Astronomy in the Year 2020 - Kickstarter Project

The world of Astronomy is hitting remarkable feet.  It is almost like

today we are living in a science fiction film taking place in the far

future.  Yet, the mind blowing achievements in Astronomy is actually

here.  Did you know that within this year we have discovered more planets

outside our solar system than all the discoveries made in previous years

combined?  This is including the year 2013.  The rate of planet discovery

has accelerated deeply and by 2020 it very possible that we will discover

a planet that is habitable and has an atmosphere.

        What is amazing is that astronomical ventures are becoming less and less

expensive.  Quite recently the only amazing adventures into outer space

were conducted by government entities (example:  NASA of the United

States).  Now, Elon Musk and Richard Branson are venturing into space

travel.  There are new ways for astronomy enthusiast to fund their

ventures.  If you go on Kickstarter you will find a large amount of

projects dedicated towards space exploration.  Nowadays, drone technology

is advancing at an accelerated rate.  Therefore, in 2020 the way we will

look at astronomy will be extraordinarily different compared to 2014.

Why?  The type of technology we have for astronomical ventures now

compared to 2010 is like comparing the iPhone 6 to a Nokia made in 2010.

Bio:  Paul Rothbein is a futurists and is creating a publication dedicated
to foreseeing the future.  Reporting tomorrow's news as if it has already
happened.  It is now on Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/195083833/perspective-a-reference-source-to-the-year-2020.
 His hobbies include horror films, travel, and technology.  He lives in
Los Angeles, California.

DARK SKY FESTIVAL 2013 – DARK SKY FESTIVAL 2013

On the first Saturday in February 2013, the general public is invited to attend the 10th Annual Dark Sky Festival at Harmony, an evening of celebration and education with a primary focus on the benefits of a night sky free from the effects of excessive artificial lighting. The purpose of the event is to expose people of all ages to the marvels of astronomy and the importance of protecting dark skies --- not just for astronomy purposes, but also for the values that darkness provides to area wildlife. Now in it’s tenth year, this family-friendly festival is FREE and open to all. Festivities begin at 5 p.m. and continue until 10 p.m.


“It has been a wonderful experience watching our festival grow year after year, ” said Greg Golgowski, Harmony’s full-time Conservation Director. “Our hope is to increase awareness of the affects of light pollution and offer simple solutions in a fun atmosphere.”

The event is held outdoors in low light conditions on the streets, sidewalks and park located in Harmony Town Square. Amateur astronomers from around the state set up their telescopes and invite guests to view the skies. The astronomers welcome any questions and are always more than willing to share their knowledge of the night skies.

The 2013 event will feature:

 Speakers from NASA, Seminole State College Planetarium, International Dark Sky Association, and more

 Two mobile planetariums with on-going presentations & NASA Exhibit Display

 Over 50 telescopes for public viewing of a wide variety of planets and galaxies

 A variety of kids activities including Mad Science, demos from a variety of high school robotics clubs, Kids Zone (including a Ferris Wheel, Caterpillar Ride, Gyroscope, and more)

In addition, there will be lots of music and food, numerous specialty booths, and presentations from scientists and other experts. Attendees may even bump into a character or two from Star Wars.

To find out more about the festival, visit www.DarkSkyFestival.com or call 407-891-8358.

ABOUT THE TOWN OF HARMONY, FLORIDA: Harmony is Central Florida's largest certified green community and is designed to provide an old-fashioned hometown lifestyle, while preserving its natural setting. Harmony sits amid 11,000 acres and is naturally inhabited by a wide array of wildlife, two natural 500-acre lakes, miles of trails and walkable schools (K-12). 70% of Harmony will remain as open space. Harmony Sales and Information Gallery is open seven days a week and tours are available daily. For more information, visit http://www.harmonyfl.com/.

Be Part of the Solution, Fight Light Pollution: DARK SKY FESTIVAL 2012

HARMONY, FL – Saturday, April 14, 2012 the Town of Harmony, the largest Green Certified Community in Central Florida, will be hosting their 9th Annual Dark Sky Festival in the Harmony Town Square from 6-11pm. Festival admission is free and open to the public. Last year’s attendance was estimated at around 5,000 people; with many more expected this year.

The purpose of the Dark Sky Festival is to expose the general public to the marvels of astronomy and the importance of protecting dark skies - not just for astronomy purposes, but also for the values that darkness provides to area wildlife. This festival will include Stargazing on “Telescope Hill,” NASA Exhibits and Speaker, Local Astronomers, Science Exhibits and Demonstrations, Starlab Mobile Planetarium, Live Music and Entertainment, Food/Drinks, Cosmic Kids Zone, “Glow Golf,” and much more! The event is family-friendly and enjoyable for all ages. Thank you to our main supporters; WUCF-TV, Central Florida’s PBS Channel; Starwalk Interactive Astronomy Guide; Osceola News Gazette; Seminole State College Planetarium; Clancy and Theys Construction; Waster Services INC. and the Education Foundation of Osceola County.

Harmony is located on US 192 in Osceola County, 30 minutes from Disney and Melbourne, and 20 minutes from Lake Nona Medical City. For more information on the event, please contact the Harmony Festival Director by visiting www.harmonyfestivals.com. To find out more about life in Harmony, visit www.harmonyfl.com.

Moon Flamingo Tee On Sale For $2

We are aware about the first landing of astronauts in Moon and other missions of Moon.

The guys at Headline Shits in San Francisco have come up with "Moon Flamingo Tee" for both men and women and are offering a one-day sale.

If you are an astronomy lover then don't miss the sale on Wednesday July 20th,2011 to garb your favorite Moon Flamingo Tee.







Details of the sale:


Date: Wednesday July 20th,2011

Tee on Sale: Moon Flamingo for $2 only.Link to find the sale http://www.headlineshirts.net/moon-flamingo-t-shirt.html

Sale Code: SPACEBOOTS (this needs to be entered on the check out page in order to get the discount)

Shipping is fast as the Tee is shipped in 24 hours from San Francisco, CA and has free returns and exchanges.

Grab the sale offer at $2 only :D

The Square Kilometre Array belongs in Africa

Africa is bidding to host the world's most powerful radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). When constructed, in 2025, it will have 50 times greater sensitivity than any other radio telescope on Earth. The SKA will probe the edges of our universe, even before the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang. This telescope will contribute to answering fundamental questions in astronomy, physics and cosmology, including the nature of dark energy and dark matter.






South Africa is leading the African bid and has already legislated to create 12.5 million hectares of protected area - or radio astronomy reserve. This area is also referred to as the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Area, offering low levels of radio frequency interference, very little light pollution, basic infrastructure of roads, electricity and communication.



The human story began in Africa and it can also be the place where we find answers to the story of our universe.


For more information check out http://skaafrica.com/.

Watch Geminid Meteor Shower On 13th and 14th December

If you are a sky gazer then you won't like to miss a chance to watch the beautiful Geminid meteor shower coming this week and if astronomers are to be believed its going to the "best meteor shower of the year".

The name Geminids comes from the name "Gemini" constellation.On 13th December and 14th December you can expect these showers late night if you are willing to brave the chill of December.



Observers can see more than 100 meteors per hour.The meteor shower will be more visible as the sky will be dark and moonless on December 14.

One more event astronomical event for this year will be the only Total lunar eclipse on December 20th which will be witnessed North America, Central America, a bit of South America, Greenland and Iceland.

Do let us know if you caught a glimpse of spectacular Geminid meteor shower!

Jupiter will be close to Earth this September

Jupiter will be close to Earth for this month of September and it will be especially close to Earth on 2oth September.



Jupiter will be closer to Earth again not before year 2022.I hope that viewers will be able to have a beautiful view of this awesome sight.

North Americans can view Jupiter in the east shortly after twilight.

A pic from Google Earth Image - Identify the object

Can any one identify the object in the pic given below?



The pic was sent my one of my reader who located the mentioned object in Google Earth.
Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks.

Picture of Flower shaped Nebula NGC 2237

The NASA 's Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WISE) has captured a beautiful pic of a flower shaped nebula (NGC 2237).



Nebula NGC 2237 cannot be viewed with our naked eyes but at the center of flower there is nebula NGC 2244 which is made up of cluster of young stars and it can be viewed with the help of a good telescope.

NGC 2237 is 4,500 to 5,000 light-years away from our galaxy.

Big Bang theory : An overview

Have you ever given a thought that how our Universe came into be? Our Universe was created in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded at a rapid state and then cooled and it is expanding even now today.The fact is interesting isn't it?

When our Universe came into existence there was NOTHING at all and Big Bang theory gives an explanation to this.




Big Bang theory has been developed by taking theoretical assumptions and observations together by George Lemaitre in 1927 by taking into consideration Albert Einstein's equations of general relativity and proposed and this model was being called "explosion" of a "primeval atom" which later came to be known as Big Bang theory.

In the year 1929 Hubble suggested that the Universe was expanding, contracting the infinite and is changing the "static universe" theory as proposed by Einstein. In "static universe" theory Einstein explained that our Universe is neither expanding nor it is contracting.

According to Big Bang theory after a long period of time the dense matter due to gravitational pull formed stars, galaxies, planets and other heavenly bodies which we find today.

Universe is in the form of dark energy today and near about 72% of the energy of Universe is in this form.

Misconceptions of Big Bang theory:

The most common misconception about Big Bang is that we assume that there was an explosion in the Universe but the experts say that there is an "expansion" and due to this "expansion" things in Universe are moving away from us.

There is no evidence of Big Bang theory as there is no explanation to the concept of what could have caused "Big Bang".

Big Bang theory gives no explanation to the existence of God. It is being believed that the Universe is a super natural creation by God. It gives no explanation to the fact whether God created Universe.

Perseids Annual Meteor shower being sighted

There was an excellent show of Perseids meteor shower on Thursday night along with thin crescent Moon with Venus, Mars and Saturn in the west-southwestern sky just after sunset.

Many observers have shared their sightings on Twitter.



The Perseids meteor shower is witnessed every year in the second week of August.

Perseids meteor shower was expected to be seen in India too but unforunately due to bad weather which included cloudy skies and showers only few Perseids meteor were seen by few star gazers between 12:30 hrs and 0200 hrs.

Were you able to see the yearly Perseids meteor shower? If yes, then please do share.

Watch Perseids Meteor shower along with thin crescent Moon this Thursday

If you happen to be a star gazer then be prepared to see the yearly meteor shower of Perseids and you can also see a young Moon along with Venus, Mars and Saturn in the west-southwestern sky just after sunset.

You can enjoy the best Perseids meteor shower on Thursday night till Friday dawn where if you are lucky and have clear sky you can watch 50 to 60 meteors per hour.

It will be a beauty to watch those meteor shower with thin crescent Moon.

Global Martian Map being developed by NASA for public display and research

Scientists with the help of camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft constructed a map using 21,000 images Thermal Emission Imaging System.



You can just log into jmars and have a look yourself. You can zoom around the images of Mars and it looks really great.The images will be used as a research work on Mars for coming years too.

On August 5, Mars, Venus and Saturn will form a triangle at Night Sky

Are you among those who love to watch night sky ? Coming the first week of August and you will find Venus, Mars and Saturn in a triangle in the night sky.

You can easily locate Venus as it is bright and the other two planets will be close to it forming a triangle on August 5 .However, Mars and Saturn are not as bright as Venus. On July 31, you will find Mars just below Saturn.

People have always dreaded these planetary alignments as they found it bringing mis-fortune but there is no scientific evidence of this fear.

Graph to help you locate the planets on night sky on August 5.

Star R136a1is massive than the Sun

A group of astronomers from University of Sheffield,UK,have discovered a star which is about 300 times more bigger than the Sun using a Very Large Telescope (VLT) .

The team of astronomers have found many stars which are seven times hotter, brighter and bigger than the Sun.




One of such star R136a1 which has been found in R136 cluster is the most massive star ever being found according to the research team and the most brightest one also. The star is more than a million year old and has lost lots of mass.The stars loose mass as they age. Scientists say that if R136a1 will be replaced By Sun then it can outshine Sun the same way Sun outshines the Moon.However it will make life IMPOSSIBLE on Earth as it releases high UV radiations.

Antares

Night sky fascinates me always and I think it fascinates to most of us. I often sit on my terrace during summer nights gazing at sky and the heavenly bodies up there.

Planet Antares is the red giant star and is said to be the 16^th brightest star in the sky at night in the constellation Scorpio.Antares has also being nick named as “the Heart of the Scorpion”. Ancient astronomers have nick named it as the “rival of the Mars” as it resembles the Red Planet in color.

Brief history of Antares:

A German astrologer Bayer of 17^th century said Antares as a Rebel and Tyrannus, Dutch scholar Grotius (1583-1645) said it means a Bat, in Arabic it means “Shone”, Rudolphine Tables says that Antares means “glowing redly”.

Some link Antares with an Arabic hero Antar or Antarah who was the bravest Arab warrior and a great poet of his time. He has written a poem "Ántara's Ode," where he talks about his lady love.

Star Antares, α scorpio according to the Arabic constellation means Al Kalb, the Heart, one of the fortunate stations.

The Chinese in their constellation have included sigma (σ) and tau (τ) on either side of Antares in which sigma (σ) is the most important.

For the Hindus it is α Antares , σ Antares and τ Antares for their nakshatra where the oldest is known as Ruddy which means from the color of Antares.

In ancient Egypt astronomy Antares represented the Goddess Selkit and the light coming from Antares played an important role in the ceremonies of the temple.

It is also seen as one of the 4 keys in the heavens Michael watcher of the East, Gabriel watcher of the South, Raphael Watcher of the North, Oriel (Antares) Watcher of the West.

Antares is referred to as fallen star and quarter guardian of the western gate in the religion of Stygheria.

Astrological influences of Antares on people are that it makes them tough and belligerent. It is of importance to those who work in military as it gives them courage to do daring tasks and help them to chart out strategies.Antares is associated with violent death of people in battle field or in law and is unfortunate for eyes.

Planet Antares said to be 700 times larger than Sun and is about 600 light years away from our planet Earth. The outer layer of Antares is very thin and a spaceship can easily pass through it. If you happen to get a view of Antares you will notice that the area round it has colorful clouds which are due to the fact that Antares is found in such a place where there are star forming clouds. NASA named Apollo 14 lunar module after Antares in 1971.

If you want to have a view of Antares then you May end is the right time as it is opposing the Sun and is visible for the whole night but you can’t see Antares during the end of November as it gets lost in the glare of the Sun.

Star Antares is found in the eastern sky in the early evening in the heart of the constellation Scorpion but you need a telescope to view it. You will find a red colored bright star beside the Moon.

Enjoy this amazing video on Antares Occultation :

Hubble finds a planet with a tail like a comet

Hubble Space telescope has discovered a planet which has a tail like a comet! HD 209458b planet is about 153 light years and was found in the year 2003.




Scientists have measured the gas coming out from the planet.

Scientists have used Hubble to find about the atmosphere of the planet as it crossed infront of its star.

Asteroid Lutetia could lead to discovery of a new world.

European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft Rosetta has captured has captured the so called first close-up images of Asteroid Lutetia on this Saturday ie, 10th July.

The image is spectacular and it shows that the asteroid Lutetia has suffered many impacts as it is 4.5 billion old and the images reveal that it is heavily cratered and it is 75 miles long.



Scientists are taking these pics of Asteroid as "discovery of a new world"!

Could Asteroid Lutetia lead to a "discovery of a new world" only time will say.

Enjoy the video of Asteroid Lutetia flyby :

Solar eclipse on 11th July

There is going to be a solar eclipse on 11th July where you can expect a light show in skies of the South Pacific, southern Argentina and Chile.

It will be a rare solar eclipse as Moon will be passing between the Sun and Earth.



The eclipse will began at at sunrise about 435 miles southeast of the South Pacific island of Tonga, with the Moon's shadow moving toward the northeast before ending at sunset in South America.It will be a great view to see this eclipse on water as most of eclipse will be found in open water.

Don't ever try to watch this eclipse with your naked eye as it is quite harmful.However for a direct view of the Sun, you can use approved solar filter.

If you are the lucky one to view the eclispe :) then please do share your experience or pics if any!

A partial lunar eclipse for viewers in North America on 26th June

North America last saw a lunar eclipse on February 2008 but on this 26th June they will get a view of lunar eclipse. People who are in continent's western half will have a better view of this partial lunar eclipse.

The partial phase ends at 6:00 a.m. PDT.

People across Pacific Ocean and in Australia can watch the entire eclipse.

You can watch this with your naked eyes however with binoculars and telescopes used at low power (20x) will help you to have a better view.

You can have a look at the lunar eclipse safely and it does no harm to your eyes. It is so because the light of Moon comes from Sun and the intensity of its radiation is also low.

I love to watch all the rare astronomical events , whether it is a solar eclipse, meteor shower or a comet.

It is estimated that the next lunar eclipse will be on December 21, 2010 and will be a total lunar eclipse and it will be visible for observers for North America.

I hope the North Americans will not miss the chance to watch this one...