, and rediscover the sky.  Trust me, you'll love it.

One of the cabins at Bear Creek Lake State Park in Virginia.  Yes, it's as awesome as it looks.  Image by Tracey Shaffer courtesy Reserve America.

Here's hoping that 2014 is truly a stellar year for us all.
See you in two weeks, and until then...
Carpe Noctem!
Kelly

From the King of Planets to a Nobel Prize Winner

Does anyone out there besides me remember a wonderful television series called Connections?

It was hosted by James Burke, produced by the BBC and ran on PBS back in the late 70s and early 80s.  The mid-80s saw a similar program, The Day the Universe Changed, also on PBS and hosted by Burke.  In the mid- to late 90s cable TV got into the act with TLC (back when it could honestly claim the name The Learning Channel) running two follow-on series: Connections2 and Connections3.  I never liked those as much, but I adored the original series and Universe.  James Burke is, even today, one of the more brilliant science historians the planet has ever seen.  His approach to the history of science is simple and at once astonishing.  In short, he takes a "six degrees of separation" approach - everything is interconnected.  He rejects the linear approach - one discovery leading in simple direct line to a final conclusion - and shows you the massive web of interconnectedness that is all of human history - science, art, politics, music, anything and everything.  It was a mind-blowing experience to watch any episode of any of James Burke's shows, and I credit him with propelling me forward to not only study science, but to attempt as best I can to teach it to others and help them see its connection to their daily lives.

James Burke, wizard of science history.  Courtesy Wikipedia.

 I really must get some of those shows on DVD.

If ever the opportunity presents itself (Netflix, perhaps?) watch them.

But, actually, you can sort of engage in a poor man's version of Connections right now.  Wikipedia allows one to spend hours discovering ever more bizarre connections between things you never thought had a single thing to do with one another.  I call it a poor man's Connections because it lacks the vision and brilliance and wonderfully dry humor Mr. Burke brings to his programs.  But it is fun to get lost in Wikipedia nonetheless.

One of my favorite episodes of Connections, "Eat, Drink and be Merry..." explains how a plastic credit card leads us to landing a man on the Moon.  I'll not reproduce that for you here (go find the episode and watch it!) but I will share an interesting little journey I took through Wikipedia earlier today (the inspiration for this post).

I started on the Wikipedia entry for Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system.  I went there looking for a specific piece of information (which I now cannot for the life of me remember) but I quickly got absorbed in just reading.  And don't look shocked - NASA has enough tech geeks that police Wikipedia's space science entries - they are usually quite accurate.

Jupiter, king of the planets.  Read on to find out what this has to do with the Nobel Prize.  Image by Cassini.  Courtesy NASA and Wikipedia.

Anyway, I soon jumped from Jupiter the planet to Jupiter the Roman god.  I've always been fascinated by mythology (mostly Greek, but Roman works too) and so that was a natural leap for me.  From there I discovered that many of Jupiter's functions were focused on the Capitoline - and I clicked.

The Capitoline is one of the seven hills of Rome.  Its ancient ruins are largely buried under medieval and Renaissance palaces surrounding a piazza... *click*

A piazza is simply the Italian name for a city square.  Inigo Jones brought the style to London in the building of Covent Garden under the patronage of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford... *click*  (okay, another predictable one for me...I confess to be a total anglophile and I love reading about British nobility)

The 4th Earl of Bedford not only championed the building of Covent Garden with its piazza and Church of St. Paul, he was also the man who pioneered the project to drain The Fens of Cambridgeshire... *click*

The Fens, or the Fenland, is an enormous area of marshland, now largely drained thanks to efforts of our friend Francis Russell.  They are so called because they are true fens -possessing an alkaline water chemistry...  *click*  (I clicked here because usually alkaline water is not so good for plant growth...curiosity got me...)

An alkali is a basic or ionic salt of an alkaline earth metal... *click*  (curiosity again...I'd never heard the term alkaline earth metal before...or if I had I dumped out of my brain with the rest of what I ever learned about chemistry!)

The alkaline earth metals are all elements in a particular column of the periodic table, usually called the group 2 elements (aha! That I know!).  These elements are beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium and radium... *click*  (everybody likes radioactive stuff!)

Radium is a highly radioactive element discovered, in the form of radium chloride (a salt!  see above) in 1898 by Marie Curie...(hey wait!  I know her!)

Marie Curie, is of course, known to any girl who goes into the sciences.  She was a Polish physicist and chemist, the first woman to ever win a Nobel Prize, the only woman ever to win in two fields (physics and chemistry), and still the only person of either gender to win in multiple sciences (the other three multi-Nobel winners received theirs in only one science category).

Marie Curie, a giant in the fields of physics and chemistry by anyone's standards.  And forever connected to the planet Jupiter.  Image courtesy Wikipedia.

So there you go.  If anyone ever asks you what the Nobel Prize has to do with the planet Jupiter, you can now tell them.

Okay, silly, but a fun way to spend an afternoon.
More in two weeks...
Until then, carpe noctem!
Kelly

I'm Sorry I'm Confused...

Well, hello!

Sorry about the lack of a post two weeks ago...I wrote one, but for some reason Blogger never posted it.  I've gotten so used to this thing working so well, I never thought to check to see if the scheduled post properly popped up!  I'll have to be more diligent with this thing in future.

I am smack dab in the middle of summer camps this week.  I'm currently teaching rising first and second graders about the planets - and it's TONS of fun!  I love working with kids...they always seem to know way more than I think they will.  It's awesome.

Anyway, since I've got planets on the brain, I thought I'd share a few tidbits about planets that my kids know...but maybe some of our grownups out there don't!  Enjoy!

Did you know...

...Mercury has a thin "borrowed" atmosphere of solar wind surrounding it.  The gases streaming away from the Sun will wrap around Mercury for a little while before continuing their journey through space.  It's not a very nice hug, however...the impact of the gaseous material can blast sodium ions off the surface of the planet!

...Venus rotates backward.  Something quite traumatic must have happened to our neighbor in its early history, as the planet appears to have been tipped completely over by a massive impact.  This same event massively slowed Venus' rotation as well, leaving it with a day which is longer than its year!

...Earth has been visited by spacecraft more times than any other planet.  Indeed, the majority of the spacecraft launched by the various space agencies around the world have been placed in orbit around our home planet for a wide variety of purposes, including scientific study.

...Mars is only half the diameter of Earth.  The much-maligned Red Planet - long considered the home of aliens bent on taking over the Earth to gain its vast supply of precious water - actually boasts several geologic superlatives despite its small size.  Mars is home to one of the largest canyons in the solar system (the Valles Marineris - large enough to stretch from New York City to Los Angeles if placed here on Earth!) as well as the largest volcano in the solar system (Olympus Mons - standing two and a half times the height of Mt. Everest and with a base as large as the state of Virginia!).

...Jupiter has the longest-lived cyclonic storm ever seen.  The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is actually a storm that has been raging in the atmosphere of the giant planet for more than 400 years - at a minimum!  Galileo Galilei first noted the presence of the storm in 1609 when he observed the giant planet through his simple telescope...but of course, since he was the first person ever to see Jupiter in that way, we have no idea how long the storm had been there before he saw it.  The Great Red Spot continues to fascinate amateur and professional astronomers alike to this day.

...Saturn has such a low density that you could float it in a bathtub...if you could find one big enough!  Though the second largest planet in the solar system, Saturn is less dense than water.  So if we could get enough water together, Saturn could float in it.

...Uranus rotates on its side!  Like Venus, it appears this planet also suffered a major whack early on...resulting in an orbital tilt of 98 degrees.  So the moons and rings of Uranus appear vertically around the planet, rather than the horizontal aspect we might expect.

Uranus - the Sideways Planet!  Courtesy NASA.

...Neptune used to have an enormous hurricane too...but now it's gone!  When seen by the Voyager spacecraft in 1989, Neptune boasted the Great Dark Spot, an atmospheric storm of some kind that appeared as a darker blue splotch on the planet.  In 1995, Hubble was aimed at the 8th planet, hoping to get a another look at the dark spot - but it was nowhere to be seen.  Unlike Jupiter, Neptune's storms seem to be short-lived things.

And we really can't finish out a post about planets without mentioning the dwarf planets!  There are officially five dwarf planets in the solar system these days - Ceres, the largest of the asteroids, and 4 Kuiper Belt objects - Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.

Pluto now boasts five moons of its own - and they all finally have official names!  Recently, the International Astronomical Union officially named the two moons discovered in 2011 and 2012...so Pluto is now attended by Charon, Hydra, Nix, Kerberos, and Styx.  Not bad for the premiere dwarf planet of the solar system!

Pluto, now a virtual mini solar system of its own.  Courtesy NASA.

Well, that's about all I have time for just now.  Hope you discovered a little something new about the solar system in which you live!  See you in two weeks...assuming Blogger doesn't go crazy on me again.

Until then...Carpe Noctem!
Kelly

When One Giant Sets...Another Rises...

Okay, perhaps not as eloquent or well known as the similar saying about doors...but more relevant to the sky right about now.

I do hope you've had the chance to look at Jupiter during this Winter/Spring season.  For some time now, Jupiter has been the dazzling bright white star-like object in the western sky, easily visible as the Sun sets and lingering for a while afterwards.  Well...the lingering is almost over.  Jupiter is now setting perhaps two hours after the Sun, and that time will grow progressively shorter as the days go by.  By the end of next month, Jupiter will be gone from our skies, disappearing into the glare of the Sun.  Long before that happens, it will become very difficult to catch telescopically, being low to the horizon just after sunset.  The season for Jupiter is ending, my friends, and if you haven't yet spent a pleasant evening outdoors, marveling at the wonders of the solar system's largest planet, I urge you to do so without delay.  It would be a shame to miss it.

Jupiter as seen through a small telescope.  The small "stars" seen around the planet are its four largest moons.  Image by Donald Waid. 

Yet even as Jupiter descends into the evening twilight, Saturn also rises.  Climbing up from the eastern horizon around sunset and visible nearly all night long, Saturn is becoming a better and better target for that telescope lingering in your garage or closet.  As Jupiter disappears below the western horizon, Saturn climbs higher into the south, gently gracing the sky with its golden glow.  Saturn appears like a golden-yellow star in the night sky - one that doesn't appear to twinkle.  Planets rarely twinkle, except under the most humid of conditions (think August!), while stars are so distant from us the moving atmosphere of Earth causes them to twinkle even under the best of seeing conditions.  Look to the southeast at 10pm and you'll be able to spot beautiful Saturn quite easily.  It won't be as bright as Jupiter, but if you look tonight, the Moon will be next door to the right, easily guiding your eye to the planet.  And don't worry if you miss it - Saturn will be with us all summer long.  We expect to see quite a lot of it at our summer star parties here at the Virginia Living Museum - so come on out on the second Saturday of the month and join us.  Trust me, there are few sights in the world more amazing than Saturn's rings in a telescope.  Don't miss it.

Saturn seen up close and personal by the Cassini spacecraft.  Don't worry, you'll be able to see the rings without having to travel a billion miles.  Even a quality pair of binoculars will show you the rings of Saturn.  Image courtesy NASA.

So that's my advice to you - go outside and see the planets.  Take a deep breath.  Relax.  And drink in the wonders of the universe around you.

Until next time,
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

UFOs and All That

Greetings, fellow Earthlings!

So, have you been watching television lately?  There seems to be a new fascination with UFO hunting and finding and proving and conspiracy theorizing out there of late.  So I thought I'd write a little about UFOs and what they do...and don't...mean.

When most of us hear the term "UFO" we think aliens!  Spaceships!  Take me to your leader!  Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here!  But actually, UFO stands for something specific: Unidentified Flying Object.  A UFO is nothing more than something flying in the sky that has not yet been positively identified.  It does not mean the purple pod people have come to eat our brains.  Most of what these shows tout as "aliens" are MFOs - Misidentified Flying Objects (thanks, Phil Plait!).  Someone sees something in the sky and misinterprets it as an alien spacecraft.

So what are the most common MFOs?  Here are the top three:

Believe it or not, I get those phone calls here.  Very nice, normal, not crazy people who call me up and explain they saw something very bright, low to the horizon, which appeared to shift and wiggle around, and change color every so often.  Don't panic, I tell them, you've just seen the most common MFO in the world: the planet Venus.  Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon - it's quite impressive, even in a sky that is not yet dark.  Since Venus orbits the Sun closer in than we do, the planet can never been seen in the skies of Earth more than 45 degrees away from the Sun.  So Venus is frequently seen low to the horizon.  When you look at an object low on the horizon, the light coming from that object has to pass through a lot more air to reach your eyes than a similar object directly overhead.  Well, the moving air of Earth is what causes twinkling - the phenomenon of stars (or planets!) seeming to flash, move, and change color.  So all in all, Venus makes a perfect faux alien spacecraft.

Surely that bright light is an approaching spacecraft!  See the reflection of it in the water!  It can't be a planet!  But it is. It's Venus, seen here in the pre-dawn skies of Earth.  And yes, Venus is so bright, it often shows reflections and casts shadows.  Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

It's not just Venus either.  The second brightest planet in the sky, Jupiter, can also fool people into thinking they've seen aliens.  Since Jupiter is an outer planet, it is more likely to be seen high in the sky, mostly eliminating the twinkling effect.  So why do people think it's a spacecraft?  Well, imagine seeing a bright light in the sky.  You don't know what it is, so you grab a pair of binoculars to get a better look.  Suddenly, that single light becomes 5 lights - one big one in the center surrounded by 4 small ones...and it seems to be moving!  Yep, this happens a lot.  Jupiter is surrounded by moons - and the four largest are easily visible in a pair of binoculars...or with modern high-powered TV cameras.  The motion effect is caused by difficulties in holding the binocs or camera steady while viewing.  Sure enough, TV crews sent to check out reports of a UFO have often "confirmed" it with their cameras...only to be told later by local astronomers they were viewing Jupiter.  Oops.

Surely this one is aliens!  Look at the symmetry!  They must be lights on a spacecraft!  Nope, the center bright light is Jupiter and the 4 smaller lights are the giant planet's largest moons, seen here through a powerful camera.  Image courtesy Satellite Imagination.

Last, but certainly not least, is one that most people can't believe could be true.  One of the more common MFOs is...birds.  Really!  Birds!  Especially when seen close to sunset or sunrise flying in formation.  Lighting can really do funny things to your perception of objects in the sky...and a flock of birds flying in formation eerily lit by the Sun and artificial lights can rapidly convince you you're watching the aliens come in for a landing.  Trust me...I've seen the effect.  I was almost convinced...until my "spacecraft" started honking...they were geese.

Okay, this one HAS to be a spacecraft!  Just look at it!  Or...

...is it a bird?  Yeah, it's a blurry bird picture.  Images by Rob S.

So the next time you see something in the sky you can't identify, don't call the guys from the History Channel show - call me.  Or post a comment here on my blog.  I'm only too glad to help turn UFOs into IFOs (Identified Flying Objects).  And if ever we do make contact, it will almost certainly be by radio.  Any alien civilization capable of talking to us must located very far away - too far for a spacecraft to be of any help - or we'd have met them by now.

But we can still hope, right?
Until next time,
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

What's Up?

Well, hello.

It's been an eventful time in the astronomy business, thanks to a chunk of rock that decided to scare the living daylights out of a whole lot of people living in Siberia.  Amazingly, they seem to like air-bursting asteroids...once again, just like in 1908, a chunk of space rock exploded rather than impacting.  Since this one did so over a city, many people were injured when they rushed to look out their windows to see what the bright flash of light was.  Once the shock wave hit, the windows shattered, glass went flying, and many people were hurt.  But fortunately, I do not believe there were any deaths associated with the event.  But my goodness, it must have been quite scary to experience that first hand.  We talked about the 1908 event in our previous chat...when I wrote that I had no idea it would be happening again so soon!

The fireball over Siberia on February 15, 2013.

Anyway, let's turn ourselves to a calmer exploration of the sky.  It's been a while since I wrote a nice, simple post about things appearing in the skies above, so I think it's time to do that again.

The early evening skies are currently dominated by the largest planet in the solar system - Jupiter.  Shining brighter than all the visible stars, Jupiter is easily seen high in the southwest after sunset.  It's currently located in the constellation Taurus the Bull, right behind the bull's V-shaped face.  Taurus, of course, is facing off with Orion the Hunter, brightest constellation of our sky and easily visible high in the south.  So just by looking southward after sunset you should be able to quickly find the seven bright stars of Orion.  Use the belt of Orion (three stars in an almost perfect straight line) to find Taurus by following the line it makes away from Orion towards the right.  The belt will point you to the brightest star of Taurus, reddish Aldebaran.  This is the upper left point of the V of Taurus' face.  Right next to the V will be Jupiter, almost shocking in its brightness.

Following Orion's Belt to Aldebaran, the red right eye of Taurus the Bull.  In February of 2013, Jupiter is located between the V of Taurus' face and the Pleiades.

Jupiter is an incredible world.  Ten times bigger than our own planet Earth, Jupiter is a gas giant and the largest of the solar system's planets.  Even so, it is still much too small to be a star...Jupiter would have to be 10 times again as big as it is to become a star like the Sun.  The gravity of mighty Jupiter holds over 60 moons in orbit around the massive world, and even supports a tiny, thin ring system, completely invisible from Earth.  Only visiting spacecraft have the opportunity to see the rings of Jupiter, and they have fortunately sent lovely pictures back to us here on Earth.  Known from ancient times, Jupiter has long fascinated us, and it has been the target of numerous missions including the Voyager space probes and the Galileo spacecraft.  Another mission, Juno, is on its way, with a planned arrival in July of 2016.

The giant planet Jupiter.

The only other planet currently visible to us is Saturn, which graces the early morning sky before the dawn.  You'll see Saturn as a golden-yellow star-like object shining in the south before the Sun rises.  A pair of binoculars is all that is needed to reveal the lovely Saturnian rings, but you will need to hold them very steady.  A tripod will serve you well.  And be prepared to get up quite early - 5AM is the best time to see Saturn these days.  If you'd rather see it at a more convenient time...wait a few months.  Later in the year, Saturn will become an early evening object rather than an early morning one.

Saturn and its amazing ring system.

So everyone take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the sky.  I promise, despite the events of recent days, the world is not coming to an end.  Hopefully the sky will give us a few days to catch our breath before the next potential big event - Comet PANSTARRS.  If the comet becomes something worth venturing outside to see, I'll put out a Cosmic Strings Alert to let you know.

Barring that, I'll see you in two weeks!
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

Resolved

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope your 2013 has gotten off to a great start.  For many of you, that may mean making some New Year's Resolutions.  I've never been much for them myself...I often find my enthusiasm for them wanes rapidly after the New Year's celebrations are over.  But if you find yourself in need of some resolutions this year...I humbly present to you these recommendations.

New Year's Resolution #1: Resolve to be more in touch with the universe around you.
Back in the day, humans were very in touch with the universe.  It was our clock, our calendar, a source of wonder and the home of the gods.  Today, many of us go through our lives without ever taking the time to look up.  Make it a mission to spend some time under the stars this year.  We can help!  Every second Saturday of the month, the museum hosts a Star Party.  The first one in 2013 is on January 12 - we'll look forward to seeing you!  Star Parties are FREE and everyone is welcome.

New Year's Resolution #2: Resolve to see some shooting stars.
Virtually every year there's a really good meteor shower to see...and 2013 is no exception.  This year, the Perseids are on tap to put on an excellent show, and that's great news for all you folks who hate having to be outside in the freezing cold weather to do your stargazing!  The Perseids peak on August 12th, so you'll be able to spend a balmy evening in your shorts and t-shirt watching "stars" fall from the sky!  On that night, the Moon will be just past first quarter and will set early, so you can drag out a lawn chair and stare upwards for the rest of the night with nothing to dim your view of the heavens (just get away from any city lights near you).  Some models are predicting a bump up in rates for the Perseids this year, so this one could be pretty neat.  Remember - no telescope or binoculars are needed; the more sky you can see, the better.  Put your back to the constellation Perseus and enjoy the show.

A bright Perseid meteor streaks across the sky.  Image by Stefano DeRosa

New Year's Resolution #3: Resolve to use that telescope in the closet to see something cool.
So many of us have a telescope sitting somewhere gathering dust.  Well, this year, you need to get it out and have it set up and ready to go on Friday, October 11, no later than 11:30pm.  Point it at Jupiter as early as you can, and watch.  Slowly but surely, the shadows of not one, not two, but THREE of the largest Jovian moons will make their way across the giant planet.  A triple eclipse for Jupiter...a triple shadow transit for those of us here on Earth.  It should be a lovely sight in a good sized telescope.

A rare triple shadow transit on Jupiter on March 28, 2004.  Image by Sid Leach.

New Year's Resolution #4: Resolve to watch a rocket take off.
If you can get to Cape Canaveral on November 18th, you'll have the opportunity to do it in person!  If not, tune in NASA TV and watch the launch of MAVEN: the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission.  MAVEN will study the Martian atmosphere to see how the loss of materials to space has affected Mars over its long history.  Launches are always cool to watch, and this one should be no different.

An artist's conception of the MAVEN spacecraft orbiting Mars.  Courtesy NASA.

New Year's Resolution #5: Resolve to see the comet of the century...maybe...
There's already a buzz in the astronomical community about Comet ISON - it could be the most amazing comet North America has seen since Hale-Bopp...or it could fizzle.  Currently located beyond Jupiter, this newly-discovered comet is making its way toward a close encounter with the Sun.  If it holds together, it could put on an incredible show during the last two months of 2013.  Early predictions indicate that Comet ISON could reach negative magnitudes (bright like Jupiter or Venus), or even outshine the Moon (2nd brightest object in the sky!) and have a gorgeous tail visible to the unaided eye for weeks or even months.  Other early predictions say it could completely collapse under the pressure of the Sun's light and heat and be a total washout.  The only way to find out will be to watch the skies.

The orbital path of Comet ISON.  Courtesy NASA.

So there you have it - five astronomical things to resolve to do in 2013.  Whatever you choose to do, may 2013 be a year full of joy for all of us.

Carpe noctem!
Kelly

Something's Coming...

Come on in, don't be shy, meet a guy, pull up a chair!

Okay, you know it's been a tough day when I break into show tunes.

Seriously, good things are happening around here at the Virginia Living Museum.  It's getting kind of exciting.

First of all, we're getting pretty close to being done with flood recovery!  We hope to have the lower level of the museum reopened very soon.  So watch the museum's webpage for an official announcement on that score, hopefully before the end of the year.  It's been a long, slow recovery process, and we're very excited to get the museum fully opened again.  I hear tell there will even be some new exhibits coming downstairs, which is also pretty exciting!

Naturally, this is an exciting time of year in general, with the holidays in full swing.  I have an 8-year-old daughter at home and that makes Christmas extra-special, I can tell you.  Our annual trip to Christmas Town is coming up this weekend (can't wait!), plus all the decorating and visiting and baking and whatnot the season brings.  The Virginia Living Museum is all decorated up for the season, too.  In the planetarium lobby the tree has a lovely silver and blue theme this year which I think suits us well.  And of course, holiday programming continues in the theater until the end of the year, so don't miss out on that!

Jupiter and its largest moon, Ganymede.  Courtesy STScI.

Most exciting in my book is that this Saturday is our monthly star party and Laser Light Night!  It's a special one, too.  Jupiter is just past its opposition, so the giant planet is close to the Earth and looking fabulous even in a small telescope.  Rising close to sunset and remaining visible all night, we're hoping for the clouds to part and show us a fabulous view!  Ten times larger than the Earth, Jupiter shows an amazing amount of detail with only a small amount of magnification.  Probably the most wonderful thing about viewing Jupiter is that you usually get to see a few of its moons as well - most notably the four Galilean satellites.  These four largest moons of Jupiter were first spotted by Galileo Galilei (hence the name Galilean satellites) in the early 1600s.  He called them "the Medicean stars" since at the time of his discovery of them, his bills were being paid by the prominent Medici family (Galileo was no fool!).  Later, all of the moons of Jupiter we renamed for various lovers of Zeus/Jupiter.  Today, the four largest moons of Jupiter are known as Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Io.  It's a fair bet we'll get a glimpse of all four of them this weekend, so be sure to join us.  Remember, observing is always FREE!

An artist's conception of an eruption on Jupiter's volcanic moon, Io.  A new panoramic wallpaper will be installed in the lobby of the Abbitt Planetarium this January based on this poster.  Courtesy NASA Langley.

 
 In addition, we'll be celebrating the hard work of the many good people who helped raise funds for the museum's flood relief campaign during Walktober!  This dedicated group of walkers raised over $8000 and counting!  And you can help by purchasing a Walktober Flood Relief T-shirt for only $5 this Saturday during the Star Party.  To thank our walkers, we've got extra shows on the docket, and everyone is welcome.  Check out the schedule online.  Shows in the theater, whether planetarium or lasers, are $6 each, or 2 for $10.  Members always receive half off.

Many other things are coming down the pike for the remainder of the year, so I'd better get back to work!

See you in two weeks! And until then...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

Pass the Astronomy, Please

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving!

I'm in a food mood, folks.  I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving this year.  Maybe because I don't have to do all the cooking myself this time!  Or maybe because the Mythbusters took on some classic food myths - including that turkey tale of tryptophan.  But whatever it is...let's take a moment to explore some ways to bring a little astronomical fun to the holiday.

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is just get outside!  After the massive meal and the inevitable 4 hours on the couch to recover, get up and head outdoors.  It will be dark by then, and maybe you'll be treated to some lovely sights!  As early as 6pm, the Moon will be climbing high towards the south, being just a bit past first quarter at that point.  This will be a great time to get out the binoculars or a telescope and sweep along the terminator - the line of shadow that separates day and night on the Moon (or any other celestial body) - and explore the wonders of the lunar surface.  The deep shadows to be found at the terminator make for an excellent view of mountains, craters, and other magnificent features.

The Moon's terminator.  Note the strong detail visible thanks to the deep shadows.  Courtesy stargazing.net

By 9:30pm, Jupiter will be a blazing beacon of white light in the eastern sky.  It will be tantalizingly close to the red right eye of Taurus the Bull, Aldebaran.  The color contrast should be quite lovely.  And here again, a telescope or binoculars will provide some extra excitement, showing you several Jovian moons and maybe a couple of cloud bands on the massive planet.

Jupiter and its 4 largest moons as seen through a small telescope.  Courtesy Universe Today.

But perhaps you're just not going to be able to get up off that couch.  Maybe we'd better add some astronomical fun to the meal itself, or there's no chance you'll get anything spacey in at all.

One easy way to stellar up any meal is with a little starfruit!  When you slice this unique little fruit correctly, the pieces come out star-shaped.  Scatter them around as garnish on almost any dish - they have a mild, white-grape like flavor which is very pleasant and goes with almost anything.

Star fruit, shown whole and sliced.  Image courtesy www.yummy-ness.tumblr.com

For those who really want to do up the astronomical flair - may I suggest a little pizazz during the pie course?  Big round things always put me in mind of the planets.  Perhaps an apple pie might be topped with a red-food-coloring tinted top crust and become the surface of Mars!  Or the whipped cream on top of the pumpkin or coconut cream pie might be striped to look suspiciously like the clouds of Venus or Saturn.

Gracious, I've just given a whole new meaning to "The Face on Mars," haven't I?

However you celebrate, be it astronomically or not, have a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving.
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Hooray!  The election is over!

Okay, sorry, I couldn't help myself.  Whether your favored candidate won or lost, I think we can all agree it's been a long and rough election season.  I confess I am happy to be done with political ads, phone calls, and mail.  The holidays are just around the corner, and that is indeed my favorite time of year.

But before we get into the holiday season, we've got something fun coming up this Saturday!  Yes, it is once again time for our monthly Star Party and Laser Light Night here at the Virginia Living Museum.  While the flood damage has stopped us from using our lower level, the observatory is in great shape, and the planetarium is running just fine.  So we hope you'll be able to join us for some great sky watching and planetarium and laser shows this weekend!  Here's a quick preview of what we'll be looking at in the night sky (weather permitting, of course!).

Actually, I can pretty much sum it up in one word - Jupiter.  The largest planet of the solar system has once again returned to the evening skies and we cannot be more excited!  Mars (technically) remains low in the southwestern sky after sunset, but let's face it...it's nothing to write home about.  Even on the flattest western horizon you'll have difficulty finding our little neighbor planet.  It's not very bright, it's a dull orangey color, and at only half the size of Earth it's not particularly big, even in a telescope.  On the other hand, Jupiter is the second brightest of the planets (behind only Venus, now dominating the early morning skies), at ten times bigger than Earth it shines like a brilliant white star and shows amazing amounts of detail in a telescope, and rises in the early evening to then spend the rest of the night crossing the sky.  You can bet we'll have a telescope or two trained on Jupiter throughout the star party.  Join us to see how many Jovian moons we can spot, whether the Great Red Spot is facing towards us, and how many dark cloud bands can be seen on the face of the mighty planet. 

Jupiter, largest planet of the solar system.  Courtesy NASA

We often spend time hopping around various deep sky objects as well...galaxies, globular clusters, open star clusters and nebulae are frequent sights in our eyepieces.  There's also a chance you might see something impressive without even needing a telescope.  The North Taurid meteor shower will peak in the wee hours of Monday November 12...but it's not unthinkable that we might see a few early shooting stars on Saturday November 10.  The Taurids occasionally produce some brilliant fireballs, so if we do see a meteor, it's likely to be a doozy. 

A Taurid Fireball from 2005 photographed in Japan.  Courtesy NASA.  Photograph by Hiroyuki Iida

In the planetarium we'll be featuring the night sky and lots of great music.  At 7:30pm, I'll take you on tour of the evening sky with Virginia Skies.  Once you've seen the stars in the planetarium, step outside and check out the real thing!  Bring the kids for our 8:30pm laser show: iPop.  It's a great mix of some of today's hottest pop stars...including some of those super-popular teens from the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.  Hoping for some music more to an adult's taste?  No problem - stick around until 10pm for the psychedelic sounds of Laser Doors...and keep the trip rolling on with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at 11:30pm.  It all kicks off at sunset with FREE observing of the night sky...shows are $6 person, or any two for $10.  Members always get their tickets half price.

Okay, in the interests of full disclosure...there's another reason why I'm so excited for the star party this month...it's happening on my birthday, which I share with two wonderful people...a dear friend of mine (Happy Birthday, John David!) and Martin Luther, architect of the Reformation.  I suppose I could nail my doctoral thesis to my church door...nah, it wouldn't make much sense...plus the doors are made of glass anyway...

Until next time...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

Keep Looking Up

Greetings all!

I know, I know, I'm a day late again.  Once again, the internets refused to let me in to my blog if I'm not at work.  I'm not sure what's broken, but I think I'm going to stop trying to fix it.

Things are still a little shaken up here at the museum as we work on recovering from the flood, but overall, we're trying to get everything settled down into something resembling a routine.  So I thought I'd go back to a routine here as well and just talk about what's visible in the sky right now.  Sometimes doing the "normal" things helps the most when things are decidedly not normal.

We're getting ready to make the transition into fall, with longer nights and cooler temperatures, thank goodness.  It's a pleasure to be outside in the evenings now...you might even find you need a light jacket if you plan to stay outside for any length of time.  What a wonderful thing!

It will still be a couple of months before the brilliant stars of winter begin to grace the evening skies, but until then you can enjoy the last hurrah of summer - The Summer Triangle.  Three bright stars form a brilliant triangle that sits high overhead just after sunset and descends towards the west as the evening passes on.  To the East, you'll find the familiar Great Square of Pegasus - four stars in an almost perfect square dominate the eastern sky and mark the location of the legendary winged horse.  Two simple bright shapes that are pretty tough to miss.

The Summer Triangle and its surrounds.  Courtesy the University of Illinois.  Note that the Milky Way passes directly through the center of the triangle.

Looking westward at sunset might allow you a final quick glimpse of the planets Mars and Saturn, both sinking rapidly towards the Sun.  By the end of the month, both planets will be lost to our view.  Mars will still be in the news regularly however, as Curiosity really gets rolling on its mission to explore the Red Planet.  Sadly, with Mars and Saturn so low, and both relatively dim, you might miss them if you have anything other than a totally clear flat western horizon...hard to come by on the east coast of the United States.

However, don't get too downcast just yet.  If you can stand an early morning wake up call, you can see a pair of beautifully brilliant planets in the early morning sky.  Head outside around 5am and look to the east to see Venus and Jupiter dominate the pre-dawn sky.  Jupiter stands high in the east (almost to the south) with Venus lower but still plenty high enough to be seen quite easily.  These two are the brightest of the planets visible to the unaided eye, and make a stunning pair.  Well worth the effort of rising before the Sun to enjoy them.

Venus, The Moon and Jupiter in the early morning sky.  Photograph by Alan Dyer.  The Moon is the brightest object in the field, with Venus slightly up and to the left.  Jupiter stands up towards the top of the image to the right of the Moon and Venus.

Ah.  Just talking about the beautiful skies of fall helps me feel a bit better.  There's plenty of work still to be done, but taking the time to enjoy the simple things in life really does renew your spirit.

See you in two weeks...and until then...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

The Planets Will Go On

Hey everyone!

So I am already excited for this Saturday's Star Party and Laser Light Night here at the Virginia Living Museum.  It's going to be awesome, for two reasons.  Number one is that we'll be enjoying a Titanic theme!  This Saturday, April 14, 2012, is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  We'll be adding a Titanic flair to the night with a special showing of "Night of the Titanic" at 6:30pm.  Then at 7:30pm, we'll have our regularly scheduled "Virginia Skies" but we'll examine the stars of the Northern Atlantic as well and compare them to what we see here in Virginia.  Finally, at 8:30pm, "Laser Magic" features the theme from James Cameron's "Titanic" - Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."  The punned out version of that title which heads up my post tells you the other reason I'm super excited about this Saturday.

Have you looked up in the early evening sky recently?  There are four - count 'em, FOUR! - planets visible to the unaided eye gracing the sky just after sunset.  It's incredible!  If the weather holds and things cooperate, you've got the chance to see all four of these planets through telescopes at the museum this weekend.  And it's free to boot!  How can you beat that?

Looking to the west in the early evening, you can still see Venus and Jupiter decorating the sky after sunset.  Venus is now substantially higher in the sky than Jupiter - the two have been moving apart steadily since their close encounter in March.  Jupiter is lower and fainter than Venus, so look carefully at the western horizon.  Venus will pop right out at you (it is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon, after all), but look down below Venus for the brilliant jewel of the solar system's largest planet, Jupiter.

Venus above and Jupiter below. Credit: Kevin Jung.

Turning your attention to the East will show you two more planets!  Mars is high in the south-southeast just after sunset, and is a distinctive orange color.  If you turn and compare colors between Mars and Venus, the decidedly orange tinge of Mars becomes very clear.  Mars' unique color comes from rust - the soil on Mars is rich in iron, and over time that iron has combined with oxygen to form rust.  The legendary windstorms of Mars have carried that rusty dust all over the planet, resulting the The Red Planet's characteristic hue.

Look low to the eastern horizon to see the fourth and final planet - golden-yellow Saturn.  If you can join us this Saturday, it will be well worth hanging around until Saturn climbs above our treetops so you can see it through a telescope.  It is quite possibly one of the most amazing things you will ever see!  Even at a distance of roughly a billion miles, the rings are quite distinctive, and with our larger scopes, you might even glimpse a few details in the cloud layers.

Saturn through a moderate-sized telescope.

We'll start setting up our telescopes around sunset (about 7:30-8pm these days) and will continue to observe until about 11:30pm or so.  Observing is free!  Planetarium programs begin at 6:30pm and are $6 for one, $10 for two (members are always half price!).  Make an evening of it and grab dinner in the Wild Side Cafe beginning at 6pm - they'll remain open until 10pm for food, snacks and drinks (both kid-friendly and adult).  It's going to be a "Titanic" night - so come join us!

See you then...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly