Monthly Stargazing Calendar for December 2011
On December 10 we will witness a total lunar eclipse. The best viewing location will be in the Asia-Pacific region, but the eclipse will still be visible throughout most of Europe, eastern Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, and North America. Unfortunately the eclipse will not be visible in South America.
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for October 2011
This month we were expecting to see a close approach of the comet Elenin. Unfortunately, the comet has recently lost in brightness and it seems that it is breaking up. Even these news haven't stopped all that doomsday nonsense in the blogosphere about this comet crashing into the Earth…
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for September 2011
This month you can witness a supernova with just binoculars or a small telescope. The supernova is called SN 2011fe and has been discovered by astronomers on August 24 within hours of its explosion. It is located within the Messier 101 galaxy 23 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major.
How NASA’s Juno Mission to Jupiter Works [Infographic]
Recently, on August 5, 2011, NASA launched a new space probe, called Juno, headed towards Jupiter. When it reaches its destination the spacecraft will be placed in a polar orbit in order to study the planet's composition, gravity field, magnetic field, polar magnetosphere, and the deep winds of its atmosphere.
Antimatter Discovered Around Earth
A ring of antimatter, more specifically antiprotons, has been recently discovered around the Earth. Since antiprotons are charged sub-atomic particles, they are confined by the planet's magnetic field lines.
How Planets in Alien Star Systems Stack Up [Infographic]
The following infographic is a comparison of three alien star systems with our own solar system. It shows the distance at which all the known planets orbit around their stars. As of August 10, 2011, 573 extra-solar planets have been identified, but so far the three systems illustrated below are the record holders for having the most planets.
Planets Viewed From Earth as if They Were at the Distance of the Moon [Video]
This amazing video shows how the planets of the solar system would look if viewed from Earth as if they were orbiting around our planet at the distance of the Moon. Jupiter would nearly completely fill the sky. This video is of course not implying that something like this could happen. It merely compares the sizes of the planets and our moon in a quite original way. It also makes us realize how small the Earth really is compared to the gas giants. When a duplicate Earth is shown in the sky, it’s actually how large our Earth really looks from the Moon. That’s what the Apollo astronauts witnessed during…
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for August 2011
This month on the 12 and 13 the Perseids Meteor Shower will peak. It is one of the best meteor showers to observe because it can produce up to 60 meteors per hour at the peak. You may also be able to see some meteors any time from July 23 to August 22.
Earth’s First Trojan Asteroid discovered by NASA’s WISE
NASA's WISE mission discovered asteroid 2010 TK7, an Earth Trojan, in a stable orbit around a Lagrangian point, possibly a future space destination.
How NASA’s Dawn Asteroid Mission Works [Infographic]
Explore NASA's Dawn spacecraft mission in orbit around Vesta, with plans to study Ceres, shedding light on the asteroid belt's origins and solar system history.
Astronomy Picture of the Week – Vesta from Orbit by Dawn Spacecraft
Explore Vesta, the second largest asteroid in the belt, in this captivating photo by the Dawn spacecraft. Get ready for a year of intriguing discoveries!
The Solar System To Scale [Infographic]
The following is a huge infographic showing the true scale of the solar system with all its planets, minor bodies and the most famous probes we have sent out into deep space. Scientists measure distances in our solar system in astronomical units (AU).