✰.net

A brief discusion of telescope mounts: Alt-Azmuth, equatorial, and dobsonian. Also answering a question about moon phases sent to me by email.

Every wonder what Saturn looks like through a large amateur telescope? Well here it is, taken with a TouCam webcam, 3x barlow through a Celestron C9.25″. The shimmering in the image is due to atmospheric turbulence. To keep the planet centered at very high magnification, an equatorial mount was used with accurate polar alignment.

An alien planet that is only eight times the mass of Jupiter has been confirmed orbiting a sun-like star – over 300 times farther from the star than Earth is from the sun. View full post on SPACE.com

For Immediate Release

UFO Sightings Main Discussion Topic on Alien Hub

UFO sightings are a much discussed topic online, but

especially at the UFO enthusiast website known as Alien Hub.  Alien Hub

is an

online forum dedicated to those who are eager to share information

surrounding UFO sightings, alien abduction, and

conspiracy theories among other topics. The active forum is visited by

over

fifteen hundred members that actively post information regarding

paranormal

activity for discussion, education and debate. 

Paranormal events and other topics add to the

discussion on

this popular network of enthusiasts.  It seems that everyone has a

story to

share or advice to give on how to deal with these events.  But perhaps

the

times the Alien Hub sees a flurry of activity is following reports of

UFO

sightings in the States and other locations around the globe. 

Following these

incidents, whether high or low profile, membership increases

significantly and

discussion regarding the sightings is hard to keep up with. 

For those interested in researching UFO sightings or

other

paranormal events, the Alien Hub is a great resource because of all the

member

activity and involvement.  The forums contain a wealth of information

and links

to several sites where more information can be garnered for each topic.

The

members themselves are always willing to share their own personal

experiences

so first hand accounts for a story are readily available.  Links to

local and

popular news, as well as updates are provided within the website. 

For any additional information about UFO sightings

or the

Alien Hub community, visit

rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.alienhub.com” _fcksavedurl=”http://www.alienhub.com”>www.alienhub.com.

Administration can be contacted via the website.  Alien Hubs is a

public online

forum dedicated to UFO, conspiracy theorists and paranormal enthusiasts

where

discussions and online gatherings are held and fostered to promote the

understanding of alien life. 

Carpe Noctem – Seize the Night!

Happy Equinox Everyone!

Well the Show #29 seems to have been corrupted. Some folks are getting the
gerbil talk, some folks are getting puddles of static and a few are getting the
file just fine.

I guess we are all in mourning over Slacker Astronomy. Sigh.

So! Since I am in transit to the N.W.R.A.L. Youth Starparty I am sending you
all a quick note just to let you know that I will fix the podcast when I get
home!

But this is a great dark weekend and I don’t want you waiting for me!! So I
have a gift for you. Here is the
Scavenger Hunt I put together for the kids at the starparty!

Yes, most of them are Messier objects!
Yes, there is a lot of silliness!

Yes, we have to force pre-teens to get to know each other! (sigh)
Yes
there is some staying up late involved! (because that is when the sugar kicks
in!)
But since when do we all have to be so serious!!

If you haven’t visited the Celestial Wonders site
you should. That is where AAGG goes for our lunar images!. Here is a 4 day old
moon.

Planets

Evening Planets

• Mars – Mag +1.8 is at the western end of Virgo. Into the glare!
• Mercury – Mag -1.7 and only visible by the truly persistant near the equator
  and in the Southern Hemisphere. Mark your calendars for inferior conjunction and
  visible transit on Nov. 8th
• Jupiter – Mag -1.7 in Libra. Clearly visible high in the sky just after
  sunset. Any telescope can reveal its two widest cloud bands and four Galilean
  satellites. Listener Kevin recommended a piece of free software that I now have
  on all my computers Jupiter 2 (Thanks Kevin!).
• Uranus – Mag +5.7 in Aquarius Uranus is best seen in a dark moonless sky
  away from artificial lighting. It may be seen looking like a very faint star to
  the dark-adapted naked eye that shimmers in and out of visibility just over 1/2
  degree east of Lambda Aquarii. Find the tipped over letter Y of Aquarius, go 4
  thumbwidths southeast to find Lambda, and then look pinky nail east.
• Neptune – Mag +7.8 in Capricorn 1.5 degree north of the +4.3 magnitude star
  Iota Capricorni

Morning Planets

• Venus – Mag -3.8 from the high northern latitudes she is lost in the glare
  of the sun. We will see her again in late Nov (SH) or Dec (NH).
• Saturn – Mag +0.5 on the western edge of Leo! Naked eye in the morning
  before sunrise and climbing higher all the time.

Shall we be
sassy? Dwarf Planets..er…Minor Planets…er…Icy
Dwarfs….er…um…hmmmm

• Pluto Mag +13.9 in Serpens Cauda
• 1 Ceres +7.9 mag in Piscis Austeralis 18.5 degrees West of Formalhaut
• UB313 mag +19 in central Cetus

Comets

Comets for the
Month.

Check out the Sky Hound site.

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin"
-- Shakespeare

Email us at astronomyagogo@gmail.com or leave a note in our show notes at
www.astronomy.libsyn.com
Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol’ PayPal
hat

Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope is offering FREE web hosting on our
servers for you or your organization’s website. In order to promote the hobbies
of Astronomy, Astrophotography, Photography, Birding or generally any topic that
is of interest to our customer base, Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope is
offering Hosting Grants.

View full post on Astronomy a Go Go!

European researchers say they have discovered a batch of three “super-Earths” orbiting a nearby star, and two other solar systems with small planets as well. View full post on Tag: The Universe – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

US space shuttle Endeavour begins voyage to install the last two main pieces of the International Space Station. View full post on Tag: Space Exploration – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Scientists have a possible explanation for a weird monstrous-looking bright green gas cloud floating in intergalactic space. View full post on Tag: Astronomy – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Jupiter is a king planet in the solar system for many school children. It is the focus of attention for its huge size and it was earlier that that there is no other planet that could be bigger. Some people were of a view that Jupiter was a habitable planet but it is no longer considered today.

Jupiter is almost completely made up of hydrogen and no one can live on it. The 15% of remaining planet is made up of helium and other various gases. The strange sting about Jupiter is that water, phosphine and ammonia can condense on its surface. When it happens, it results in an extremely unstable climate. Water is present on Jupiter but no one is certain about its stability over there. In 1995, when space mission Galileo hovered over the clouds of Jupiter, it was observed that there was not much water present on the planet.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
The surface of Jupiter is brushed by strong winds and storms. These continue for longer durations. The storms are in fact a part of the planet’s atmosphere to such an extent that they have become an exterior feature. The storm which is most visible is the Great Red Spot. According to experts, the Great Red Spot is a formation of massive clouds; it has twisted arms going in every direction with a stable atmosphere beneath.

Wet air rises from the deep atmosphere to a thin section in the center of the Great Red Spot. The arms from here spin and reach out to the peak of the clouds. A gigantic sprinkler can be well imagined. This gives a reminder of a hurricane once back on Earth but the one on Jupiter is definitely a lot more massive.

Cloud layers of Jupiter
The first layer of clouds on Jupiter is made of frozen ammonia crystals. They resemble with cirrus clouds initially but they are really made of much smaller particles than the clouds on the Earth. There is a very thick fog above these clouds. It is believed that this layer is made of hydrocarbon droplets. Same wrapping can be seen around the moons of Saturn.

Below the layer of think ammonia clouds, another layer can be seen. Although it s not very certain what this really is, experts believe that this layer is made of hydrogen sulphide clouds. However, if not then there is an added padding of clouds filled with with water.

The scientists of Oxford University have studied these layers and have concluded that the outermost layer is completely made of liquid rock, molecular hydrogen and liquid metallic hydrogen. The reason is that the metallic hydrogen flourishes at a very high pressure.

Satellites of Jupiter
Jupiter consists of sixteen satellites in total. Each has a size of as big as 6 miles in diameter. Besides this, Jupiter also has smaller satellites.

Similarly, there are lo hosts active volcanoes which are full of sulfur and gases. The surface of lo is mainly made up of sulfur. Europa is the smallest satellite with the size of 1,945 miles and has a well icy surface. Ganymede is the largest satellite of Jupiter and has a size of 3,273 miles which is bigger than Mercury. Callisto has a size of 2,986 miles and it is a bit smaller as compared to Mercury. Callisto and Ganymede are formed of ice and rocky substances and are also are full of large craters.

It is expected that the next space mission to Jupiter will bring back more revealing discoveries.

Scientists find both vigorous star formation and active galactic nucleus radio activity in the same system and on similar scales. View full post on Astronomy.com – News