Saturn Day

On March 13, 2006, Cassini's narrow-angle camera captured this look at Saturn and its rings, seen here nearly edge on. The frame also features Mimas and tiny Janus (above the rings), and Tethys (below the rings). "Above" and "below" the rings is mostly a matter of perspective here. All three moons and the rings orbit Saturn in roughly the same plane. (Source: digg.com)

Ring of Copper

In 1963, the U.S. launched millions of copper needles into space to try a new radio communication strategy. Months later, the needles fell out of orbit.

View the video that tells all.

My Favorite Space Cadets, 14 or 47 Years Later

Doctors Dave Bowman and Frank Poole

Minotaur Seen in Downtown Wolcott

Space cadet that I am, my eyes lit up when I heard on the local news that a nightime launch of a Minotaur I rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, might be visible along the East Coast tonight.

I watched the launch on the NASA channel at 8:15 EST and went outside to see what I could see.

Two or three minutes later, I spotted a red light on the south-southwest horizon rising at a 60-degree angle.

I watched it for about two minutes until it disappeared to the south-southeast approximately 45 degrees above the horizon.

When it disappeared, I could not determine whether the light was extinguished or was obscured by a cloud. Probably the latter, but in either case, I did not see the light again.

Perseids: called on account of weather

Last night was the predicted peak of the Perseids meteor shower, so around 10:30 PM, I went outside, lied flat on the driveway, and stared up at the Milky Way for 20 minutes waiting for meteors.

About ten minutes into my outing, I spotted a very dim satellite pass directly overhead on a south-to-north path. I never saw a dim satellite before. All the ones I've seen in the past were bright, points of light, but last night's was dim. Maybe there are others that are dim and I just never noticed them before because they are dim. Go figure.

A few minutes later, I saw a meteor fly out of Cassiopeia on a southwest track.

Then the clouds began to roll in, so I gave up the quest, went inside, turned on the television, watched K1GF's weather forecast, and then Letterman until the decidedly unattractive Paula Abdul convinced me to shut off the television and go to bed.

Tunguksa Blast Mystery Solved by Space Shuttle?

According to National Georgraphic News today:

"Space shuttles blasting off from Earth may have helped solve the mystery of what came careening down from space to explode over Russia in June 1908.

"The so-called Tunguska event leveled 770 square miles (2,000 square kilometers) of forest in a remote area of Siberia.

"What caused the blast has puzzled scientists, because only a handful of people saw the explosion and it left no easily recognizable debris."

Read the rest of the story here.

Surfin': Making Hay During the Holiday Downtime

This week, Surfin’ notices the world winding down as the holidays rev up.

Where are the Sunspots? Are we in for a Quiet Solar Cycle?

So what's up with our Sun? Is it going through a depression? It seems as if our closest star is experiencing a surprisingly uneventful couple of years. Solar minimum has supposedly passed and we should be seeing a lot more magnetic activity, and we certainly should be observing lots more sunspots...

Read all about it here.

Surfin': Google Earth's Ionosphere

This week’s Surfin’ explores the Earth's ionosphere via Google Earth. After you read it, come back here to post your comments, if any.

By the way, Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general. If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

lunar eclipse

I was looking forward to viewing the lunar eclipse with my new telescope last night, but K1GF's 5 PM  forecast was not promising (an overcast of clouds), so I did not expect to see much.

I looked out at 9 PM and the sky was not overcast. There were a few thin scattered clouds and the moon was in the clear, so I brought the telescope out and viewed the eclipse until about 10:10 PM. The view was spectacular and I was surprised how well I could still see the features of the moon even though they were in the dark orange shadow of the Earth.

During the eclipse, I momentarily swung the telescope over to Saturn, which was the closest naked eye object northeast of the Moon last night and got a good glimpse of Saturn's rings.

The air was very calm last night and except for the scattered clouds, it was an excellent night for telescoping. It was a great show!

satellite spotters learn too much for the government's comfort

This article is an interesting follow-up to what I wrote here on the 7th.

Visual Satellite Observer's Home Page

"If you have ever star-gazed shortly after sunset or before sunrise, you have probably noticed one or two "stars" sailing gracefully across the sky. These are Earth-orbiting satellites, visible due to the reflection of the Sun's light off their surfaces toward the observer. Hundreds of satellites are visible to the unaided eye; thousands are visible using binoculars and telescopes. Observing satellites has many enthusiasts around the world."

And many congregate at the Visual Satellite Observer's Home Page. This is a very interesting Web site and I hope it will solve some of the mysteries I have encountered while stargazing with my new telescope.

new telescope

For Christmas, my family bought me a new telescope, a Celestron NexStar 130 SLT. It is a 130 mm reflector with a "fully computerized altazimuth mount."

It is not something that was on my wish list. My Christmas wish list typically includes some books, DVDs, CDs, and nothing that is very expensive. If my family wants to buy me something expensive, they try to figure what to give me that will be a hit.

In early November, the explosion of Comet Holmes rekindled my interest in astronomy. I followed the progress of the comet using my old refractor telescope. One night, I was lazier than on most nights and instead of hauling my refractor outside, I used my father's old binoculars and was surprised that the binos did a better job than my scope. I must have mentioned that fact to my wife and/or daughter and they decided that I needed a new telescope and chipped in with my sister to buy the aforementioned Celestron reflector.

The weather has not been to kind as far as breaking in the new telescope. Since Christmas, there have been more nights with fog, clouds, and precipitation than there have been clear nights, but this past week, I managed to find some clear skies and put in some good time getting acquainted with the new scope.

Last night, I viewed the Moon until the clouds moved in. I went to bed, but could not sleep, and when I got up to get a drink of water, I noticed that the sky was clear and Saturn was visible. So, I took the scope outside and viewed Saturn in my pajamas until the clouds moved in again. (What Saturn was doing in my pajamas, I'll never know!)

An online review of my scope recommends getting a Barlow lens "to give the magnification necessary to view detail on the planets." I'm all for that, so I started shopping around for such a lens.

Celestron has a Barlow lens for $60. I found the very same lens on eBay new for $24. I bought it and with shipping, cost me half its list price!

The lens is being shipped from Pennsylvania, so I hope to have it in a few days, and weather permitting, be able to try it out (and report my findings here).

Surfin': More Space on the Radio

This week's Surfin' picks up where it left off last week with more astronomy and Amateur Radio connections. Read it here, then come back here to post your comments, if any.

By the way, Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general. If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

online interactive sky chart

I am still following the progress of Comet Holmes. If the sky is clear, I go outside with my binoculars at night and view the skies.

I also check the Sky & Telescope Web site for news regarding the comet and anything else that is newsworthy in the sky. Today, I discovered that the web site has an interactive sky chart that allows you to "create a custom naked-eye map of the whole sky for any place on Earth, at any time of day or night, on any date from 1600 to 2400." Their sky chart works in most Java-enabled Web browsers.

You have to register with Sky & Telescope in order to access the sky chart (registering is no big deal and its free). Once you register, you can access the chart and customize it for your location, which takes about one minute to do.

I do have Stellarium on my Mac, which provides the same functionality, but I can access Sky & Telescope's sky chart from any computer with a browser and that can come in handy when I don't have my Mac at ready.

Comet Holmes

Read about the exploding Comet Holmes and last night, the sky was clear, so I took my old refractor outside to have a look.

The comet is visible with the naked eye. At first, you might mistake it for a dim star, but it is actually a fuzzy spot. Put the telescope on it and it is a gray fuzzy ball.

The comet is easy to find. Here is a map from the Sky & Telescope web site that will assist you in finding the comet.

remembering Sputnik

Sputnik 1 was launched 50 years ago this Thursday.

It was a big deal around our home back then. My sister, Jeanette, and I were the original space cadets and my mother was our leader.

Mom found out when Sputnik would be visible and I remember standing out on the lawn with my parents and my sister watching that pinpoint of light that was Sputnik cross the sky over our house.

One day after work, Dad brought us home our very own Sputniks: a simple toy that some entrepreneur hastily put together to take advantage of the moment.

The toy Sputnik was a simple kit consisting of a white round balloon and a handful of white soda straws. After you inflated the balloon you attached the soda straws to the balloon to emulate Sputnik's antennas. We were on our own with regards to a launch vehicle.

the original X-men X-man

The Man From Planet X is another filme that scared/scarred the crap out of me when I was a kid.

Mind you, I only saw this film on television, never in a movie theater, so, in my humble opinion, the scary parts had to be really scary in order to be as effective viewing it on a 10-inch television screen in the comfort and safety of my parent's living room vs. the big screen in a dark movie theater.

The real scary elements of this film:

• Lots of fog just like a gothic monster flick.

• Lots of suspense waiting for The Man to show up.

• The Man finally shows up in spectacular fashion.

Recently, I viewed this film again and it still holds up. I recommend it.

Surfin': Where's Manned Spacecraft?

“Where's Manned Spacecraft” is the title of this week’s installment of Surfin‘. After you read it, you can post your comments, if any, back here.

By the way, Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb that finds and features Web sites that are related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general. If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

mcnaught not

I did not see Comet McNaught last night because the western horizon was too cloudy.