In the 1970s, Mariner 10 photographed less than half of Mercury’s surface. MESSENGER’s mission is to enter orbit around the planet, complete the detailed mapping of Mercury and return data about magnetic fields and particles in the planet’s vicinity. Continue reading
Just like last month, this will be another very eventful month when it comes to astronomical events. There will be a meteor shower, two eclipses and a conjunction. First of all, on the night of May 4 and 5 the Eta Aquarids meteor shower will peak. The Eta Aquarids is an above average shower, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. Continue reading
This month will be quite eventful and will have many interesting astronomical events. First of all, on April 14 we will witness the conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter. The Moon will appear to pass about two degrees of the giant planet Jupiter in the … Continue reading
This month will be the best time to see Mercury. Usually the planet is very hard to observe because it orbits very close to the sun and it can only be seen at dawn and dusk. However on the evening of February … Continue reading
On the night of January 3 and 4 the Quadrantids meteor shower will peak. It is an above average shower, with up to 40 meteors per hour at the peak. Some meteors can be visible from January 1 – 5. Unfortunately the near last quarter moon will hide many of the fainter meteors with its glare. Continue reading
The Hubble Telescope provides a humbling reminder of our cosmic insignificance, while the advanced satellite imagery of our own planet oddly scales back our own perceived discovery and settlement of lands. With that, the latest release of imagery from NASA provides one of the most detailed and stunning visuals of Earth – all of Earth – at night. Continue reading
On December 3 Jupiter was at Opposition. The giant planet was at its closest approach to Earth and its was fully illuminated by the Sun. Jupiter will still be very bright in the sky for the next few weeks. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. Continue reading
The month of November will be quite eventful when it comes to astronomical events, especially the second half of the month when we will be able to observe two eclipses, a meteor shower and a planetary conjunction. First of all, on November 13 there will be a total solar eclipse. Continue reading
Astronomers from the European Southern Observatory have discovered the nearest extrasolar planet to date, in the Alpha Centauri star system 4.3 light years away. The system is composed of three stars — two stars similar in size to our Sun orbiting close to each other and a third more distant faint red dwarf… Continue reading
By the end of this month on October 20 and 21 the Orionids meteor shower will peak. It is an average shower producing about 20 meteors per hour at the peak. This shower usually peaks on the 21st, but it is highly irregular. A good show could be experienced from October 20 to 24, and some meteors may be seen any time from October 17 to 25. Continue reading