|
Ever think that we’re small when it comes to a worldwide scale? How about a galactic scale? Take a look at this: En route to Mercury, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft has been searching for vulcanoids, a long-sought population of sun-grazing asteroids. In the lower left portion of this image, the Earth can be seen, [...]  Robert Marshall/Buhl Planetarium and Observatory How’s that for an alliteration? You’ll need to go outside just after sunset on August 12th and 13th to see both of these events. Let’s start by talking about the perfectly positioned planets. You’ll need to look to the west just after sunset to be able to see three planets (Mars, Saturn, and Venus) all in very close proximity to one another. If you look just to the right of that, you’ll also be able to see Mercury, as well. The three planets will all be just above the crescent moon on Thursday and just to the right of it on Friday. The best part is that no telescope is needed to enjoy this! If you want a clearer and larger picture, however, it couldn’t hurt! The next part of the post involves the Perseid meteor shower. (Read More) I’ve always been amazed by the aurora borealis and have always wanted to see one personally. I never have but this video from telegraph.co.uk does a pretty darn good job at capturing them. Just press play below to see them. According to the website…
 Photo Credit: John Nemy & Carol Legate Did you get the e-mail saying “Mars will be as big as the full moon?” It seems like this e-mail goes around and around every year. As a matter of fact, Tony did a blog post about the same topic last year around this time. According to NASA, this is the 7th year for the e-mail. The e-mail is a hoax! Read on for more information from NASA about the hoax. (Read More)  Google's tribute to Hubble If you’ve been on Google.com today, Saturday, you probably noticed the typical colorful Google typeface was replaced by a space-looking theme with a telescope in it. That’s because it’s the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. I think it’s safe to say that almost everyone has heard of Hubble. However, not everyone has seen some of the incredible pictures that Hubble has provided through its 20 years of service. These pictures are something out of your imagination or a kids movie. They are not! They are real. Take a look at some of the pictures below. I’ll post a link to more pictures and more information on the Hubble Space Telescope, too.  GOES13 On May 24, 2006, a satellite was launched into space at Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is the 13th geostationary operational environmental satellite to be put into orbit and this one is part of the 3rd generation of GOES satellites. The satellite is made by Boeing after a merger with Hughes Corporation (no, they didn’t Rock the Boat!). Now, it’ll replace the already-operational GOES12 on April 14th. So, what does this mean to you? Well, really it won’t mean much. There are some changes compared to the currently-used satellite, GOES12, but they really won’t be extremely noticable to the general public. According to the GOES13 Mission Booklet produced by Boeing, the mission of the satellite is… The multimission Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) series N through P will be a vital contributor to weather, solar, and space operations and science.  GOES N will provide more accurate prediction and tracking of severe storms and other weather phenomena, resulting in earlier and more precise warnings to the public. Supporting NOAA and NASA scientists collecting and analyzing real-time environmental data, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard searching the open seas, GOES N stands ready as the most advanced multimission weather and Earth observation satellite ever built for NOAA geosynchronous operations. In the mission booklet, Boeing states that the GOES13 will provide more accurate information, including the location of storms. This will allow the NWS to issue better warnings to the public. (I think the improvement will be minor, but a step in the right direction.)  Noctilucent Cloud after Launch - courtesy: Spaceweather.com The space shuttle Discovery lifted off on Monday and while the liftoff was uneventful, the sky told a different story. Take a look at the pictures below and read what Jonathan Sabin of Ellenton, Florida had to say about the launch… I’ve seen some truly spectacular Space Shuttle launches since the Columbia first rocketed into space in 1981, but the launch of STS-131 was in a whole new category. Standing alone at the edge of a deserted cow pasture, I watched in awe as the craft first appeared over a line of trees about a quarter mile away… and as it ascended towards space, was transfixed by the sight of a towering back-lit column of exhaust. And THEN… about half a minute or so after the SRBs separated, a plume appeared around the craft itself, and the view changed into something that I had never witnessed before. A moving, nebulous “blob” that expanded and twisted as the Shuttle arched its way back toward the horizon as it continued into orbit. It truly is an amazing sight. There are more pictures, too. I’ve posted a couple of them below. UPDATE: I received an e-mail from Jonathan with a link to more pictures on his Flickr page. Take a look. There are some pictures that he didn’t send to spaceweather.com, too. …like a big pizza pie, that’s a PERIGEE!
 Apogee vs. Perigee - Copyright © 2001-2010, Anthony Ayiomamitis. Check out this link below for a cool video of Earth’s weather from above… http://gizmodo.com/5409638/earths-weather-like-you-have-never-seen-it-before What would happen and what would Earth look like if it had rings like Saturn? Take a look at the video below and see…  Our clouds will break up a bit tonight, allowing the stargazers out there to see a nice show. Here’s more from Spaceweather.com: It’s funny how things that happened so long ago are still relevant and exciting to us. This picture is taken of two galaxies coming together a mere 250 million light years away. Check out the picture of the collision below.
When Galaxies Collide! For more information, check out the main [...] A new ring has been discovered around Saturn by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. This is actually the largest of the planet’s many rings. Read on for more from sciencedaily.com: A group of students from MIT put together a project to launch a digital camera into near-space to take pictures and show the Earth in its true beauty. The group is quick to state on their website that this isn’t the first time this has been done; however, it’s the first time it’s been done for this thin of a budget… only $150. The video below is time-lapse photography of all of the pictures that were taken during the near-space flight. The team notes on their site that the time-lapse isn’t that great because the cooler used was unstable. It’s still a neat sight, though. A full moon in September is often called the “Harvest Moon” , because farmers used its light to harvest crops late into the night. But tonight’s full Moon is not the Harvest Moon. It occurs too many days before the autumnal equinox, Sept 22nd, to have that name. Instead, the Harvest Moon of 2009 [...] There is a place, but it’s not on our planet! Read on for more from spaceweather.com: Here’s an article from SpaceWeather.com: BIG ASTEROID FLYBY: Today, June 9th, asteroid 2003 QO104 is passing by Earth only 9 million miles away. Measuring 2 miles in diameter, the massive asteroid is about 1/3rd the size of the K-T impactor that probably wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. There’s no danger of [...] Did you see the total lunar eclipse on Tuesday morning? We did. We were able to capture some pictures of the eclipse and this is one of them. Unfortunately, the fog early Tuesday morning prevented us from getting the best view. Don’t forget… If you missed this one, the next eclipse is on February [...] It only happens a couple of times each year, if that. You don’t need special glasses or filters to see it. It occurs after dark. What am I talking about? Well, the lunar eclipse! Not to be confused with a song performed by Bonnie Tyler or The Dan Band (a la ‘Total Eclipse of [...] |
      |
|
Copyright © 2010 WJAC-TV Weather Blog - All Rights Reserved |
|
Filed in: 
Comments: 
Share:
Recent Comments