* The Official Astronomy & Universe Thread *

Cosimo · 19 May 2016 at 06:35

Another look at the Transit of Mercury, this time from NASA's solar telescope called the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS):

Cosimo · 20 May 2016 at 06:23

Hubble's new view of Mars:

More:

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/new-hubble-portrait-of-mars

Cosimo · 21 May 2016 at 06:02

Mars and Saturn at opposition in May and June:

Cosimo · 24 May 2016 at 06:06

Solar storms may have been just the key to seeding life as we know it on Earth:

Cosimo · 25 May 2016 at 13:54

The June night sky:

Cosimo · 26 May 2016 at 06:41

The Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) on Mars Express was used for the first time to image the limb of Mars during most of a complete orbit:

Cosimo · 27 May 2016 at 16:53

New Horizons' Extreme Close-Up of Pluto’s Surface:

This mosaic strip – extending across the hemisphere that faced the New Horizons spacecraft as it flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015 – now includes all of the highest-resolution images taken by the NASA probe. With a resolution of about 260 feet (80 meters) per pixel, the mosaic affords New Horizons scientists and the public the best opportunity to examine the fine details of the various types of terrain on Pluto, and determine the processes that formed and shaped them.

The width of the strip ranges from more than 55 miles (90 kilometers) at its northern end to about 45 miles (75 kilometers) at its southern point. The pictures in the mosaic were obtained by New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) approximately 9,850 miles (15,850 kilometers) from Pluto, shortly before New Horizons’ closest approach.

Cosimo · 28 May 2016 at 07:28

Gravitational Lensing by a massive cluster of galaxies:

The largest clusters of galaxies are massive enough to produce visual distortions of distant galaxies known as "gravitational lensing". This video demonstrates these visual effects. A scientific simulation shows the imagery that would be obtained if a nearby galaxy could pass behind a large cluster. By using a recognizable object for the distant galaxy, the effects of the gravitational lensing become more apparent.

Glaucus · 30 May 2016 at 23:56

I've watched loads of videos on what telescope to get for photography, and been left well confused.
just found this series, only watched the first episode. but good god, I actually feel like I know something now and not left in a confused state,

Cosimo · 31 May 2016 at 07:06

This set of videos on using an SCT for astrophotography is excellent:

Cosimo · 31 May 2016 at 07:08

More on the Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM), Asteroid touchdown:

In 2022 the Mascot-2 microlander would be deployed from the main AIM spacecraft to touch down on the approximately 170-m diameter ‘Didymoon’, in orbit around the larger 700-m diameter Didymos asteroid.

The 15 kg Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout-2 (Mascot-2) is building on the heritage of DLR’s Mascot-1 already flying on Japan’s Hayabusa-2. Launched in 2014, the latter will land on asteroid Ryugu in 2018.

Mascot-2 would be deployed from AIM at about 5 cm/s, and remain in contact with its mothership as it falls through a new inter-satellite communications system. Didymoon’s gravity levels will only be a few thousandths of Earth’s, so the landing would be relatively gentle, although multiple bounces may take place before it comes to rest.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) would help AIM to pinpoint its microlander’s resting place from orbit. In case of a landing in a non-illuminated area, a spring-like ‘mobility mechanism’ would let the microlander jump to another location. Onboard GNC ‘guidance navigation and control’ sensors would gather details of the landing both for scientific reasons and to determine the microlander’s orientation for deployment of the solar array to keep it supplied with sufficient power for several weeks of surface operations.

As well as a solar array, AIM would also deploy its low frequency radar LFR instrument, while cameras perform visible and thermal surface imaging. LFR would send radar signals right through the body, to be detected by AIM on Didymoon’s far side, to provide detailed subsurface soundings of an asteroid’s internal structure for the first time ever.

Then Mascot-2 would repeat these measurements after Didymoon has been impacted by the NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) probe, to assess the extent of structural changes induced by this impact event. AIM and DART together are known as the Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment mission.

More:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/S...eroid_Impact_Mission/Asteroid_Impact_Mission2

Cosimo · 1 Jun 2016 at 15:10

Another video of the transit of Mercury this time in 4K:

Cosimo · 2 Jun 2016 at 06:45

Vibrant Gaseous Ribbons: The Veil Supernova Remnant

This 3-D visualization flies across a small portion of the Veil Nebula as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope. This region is a small part of a huge expanding remnant from a star that exploded many thousands of years ago. Hubble resolves tangled rope-like filaments of glowing gases. They have been shocked and heated by colliding with cooler, denser interstellar gas.

Cosimo · 2 Jun 2016 at 07:39

More:

http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky/

cheesyboy · 2 Jun 2016 at 12:55

Looking for some advice/tips

Mrs Cheesyboy got me a cheap telescope for xmas (This One).

I've set it up and looked at some stars and the moon ... but I find the whole thing rather uninteresting. What am I missing - is there something else I need to know that will help me appreciate what I'm seeing, or is it just looking at stars?

Rroff · 2 Jun 2016 at 12:57

Using something like google skymap to find where to look for some of the more interesting stuff might help.

With light pollution, etc. the UK isn't one of the best places for really seeing stuff in space at its best though.

Cosimo · 2 Jun 2016 at 13:18

cheesyboy said:
Looking for some advice/tips

A couple of very good books (Amazon):

Turn Left at Orion: Hundreds of Night Sky Objects to See in a Home Telescope - and How to Find Them £22.49

2016 Guide to the Night Sky: A month-by-month guide to exploring the skies above Britain and Ireland £5.24

Easy Things to See With a Small Telescope: A Beginner's Guide to Over 60 Easy-to-Find Night Sky Sights £14.99

Apps (free):

SkyPortal (Celestron)
Mobile Observatory Wolfgang Zima

Stellarium free open source planetarium for your computer

Plenty of information on the web as well.

Monthly viewing guides on here.

and here:

http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky/

Cosimo · 3 Jun 2016 at 07:46

You to can find a comet:

http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?utf8=✓&object_id=P/2016+J3

http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=P/2016 J3;old=0;orb=0;cov=0;log=0;cad=0#elem

:cool:

Cosimo · 3 Jun 2016 at 10:25

Animation of the orbit and approach of June 2, 2016 Arizona Fireball:

More:

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/fireball-lights-pre-dawn-sky-over-arizona

cheesyboy · 3 Jun 2016 at 11:41

Thanks chaps. If I can bring myself to fiddle with it again, I'll try some apps and guides to accompany my efforts. I kind of suspect it's just not for me, but maybe some enlightenment will help.

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