Astronomy

I don't understand orbital resonance either, a bit too complex maths for me I'm afraid. But I get the gist, and can see how this would create strains in the planets so affected, especially in the moon.

Lately the morning skies have been clear. Mars and Jupiter are close together and Mars has moved further east than Jupiter passing it by. It makes sense that Mars goes faster since it is closer to the Sun. Venus is also moving toward the east based on its position relative to the stars in Leo and I assume months later it will be visible in the evening. It is usually in the evening when I have noticed it in the past.

This is an interesting post from space.com: http://m.space.com/30832-kepler-tele...structure.html. It is very far away, would take 1,500 years at the speed of light to get there, and another 1,500 years to get back. But still interesting. When we get the larger space-based telescopes, the next generation after the now ageing Kepler, we should learn more, like this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanc...pace_Telescope. Parked at a Lagrange point between sun and earth these larger telescopes may provide much extra information on faraway exoplanets.

That star KIC 8462852 is interesting. Not only does it have a planet, but it may even have intelligent life. The Kardashev scale, mentioned in the article, to measure the level of civilization was also interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale

From Society for Popular Astronomy Newsletter 38, popastro.com:

I had no idea that meteor trails were created by comets, in this case Halley's Comet, on its route round the solar system. Same must apply to all meteor trails, not just those produced by Halley's. There is more about these in the popastro.com post.

Orionid meteors appear
The annual Orionid meteors (shooting stars), which are caused by dust from the tail of Halley's Comet, are upon us. These appear in good numbers between 20 and 23 October, and official rates are given as 20–25 an hour. But that's the number that could be seen under ideal conditions, which never apply in the UK, so actual rates are likely to be somewhat lower. In practice you might see one every ten minutes or so on average, if you are a good, dark location and can see all the sky with clear conditions. And that applies in the early morning hours, so be patient!
These meteors appear to come from the direction of Orion, which rises in the east at about 10 pm BST, so any meteors you see before that time won't be Orionids. Once the radiant (the source point) rises, numbers will increase throughout the early hours. This year, the first-quarter Moon sets at around midnight, or is low in the western part of the sky, so will not make a great difference to observations.
Orionid meteors are typically swift-moving, with long and persistent trains. While there is no particular direction where they will appear, it's best to avoid looking directly at or near Orion itself, as the meteors will appear foreshortened in that direction and won't be as easy to spot. The diagram on the right shows the position of the radiant and how it moves against the starry background during the shower appearance.
Get more information on the Orionids and how to observe them at the SPA Meteor Section site. If you want to contribute, please count the numbers of Orionid and other meteors that you see in an exact period, and send them to the Meteor Section director.

Meteors and comets
Does the appearance of these meteors mean that we might see Halley's Comet as well? Sadly, no. What happens is that the dust from the comet has spread all along the comet's orbit around the Solar System. Halley's Comet is now almost as far away from Earth as it can get, beyond the orbit of Neptune. It has also spread over a wider area than the comet's orbit itself, which is why we see these particles coming through our atmosphere even though Halley's Comet itself can't come very close to the Earth.

See also [URL="http://earthsky.org/earth/asteroid-showers-linked-to-mass-extinctions?"]

I didn't see any Orionid meteors, but I did notice how Venus is moving faster to the East than Jupiter and is even catching up with Mars.

The ongoing flyby-reconnaissance of the solar system is coming to an end, with New Horizons speeding on to the kuiper belt and the Cassini decade-long flyby of the moons of Saturn reaching its climax with a dive through the plumes of Enceladus.

It has been a remarkable recce.
See http://earthsky.org/space/new-horizo...mu69-maneuvers and
http://earthsky.org/space/does-encel...fe-7-key-facts

The more detailed surveys will have to be like that done on Mars. Still preliminary but most interesting.

I didn't know Cassini had been out there since 2004. It looks like the final mission will be to run and probably crash through Saturn's rings.

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essent...-or-false-dawn

The false dawn I see on some days (not often) at our location of 61 degrees north is not in the east at all it is in the north, and it is often above the clouds, as a general and vague lightness in the sky, several hours before dawn. I've always assumed it was the aurora borealis I can see, not zodiacal light, a bit like the last but one photo in the earthsky link above. It looks like the loom of the small town of Söderhamn. But I am still not sure what light it is I am seeing to our north!

Has anyone else experienced something similar?

It can't be the zodiacal light since that would have to be along the ecliptic. I'm lucky to see stars at all where I am although there have been clear nights.

Does the light change location throughout the year? Does it last all night?

It doesn't change location, I don't know if it lasts all night, would have to stay up to see it. I've never seen it in the evenings either..

If it doesn't change location then that suggests to me it is earth based.

New game: mention works of literature that include astronomical phenomena and other astronomical matters. I'll start

Northern Lights in Knausgaards's "Dancing in the Dark". (He's also relates how he taught young children basic cosmology.)

We are on the verge of entering a new era in space exploration.It is quite clear that it will be a long time before humans even go to Mars, never mind Pluto. Space travel will have to wait for the development of telescope development. We are already there with space-based telescopes such as Hubble and Kepler, as well as land-based arrays of telescopes combining their fields with each other. There are now other kinds of telescopes than visual: radio astronomy being the current development. There is now a list of telescope types. Recently, these telescopes were recently used to find unusual patterns. This post on the 19th October mentions one, observing strange phenomena at a distance of 1,500 light years:

This is an interesting post from space.com: http://m.space.com/30832-kepler-tele...structure.html. It is very far away, would take 1,500 years at the speed of light to get there, and another 1,500 years to get back. But still interesting. When we get the larger space-based telescopes, the next generation after the now ageing Kepler, we should learn more, like this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanc...pace_Telescope. Parked at a Lagrange point between sun and earth these larger telescopes may provide much extra information on faraway exoplanets.

I agree that telescopes are more important than human space travel outside the protection of the earth's magnetosphere. I see these telescopes as robots although more controlled than one pictures robots in the movies.