Sky Party by Association of Amatuer Astronomers

Posted in Astronomy on July 15th, 2010 by admin

Members of Association of Amateur Astronomers seen enjoying during the Sky party which was held on 12/07/2010 at Citizen English School, Nanjangud.

Duration : 0:2:1

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Carl Sagan on radio astronomy & the Drake Equation

Posted in Astronomy on June 26th, 2010 by admin

Radio Astronomy & the Drake Equation. How many technically advanced civilzations are possible in the Universe? The Drake Equation can tell us.

Duration : 0:9:49

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Microsoft’s Free Astronomy Software

Posted in Astronomy on May 27th, 2010 by admin

http://live.pirillo.com – Even if you’re not really “in to” Astronomy, you really have to check this out. The things you will see are just amazing. Go ahead… I dare you. Open your eyes, broaden your horizons. You never know what’s out there waiting.

Duration : 0:5:25

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NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 6/2010]

Posted in Astronomy on April 24th, 2010 by admin

NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 6/2010]


Please subscribe to:
• http://www.YouTube.com/ScienceMagazine
• http://www.YouTube.com/Best0fScience

► A Sun Halo Over Cambodia
Have you ever seen a halo around the Sun? This fairly common sight occurs when high thin clouds containing millions of tiny ice crystals cover much of the sky. Each ice crystal acts like a miniature lens. Because most of the crystals have a similar elongated hexagonal shape, light entering one crystal face and exiting through the opposing face refracts 22 degrees, which corresponds to … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100208.html

► Night Launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour
Sometimes, the space shuttle launches at night. Pictured above, the space shuttle Endeavour lifted off in yesterday’s early morning hours from Launch Pad 39A in Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA, bound for the International Space Station (ISS). A night launch, useful for reaching the space station easily during some times of the year, frequently creates … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100209.html

► M51 Hubble Remix
The 51st entry in Charles Messier’s famous catalog is perhaps the original spiral nebula – a large galaxy with a well defined spiral structure also cataloged as NGC 5194. Over 60,000 light-years across, M51’s spiral arms and dust lanes clearly sweep in front of its companion galaxy (top), NGC 5195. Image data from the Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys has been reprocessed to … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091226.html

► Teide Sky Trails
The snow capped Teide volcano is reflected in a pool of water in this nearly symmetric night sky view from the Canary Island Tenerife. Bright north star Polaris stands above the peak in an exposure that also captures the brilliant trail of a polar orbiting Iridium satellite. Of course, with the camera fixed to a tripod, the stars themselves produce concentric trails in long exposures, a reflection of the Earth’s rotation around its axis … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100212.html

► Star Cluster M34
This pretty, open cluster of stars, M34, is about the size of the Full Moon on the sky. Easy to appreciate in small Telescopes, it lies some 1,800 light-years away in the constellation Perseus. At that distance, M34 physically spans about 15 light-years. Formed at the same time from the same cloud of dust and gas, all the stars of M34 are about 200 million years young. But like any open star cluster … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100211.html

► A Force from Empty Space: The Casimir Effect
This tiny ball provides evidence that the universe will expand forever. Measuring slightly over one tenth of a millimeter, the ball moves toward a smooth plate in response to energy fluctuations in the vacuum of empty space. The attraction is known as the Casimir Effect, named for its discoverer, who, 50 years ago, was trying to understand why fluids like mayonnaise move so slowly … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061217.html

► Field of Rosette
What surrounds the florid Rosette nebula? To better picture this area of the sky, the famous flowery emission nebula on the far right has been captured recently in a deep and dramatic wide field image that features several other sky highlights. Designated NGC 2237, the center of the Rosette nebula is populated by the bright blue stars of open cluster NGC 2244, whose winds and energetic light are … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100214.html

► A Graceful Arc
The graceful arc of the Milky Way begins and ends at two mountain peaks in this solemn night sky panorama. The view was created from a 24 frame mosaic, with exposures tracking Earth and sky separately. In the final composition, northern California’s Mount Lassen was positioned at the left and Mount Shasta at the far right … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091225.html

► Sakurajima Volcano with Lightning
Why does a volcanic eruption sometimes create lightning? The Sakurajima volcano in southern Japan was caught erupting early last month. Magma bubbles so hot they glow shoot away as liquid rock bursts through the Earth’s surface from below. The above image is particularly notable, however, for the lightning bolts caught near the volcano’s summit. Why lightning occurs even in … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100210.html

► Waterway to Orbit
The 32nd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-130, left planet Earth on February 8. Its early morning launch to orbit from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A followed the long, graceful, eastward arc seen in this two minute time exposure … http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100213.html

• Text authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP);
• A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. University
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/
.

Duration : 0:2:57

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Astronomy for Amateurs

Posted in Astronomy on April 3rd, 2010 by admin

http://lgno.me/cJmip0 – http://lgno.me/aNiqPm – During our open mic session at the last Gnomedex, my good friend Derek Miller came up on stage to show off some backyard Astronomy that his Dad has done. Derek reminds us all that you don’t have to work at NASA to get amazing photographs of things found in our solar system. All you need is passion for what you’re looking at, and a telescope! http://twitter.com/penmachine – http://twitter.com/chrispirillo

Duration : 0:2:8

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Bad Astronomy: Black Hole Death Rays

Posted in Astronomy on March 27th, 2010 by admin

Reissued in HD. Alien Planets Beware! Black holes vent their rage. Recommend Phil Plait’s amazing book “Death from the Skies,” now available in paperback via Amazon.com.

Duration : 0:3:45

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Spitzer Space Telescope: The Musical

Posted in Telescopes on March 20th, 2010 by admin

A singing NASA supervisor uses song to explain about NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, and how infrared Astronomy differs from visible-light telescopes like Hubble. Starring Danny Tieger (“My Universe Revolves Around You”), Buffy Henshaw (“Behind the Scenes: When Galaxies Collide”), and Tom Phillips as Flunky #2.

To view more comedic (but educational!) NASA videos featuring Sean Astin, Felicia Day, Mark Hamill, Linda Hamilton, Dean Stockwell, George Takei, Ed Wasser, Betty White and more, visit:

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/videos/irrelevant

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope

Additional imagery sources include:
Hubble Space Telescope
Chandra X-ray Observatory
_________________________

LYRICS:

Spitzer was launched in 2003
The 4th of NASA’s Great Observatories
On an Earth-trailing orbit with its back to the sun
3 eyes to the sky with coolant for one.
Its 66 million miles away
Because the heat from the Earth would affect the display
Were talking sensitive instruments, keep it streaming on course
for its deep space heat-tracing gaze at the Universe

CHORUS
Infrared
Capturing the heat instead
There is light form the sky that we can’t see
In the darkest parts of the galaxy
With Spitzer’s spectrum
We can detect them
Easily

Spitzers greatest gift to the viewing community
s the ability to see through the dust clouds that literally
Block the view of other Telescopes
Unless that dust gets busted they stand no hope
Of seeing what we can, Were NASAs greatest addition
But you didnt hear it from me ’cause it aint a competition,
Yeah, were working together, combining forces for the mission
of a better sense of interstellar cosmic composition

CHORUS

Visible light Visible light
We can only see the stars if the stars shine bright
Infrared, (yeah) infrared
Depends on the energy in heat thats shed.

Spitzers pulling pictures like the paparazzi
Though the coolant ran out, so we cant use all three
Weve got notable photos, and even bros know it shows
The secrets of Universe are fully exposed
Like some extrasolar planets, does get you a going
‘Cause the heat from those planets has its own faint glowing
If there are half as many planets around the stars weve found
Its a million times more likely theyve got life spinning ’round
Am I blowing your mind? Are you listening to me?
Were the white coat crew that mapped our galaxy
So youre joining the team, thats hot in the head
Hooked on looking for the cooking bits of orange and red.

CHORUS

Duration : 0:4:55

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Astronomy in the Tetons

Posted in Astronomy on March 20th, 2010 by admin

Headed south and managed to find a great secluded spot for astro in the Tetons.

Friday 21th Aug 2009
After much thought of whether to head onto Butte or back to Great Falls, Falls won, simply as I new the lay of the land there. I knew there was a walmart which was the first stop to buy a portable hairdryer. Second was onto starbux where I rendered and uploaded another movie. Shortly after midday I started the trek down to Butte. When I got there I was disappointed to find the Sears I was heading to had no auto. Picked up fuel and food and headed on down to Idaho falls. Got there about 6pm and was surprised that their sears was still going. Got an oil change and tyre rotation (up to ca 10k miles). Then onto the pass of the tetons where I hoped to find a nice observing site. I got VERY luck and found a fantastic place. There are two passes between Idaho Falls and Jackson. The first and smaller one was the one I stopped on and was surprised to find a good quality dirt road leading out back (thats great as it got me off the main road, which turned out to have traffic on it throughout the night). Set the scope up and collimated. Jupiter looked good and the seeing, while showing some turbulence was pretty good. By midnight the milkyway formed a glowing arch over the velvety black celestial sphere. I set the camera up firstly on andromeda, then moved to M33, the triffid nebula and M51. After that I was getting tired and so set up the timelapse on Jupiter (taking a frame a second). The tracking was still slipping periodically and I had to somewhat babysit the tracking. The terrain was not good for the night wanders and hunters in that it was open and very still, such that it was impossible to approach without making noise in the dry grass. However one incident got me out of my chair quickly. Initially I heard a sound like something big breathing, but wasnt certain, then a few seconds later something like a large snort a hundred or so meters away. I scanned the surrounding eagerly and purposefully, ready at a second notice to head for the security of the car, but my flashlights revealed nothing and I heard nothing else. Then about 4ish there was a multitude of howling across the valley, the night hunters were at work, and moving around too, I could hear the canine vocalization moving around the tree covered hills opposite. There are wolves in the tetons, and I was alone on a hilltop. Orion rose brilliantly just before dawn, and as the seeing on Jupiter was now terrible I gave it a go, and for only the second time in my life, I captured the horsehead nebula! Also took a brief look at Mars and Venus, but one was rather small, and the other rather bright. By then the sky was lighting up with vibrant pastel colors and I packed up and headed down to the pass carpark where I looked for a place that would get some shade from the firey sun that would soon rise, and I went to sleep just before dawn.

Saturday 22th Aug 2009
Back to Idaho falls and spent day processing piccies of timelapse. Had taken a piccie per second with the webcam, and using registax 20-40 frames gave a very good result. However was it labor intensive. I couldnt figure out any way to automate it (well I could have done, but if its a one off, writing the automation would take longer than just doing in the labor intensive way. The result blew away previous results, but by the time I was finishing up it was dusk in Idaho falls. By chance there was a walmart out back of the starbux so I just went for a wander (I was tired after a day of CPU work) and to my surprise found something that would do the AV record for the plane only 80 bux too! I bought it (last one) but after an hour or so of messing with it in the car worked out that it wouldnt sync up with the feed. Plus it died with loss of signal (same as the HD aiptek). Headed back to the pass but it was seeing (a good thing too as I was not really in any state to do anything). Slept on pass I had done the astro on the night before.

Duration : 0:5:39

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NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 5/2010]

Posted in Astronomy on March 13th, 2010 by admin

NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 5/2010]


Please subscribe to:
• http://www.YouTube.com/ScienceMagazine
• http://www.YouTube.com/Best0fScience

► Stardust in Perseus
This cosmic expanse of dust, gas, and stars covers close to three degrees on the sky in the heroic constellation Perseus. Right of center in the gorgeous skyscape is the dusty blue reflection nebula NGC 1333, about 1,000 light-years away. At that estimated distance, the field of view is about 50 light-years across. Next to NGC 1333 is the reddish glow of shocked hydrogen gas created by energetic jets and winds from stars in the process of formation.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100204.html

► Shepherd Moon Prometheus from Cassini
Another moon of Saturn has been imaged in detail by the Cassini spacecraft. Visible in an unprocessed image from 36,000 kilometers away, Prometheus’ 100-km long surface was revealed to have an interesting system of bulges, ridges, and craters. Cassini’s next major targeted flyby is of the moon Rhea.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100201.html

► Hong Kong Sky
This remarkable scene combines multiple exposures recorded from a waterside perspective in Hong Kong, China. It follows a young crescent Moon, with brilliant planet Jupiter to its left, as they set together in the western sky. Their two luminous trails are faintly paralleled by trails of background stars.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100206.html

► The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens
Most galaxies have a single nucleus — does this galaxy have four? The strange answer leads astronomers to conclude that the nucleus of the surrounding galaxy is not even visible in this image. The central cloverleaf is rather light emitted from a background quasar. The gravitational field of the visible foreground galaxy breaks light from this distant quasar into four distinct images. The quasar must be properly aligned behind the center of a massive galaxy for a mirage like this to be evident. The general effect is known as gravitational lensing, and this specific case is known as the Einstein Cross.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

► Mars and a Colorful Lunar Fog Bow
Even from the top of a volcanic crater, this vista was unusual. For one reason, Mars (on the far upper left) was dazzlingly bright when this picture was taken, as it was nearing its brightest time of the entire year.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100202.html

► P/2010 A2: Unusual Asteroid Tail Implies Powerful Collision
First discovered on ground based LINEAR images, the object appeared unusual enough to investigate further with the Hubble Space Telescope. What Hubble saw indicates that P/2010 A2 is unlike any object ever seen before. At first glance, the object appears to have the tail of a comet. Close inspection, however, shows a 140-meter nucleus offset from the tail center, very unusual structure near the nucleus, and no discernable gas in the tail. Knowing that the object orbits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, a preliminary hypothesis that appears to explain all of the known clues is that P/2010 A2 is the debris left over from a recent collision between two small asteroids. If true, the collision likely occurred at over 15,000 kilometers per hour — five times the speed of a rifle bullet — and liberated energy in excess of a nuclear bomb.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100203.html

► Dust Storm on Mars
It’s spring for the northern hemisphere of Mars and spring on Mars usually means dust storms. So the dramatic brown swath of dust (top) marking the otherwise white north polar cap in this picture of the Red Planet is not really surprising.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100205.html

► The Colors of IC 1795
This colorful cosmic portrait features glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds in IC 1795, a star forming region in the northern constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula’s colors were created by adopting the Hubble false-color palette for mapping narrow emission from oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur atoms to blue, green and red colors, and further blending the data with images of the region recorded through broadband filters.
• http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091210.html

► The International Space Station Over the Horizon
The STS-129 crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) and returned to Earth. As the shuttle departed the space station, they took the above image. The ISS continues to be home for five astronauts of Expedition 21.
• http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091207.html
.

Duration : 0:3:29

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Hubble Space Telescope Directly Observes Exoplanet

Posted in Telescopes on March 6th, 2010 by admin

Hubblecast 22: Hubble Space Telescope Directly Observes Exoplanet Orbiting Fomalhaut.

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has discovered an extrasolar planet, for the first time using direct visible-light imaging. The strange world is far-flung from its parent star, is surrounded by a colossal belt of gas and dust, and may even have rings more impressive than Saturn’s.


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Credit:
- ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen)
- Visual design & Editing: Martin Kornmesser
- Animations: Martin Kornmesser & Luis Calçada
- Web Hosting: Leibniz-Rechenzentrum (LRZ)
- Web Technical Support: Lars Holm Nielsen & Raquel Yumi Shida
- Written by: Lee Pullen & Lars Lindberg Christensen
- Host: Dr. J
- Narration: Bob Fosbury
- Cinematography: Peter Rixner
- Music: movetwo
- Footage and photos: A. Fujii, Digitized Sky Survey 2, NASA, ESA, and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley). Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)
- Directed by: Lars Lindberg Christensen

Dr. J is a German astronomer at the ESO. His scientific interests are in cosmology, particularly on galaxy evolution and quasars. Dr. J’s real name is Joe Liske and he has a PhD in Astronomy.

Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre
Garching/Munich, Germany
• http://www.eso.org
• http://www.spacetelescope.org
• http://hubblesite.org
.

Duration : 0:5:2

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