Sean Goebel - Mauna Kea Heavens 2 | gif By FD

Morehouse’s Comet, photographed in stereograph in 1908 or shortly thereafter. It is not known whether this comet has a closed-loop orbit, but if it does it will not return to earth for millions of years.

NASA‘s Juno: spacecraft has successfully entered orbit around the gas giant Jupiter. 

After five years and 1.7 billion miles the probe accomplish a risky braking manoeuvre in order for it to be hooked by Jupiter’s gravity. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California received the confirmation signal which confirmed Juno had finally entered orbit on July 4. Juno will begin a two-year mission of discovery which will help scientists better understand one of the largest objects in our solar system.

Using Juno’s complex array of cameras and sensors the team hope to answer some long-awaited questions including whether Jupiter actually has a solid core or if it really is just a swirling ball of gas. Another focus will be the Great Red Spot - a massive storm several times the size of Earth that has been raging on the surface of Jupiter for what appears to be hundreds of years. Juno is the fastest spacecraft to ever enter orbit around a planet, travelling at an astonishing 130,000mph by the time it reached the gas giant.

The Usborne Book of the Future

Fading Females

As the daughter of our town’s E.S.D.A. Coordinator, I have always been intrigued by ham radio. My father (and elmer) has been a ham for about 40 years. He actually received his license when he was in high school!

After studying for three weeks, I went to take the ham test. I was very discouraged to see that I was the only girl in the room. However, I was treated like a queen by the group that was hosting the test. They seemed excited to have a female in their midst.

Upon receiving my Technician license, I eagerly awaited the Tuesday night ARES net (which my dad happens to be the Net Control of). Again, I was saddened to hear but a few female voices. Over time, I noticed that the female hams rarely checked in to the net. I wondered why these women who worked so hard to achieve their licenses would not want to take advantage of all that ham radio has to offer.

I hope that women are being encouraged to be active hams. Whether they join a club or simply make contacts, females are providing a fresh voice and perspective to the hobby. So, ladies, do not be shy! Proudly check in with your call sign. You have earned it!

Goodbye to M42 for this year.  But I’ll see you again in November.  Meanwhile I can look at this picture I took in January of this year.

www.astrotidbits.com

Thunder Snow!

Ground those antennas kids, winter’s got more than the white stuff today for us!

Image of Saturn taken by Cassini spacecraft in October 28, 2016.

Credit: NASA / JPL / Cassini

NASA‘s Juno: spacecraft has successfully entered orbit around the gas giant Jupiter. 

After five years and 1.7 billion miles the probe accomplish a risky braking manoeuvre in order for it to be hooked by Jupiter’s gravity. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California received the confirmation signal which confirmed Juno had finally entered orbit on July 4. Juno will begin a two-year mission of discovery which will help scientists better understand one of the largest objects in our solar system.

Using Juno’s complex array of cameras and sensors the team hope to answer some long-awaited questions including whether Jupiter actually has a solid core or if it really is just a swirling ball of gas. Another focus will be the Great Red Spot - a massive storm several times the size of Earth that has been raging on the surface of Jupiter for what appears to be hundreds of years. Juno is the fastest spacecraft to ever enter orbit around a planet, travelling at an astonishing 130,000mph by the time it reached the gas giant.

What’s Up for March 2017?

What’s Up for March? The moon hides red star Aldebaran and crescents dazzle after dusk.

On March 4 the first quarter moon passes between Earth and the star Aldebaran, temporarily blocking our view of the star. This is called an occultation. 

The occultation begins and concludes at different times, depending on where you are when you view it.

The event should be easy to see from most of the U.S., Mexico, most of Central America, the Western Caribbean and Bermuda. 

Observers along a narrow path from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Hartford, Connecticut, will see the moon “graze” the star. The star will disappear and reappear repeatedly as hills and valleys on the moon alternately obscure and reveal it.

As seen from Earth, both Mercury and Venus have phases like our moon. That’s because they circle the sun inside Earth’s orbit. 

Planets that orbit between Earth and the sun are known as inner or inferior planets.

Inferior planets can never be at “opposition,” which is when the planet and the sun are on opposite sides of Earth.

But inferior planets can be at “conjunction,” which is when a planet, the sun and Earth are all in a straight line. 

Conjunction can happen once when the planet is on the opposite side of the sun from Earth and again when it’s on the same side of the sun as Earth. 

When a planet is on the opposite side of the sun from Earth, we say it is at “superior conjunction.” As the planet moves out from behind the sun and gets closer to Earth, we see less and less of the lit side. We see phases, similar to our moon’s phases. 

Mercury is at superior conjunction on March 6. 

A few weeks later, the planet emerges from behind the sun and we can once again observe it. By the end of March we’ll see a last-quarter Mercury.

 On April 20 Mercury reaches “inferior conjunction.”

Brilliant Venus is also racing toward its own inferior conjunction on March 25. Watch its crescent get thinner and thinner as the planet’s size appears larger and larger, because it is getting closer to Earth.

Finally, look for Jupiter to rise in the East. It will be visible all month long from late evening until dawn.

You can catch up on solar system missions and all of our missions at www.nasa.gov

Watch the full “What’s Up for March 2017″ video here: 

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