Bellatrix Orionis

Check out this fantastic video with Carl Sagan and Professor Stephen Hawking

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LCROSS spacecraft, artist's rendering courtesy of NASA

If you have, then you probably won’t have heard the news.  The LCROSS spacecraft has actually found water ice on the moon in a permanently shadowed crater.  Yes people please note water on the moon.

Despite the lack of an obvious visible plume when the event happend, NASA had declared the mission a success when they started receiving data.  The twin impacts were caused by the LCROSS spacecraft and a companion rocket stage which hit the Cabeus crater on 9 October 2009.  NASA reported that the plume travelled at a high angle beyond the rim of Cabeus and into the sunlight while an additional curtain of debris was ejected more laterally.  Unfortunately it wasn’t visible to us Earth based observers.

Many scientists have contemplated the source of the large quantities of hydrogen which have been observed at both of the lunar poles.  The LCROSS information is giving a new insight in the question of the discovery of water, which is possibly more widespread and in larger quantities than first thought.  It is hoped these polar cold traps could hold the key to the history and evolution of our solar system if they were formed/deposited billions of years ago.  It is also thought that this and other such compounds could be used as potential resources for future exploration of the moon.

Since the impacts the LCROSS team have been ploughing through the massive amounts of data that was collected by the spacecraft.  The data from the satellites spectrometers have provided the most definitive information regarding the presence of water.  A spectrometer is used to identify the composition of an object by examining light that is either emitted or absorbed.  The scientists used the known near-infrared spectral signatures of water as well as other materials and then compared them to the impact spectra that was collected by LCROSS.

Further confirmation was obtained via an emission in the ultraviolet spectrum which was attributed to hydroxyl, which is a product from the break up of water by sunlight.

The data obtained form other LCROSS instrument are being analysed for any further clues regarding the state and distribution of materials at the impact site.  The ultimate goal of the LCROSS science team is to understand the entire impact event as well as the distribution of all materials within the soil at the site of the impact.

The LCROSS spacecraft was launched on 18 June 2009 from Kennedy Space Centre and was a companion mission to LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter).  LRO observed the impact and continually passes over the site of the impact to provide the LCROSS team with additional information regarding the mechanics of the impact and craters it created.  Scientists from both LCROSS, LRO and other observatories are working together to understand the data from the LCROSS impact.

For further information visit NASA’s LCROSS web pages.

Credits: NASA/CXC/Southampton/W. Ho et al.

This fantastic image from Chandra shows the central region of Cassiopeia A (also called Cas A) which is a supernova remnant that is thought to have exploded in our galaxy approximately 300 years ago.  Evidence of a neutron star with a thin carbon atmosphere has been found at the centre of Cassiopeia A.  Inset is an artists impression of how the neutron star would look complete with its carbon atmosphere.

In Chandra’s ‘First Light’ image from 1999, the point like x-ray source at the centre was presumed to be a neutron star.  This is considered to be a typical remnant of an exploded star but it did not show evidence of x-ray or radio emissions.  A model of a neutron star was applied to the object at the centre of Cassiopeia A and it was found that the region which emits x-rays would cover a typical neutron star.  Due to this x-ray pulsations would not be seen as the neutron star would not show any changes in the intensity of its rotation.  This result also provided evidence that the neutron star does not contain strange quark matter.

Because of the surface gravity being 100 billion times that of the Earth, only a very thin atmosphere has been able to form around Cassiopeia A.  Despite this the carbon atmosphere has some remarkable properties, it’s only four inches thick, but has a density similar to carbon.

Image Credits X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/K. Getman et al.; IRL NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA/J. Wang et al.

This fantastic image of Cepheus B is a composite of data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope.  It shows a molecular cloud within our galaxy which is  about 2,400 light years from Earth.  Within this region there is cool interstellar gas and dust which was left over from the formation of the galaxy and mostly contains molecular hydrogen.

The data from Chandra has enabled astronomers to find young stars near and within Cepheus B as they were able to identified them by their strong x-ray emissions.  The data gleaned from Spitzer further enabled the astronomers to ascertain if any of the young stars had proto-planetary disks around them.  Such disks only exist in very young systems where planets are still forming, therefore there presence can be used as an indication of the age of a star system.

The current thinking is that star formation in Cepheus B is triggered by radiation for one bright massive star (HD217086), which is outside the molecular cloud. For further information visit Chandra

I have to admit to being a huge fan of Twitter.  I’ve found it a great way to connect with individuals from around the globe who have the same hobby (ok, obsession would be a better word) as me.  Twitter has enabled me to renew my love of astronomy, share my frustration of the British weather and also communicate with other people who appreciate a beautiful star filled night.  One of those people is Adrian West (@AdrianWest) who belongs to Newbury Astronomy Society (@NewburyAS) and often can be found tweeting as both, though sometimes Nic Fleet (@nicfleet) takes over tweet duty.  By using Twitter many amateur and some professional observers shared their images and views of the Perseid Meteor Shower during August and by using  Twitter information was shared quickly with a whole host of people, some who had never seen a meteor shower before.

Well they are doing it again, this time we get a #moonwatch and a #meteorwatch.  The Moonwatch is taking place on the 26 and 27 October and they will be joined by the Faulkes Telescope, so there should be some pretty amazing images shared over Twitter. Check out the trailer below, lovingly created by my friend Adrian West and get yourself on Twitter, we’re an amazingly friendly bunch with a love of all things astronomical and there’s always someone to chat to about life, the universe and everything.

Trailer produced by Adrian West

Image Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler (GSFC) and Erin Grand (UMCP)

A fantastic image of M31 in Andromeda taken by NASA’s Swift satellite.  The image consists of 330 individual images combined to create this spectacular view taken in ultraviolet.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Keck

 NEWS FLASH - A giant ring has been discovered around Saturn and is thought to be the largest of it’s rings.

Phoebe, one of Saturn’s furthest moons is within the newfound ring and is thought to be the source of it’s material.  The new ring is also very thick, it’s approximately 20 times the diameter of Saturn and would take one billion Earths to fill the ring.  The ring is composed of ice and dust particles which was spotted by NASAs Spitzer telescope which views objects in the infrared spectrum.

The discovery may help solve an age-old riddle of one of Saturn’s moons.  Iapetus has a strange appearance, one side is bright and the other is really dark, in a pattern that resembles the yin-yang symbol.  The astronomer Giovanni Cassini first spotted the moon in 1671, and years later figured out it has a dark side, now named Cassini Regio in his honor.

Saturn’s newest addition could explain how Cassini Regio came to be.  The ring is circling in the same direction as Phoebe, while Iapetus, the other rings and most of Saturn’s moons are all going the opposite way. According to the scientists, some of the dark and dusty material from the outer ring moves inward toward Iapetus, slamming into the icy moon.

The astronomers had a idea that Phoebe might be circling around in a belt of dust kicked up from its minor collisions with , a process similar to that around stars with dusty disks of planetary debris.  When the scientists took a first look at their Spitzer data, a band of dust jumped out.

The ring would be difficult to see with visible-light telescopes. Its particles are diffuse and may even extend beyond the bulk of the ring material all the way in to Saturn and all the way out to interplanetary space.  The relatively small numbers of particles in the ring wouldn’t reflect much visible light, especially out at Saturn where sunlight is weak.

Spitzer was able to sense the glow of the cool dust, which is only about 80 Kelvin (minus 316 degrees Fahrenheit). Cool objects shine with infrared, or thermal radiation; for example, even a cup of ice cream is blazing with infrared light.

These observations were made before Spitzer ran out of coolant in May and began its “warm” mission.

Image courtesy of NASA

NASA has chosen the final destination for LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) after a journey of almost 5.6 million miles which took in several orbits around Earth and moon.  It’s target is the crater Cabeus (proper) and the impact will take place on 9 October 2009 at 7.30am EDT (12.30 BST,11.30am GMT).  By smashing into the lunar surface LCROSS should be able to evaluate whether water ice exists at the moon’s south pole.

LCROSS will send its spent upper stage Centaur rocket to impact the lunar surface and will then fly into the plume of dust and measure the properties.  LCROSS itself will then collide with the moons surface. 

Dozens of professional astronomers based at international observatories will be aiming telescopes at the moon to maximise the scientific return of the LCROSS impacts.  Hubble will also be training it’s refurbished eyes on the moon to image the impact

For more information about the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite Mission.

The kind people at SLOOH have added two additional feeds which will view the impact as it happens.

 Visual guide from Hubble Site.

Thursday 1 October
Moon can be found above right of Lambda Aquarii during the evening.

Saturday 3 October
The Moon is north of Uranus during the morning.

Sunday 4 October
Full Moon.
Mercury at perihelion.
Venus at perihelion.

Monday 5 October
Mars is south of Pollux.
Moon is south of Beta and Gamma Arietis during the evening.

Tuesday 6 October
Mercury at greatest elongation west.

Wednesday 7 October
Moon is close to M45.
Asteroid 101 Helena passes close to Jupiter.

Thursday 8 October

Mercury in conjunction with Saturn.
Draconids meteor shower peaks.

Friday 9 October
Moon lies above M35 during the evening.
Comet Lulin at quadrature.

NASA spacecraft LCROSS impacts the Moon. You can watch it as it happens courtesy of SLOOH.

Saturday 10 October
Moon in conjunction with M35 during the morning.

Sunday 11 October
Last quarter Moon forms right angle with Castor and Pollux.

Monday 12 October
Moon lies below Mars and to the right of M44 during the morning.

Tuesday 13 October
Moon at perigee.
Venus in conjuction with Saturn.

Wednesday 14 October
Moon lies to the right of Regulus during the morning.

Thursday 15 October
Crescent Moon to the right of M44.

Friday 16 October
Crescent Moon lies to the right of Venus and Saturn.

Saturday 17 October
Mercury lies south of Gamma Virginis in the twilight.

Sunday 18 October
New Moon.
Epsilon Geminids meteor shower peak.

Monday 19 October
Asteroid 5 Astraea is at quadrature.

Tuesday 20 October
Asteroid 19 Fortuna lies near to M1.

Wednesday 21 October
Moon ocults Antares during the daytime.
Orionids meteor shower peak.

Thursday 22 October
Venus is in conjuction with Pallas during the evening twilight.

Friday 23 October
Leo Minorids meteor shower peaks.
Moon close to Lambda Sagittarii.

Saturday 24 October
Moon lies south of the ‘Teaspoon’ asterism in Sagittarius during the evening.

Sunday 25 October
Moon at apogee.
British Summer Time ends .

Monday 26 October
First quarter Moon.
Moon lies to the right of Jupiter during the evening.

Tuesday 27 October
Moon north of Neptune during the evening.

Wednesday 28 October
Venus lies above Spica half an hour before Sun rise.

Thursday 29 October
Mars at quadrature.
Moon lies to the right of Uranus and Circlet asterism.

Friday 30 October
Moon lies to the left of the Circlet asterism in Pisces.

Saturday 31 October
Sinus Iridium and Crater Gassendi on the Moon are well place for viewing.