LET PAS BE YOUR TICKET TO THE STARS!
Contact me: Events@pasaz.org
Welcome to the PHOENIX ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY BLOG.
Located in Phoenix, Arizona. We welcome everyone to enjoy the night sky with us!
This is YOUR link to what's happening with PAS: PASAZ.ORG. By joining this blog, you will receive info on Astronomy plus updates on PAS events.
If the text is missing from one of the posts, please drag your mouse across it to make it appear. Thanks.
Please help yourself to a copy of the September PAStimes Newsletter,
ready for download at this link: http://www.pasaz.org/index.php?pageid=newsletter
Enjoy!
Have a super Wednesday!
Terri, Event Coordinator
Posted by Terri at 11:52 AM
Space Weather News for Aug. 22, 2010
http://spaceweather.com
FIREBALL ON JUPITER: An amateur astronomer in Japan has video-recorded a fireball on Jupiter. This marks the third time in only 13 months that amateur astronomers have detected signs of something hitting the giant planet. Will the latest impact leave behind a visible cloud of debris? Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.
SPACE STATION and SPACE PLANE FLYBYS: This is a good week for satellite watchers in the USA and Canada. Both the International Space Station and the US Air Force X-37B space plane are making a series of favorable passes over North American towns and cities. The spacecraft are easy to find using our Simple Satellite Tracker--an app for iPhones and Android. Visit http://simpleflybys.com for downloads and more information.
Posted by Terri at 10:21 PM
A friend sent me these links, Enjoy!
He writes;
I came across this site today. Very nice wide field still and time-lapse photography.
http://vimeo.com/14173983
http://photography.evosia.com/
http://photography.evosia.com/2010/08/13/under-the-milky-way-in-joshua-tree-national-park/
Posted by Terri at 3:26 PM
Space Weather News for August 12, 2010
http://spaceweather.com
PERSEID METEOR SHOWER: The annual Perseid meteor shower is underway. Earth is passing through a wide stream of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, and each time a fleck of comet dust hits Earth's atmosphere--flash!--there is a meteor. Forecasters say the shower will peak on Thursday, August 12th, and Friday, August 13th. You can see Perseids flitting across the sky at any time between about 10 pm on Thursday evening and sunrise on Friday morning. Observers who get away from city lights can expect to count dozens of meteors per hour, especially during the dark hours before dawn.
Tune into http://spaceweather.com for full coverage of the shower, including a live meteor radar, a "fireball cam," updated meteor counts and pictures from around the world.
BONUS: If you go outside a little early on Thursday evening, around sunset, you'll see a beautiful gathering of planets in the sunset sky--Venus, Mars, Saturn and the crescent Moon. It's a nice way to start a meteor watch. Sky maps may be found at http://spaceweather.com.
LOOKING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION? Your cell phone can lead you right to it. Check out our field-tested satellite tracker for the iPhone and Android at http://simpleflybys.com.
Posted by Terri at 11:20 AM
Article sent to me by Matt.
Mankind must abandon earth or face extinction: Hawking
Mankind's only chance of long-term survival lies in colonising space, as humans drain Earth of resources and face a terrifying array of new threats, warned British scientist Stephen Hawking on Monday.
"The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet," the renowned astrophysicist told the website Big Think, a forum which airs ideas on many subjects from experts.
"Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain inward looking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space," he added.
He warned that the human race was likely to face an increased number of events that threaten its very existence, as the Cuban missile crisis did in 1962.
The Cold War showdown saw the United States and Soviet Union in a confrontation over Soviet missiles deployed in Cuba, near US shores, and brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
"We are entering an increasingly dangerous period of our history," said Hawking.
"Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill."
If we want to survive beyond the next century, "our future is in space," added the scientist.
"That is why I'm in favour of manned, or should I say 'personed', space flight."
His comments came after he warned in a recent television series that mankind should avoid contact with aliens at all costs, as the consequences could be devastating.
Posted by Terri at 11:12 AM
Please make a note that on Aug 21 and Aug 22 the PAS Website will be
down for scheduled maintenance. Do not send an email to Chris about this.
Instead, post it on your calendar so you know that you can not access the site
during those two days. Collect all info you need from the site
prior to the 21st of August. Thank you for your patience in this matter.
Posted by Terri at 2:46 PM
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/newsblog/100117994.html
Posted by Terri at 1:57 PM
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/observingblog/99304684.html
Posted by Terri at 1:54 PM
Space Weather News for July 28, 2010
http://spaceweather.com
SOLAR ACTIVITY PICKS UP: Earlier today, magnetic fields looping over the sun's southeastern limb became unstable and erupted. The blast produced a bright, towering prominence that attracted the attention of amateur astronomers around the world. Meanwhile, on the sun's northeastern limb, a big new sunspot is emerging and it is crackling with C-class solar flares. Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and movies.
METEOR SHOWER: The University of Western Ontario meteor radar is picking up strong returns from the Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower, which peaks on July 28th. Sky watchers (particularly in the southern hemisphere) should be alert for meteors between about 10 pm and dawn. "Visual rates could be as high as 20 per hour," notes Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, "although glare from the nearly full Moon will make many of the fainter meteors difficult to see."
SPACE WEATHER ALERTS: Did you miss the last big solar flare or geomagnetic storm? Don't let that happen again. Turn your cell phone into a full-featured space weather alert system: http://spaceweatherphone.com
Posted by Terri at 3:48 PM
Sky brightening over Kitt Peak
Research done
Received link from astronomy friend
http://arxiv.org/abs/1007.4597
Posted by Terri at 12:50 PM
