Astronomers find ice and possibly methane on dwarf planet

Astronomers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have discovered that the dwarf planet 2007 OR10 — nicknamed Snow White — is an icy world, with about half its surface covered in water ice that once flowed from ancient, slush-spewing volcanoes. The new findings also suggest that the red-tinged dwarf planet may be covered in a thin layer of methane, the remnants of an atmosphere that’s slowly being lost into space. “You get to see this nice picture of what once was an active little world with water volcanoes and an atmosphere, and it’s now just frozen, dead, with an atmosphere that’s slowly slipping away,” says Mike Brown, the Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor and professor of planetary astronomy, who is the lead author on a paper to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters describing the findings. The paper is now in press. Read more

New method detects emerging sunspots deep inside the sun

Viewed from the technological perspective of modern humans, the sun is a seething cauldron of disruptive influences that can wreak havoc on communication systems, air travel, power grids and satellites — not to mention astronauts in space. If disruptions such as solar flares and mass eruptions could be predicted, protective measures could be taken to shield vulnerable electronics before solar storms strike. Read more

Celestron Backpacker 80R Telescope with Backpack

The Sky-Watcher 80ARS-MultiMount is a richest-field telescope offering a bright, panoramic field of view best suited for casual wide-field astronomy or for use as a powerful terrestrial spotting scope. The sleek and stylish 80mm optical tube is just 12.5″ long, and weighs 3 lb. An excellent compact, portable telescope, the Sky-Watcher 80ARS travels light and fits a small space. The telescope’s mount includes gee-whiz point-and-view astronomical tracking technology. The Sky-Watcher 80ARS optical system utilizes a 2-element achromatic (color-corrected) doublet objective lens made from Grade-A Crown & Flint glass. Each air-to-glass lens’ surface is multicoated for optimum light throughput. Refractors provide the sharpest images available of any optical design. Celestron Backpacker 80R Telescope with Backpack
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Astronomy for Amateurs

Astronomy for Amateurs. Amateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky (for sunspots, eclipses, etc.), mainly with portable telescopes. Even though scientific research is not their main goal, many amateur astronomers make a contribution to astronomy by monitoring variable stars, tracking asteroids and discovering transient objects, such as comets. This book is a perfect introduction to Astronomy for Amateurs.

Written in the 19th century by French Astronomer Camille Flammarion, it is surprisingly complete and up-to-date. It is still used by both professional and amateur astronomers around the world.

Mars

Mars (See all Literature & Fiction Books) is a difficult planet to observe. It only shows itself well to amateur astronomers once every two years or so and even then it is better in some years than it is in others. When Mars is in a favorable position though and close by enough to observe well it is a sight to behold, especially in larger instruments. This sketch was made with an 8″ Dob telescope at 244X and shows quite a bit of detail. In the center of the sketch is Syrtis Major, one of the more prominent features on the Red Planet. Definitely worth a look…… in 2012!

Astronomy Binoculars Basics

If you like to look to the heavens even just occasionally get yourself some decent binoculars and indulge in a little binocular astronomy. Think about it, binoculars are inexpensive, highly portable and require no complicated setting up procedure so are ideal for casual astronomy.

Binoculars allow excellent moon views, and great viewing of star fields, comets and even deep sky objects. They are especially useful for beginners as unlike astronomy telescopes they keep the view the the right way up, making it really easy to navigate the skies. With a little practice you can pick out several of the planets and even the larger moons orbiting Jupiter. A great binocular is: Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15×70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter

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Exoplanet Discovered From Another Galaxy

Astronomers in Chili have discovered a hot, gaseous and fast-spinning planet orbiting a dying star on the edge of the Milky Way, the first such discovery of a planet from outside our galaxy.

A bit larger than the size of Jupiter, the largest in our solar system, the newly discovered exoplanet is orbiting a star 2,000 light years from Earth that has found its way into the Milky Way.

Astronomers were able to locate the planet, coined HIP 13044 b, by focusing on the tiny telltale wobbles of the star caused by the gravitational tug of an orbiting companion. They used a powerful telescope owned by the European Southern Laboratory at La Silla Observatory in Chile, located at an altitude of 2,400 meters (7,800 feet) some 600 kilometers (375 miles) north of the capital, Santiago.

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