‘Latest News’ Archives
Happy Astronomical Valentine’s Day
There is a term called Pareidolia which is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon, and hearing hidden messages on records played in reverse. The face on Mars is another [...]
Live TV from the International Space Station
Watch live streaming of astronauts on the ISS..... I'd like to think that this has the potential to be huge, and I doubt it will be quite like Big Brother! This is live streaming from the ISS through its high-speed communications antenna and NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It won't always be on, but when it is you [...]
Fireball reported over Ireland – but the video is fake…
Editor comment: After posting this article, including the video the following comment was posted on the Nightsky.ie facebook page. It would seem clear that the video at least is not the real deal as it has been on YouTube for over a year now with thecatchy title of "The Real ALIEN DEATH STAR over Iraq UFO or Meteor spiraling towards [...]
Your guide to finding Mars
January 2010 is a great time of year to find Mars in the night sky. Each evening it rises about 7.30 and it is easily identified with a very red glow in the sky. The main thing is where to look. Over the next few weeks it gets closer and closer and makes for easy viewing. January and Feburary are the best months to observe Mars for a [...]
Hubble IMAX 3D
The Hubble IMAX 3D release, in theatres from March 19. The trailer looks great, and it is to be narrated byLeonardo DiCaprio I've heard about the amazing work done by NASA astronauts to repair and upgrade this amazing telescope and it looks like this story might help tell that tale. Should be worth a look!
Betelgeuse in unprecedented detail
Betelgeuse is one of my favourite stars. Firstly it is easily identifiable as part of the Orion constellation and secondly did you know that it is actually the destination star for the original Planet of the Apes novel (in French by the way!). But on a more serious note it is a semiregular variable star located approximately 640 light-years from [...]
Happy 80th Birthday Buzz Aldrin!
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin went to West Point right out of high school and served in the Korean War flying 66 combat missions. He has a PhD in astronautics and is the inspiration behind the character "Buzz Lightyear" in the movie "Toy Story". He made history when he, along with Neil Armstrong, were the first human beings to ever step on the moon during [...]
Kepler discovers 5 new exoplanets
On March 6, 2009, the Kepler space telescope was launched from Cape Canaveral with a primary mission to find Earth sized planets in a habitable zone around stars similar to our own by continuously and simultaneously observes more than 150,000 stars. Kepler's instrument, has measured hundreds of possible planet signatures which are currently being [...]
Perihelion – Earth closest to the Sun
You may know that we don't have a circular orbit around the Sun. Its elliptical, that means at one point we are closest, and at another we are the furthest point away. So just about now, January 2/3 2010, the Earth will be at perihelion, the closest point on its elliptical orbit to the Sun. The Sun’s center will be 147,098,040 kilometers away [...]
Top 10 Images of 2009
Happy New Year, to remind you of just how amazing 2009 was I decided to post my favourite top 10 images. I'm overwhelmed with the number of new images generated by Astronomy each year. Here are my selection for 2009. It was a hard choice there was lots of choice! #1 Star Cluster R136 Bursts Out In the center of star-forming region 30 [...]
Saturn Moon Ballet
Nice video of Saturn and it's moons in a dance to the sound of the nutcracker. Very festive!....It is a combination of 61 images taken from Cassini.
Tips on setting up and using your new Galileoscope
Its a terrible thing to get a telescope as a present and not know what to look at or indeed how to use it. Since I know quite a few people who got a galileoscope as a present, I thought it might be a good idea to give a few tips and pointers. So here are some simple things you should know. Please note: The Galileoscope is NOT a solar [...]