Light pollution is a major problem, both for professional and backyard astronomers. It used to be that if you just went out into the countryside, you could get decent viewing. But with unshielded mercury vapor lamp street lighting all over cities, you can't do that, anymore. City glow extends for tens, even hundreds, of miles, fogging up the sky.
The Vancouver Museum in British Columbia, Canada is currently hosting an exhibit of simple, practical solutions to a variety of modern problems. One of the items on display is something called "Lunar-Resonant Street Lights": http://www.indexaward.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=77
These are street lights that are sensitive to moonlight. They are brightest during a New Moon and dimmest (even off) during a Full Moon. Their inventors say that not only could these lights save "between 80 and 90 percent of energy normally spent on street lighting" but that they could also get people back in tune with the natural rhythms of the world around them, like lunar phases and star rotations. Check it out. It's a very interesting idea. Now, if we can just get rid of those infernal mercury lights...
Showing posts with label astronomy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label astronomy. Show all posts
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
LIVE Broadcast of the moon and Jupiter
Come see the moon and Jupiter LIVe almost everynight! The we will occasionally throw in some other objects!
#Meteorwatch
Newbury Astronomical Society @NewburyAS with the International Year of Astronomy 2009 UK @astronomy2009uk, amateur astronomers and societies, will be holding a Twitter Meteorwatch on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th of August 2009.
Everyone is welcome to join in, whether they are an astronomer or just have an interest in the night sky.
This event follows on from the popular Twitter Moonwatch held in May 2009 http://tinyurl.com/m5lw4o
Use the hash tag: #Meteorwatch and get involved, ask questions, follow the event and enjoy the night sky with us. Images and other information will be tweeted as it happens. Live!
The highlight of the summer meteor showers : The Perseids, reach maximum around The 11th and 12th of August and may put on a display of aproximately 80 to 100 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. Conditions this year aren’t ideal but meteors every few minutes are still quite possible. Perseid meteors are often bright with persistent trails which can linger for a while after the meteor has burned up. Further information on the Perseid meteor shower and how to view it, will be posted closer to the time and during the Meteorwatch.
Other main objects of interest on both evenings will be: The PlanetJupiter and the Moon. The planets Mars and Venus will also be visible if you stay up to the small hours.
The Twitter Meteorwatch will start at 21.30 BST on the 11th of August and will continue through to the evening of the 12th of August. Amateur and professional astronomers from the US and other countries are invited to join in and take over from the UK, when the sun comes up here, helping make the event run for over 24 hours and be truly international. The event will close in the UK, in the early hours of the 13th of August 2009.
Live moon tours will be broadcasted too! Just go to: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/galilean-nights---kansas
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Chasing the New Moon
For about six months now, I've been trying to catch the first day that you can see the crescent moon in the first quarter of its cycle. I never seem able to get closer than the second day. Have caught the second day before the New Moon, maybe even the last day, but not right afterward.
Monday was the New Moon and I tried to catch it yesterday. But despite a half-clear sky, what clouds there were seemed to congregate over the setting sun (I suspect there's an actual metereological reason for this involving the concentration of solar heat in the west at that time of day, but haven't worked out what just yet). So, I didn't see it until tonight, when it was a bit more than a sliver.
Due to the usage of the lunar cycles in many religious calendars, astronomical observation is actually a critical matter of good religious observance. Yes, for all of the denigration of religion in some quarters as antiscience, religious calendars are in fact heavily based on science, especially astronomy.
For example, there was considerable dispute over when to start Ramadan among Muslims until easy and quick reporting from Mecca became available. It doesn't seem like much to non-Muslims, but for Muslims, Ramadan is a holy month. If you start and end it too early, you're doing the wrong thing. If you don't start it once the moon reappears in the sky, you're doing the wrong thing. Think of it as if Christmas were based on the lunar calendar: you would want to know the exact date, but the date would be partially dependent on good astronomical observation--and weather.
Passover and Easter are also regulated by a lunar calendar--or, they were originally. Because they are so strongly connected to the spring (i.e. a solar/seasonal calendar), the lunar part of their calculation is restricted to a period in spring of about two months. This is why both float around the spring months of the calendar each year. And because the Christian aspect of Easter was originally a Passover festival, the two festivals not-infrequently fall on the same date.
Monday was the New Moon and I tried to catch it yesterday. But despite a half-clear sky, what clouds there were seemed to congregate over the setting sun (I suspect there's an actual metereological reason for this involving the concentration of solar heat in the west at that time of day, but haven't worked out what just yet). So, I didn't see it until tonight, when it was a bit more than a sliver.
Due to the usage of the lunar cycles in many religious calendars, astronomical observation is actually a critical matter of good religious observance. Yes, for all of the denigration of religion in some quarters as antiscience, religious calendars are in fact heavily based on science, especially astronomy.
For example, there was considerable dispute over when to start Ramadan among Muslims until easy and quick reporting from Mecca became available. It doesn't seem like much to non-Muslims, but for Muslims, Ramadan is a holy month. If you start and end it too early, you're doing the wrong thing. If you don't start it once the moon reappears in the sky, you're doing the wrong thing. Think of it as if Christmas were based on the lunar calendar: you would want to know the exact date, but the date would be partially dependent on good astronomical observation--and weather.
Passover and Easter are also regulated by a lunar calendar--or, they were originally. Because they are so strongly connected to the spring (i.e. a solar/seasonal calendar), the lunar part of their calculation is restricted to a period in spring of about two months. This is why both float around the spring months of the calendar each year. And because the Christian aspect of Easter was originally a Passover festival, the two festivals not-infrequently fall on the same date.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Baby Stars Finally Found In Jumbled Galactic Center
Astronomers have at last uncovered newborn stars at the frenzied center of our Milky Way galaxy. The discovery was made using the infrared vision of NASA's Spitzer Space
full story
full story
Friday, June 12, 2009
Freshman in Astronomy 101
---Greetings everyone! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jared Hyatt and I live in the ecentric little town of Eureka Aprings Arkansas. I recently started an astronomy club and purchased my first telescope. Astronomy has been a life long dream of mine, however I have not had the opportunity to follow through on it until now.
---My goal here is to share my thoughts and experiences as I delve into my new hobby. I'm not sure why but I feel like I am making quite the life commitment here. I have been such an Astronomy lurker for years there was never any pressure to follow through on my promises. But here I am on the precipice of owning a scope and starting an Astronomy Club and the nerves are a bit jangled.
---So now I have to 'walk the walk' so to say. Here I am with the tasks of learning Star Charts and reading books and checking reviews on scopes. I have to learn how to collimate and find the objects I want to see in the night sky without getting frustrated. Is it a bit intimidating? Yes? Am I up to the challenge? I certainly hope so!!
—I keep taking a little bit at a time and mastering it, if you don't you may get overwhelmed. Besides isn’t half the joy of astronomy learning most of it by yourself? The other half has to be sharing your experiences with your Astronomy Club and friends on Twitter. So yes it is intimidating, but at the same time it is empowering. I feel like I have a slightly larger purpose in the world, and for some odd reason, I like it.
---Sadly only half of my scope showed up on the FedEx truck today. It looks like I have to wait until Monday to get the other half. How perfect I say! I will be at work all day Monday and Tuesday ggrrr.... When the other half of my scope shows up, I can start talking about my adventures in collimation. But for now I am left to chew on my thoughts like cud and keep reading my books over and over lol…
---Thanks for having me aboard and I hope you enjoy my adventures in Astronomy 101.
---My goal here is to share my thoughts and experiences as I delve into my new hobby. I'm not sure why but I feel like I am making quite the life commitment here. I have been such an Astronomy lurker for years there was never any pressure to follow through on my promises. But here I am on the precipice of owning a scope and starting an Astronomy Club and the nerves are a bit jangled.
---So now I have to 'walk the walk' so to say. Here I am with the tasks of learning Star Charts and reading books and checking reviews on scopes. I have to learn how to collimate and find the objects I want to see in the night sky without getting frustrated. Is it a bit intimidating? Yes? Am I up to the challenge? I certainly hope so!!
—I keep taking a little bit at a time and mastering it, if you don't you may get overwhelmed. Besides isn’t half the joy of astronomy learning most of it by yourself? The other half has to be sharing your experiences with your Astronomy Club and friends on Twitter. So yes it is intimidating, but at the same time it is empowering. I feel like I have a slightly larger purpose in the world, and for some odd reason, I like it.
---Sadly only half of my scope showed up on the FedEx truck today. It looks like I have to wait until Monday to get the other half. How perfect I say! I will be at work all day Monday and Tuesday ggrrr.... When the other half of my scope shows up, I can start talking about my adventures in collimation. But for now I am left to chew on my thoughts like cud and keep reading my books over and over lol…
---Thanks for having me aboard and I hope you enjoy my adventures in Astronomy 101.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Find a Club Nearby You
We encourage you to contact your local astronomy club, where you'll find like-minded enthusiasts eager to share their knowledge and love of astronomy with you. Club meetings offer opportunities to try out new equipment, learn new techniques, and make new friends.
Click Here: To find an astronomy club near you!
( http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/organizations )
Space Calendar
The Space Calendar covers space-related activities and anniversaries for the coming year. Included are over 1,700 links to related home pages. This Calendar is compiled and maintained by Ron Baalke.
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Teachers’ Guide for “Observing an Eclipse of the Moon”
The purpose of this guide is to provide some tips for in-class instruction that will prepare
students to carry out the laboratory; and some suggestions for in-class followup
discussion and activities based on their results
http://www.noao.edu/education/astro/chile/archives/activities/eclipse-guide.pdf
students to carry out the laboratory; and some suggestions for in-class followup
discussion and activities based on their results
http://www.noao.edu/education/astro/chile/archives/activities/eclipse-guide.pdf
The N.A.A. Telescope Calculator
handy tool for the telescope user, JavaScript-driven calculator, which will compute the values of a number of paramaters for any telescope & eyepiece combinations you enter
http://www.stargazing.net/naa/scopemath.htm
http://www.stargazing.net/naa/scopemath.htm
Thursday, June 4, 2009
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