Astronomy Days Recap The Raleigh Astronomy Club, in conjunction with the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and many other groups, put together another very successful weekend for Astronomy Days 2017 where the theme was “The Sun and The Stars”. Nearly 15,000 visitors attended the events. It’s always great to see our community so engaged in astronomy, space, and science. A big thank you to everyone who volunteered to make the event what it is! One of the most popular exhibits…
Several resources were mentioned in the the presentation “Astronomy with Binoculars”. Links and information about these resources follow. Reading Books Touring the Universe Through Binoculars by Phil Harrington (Print & Kindle) Binocular Highlights by Gary Seronik (Print & Kindle) Binocular Astronomy by Stephen Tonkin (Print & Kindle) Magazines – all available at newsstands Astronomy (USA) Quarterly binocular observing articles. astronomy.com Sky & Telescope (USA) Monthly binocular observing articles. skyandtelescope.com Sky At Night (UK) Monthly binocular observing articles. skyatnightmagazine.com Online Resources Blog…
In mid-November, the European Space Agency successfully landed a washing machine sized probe, named Philae, on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Philae, and its mothership probe Rosetta, began their long journey to the comet ten years ago atop an Ariane 5G rocket launched from French Guiana. Reaching this comet was not an easy task and took 3 flybys of Earth and one of Mars to use gravity assist to pick up the speed necessary to rendezvous with 67P. Rosetta has traveled 4 billion miles to reach the…
Since joining the Raleigh Astronomy Club in late 2006, I have grown increasingly more involved in Astronomy outreach. I find sharing my knowledge of Astronomy, the night skies and celestial observing to be quite rewarding as well as very enjoyable. While on vacation just a few weeks ago I came across a small plaque for sale at a gift shop, it said “A night under the stars calms the soul.” To a certain extent it is that sentiment that drives…
This is pretty interesting illustration by Randall Munroe of how much solid surface there is in our solar system. As best as I can guess the illustration includes the solid surface under liquid bodies. You can read more at http://io9.com/a-map-showing-all-the-solar-systems-solid-surfaces-stit-1598999931, a post by George Dvorsky.
After most of our astronomy club meetings, we head out as group to a local eating establishment to enjoy a late dinner or desert or even a few drinks. This is also a great opportunity to socialize with other amateur astronomers, compare notes and even share stories of new purchases/acquisitions. That is exactly what I did after a recent meeting, I showed off a new observing book I recently purchased, Objects in the Heavens, 5th edition by Peter Birren.
We often receive questions about viewing meteor showers, such as: Where is the best place to view a meteor shower? When they say the peak occurs at 1AM on the 12th does that mean staying up late on the 12th and viewing into the 13th or waking up early on the 12th? Why do meteor showers peak in the wee hours of the night? You can comfortably watch meteors from many places, assuming you have a dark sky: like your…
Your First Star Party By Ian Hewitt Have you recently acquired the observing habit? Or the even more addictive astro-imaging bug? If so, then you may be considering going to a Star Party. Star Parties are a great way to enjoy amateur astronomy and they offer things like networking with other amateurs, see presentations from professionals and advanced amateurs, observing sessions in remote places in safety (if not comfort), and just to have fun. However, many people are intimidated about…
(This article originally appeared in the second quarter 2007 STAR Newsletter and was written by Mark Gibson. -I) An Introduction to the Itty Bitty Telescope by Mark Gibson While attending the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) in Green Bank, WV, I was introduced to the Itty Bitty Telescope. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and the SARA are spearheading an effort to get school children involved in Radio Astronomy. The design of this telescope allows the user to find…
(This article originally appeared in the first quarter 2007STAR Newsletter. -I) There’s More to Re-sizing than Meets the Eye by Mike Etkin Those of you who process digital images know about resizing. If most of you are like me, your exposure to resizing is probably limited to reducing file sizes to something that would be easily transmitted over the Internet – something on the order of 80 to 100 kilobytes. My exposure increased considerably when I was getting some images…
>(This article originally appeared in the Q2 2003 STAR Newsletter and was written by Jerry Watson. -Ian) Astronomical Refraction- The Basics – by Jerry Watson At a Club meeting some time ago the subject of the computation of the time of sunset was discussed. We noted that when the visible Sun is just sitting on the horizon the ‘real’ Sun is already just below the horizon. The visible (apparent) Sun sets a few minutes later than the real Sun; likewise…
(This article originally appeared in the Q1 2002 STAR newsletter and was written by Jeff Polston. -Ian) The Moon Illusion by Jeff Polston I think just about everyone is familiar with seeing the moon or the sun near the horizon, seemingly looking larger than normal. The moon can really look kind of eerie. It hangs above the tree tops, usually an orange color. And it looks huge! (though I admit that the image you see here is one I artificially…
(This article originally appeared in the Q2 2000 STAR news letter. -Ian) Indulgence In Obscurity Part III – The Summer Planetaries by Eric Honeycutt Ever since last October, I have been waiting in earnest for the Summer Milky Way to present itself in an early enough hour to spend appreciable time hunting down the many wonderful and obscure objects that lie behind its structured and highly detailed, star-strewn belt. Now, of course this isn’t to rule out the many wonderful…
(This article appeared in the Q1 2000 STAR news letter. -Ian) An Indulgence In Obscurity – Part II. The Spring Sky by Eric Honeycutt Finally, Spring is here! After a winter that brought record snowfall and quite a few cold observing sessions, the Triangle is beginning to warm up. The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing and greening up, um…the pollen count is rising, the humidity and dew are getting heavier, and there has been…
(This article originally appeared in the Q4 1999 STAR newsletter. -Ian) Indulgence in Obscurity by Eric Honeycutt The following is a scenario that I would like to present and see if it sounds at least somewhat familiar to you: It is a Saturday evening in late January. Temperatures are hovering around freezing and Greg Fishel promises that skies are going to be “clear as a bell”, dew points and humidity are going to be extremely low, and water vapor imagery…
