Astronomy

[NikolaiI]

But I can redeem myself because I just found a doubly-related fact about astronomy. One of the maria is called Mare Humboldtianum, named after explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. . .

also known as "Q" from Star Trek.



At least, in that portrait.

[YesNo]

Yes, landing in water on earth is probably the easier way to land. I didn't realize there was anything liquid on those other planets to land on.

Regarding the names of the mare, or maria, or whatever they are called, on the moon, I don't even know where all the great lakes are on earth except for the one I live near.

[Dreamwoven]

But I can redeem myself because I just found a doubly-related fact about astronomy. One of the maria is called Mare Humboldtianum, named after explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. . .

also known as "Q" from Star Trek.



At least, in that portrait.

I've never read Kosmos, perhaps I aught to give it a go.

YesNo, I think Titan is one of the few planets that does have liquid lakes on the surface. They are quite big, too, not like to ponds or even the lakes in the Lake District. More like Lake Michigan, even bigger: Lakes of Titan.

[Dreamwoven]

Saturn's largest moon Titan is the only "planetary-like" object in our solar system that we know has surface seas. Not that they are very tempting to swim in let alone drink - methane seas means it is likely to be somewhat oily. The February 2015 issue Astronomy Now has a long article on this planet from which I quote a small part:

"Yet there is more to Titan than just lakes, which make up around ten percent of the surface. There are also dunes of ice crystals blown by the gentle winds that Huygens detected on the way down, as well as the presence of cryo-volcanoes. A balloon mission in contrast to TIME (an application for funding a floating probe that was not selected by NASA) would be able to circumnavigate the Titan from the air and take in all the different types of scenery, hovering over areas of interest, dropping down to take samples and perhaps even deploying landers or mini-rovers

Titan is actually quite good for this sort of thing, with its thick atmosphere and low gravity. A balloon could do a complete circuit of Titan in about two weeks.".

The article goes on to say that both TIME and this project remain "stuck in developmental hell". I guess that means they are having to rework and resubmit their proposals.

[YesNo]

The idea of a "cryo-volcano" bursts another conceptual box for me. On a very cold planet one can get action from the "volatile" elements that have volcano like effects. Here is another article on the difference between a "gas" and an "ice" planet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatiles

Last night was clear and Jupiter was very bright being on the same side of the sun as the earth. I probably will not be able to see the retrograde motion of Jupiter (movement toward the west through the sky relative to the stars, if I got that right) since it is hard to make out the stars around it because of the light pollution, but I'll see if I can follow it's path. When the planet is in opposition is when one should be able to see this.

[Dreamwoven]

A huge planet with many rings has been identified in another galaxy. This BBC item explains how it might look in our own skies: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31001936

[NikolaiI]

Has anyone heard of the Aragoscope? My friend posted a link to it on Facebook, http://www.gizmag.com/aragoscope-len...lescope/35761/ the author of the article says it could produce images much sharper than the Hubble.

[YesNo]

The Aragosphere sounds interesting being a large diffraction lens. I don't really know what one of these are, but it looks like are like 3d glasses which made it all the more confusing. Anyway it would be nice to get one of these telescopes working.

It is also amazing that astronomers can find such things as a ring planet as it passes over a star. How do they know that is what they are looking at?

I saw a news item about the recent asteroid that passed near Earth. It has a tiny moon circling it. http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/26/us/asteroid-flyby/

So far the skies have been too cloudy to see Jupiter. I would like to watch Jupiter appear to move westward through the sky by comparing it to stars in the background. Normally planets should go eastward. On February 6th, Jupiter should be in opposition to the Sun.

[YesNo]

There was a nice snow fall last night so finally the clouds are producing something interesting to look at. I finished the first chapter of Moche's "Astronomy" and I continue in my realization of little I knew about the sky since I started paying attention to it because of this thread.

It occurred to me two nights ago, that it makes sense that ancient people would be able to identify the planets. They are so bright. They are the first things after the Moon that stand out and then they move about unlike the stars which seem relatively stable in their rotations around the Earth. And they sort of follow the Sun's path. I didn't realize how obvious all of this was.

[NikolaiI]

That second paragraph really, really made me smile for some reason, YesNo. I'm still in the very beginning stages of the astronomy knowledge quest. But that's a good place to be, I wot. I am very much planning on getting back into it very soon - I have been meaning to, but I have just been into poetry and chess so much - but okay, I am going to tomorrow.

[Dreamwoven]

The Aragosphere sounds interesting being a large diffraction lens. I don't really know what one of these are, but it looks like are like 3d glasses which made it all the more confusing. Anyway it would be nice to get one of these telescopes working.

It is also amazing that astronomers can find such things as a ring planet as it passes over a star. How do they know that is what they are looking at?

I saw a news item about the recent asteroid that passed near Earth. It has a tiny moon circling it. http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/26/us/asteroid-flyby/

So far the skies have been too cloudy to see Jupiter. I would like to watch Jupiter appear to move westward through the sky by comparing it to stars in the background. Normally planets should go eastward. On February 6th, Jupiter should be in opposition to the Sun.

Germany is building a telescope to launch in 4 years time that will be available for public use. You can read about it in Popular Astronomy January-February 2015 pp. 19-20. Great to get kids interested in space, no doubt many schools will be using them, 24 hours a day, no problem with clouds. I expect there will be a long waiting list for individuals to use it, though.

Yes, it looks cute, there are other asteroids that have moons.

They measure the size by time lapse of its shadow passing over the sun. It is a big planet with an even vaster ring-system
We are getting more images of Pluto and its moon Charon as New Horizons hurtles closer to Pluto.

[YesNo]

I finished the second chapter of the Astronomy book I was reading. It was about the various telescopes and how they examine electromagnetic waves of different frequencies to get information. It occurred to me that our whole visibility on the universe, even to parts that are not visible to our eyes, is due to electromagnetic waves.

I sort of knew that but didn't realize it. Gravity and quantum fields are added in with the assumption that what works down here works up there as well.

[Dreamwoven]

Interesting. Perhaps a related issue is the infinity of the universe from the Big Bang. There is a fascinating discussion here: http://earthsky.org/space/what-if-th...475b-394044013. The discussion by readers following is also interesting.

[YesNo]

The comments were entertaining. And they go on and on.

On the 9th, I was able to see Jupiter. I understand it was in opposition on that day. It was very bright, as I suspect it should be since it is nearer to the Earth at that point. I wasn't able to notice that it moved westward. I couldn't get reference stars in the background to compare its position to.

[Dreamwoven]

I've seen Jupiter several times lately, it is quite distinct being very bright. It is in the east and a smaller planet is below it, probably Mars. I can't wait for the snow to go and spring to come to see it better with my binoculars.