Microsoft has announced its Worldwide Telescope software will be released in the spring, and looks to compete with the Sky feature which is already found in Google Earth. The software will be available as a free download. By all accounts of those who have seen preview, the Microsoft product offers a profound visual and educational experience.
There is a demo available to watch here. I watched the video, and from what I have seen is that it looks pretty impressive. The rendering of images look to be much smoother than GE's version. One potential drawback I see with WWT is that it will only be made available to run on the Microsoft OS. No surprise there, but it would be nice if it were made to run on other OS platforms.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Morning Stargazing: March 5th.
If you happen to be an early riser, then you may want to take a peak towards the southeast, just before sunrise on the morning of March 5th. The moon will rise about 45 minutes before sunrise. Just to the left of the moon will be the planet Mercury. Mercury will be really close to the moon and it will be hard to see because of the morning glare of sunrise.
Rising just a few minutes later will be the bright "morning star", the planet Venus. If you see Venus (the really bright star), then Mercury will be in between, almost kissing the side of the moon.
It is amazing the amount of UFO reports that are attributed to Venus. But that is human nature I guess. I got fooled big time once, thinking I was looking at a real live UFO. It is almost embarrassing to talk about. Someday, when I get my nerve up, I will write about my "UFO" sighting.
Also, Jupiter will be hanging as a jewel to the upper right.
I am hopping for some clear skies at my location but it does not seem likely. We have had a very gray, cloudy winter, and we saw about an inch of snow last night. The prospects are slim here, but if you have a clear view to the southeast, go out and take a look.
Rising just a few minutes later will be the bright "morning star", the planet Venus. If you see Venus (the really bright star), then Mercury will be in between, almost kissing the side of the moon.
It is amazing the amount of UFO reports that are attributed to Venus. But that is human nature I guess. I got fooled big time once, thinking I was looking at a real live UFO. It is almost embarrassing to talk about. Someday, when I get my nerve up, I will write about my "UFO" sighting.
Also, Jupiter will be hanging as a jewel to the upper right.
I am hopping for some clear skies at my location but it does not seem likely. We have had a very gray, cloudy winter, and we saw about an inch of snow last night. The prospects are slim here, but if you have a clear view to the southeast, go out and take a look.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Stargazing weather
Stargazing and the weather go hand in hand. If you spend anytime outdoors, you are going to want to dress appropriately. Plus, you want to know if and when the clouds are going to roll in. If they do, then it may not even worth heading out.
If you live in the US, then finding information on what the sensible weather will be for stargazing is easy. Simply head over to the National Weather Service website and find your local office by clicking on their national map. You can obtain hourly information on temperature and dewpoints for any location. And, you can find wind and humidity forecasts for each hour. Most local office NWS websites also have what is known as an "Activity Planner" where you can enter the meteorological parameters that you are looking for, and the planner returns the information in an hourly format.
Another good site for observing information is the ClearDarkSky.com. Here are the current "Clear Sky Clock conditions for Charleston, West Virginia area:
The white boxes indicate poor observing conditions (cloudy skies) and the blue boxes indicate clear skies. The time are in local time. ClearDarkSky is the place to check if you want to a really quick forecast.
If you live in the US, then finding information on what the sensible weather will be for stargazing is easy. Simply head over to the National Weather Service website and find your local office by clicking on their national map. You can obtain hourly information on temperature and dewpoints for any location. And, you can find wind and humidity forecasts for each hour. Most local office NWS websites also have what is known as an "Activity Planner" where you can enter the meteorological parameters that you are looking for, and the planner returns the information in an hourly format.
Another good site for observing information is the ClearDarkSky.com. Here are the current "Clear Sky Clock conditions for Charleston, West Virginia area:
The white boxes indicate poor observing conditions (cloudy skies) and the blue boxes indicate clear skies. The time are in local time. ClearDarkSky is the place to check if you want to a really quick forecast.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Searching for Iridium Flares
Iridium flares are pretty easy to spot for anyone who is out looking at the night sky just after sunset or before sunrise.
There is a constellation of small communications satellites that are known as Iridium, each with three highly reflective antennae that face toward the earth. These antennae reflect sunlight earthward. The reflected light cuts a swath several tens of kilometers wide on the earth's surface. If you are in the right position at the right time, then flare or flash will appear in the sky for several seconds. Sometimes these flashes can be brighter than Venus.
The best times to look for Iridium flares are just after sunset, or before sunrise. The good news is that you do not have to spend hours searching in vain for these flashes. The Heavens-Above website calculates when the next flash will be visible for your location. The key is to enter the most accurate location you have to get the best prediction. I have found the information provided by the website to be quite accurate. I have gone out at the appointed time, peaked up at the sky at the location the site predicts, and viola! A flare!
There is also great information about satellite observing, planets, and the moon. What I like best about Heavens-Above is that the page is does not have unnecessary graphics, loads quickly, and easy to use.
There is a constellation of small communications satellites that are known as Iridium, each with three highly reflective antennae that face toward the earth. These antennae reflect sunlight earthward. The reflected light cuts a swath several tens of kilometers wide on the earth's surface. If you are in the right position at the right time, then flare or flash will appear in the sky for several seconds. Sometimes these flashes can be brighter than Venus.
The best times to look for Iridium flares are just after sunset, or before sunrise. The good news is that you do not have to spend hours searching in vain for these flashes. The Heavens-Above website calculates when the next flash will be visible for your location. The key is to enter the most accurate location you have to get the best prediction. I have found the information provided by the website to be quite accurate. I have gone out at the appointed time, peaked up at the sky at the location the site predicts, and viola! A flare!
There is also great information about satellite observing, planets, and the moon. What I like best about Heavens-Above is that the page is does not have unnecessary graphics, loads quickly, and easy to use.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Cloudy Days Stink
We have been socked in with clouds and fog where I live, and there has not been much too look at in the night sky for the past few nights. The lunar eclipse was a little bit of a let down. There were just to many clouds. The moon peaked out behind its shroud of clouds for a few minutes, but then another cloud bank rolled in and I gave up. I guess I will have to wait until 2010.I was hoping to get a look at Saturn tonight, but that is now looking to be unlikely. Tonight I am spending some time studying my star chart software. I am a pretty heavy Ubuntu user, and I particularly like to use Stellarium for cloudy nights. It is a great way to learn a little bit more about the night sky above. If you operating system of choice happens to be Windows or Mac, and you would like to check out the software then you are in luck, because there are versions available for those operating systems too. Ah, the beauty of open source software!
Friday, February 22, 2008
A meteor shower of sorts...
A group of observers in Canada may have seen some of the left-over debris from US 193 as it re-entered the atmosphere over western Canada. This was just a few minutes after a missile fired from the USS Lake Erie struck the satellite while it was passing over the Pacific Ocean. The observers were under the projected flight path of the satellite watching the lunar eclipse which was ongoing at the same time. Lunar eclipses and obliterated satellites re-entering the atmosphere make for an interesting night of sky watching, don't you think? A description of their report can be found here.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Meteor Showers for the Remainder of 2008
Here is a listing of meteor showers for the remainder of 2008. Looking for shooting stars is a favorite past time for me and my wife.
| Lyrids | April 21-22 | Nearly Full |
| Eta Aquarids | Morning of May 5 | New Moon |
| Perseids | Morning August 12 | Sets around 2 a.m. |
| Orionids | Morning of October 21 | Rises around 1 a.m. |
| Leonids | Morning of November 17 | Rises late evening |
| Geminids | December 13 | Full Moon |
US Navy Gets Killshot on US 193 Satellite
The Defense Department reported that they were successful in knocking out US 193 on the first attempt as it made a pass over the Pacific just off of the Hawaiian Islands. The US says they knocked out the satellite because it was out of control and contained a full tank of toxic fuel, and if were to make a re-entry there was the the possibility that it could spread lethal fumes over an area of about two football fields. About $80 million was spent on the project, which used a modified missile launched from the USS Lake Erie.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
West Virginia Total Lunar Eclipse
Looks like skies will be cloudy throughout most of West Virginia for tonight's lunar eclipse. The eclipse is expected to begin at around 8:45 PM Eastern Standard time. The moon will gradually diminish, so that by around 10 PM, it will not be visible. The moon will then re-emerge from the earth's shadow over the next hour or so.
A weather system was dropping snow shower across the state this evening. However, skies may clear enough over eastern portions of the state while the eclipse is occurring.
A weather system was dropping snow shower across the state this evening. However, skies may clear enough over eastern portions of the state while the eclipse is occurring.
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