Category Archives: Space

meteor 9-3-13

Bright Meteor Seen Over Georgia/Tennessee 9/3/13 – Video

September 3, 2013 - Earth Observation, Space, video - no comments

(NASA) Early Wednesday morning, at 3:27:20 AM Eastern Time, a piece of an asteroid, about 2 feet in diameter and weighing over 100 pounds, entered Earth’s atmosphere above the Georgia/Tennessee…

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Panstarrs

Comet PANSTARRS Video as it passes Earth…Amazing.

September 2, 2013 - Astronomy, Space, video - no comments

Comet PANSTARRS, with Earth flying through space (stationary dot center+right), deep space stars background, and solar particles emanating from the left. This GIF was made from 72 NASA STEREO Behind…

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Cool LOW Flyby Video of Saturn Moon Lapetus

September 2, 2013 - Saturn, Space, video - 1 comment

Flying Down Lapetus Spine Animated GIF made from 14 frames shot by the Cassini spacecraft as it passed over Saturn’s moon Lapetus. Jason H. of Setisociety.org had to significantly modify/crop…

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Black Hole

Chandra sees giant black hole ejecting material.

September 1, 2013 - Astronomy, Space - 1 comment

(NASA) – Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have taken a major step in explaining why material around the giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy…

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IRAS 20324+4057

Awesome image of light year long vapor trail

August 30, 2013 - Astronomy, Space - no comments

(NASA) – Harsh winds from extremely bright stars are blasting ultraviolet radiation at this “wanna-be” star and sculpting the gas and dust into this light year long shape. The culprits are…

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New Nova Delphini 2013 Naked Eye Visible!

August 15, 2013 - Astronomy, Space - 1 comment

UPDATE 8/19/13 The NOVA appears to have peaked at about magnitude 4.2 and has decreased but seems stable. This plot from the AAVSO appears to show a decreasing trend indicating…

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August 5, 2013: Something big is about to happen on the sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun's vast magnetic field is about to flip. "It looks like we're no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal," says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. "This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system." Field Flip (splash) A new ScienceCast video anticipates the reversal of the sun's global magnetic field. Play it The sun's magnetic field changes polarity approximately every 11 years. It happens at the peak of each solar cycle as the sun's inner magnetic dynamo re-organizes itself. The coming reversal will mark the midpoint of Solar Cycle 24. Half of 'Solar Max' will be behind us, with half yet to come. Hoeksema is the director of Stanford's Wilcox Solar Observatory, one of the few observatories in the world that monitor the sun's polar magnetic fields. The poles are a herald of change. Just as Earth scientists watch our planet's polar regions for signs of climate change, solar physicists do the same thing for the sun. Magnetograms at Wilcox have been tracking the sun's polar magnetism since 1976, and they have recorded three grand reversals—with a fourth in the offing. Field Flip (WSO, 200px) Astronomers at the Wilcox Solar Observatory (WSO) monitor the sun's global magnetic field on a daily basis. WSO home page Solar physicist Phil Scherrer, also at Stanford, describes what happens: "The sun's polar magnetic fields weaken, go to zero, and then emerge again with the opposite polarity. This is a regular part of the solar cycle." A reversal of the sun's magnetic field is, literally, a big event. The domain of the sun's magnetic influence (also known as the "heliosphere") extends billions of kilometers beyond Pluto. Changes to the field's polarity ripple all the way out to the Voyager probes, on the doorstep of interstellar space. When solar physicists talk about solar field reversals, their conversation often centers on the "current sheet." The current sheet is a sprawling surface jutting outward from the sun's equator where the sun's slowly-rotating magnetic field induces an electrical current. The current itself is small, only one ten-billionth of an amp per square meter (0.0000000001 amps/m2), but there’s a lot of it: the amperage flows through a region 10,000 km thick and billions of kilometers wide. Electrically speaking, the entire heliosphere is organized around this enormous sheet. During field reversals, the current sheet becomes very wavy. Scherrer likens the undulations to the seams on a baseball. As Earth orbits the sun, we dip in and out of the current sheet. Transitions from one side to another can stir up stormy space weather around our planet. Field Flip (current sheet, 200px) An artist's concept of the heliospheric current sheet, which becomes more wavy when the sun's magnetic field flips. More Cosmic rays are also affected. These are high-energy particles accelerated to nearly light speed by supernova explosions and other violent events in the galaxy. Cosmic rays are a danger to astronauts and space probes, and some researchers say they might affect the cloudiness and climate of Earth. The current sheet acts as a barrier to cosmic rays, deflecting them as they attempt to penetrate the inner solar system. A wavy, crinkly sheet acts as a better shield against these energetic particles from deep space. As the field reversal approaches, data from Wilcox show that the sun's two hemispheres are out of synch. "The sun's north pole has already changed sign, while the south pole is racing to catch up," says Scherrer. "Soon, however, both poles will be reversed, and the second half of Solar Max will be underway."

Magnetic Poles of Sun about to flip, Solar Max Near

August 6, 2013 - Astronomy, Space - 1 comment

(NASA) According to recent measurements the magnetic field of the Sun is about to change indicating were very near the Solar Max. “It looks like we’re no more than 3…

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Voyager Spacecraft

NASA Voyager Spacecraft Close to Touching Face of God?

July 21, 2013 - Editorial, Space - 4 comments

In 1977 NASA and mankind sent two emissaries into the great expanse of the universe. As they travel do they get closer to God?   As each of them sat…

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