Sky Wise

Sky Events for June!

Want to know what's up in June?  Check out this podcast!  Scripted by me....voiced by my good buddy Sandra.  Courtesy IMAGINOVA and AstroShorts

Water on Mars?

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute

Here's the first sample scooped up from the Martian surface by the Phoenix Lander.  What's interesting here is the white deposits...are they salts?....frozen water?....hmmmm.  I'm impatiently waiting to see.  More info about the Phoenix mission can be found here.

Phoenix on Mars!

Picture Credit:  NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona

This desolate plain is one of the first views from the Mars Phoenix lander which touched down on Sunday May 25th.  Unlike the previous Mars Exploration Rovers which used gas-filled bags to cushion the landing, Phoenix used rockets to gently set down on the martian surface. It was crossed fingers and held breath by mission scientists until they received confirmation that Phoenix landed safely in the north polar region of Mars.  The mission is to search for traces of water, determine the hydrological history of the region and the possibility that the planet can support life.  The polar climate will be monitored through a sophisticated weather station developed in Canada.

There's much to explore and I'm sure there's a lot to see in the near future.

Lunar Eclipse Pictures!

Photo Credit:  Sjoerd Witteveen

You didn't need a telescope to see last week's lunar eclipse.  YRMG Staff Photographer Sjoerd Witteveen took this series of pictures showing the progression of the eclipse over the evening and these images are similar to what you could see with the naked eye.  My favourite part is seeing the early stages when the moon appears to have a bite taken out of it.  As things progress and the moon enters the full shadow of the earth, you see an orangey red hue cast upon the lunar surface.  The colour is due to refracted sunlight bending around the edges of the earth and reaching the moon.  Just imagine, that's all the sunsets and sunrises on earth at that moment painting our Luna in a beautiful light!

This weekend from Friday February 29th to Sunday March 2nd, I'll be at the Markham Spring Home Show .  If you would like to learn more about astronomy I'll be at the Starlight Learning booth.  In addition, I'll be making a presentation on "Backyard Astronomy" during two public lectures at the Home Show stage at 6:45 PM Friday and 5:45 PM Saturday.

Lunar Eclipse February 20th

Picture Credit:  NASA

Here's an opportunity to see an eclipse of the moon!  Check out our skies on the evening of Wednesday, February 20th to see the Moon enter the Earth's shadow.

What's interesting is the reddish hue you will see as the event progresses.  This colour is due to the light of sunrises and sunsets on the Earth which manage to refract around our atmosphere and continue to the moon.  Unlike an eclipse of the sun, an eclipse of the moon is safe to view with the naked eye.

Start looking around 8:15 PM Eastern Standard Time and follow the progress of the eclipse as the shadow of our Earth travels across the lunar terrain.  As the Moon enters the darker umbral shadow around 8:43 PM, you will see the red colour start to fill the landscape.  By 12:30 AM, it should be all over for the last total lunar eclipse until the year 2010.

Remember to dress warmly and have the hot cocoa ready.

What's Up in February Skies

Casey and I make this podcast for IMAGINOVA.

Crunch Time for the David Dunlap Observatory

Photo Credit:  Dan Falk

When it was completed in 1935, it was the second largest astronomical telescope in the world.  The 74 inch reflector was used by astronomer Dr. Tom Bolton to confirm the existence of Cygnus X-1 as a Black Hole, a first in astronomy.  Dr. Helen Sawyer Hogg contributed to our understanding of the universe by the decades of research at the David Dunlap Observatory's mighty telescope.  The 190 acres of surrounding undeveloped land are home to deer and over dozens of species of birds.  It's an oasis of astronomy and biology surrounded by the suburbs of Toronto.

The University of Toronto intends to sell the DDO and the surrounding wild space and fetch as much as $100 million dollars in the process.  Will we see it snapped up by developers keen on turning the land into houses, offices and strip plazas?  I hope not.  There's a strong community voice in Richmond Hill, including Mayor Dave Barrow who wants to see the site preserved.  Local government along with community groups such as the Richmond Hill Naturalists have mounted a campaign to offer the U of T a serious alternative to the dismantling and destruction of the DDO.  We know that this is the right thing to do. The David Dunlap Observatory represents a major piece of the history of astronomy,  as well as the history of Canada. 

We can do our part to help but we must act quickly.  The University of Toronto has placed a deadline of February 15th, 2008 to decide on submissions for the sale of the facility.  Let them know that you want the DDO to remain as a testament to the advancement of the science of astronomy, a part of our heritage and that it should be preserved.  Take a moment and fill out this online petition. 

Thank you and clear skies!

Photo by Dan Falk -author: Universe on a T-shirt: The Quest for the Theory of Everything  (thanks Dan!)

See a Comet Tonight!

It's an exciting time when a comet becomes visible to the naked eye.  Right now the opportunity to exists to see Comet 17P Holmes, now visible in the constellation Perseus.  This came to us as a surprise because until late last week it was all but invisible to all but the most powerful telescopes.  Literally overnight, the comet brightened by a factor of one million and of course we're excited.  Right now, you have the chance to see it as a fuzzy, yellowish star.

Where can you see Comet Holmes?  Easy.  Take a look at the clip above, originally posted on AstroShorts.

Jupiter and the View from Here

Jupiter from Oshawa Ontario October 8th at 8 PM.  (Click on picture to enlarge)

October marks the final days of viewing the summer delights.  Take a look to the southwest after dark.  Scorpius is diving below the horizon with the gas giant planet Jupiter shining like a bright star immediately above.  The teapot which designates Sagittarius also marks the location of some of my favorite objects.  This region is rich in nebulae -stellar nurseries of incredible detail- and both open and globular star clusters.

Now let's take a look at the skies in New Zealand.  It looks totally different doesn't it?  Take a look at the top of the second picture and you can see that teapot shape of Sagittarius, now inverted for us Northern Hemisphere residents.  Near the center of the picture is Jupiter again.  The skies of the Southern Hemisphere are seen from a totally different perspective and most of us from the Northern Hemisphere usually have a hard time adjusting to the new view.  Of course, if you live in Wellington New Zealand, it's us Northern types that have the odd looking skies.

Pictures produced by Starry Night Pro Software, copyright IMAGINOVA Canada

The Birth of the Space Age

Sputnik 1 was the first man-made satellite.  Launched on October 4th, 1957 by the Soviet Union, Sputnik was outfitted with a simple transmitter which announced the presence of man in space.  The space race it spawned and its associated technological leaps and sprints have defined much of the latter half of the 20th century.  You can argue the benefits and the potential threats of life in the post-Sputnik age but you cannot deny that the world changed on that date.  The world became a small place.  A more dangerous place.  And to me, a more hopeful one as well.