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.

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/.

Great past of Ancient Chinese Astronomy

I was amazed to know that ancient Chinese invented the first planetarium and that too it was made by an emperor . The planetarium used to be a big enclosed place with stars and constellations on the inside. The person using the planetarium would sit in a chair that was hanging from the top of the enclosed dome. Here not to be mistaken we Ancient India and Astronomy too had a great past on ancient astronomy.

Ancient Chinese astrologers in year 2300 BC used to observe total solar eclipse to forecast the health and successes of the emperors and if they were unable to do the predictions correctly they used to be beheaded. They used to predict solar eclipse by analysing Moon's motion.
It is believed that astronomy used to be government's activity in ancient China. The astronomer used to track solar , lunar and other planetary motions and what these phenomenon meant to the ruling emperors.

Solar eclipses, infrequent and dramatic, were important enough to be recorded in chronicles and on "oracle" bones."Oracle" bones are pieces of animal bones and tortoise shells inscribed with astronomical observations, that were probably used for divinations.

Records of solar eclipses from the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) are found primarily in two official histories: the Han-shu and the Hou-han-shu. However there are no records of eclipses from the Ch-in dynasty which came just prior to the Han dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC).

Total solar eclipse were found in Ming Dynasty. Accurate eclipse can be used to determine the rate of Earth's rotation.

Ancient India and Astronomy

This post is about the astronomy in ancient India. We all are aware of the fact that ancient India has contributed a lot in the field of astronomy.
The earliest references to astronomy are found in the Rig Veda (a religious text), which are dated 2000 BC. By the year 500 AD astronomy emerged as an important part of study in our ancient India. During that period astronomy was used with astrology for casting of horoscope. Astronomy also developed as an independent subject and their was some independent findings like :

1.The calculation of occurrences of eclipses
2.Determination of Earth's circumference
3.Theorizing about the theory of gravitation
4.Determining that sun was a star and determination of number of planets under our solar system .

In the year 500 AD Aryabhat one of the known historical astronomers from ancient India presented a mathematical system that took the Earth to spin on its axis and considered the motions of the planets with respect to the sun .His book, the Aryabhat, presented astronomical and mathematical theories in which the Earth was taken to be spinning on its axis and the periods of the planets were given with respect to the sun.

Jantar Mantar in Jaipur not only follows the movements of the sun and the moon to help determine auspicious dates for events, it also helps map out the position of the stars in the sky. Although no telescopic instruments were available at the time, the precise observation of the stars was greatly facilitated by observatories such as Jantar Mantar.



How can we forget that On April 19, 1975, India sent into orbit its first satellite Aryabhatta. In 1984, Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to go to outer space. Kalpana Chawla, later a US citizen, became the first woman of Indian origin to go to space.

Astronomy and Valentine's Day

Astronomy and Valentine's Day ..............??? Valentine's Day is associated with flowers and chocolates ....... but if you love someone who is interested in astronomy then here are few pics to win his/her heart.

This love from Mars is a heart shaped pit formed by collapse within a straight walled trough known as graben. The pic is send by Mars Orbiter Camera ( MOC).

Chandra image is of young star cluster NGC 346 which highlights a heart- shaped cloud of a 8 million-degree celsius gas in the central region.

Asteroid Eros mythical name is fitting of the holiday. It was imaged by Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Spacecraft.

Envisat picks out a heart from the arid landscape of Africa's Sahara. This is a multi-temporal Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) image of the central coast of Mauritania in West Africa .

We are celebrating Valentine' day on our Earth today but we should not forget that love is found every where . Our Universe is after all such a loving place.

Have an Astronomical Valentine's Day !!!

Astronomy Software

A lot of people like Astronomy. Some are serious scientists who study it for a living, or who even teach it. Others are merely hobbyists who enjoy it. Hobbyists have even made many amazing discoveries. For the longest time telescopes or at least binocular were the tools of choice. Today however, computers make it possible to practice astronomy without them thanks to astronomy software. The list of programs is almost endless.One of the most well known programs is SETI@Home. the point of this software was to use all the idle time on peoples home computers. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence was set to search space for radio signals that indicated intelligent design. Scientists used supercomputers to go through all the data collected. Today, however, it's up to people's computers at home and at the office. People at home won't be having discussions with aliens when they're found. But people can take pride in being involved in the search for intelligence outside our home planet.A simple type of astronomy software is the 3D screen saver. These bring space objects to life when you're not using your computer. This can include simple views as well as navigable planets, solar systems or other objects that the user can explore from any angle and distance. Try a handy search engine to find one of these programs.Not many people know what F.I.T.S is. It's NASA's flexible image transport system that delivers data including 2-D and 3-D imaging. It's used in a lot of software. These include freeware and software for sale. Google can help you find more. Try Duke University's website.Amateur astronomers can even find help with imperfect telescopes. The software displays images that help the hobbyist adjust the telescope.

Galileo Astronomy

Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy in the late 1500's. He first became a math teacher even though he had no degree in the subject, and here he began his path to greatness. A baby step towards Galileo Galilei astronomy was when he demonstrated to students that different weight objects fell at the same speed, counter to Aristotle's teachings. He wasn't invited back to teach, and so moved to a position at the University of Padua. It was there that his ideas about astronomy truly began.In Padua, Galileo invented the compass and began studying physics. He expanded his work on falling bodies, writing formula to describe them as well as the parabolic path of projectiles. These two ideas were key to astronomy as it progressed. However except for an allegiance to the work of Copernicus over Ptolemy and Aristotle, Galileo claimed to be disinterested in astronomy. It was Copernicus who first described a solar system in which planets orbit the sun. Aristotle and Ptolemy held that the solar system was centered around the Earth, and even the sun rotated around our home. As time went by Copernicus, and Galileo, were proven correct.Galileo was the first to look at the night sky through a spyglass, thus using the first telescope. With a magnification of 20, this telescope helped Galileo discover mountains and craters on the moon. He also learned that the milky way was made up of individual stars. Next he found the four largest moons of Jupiter. He published his findings and became the court mathematician in Florence. Now he could devote full time to his studies. It took him only 9 months to discover Saturn's phases. This was another nail in the coffin for Ptolemy's and Aristotle's ideas about the solar system.Galileo's original dispute was with Aristotle's teachings. Many scientists agreed with Galileo, and so published his findings. But Aristotle was popular with the church because an Earth centered solar system put man's home, and thus man, at the center of things. A Florence priest denounced Galileo Galilei astronomy in 1614. Galileo's response was a letter stating that science was above the bible. A cardinal demanded Galileo stop talking about a moving Earth. Galileo complied, continuing his study of falling objects, comets, and methods to determine longitude at sea based on the phases of Jupiter's moons.

Astronomy Picture of the day

Astronomy is a study of outer space. It can be a serious science, but also a fun hobby. So people tend to flock to an astronomy picture of the day. There are so many things to see, that browsing such images will never become boring.NASA is a great source to find and astronomy picture of the day. There's a new image there every day. The multimedia section shows both images and videos. These could be great sources for a person to create their own site that offers a new image each day. Saturn's moon Enceladus was featured on November 5, 2008. It was taken by the Cassini space craft as it passed about 1,700 kilometers from the surface. The image is so detailed that features about the size of a bus are viewable. The ice on this moon reflects nearly 100% of all the light that hits it. Talk about snow blind. The moon is so interesting that Cassini will continue to fly by for more images later in its mission.NASA maintains an archive of all the astronomy photos of the day dating all the way back to June 16 of 1995. That image was of Earth as if it had the density of a neutron star. This photo was created by the computer. It shows Orion visible twice. Even light from behind a neutron star is visible because the dense star bends the light all the way around it. This causes some double vision.NASA's COBY satellite took a very interesting image of the center of the Milky Way galaxy on September 8, 1995. Due to space dust this would normally not be visible to the naked eye or to a telescope. But COBE's infrared imaging captured this amazing image.January 1 in 2000 and 2001 had the very same astronomy picture of the day. It's due to the fact that many people think of the year 2000 as the first day of the third millennium. In reality January 1, 2001 was the beginning of millennium #3. NASA figured it was better to just go with both. the picture now online at http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010101.html is an indication of the universe as it is progressed in the mind of man.

Magazines on astronomy

Astronomy is a serious science and a popular hobby all over the world. There's a lot of new information popping up every day. A lot of this information from the image is to how to use a telescope can be found in an astronomy magazine. It's even better now that so much of this is also on the web.Astronomy Now is one of Britain's top astronomy magazines. It's a magazine for everyone that's been in publication since the late 1980s. The magazine regularly includes features on everything to do with the science, and focus articles that go further in depth into a particular subject or aspect of Astronomy. Standard in every issue are star charts, book reviews and reader images. Not only does the website include much of the same information, but the star charts there are in an even more useful format. the clock can be turned to different months, times of months and various magnifications. These charts are very useful.Sky and Telescope is another excellent astronomy magazine. The magazine claims to be like a top astronomers standing with you. Imagine gazing up at the stars while Carl Sagan, rest his soul, stood ready to deliver important tips and information. Of course the magazine not only focuses on this important information, but includes stunning imagery of outer space objects and phenomenon. For example Sky and Telescope showed an image of a planet orbiting another star in November of 2008. This marks the first time a planet has been seen orbiting another star in visible light imagery.One of the first websites people find when searching for astronomy magazines is the website for Astronomy. This one has a wealth of information online. The website for example carries images of the first ever solar system seen in visible light. There is also a podcast audio tour of the constellation Cassiopeia. The magazine is also well-known for its guides that include tips and tricks for kids who want to start with astronomy

An Indian in space in 2013.

India and Russia will launch a joint manned mission to space in 2013. After Rakesh Sharma an ISRO staff will be the second Indian to fly into space.
Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams were other two astronauts of Indian origin to go to space. Sunita Williams returned safely from space while Kalpana Chawla's space shuttle Columbia crashed killing her and her crew members.

Moon having iron minerals ?

Chandrayaan -I 's succeess continues as a Nasa payload on board has revealed some aspect's of moon's surface through Moon Mineralogy Mapper that was inaugurated on 22nd November 2008. Nasa says the details beamed by the M3 throws light on changes in the rock and mineral composition of the moon and also abundance of iron-bearing minerals such as pyroxene. M3 was the the first instrument to provide highly uniform imaging of the lunar surface and it also provides us with compositional information across the moon.

Astronomy Pictures

Astronomy is the study of space objects such as planets, galaxies and stars. Some people do it for a living, others just to pass the time. That's why when a web site or magazine offers an astronomy picture of the day it's likely to attract a great deal of attention. There are plenty of such pictures to choose from, and plenty of interesting objects out there to keep people looking.The first place to look for and astronomy picture of the day is NASA's website. This site NASA.gov shows a new image each and every day. It also has a multimedia center with video and images. These could be great sources for a person to create their own site that offers a new image each day. On November 5, 2008, NASA's picture of the day was a close view of Saturn's moon, Enceladus. It was taken by the Cassini space craft as it passed about 1,700 kilometers from the surface. It gets down to details the size of the bus. One interesting feature of the ice on Enceladus is that it reflects 99% of the light that falls onto it. Talk about bright. The moon is so interesting that Cassini will continue to fly by for more images later in its mission.NASA maintains an archive of all the astronomy photos of the day dating all the way back to June 16 of 1995. It was a representation of the earth as if it were as dense as a neutron star. This photo was created by the computer. It shows Orion visible twice. That's because a neutron star is dense enough to bend light from behind it to the front of it. This distortion causes double images of some objects.September 8, 1995 brought a very interesting image of the central part of our own Milky Way galaxy from the NASA COBE Satellite. This image would normally not be visible because the dust in the galaxy obscures it in the visible spectrum. But COBE scans in infrared, so produced the amazing image of our very symmetrical galaxy.The astronomy picture of the day was the same on January 1, 2000 and January 1, 2001. That's because most people believe the year 2000 was the first year of the new millennium. However the third millennium actually began on January 1, 2001.

Astronomy fun facts

For many people astronomy is an interesting science filled with many astronomy fun facts. Everything from the size and temperature of our own star, the Sun, to the makeup of distant planets is recorded. People can get a lot of enjoyment from all of this data.There are many astronomy fun facts about this sun. Our own star that supplies our heat and light is between 91 and 94.5 million miles from Earth. Our orbit is elliptical. The distance between us grows larger and smaller throughout the year.The sun is only average size for a star, yet it's size is another terrific source of astronomy fun facts. It's contains 98% of all the stuff in the solar system, even though it's not large for a star. Everything else, counting the earth and all the planets, is a tiny 2%. It would take about 100 Earths to make it across this average sun. The solar wind produced by the sun extends to about 50 times the distance from the Earth to the sun from the sun. In other words those solar winds go out about 50 AU's, with an AU being the distance from the Earth to the sun.

What about astronomy fun facts that don't have to do with the sun? How about the moon? In the entire universe man has only walked upon the earth and the moon. And one human man actually traveled to the moon but never left it.
There are more astronomy fun facts about the moon. It's the site of what may become the oldest footprint. Neil Armstrong's “giant leap for mankind” left a print in the moon dust that will like still be there in 10 million years. The astronauts who walked on the moon wore suits that weighed 180 pounds on earth but a mere 30 pounds on the lunar surface.
Astronomy fun facts aren't limited to our close neighbors. Stars bring the past to life. It can take millions of years for light from some stars to reach us. It could be that some of those stars blinked out long ago. The number of stars in the sky is expressed by a one with 22 zeros following it.

Astronomy magazine

Astronomy is a serious professional business and enjoyed by people who are enthusiastic to know about it.. There are millions of information about astronomy every month which are published in their magazines .

In the UK many people read Astronomy Now. It's been around for 20 years and caters to both hobbyists and the professionals. In addition to standard articles there are focus features that give the whole scoop on certain aspects of astronomy. Reader images, star charts and book reviews are standard in every issue of this magazine. Not only does the website include much of the same information, but the star charts there are in an even more useful format. The sky can be shown for any month, period of the month (early or late,) time and at various magnifications. It's a real help to anyone with a telescope.

Sky and Telescope is an important magazine on astronomy. The magazine includes stunning images of outer space objects and phenomenon. One exciting piece of imagery Sky and Telescope delivered in November of 2008 was images of a planet orbiting another star.

One of the first websites people find when searching for astronomy magazines is the website for Astronomy. The website for example carries images of the first ever solar system seen in visible light. Also posted is an audio tour, in the form of a podcast, of the constellation Cassiopeia. The magazine is also well-known for its guides that include tips and tricks for kids who want to start with astronomy. Both the print magazine and website are of top quality.

You can also get information about astronomy for free from internet.