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Sky and Telescope News
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This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 15 – 24 -

Mercury emerges in the sunset, far lower right of brighter Jupiter. And don't just arc to Arcturus and speed to Spica — continue the curve to Corvus, cruise to Capella, and more.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 15 – 24 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.


Activities for Kids Before and During the Solar Eclipse -

The solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, is the perfect opportunity to get people of all ages interested in the wonder of eclipses through art and science. Here are some activities that anyone with even a passing interest can get involved in

The post Activities for Kids Before and During the Solar Eclipse appeared first on Sky & Telescope.


Webb Telescope Reveals Worlds in the Farthest Reaches of the Solar System -

James Webb Space Telescope data on distant worlds confirm some solar system formation hypotheses and confuse others.

The post Webb Telescope Reveals Worlds in the Farthest Reaches of the Solar System appeared first on Sky & Telescope.


What Will the Weather Be on the Day of the Total Solar Eclipse? -

Eclipse weather expert Jay Anderson shares the long-range outlook for eclipse day as well as instructions on how to look at weather forecasts closer to April 8th.

The post What Will the Weather Be on the Day of the Total Solar Eclipse? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.


Is Betelgeuse Fading Again? -

Betelgeuse has dipped nearly half a magnitude since late January. Could it be headed for another Great Dimming Event? We also take a look at this spring's "other" eclipse.

The post Is Betelgeuse Fading Again? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.


Icy Impactor Might Explain the Formation of Mars’s Moons -

In a new study, scientists suggest an impact with a giant icy object could explain the formation of Mars's moons, Phobos and Deimos.

The post Icy Impactor Might Explain the Formation of Mars’s Moons appeared first on Sky & Telescope.


How to See the Diamond Ring Effect During a Total Solar Eclipse -

Here's how to safely see the "diamond ring," the dazzling burst of sunlight seen just before and after totality.

The post How to See the Diamond Ring Effect During a Total Solar Eclipse appeared first on Sky & Telescope.


This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 8 – 17 -

The Moon sidles up to bold Jupiter, then the delicate Pleiades, then the Castor and Pollux twins. Arcturus, ascending in the east, is probably the third-brightest star you've ever seen and that's including the Sun.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 8 – 17 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.


Webb Telescope Finds Dwarf Galaxies Lit Up the Early Universe -

Faint, small galaxies ionized the opaque fog that obscured the early universe.

The post Webb Telescope Finds Dwarf Galaxies Lit Up the Early Universe appeared first on Sky & Telescope.


JWST Photographs Possible Giant Planets Around White Dwarfs -

JWST has directly imaged two giant exoplanets orbiting white dwarf stars. This discovery may reveal the fate of our solar system.

The post JWST Photographs Possible Giant Planets Around White Dwarfs appeared first on Sky & Telescope.




Spaceflight Now News
https://spaceflightnow.com

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket on sunset Starlink flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base - The mission came as SpaceX is preparing to launch a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station later this week. Liftoff of the Starlink 7-16 mission happened at 7:28 p.m. PT (10:28 p.m. ET, 0228 UTC).
SpaceX launches Starship on the third flight test of the program - The Federal Aviation Administration released the launch license modification allowing the mission to move forward on Wednesday afternoon. Starship launched at 8:25 a.m. CT (9:25 a.m. ET, 1325 UTC).
SpaceX launches Starlink mission on third attempt from Kennedy Space Center - SpaceX completed its third attempt to launch the Starlink 6-44 mission Friday night. Liftoff 8:21 p.m. ET (0021 UTC).
Rocket Lab launches fourth satellite for Japanese Earth-imaging company, Synspective - The mission will the third launch for Rocket Lab this year and the fourth to date as part of a multi-launch contract with Synspective. Liftoff from Rocket Lab Launch Complex-1 in Mahia, New Zealand is set for 4:03 a.m. NZDT on March 13 (11:03 a.m. EDT, 1503 UTC on March 12).
Crew-7 returns home following six-month stay at the International Space Station - The crew spent 197 days docked at the ISS and welcomed seven visiting vehicles while on orbit. Splashdown off the coast of Florida is anticipated around 5:50 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 12.
SpaceX completes double launch day with its second Starlink mission - This mission was the second of two Falcon 9 flights on Sunday night. Liftoff from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 9:09 p.m. PDT (12:09 a.m. EDT, 0409 UTC).
SpaceX launches Starlink mission, prepares to undock a Crew Dragon from ISS Monday - The Sunday evening launch was the first of two in a period of just over five hours. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station took place at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 UTC).
News from the Press Site: A roundup of the week’s space news - Join us for a roundup of the week's space news with reporters covering the big stories. Spaceflight Now's Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Irene Klotz, Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, and Richard Tribou, Space Reporter and Senior Content Editor for The Orlando Sentinel.
SpaceX tentatively targets March 14 for third Starship flight - SpaceX published a livestream for the mission, suggesting it could launch its more than 400-foot-tall rocket by mid-March. There are still a number of outstanding items before that could happen, including the Federal Aviation Administration issuing a launch license.
Crew Dragon docks with space station after smooth rendezvous - A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft caught up with the International Space Station early Tuesday after a 28-hour orbital chase, bringing three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the outpost for a six-month tour of duty.


Space.com News
https://www.space.com

SpaceX launches 22 Starlink satellites from California in dusky evening liftoff - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 22 more of the company's Starlink internet satellites to orbit tonight (March 18) from California.
Marvel Comics' new series celebrates Boba Fett's Mandalorian dad - A preview of Marvel Comics' "Star Wars: Jango Fett #1," which is coming March 20.
Track the April 8 total solar eclipse with SkySafari, now 80% off - SkySafari 7 has a bundle of new features ahead of the next solar eclipse, and a big sale to match. It's all to get ready for the next solar eclipse in the United States on April 8.
Bad news for life on Mars? Red Planet's wet epoch may have been shorter than we thought - Water freely flowed across Mars billions of years ago, suggesting the Red Planet could also once have supported life. But this water may have existed for just a short time.
New NASA astronauts 'thrilled' to see 1st Boeing Starliner crew launch in May (exclusive) - A new NASA astronaut class finished training in March, just in time to watch a new spacecraft take flight. Boeing's Starliner is expected to fly its first crew to space in May.
Scientists may finally know why this infamous supernova wears a 'string of pearls' - SN 1987A is ringed by a strange string of hydrogen pearls that have puzzled astronomers for a long time, but researchers may finally have an explanation.
SpaceX's Starship will go interstellar someday, Elon Musk says - A future, more advanced version of SpaceX's Starship megarocket will travel to other star systems, according to Elon Musk.
Thomas Stafford, NASA astronaut who led Apollo-Soyuz joint mission, dies at 93 - Former NASA astronaut Thomas Stafford, who flew to the moon before leading the first international space mission carried out by the United States and Russia, has died at the age of 93.
Mysterious 'unparticles' may be pushing the universe apart, new theoretical study suggests - New theoretical research suggests that a mysterious form of matter called "unparticles" could be the driving force behind the expansion of the universe.
SpaceX to launch 30th cargo mission to the ISS for NASA this week - SpaceX is scheduled to launch its 30th operational cargo mission to the International Space Station for NASA on Thursday (March 21).


NASA Breaking News
https://www.nasa.gov

Student-Built Robots Clash at Competition Supported by NASA-JPL - Hand-crafted robots, constructed over the past two months by 44 high school teams, duked it out at the FIRST Robotics Los Angeles regional competition. Student-made contraptions of a metal and a little magic battled each other in front of cheering and dancing high schoolers at the annual Los Angeles regional FIRST Robotics Competition over the […]
NASA’s Swift Temporarily Suspends Science Operations - On March 15, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory entered into safe mode, temporarily suspending science operations due to degrading performance from one of its three gyroscopes (gyros), which are used to point the observatory for making observations. The rest of the spacecraft remains in good health. Swift is designed to successfully operate without one of […]
NASA Administrator Pays Tribute to Space Pioneer Thomas Stafford  - The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Monday’s passing of Thomas Stafford, a lifelong space exploration advocate, former NASA astronaut, and U.S. Air Force general:  “Today, General Tom Stafford went to the eternal heavens, which he so courageously explored as a Gemini and Apollo astronaut as well as a peacemaker in […]
NASA Wallops Supports Rocket Lab Launch for NRO From Virginia - NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia will support commercial launch provider Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket launch no earlier than March 21 at 2:40 a.m. EDT. The four-hour launch window runs through 6:30 a.m. The mission, named NROL-123, is a dedicated launch for NRO (National Reconnaissance Office). The 59-foot-tall Electron rocket will lift off from Launch […]
NASA Challenge Invites Artemis Generation Coders to Johnson Space Center - NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement has selected seven student teams to participate in a culminating event for the 2024 App Development Challenge (ADC), one of the agency’s Artemis Student Challenges, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The coding challenge invites middle and high school student teams to contribute to deep space exploration missions by […]
NASA Sets Coverage for Crew Launch; Trio to Join Expedition 70 - Three crew members will blast off on Thursday, March 21, to support Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station. NASA will provide full coverage of launch and crew arrival at the microgravity laboratory. NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus, are scheduled to lift off on […]
Vision Statement of the Science Directorate at NASA Ames - Vision To be a world-leading science organization, which contributes substantially to NASA’s science mission enterprise. Mission To provide scientific leadership in research and flight missions, enabled by the excellence of a diverse workforce. Strategies Alignment • Shape, and align with, opportunities emerging from NASA’s strategic goals and elsewhere. • Foster a culture of entrepreneurship, excellence, […]
NASA Selects New Round of Candidates for CubeSat Missions to Station - NASA selected 10 small research satellites across eight states to fly to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s efforts to expand education and science opportunities, support technology advancement, and provide for workforce development. These small satellites, or CubeSats, use a standard size and form measured in units. One unit (1U) is 10x10x11 […]
Leslie Livesay Named Deputy Director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory - The first woman to serve as JPL’s deputy director, Livesay serves under Laurie Leshin, the first woman to lead the lab. Leslie Livesay begins her tenure as deputy director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Monday, March 18. She succeeds Larry D. James, who served as deputy director since September 2013. During a career spanning […]
NASA Wallops Offers Career Inspiration to Delmarva Students - NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, partners, and area employers joined forces on a mission to inspire more than 4,500 eighth-grade students seeking answers to all questions “career” at the 2024 Junior Achievement (JA) Inspire event. The annual career-exploration event was held March 12-13 at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland, featuring more than […]


Astronomy Now Magazine News
https://astronomynow.com

Inspect impressive Mare Imbrium    - In and around the vast Imbrium Basin is a very fertile area for lunar observers. For our Imbrium expedition let’s zero in on its magnificent mountain ranges and great selection of impact craters. 
M95 & M96: A close galaxy pairing in Leo  - Spiral galaxies Messier 95 and 96 are Leo’s second great Messier duo, after Messier 65 and 66. 
Explore Puppis’ Messier cluster trio  - Puppis is rich in open clusters, including the Messier trio of M46, M47 and M93.
Commercial lunar lander returns America to the Moon - A lander built by the Houston-based company Intuitive Machines touched down near the Moon's South Pole on Thursday. It was the first lunar landing by a US spacecraft in more than 50 years and the first commercially-operated vehicle to successfully reach the surface.
Celestron RASA 8 astrograph: fast imaging with the RASA 8 - Olly Penrice has spent over a year imaging with a Celestron Rowe–Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph (RASA) and finds that, with some fiddling required, it excels at capturing high-quality data of deep-sky objects.
Moon close to the Pleiades - It’s always a prime observing event when the Moon pays a visit to the magnificent Pleiades open cluster (M45). 
A rare triple active galactic nucleus - This cosmic collision is a coming together of two large spiral galaxies, but if you look carefully you might see two smaller galaxies that are also involved.
Valleys on the Moon - With a waxing Moon riding high in the early-evening sky, now is a good time to become acquainted with four of the best valleys on the lunar surface.
Get a buzz from the Beehive - Messier 44 in Cancer is a marvellous open cluster that’s a great sight through a modest pair of binoculars.
Vaonis Vespera. The observing station that’s an electronic marvel - Four years after their debut product Stellina, Vaonis launches the world’s lightest fully computerised telescope-camera. Ade Ashford puts it through its paces.


Mars Daily News
https://www.marsdaily.com

Life on Mars, together - Boston MA (SPX) Mar 14, 2024
Earlier this year, Madelyn Hoying, a PhD student in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, and Wing Lam (Nicole) Chan, an MIT senior in aeronautics and astronautics, were part of Crew 290 at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), the largest and longest-running Mars analog facility in the world. Their six-person crew completed a two-week simulation under the name Project MA
NASA and JAXA advance Martian Moons study with instrument handoff - Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 17, 2024
On March 14, NASA completed the delivery of its innovative gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for its incorporation into the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission spacecraft, marking a significant milestone in preparation for the mission's final system-level testing. Developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in collaboratio
Surprising insights about debris flows on Mars - Utrecht, Netherlands (SPX) Mar 15, 2024
The period that liquid water was present on the surface of Mars may have been shorter than previously thought. Channel landforms called gullies, previously thought to be formed exclusively by liquid water, can also be formed by the action of evaporating CO2 ice. That is the conclusion of a new study by Lonneke Roelofs, a planetary researcher at Utrecht University. "This influences our ideas abou
It's go for drilling at Mineral King: Sols 4125-4126: - Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 15, 2024
Earth planning date: Wednesday, March 13, 2024: The title of the blog gives away the big news of today - we are "go" to plan drilling at Mineral King 3. Yay! For those not following along every day, here's a quick recap of how we got to drill target #3 on this block: We drilled the original "Mineral King" target on sol 4107, but the drill did not reach as deep into the rock as it usually d
Eroded Martian Volcano with Hidden Ice Suggests Active Geological Past - Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 14, 2024
At the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, scientists unveiled the discovery of a colossal volcano, provisionally named "Noctis volcano," along with a suspected subsurface glacier in Mars' Tharsis volcanic province. This revelation comes from analysis of imagery captured by orbiting spacecraft over decades, unveiling a site with profound implications for the stud
NASA's Mars Mission: Rovers Traverse Tough Terrain Amid Budget Battles - Gainesville FL (SPX) Mar 13, 2024
Is or was there life on Mars? That profound question is so complex that it will not be fully answered by the two NASA rovers now exploring it. But because of the literal groundwork the rovers are performing, scientists are finally investigating, in-depth and in unprecedented detail, the planet's evidence for life, known as its "biosignatures." This search is remarkably complicated, and in
Unified Theory Unravels the Mystery of Sand Ripples Across Earth and Mars - London, UK (SPX) Mar 13, 2024
Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, including Prof. Hezi Yizhaq and Prof. Itzhak Katra, along with international collaborators, have proposed a new theory that could explain the formation of sand ripples on both Mars and Earth, challenging the prevailing belief that these features could not be formed under Earth's conditions. Published in Nature Geoscience, their findings sugges
Coral restoration efforts lead to rapid reef recovery comparable to healthy ecosystems - Exeter UK (SPX) Mar 11, 2024
Innovative coral transplantation techniques have demonstrated remarkable success in reviving degraded reefs, according to the latest findings from the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Programme. Researchers reveal that these restored reefs match the growth rate of their healthy counterparts within just four years, offering hope for ecosystems devastated by human activities and environmental stressors
Study reveals potential for life's building blocks from Mars' ancient atmosphere - Sendai, Japan (SPX) Feb 29, 2024
In a groundbreaking study that could redefine our understanding of life's potential on ancient Mars, scientists from Tohoku University have unveiled research indicating that organic materials discovered on the Red Planet may have originated from atmospheric formaldehyde. This discovery, published in Scientific Reports, suggests a plausible pathway for the formation of biomolecules-organic compou
Three years later, search for life on Mars continues - Cincinnati OH (SPX) Feb 27, 2024
In the three years since NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on Mars, the NASA science team has made the daily task of investigating the red planet seem almost mundane. The rover and its helicopter sidekick Ingenuity have captured stunning images of Mars and collected 23 unique rock core samples along 17 miles of an ancient river delta. One science team member, University of Cinci
Little Groundwater Recharge in Ancient Mars Aquifer, According to New Models - Austin TX (SPX) Feb 27, 2024
Mars was once a wet world. The geological record of the Red Planet shows evidence for water flowing on the surface - from river deltas to valleys carved by massive flash floods. But a new study shows that no matter how much rainfall fell on the surface of ancient Mars, very little of it seeped into an aquifer in the planet's southern highlands. A graduate student at The University of
Mining Into Mineral King: Sols 4110-4111 - Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 26, 2024
The planning team came in after the weekend to see another beautiful Martian drill hole on the target Mineral King! Mineral King is named after a silver mining district in Sequoia National Park, California. This was a pretty odd-looking rock, with the big overhanging ledges and several different colors, so we were all pretty anxious to see the drilling results. Fortunately, the rock was strong e
Mars' volcanic activity suggests Early crust recycling - Sydney, Australia (SPX) Feb 20, 2024
In a groundbreaking study led by Professor Joseph Michalski of The University of Hong Kong (HKU), new light has been shed on the volcanic landscape of Mars, revealing a complexity and diversity previously unrecognized. This research, recently published in Nature Astronomy, delves into the mechanisms behind Martian volcanism and its implications for understanding the geological history of Earth a
The psychological barrier of deep space exploration - San Francisco CA (SPX) Mar 12, 2024
Within the next few decades, NASA aims to land humans on the Moon, set up a lunar colony and use the lessons learned to send people to Mars as part of its Artemis program. While researchers know that space travel can stress space crew members both physically and mentally and test their ability to work together in close quarters, missions to Mars will amplify these challenges. Mars is far away -
Rover Kinesthetics: Sols 4116-4117 - Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 07, 2024
Earth planning date: Monday, March 4, 2024: It has been a busy and exciting week for Curiosity and its science team. Our intrepid rover successfully drilled its 40th sample on Mars and today followed it up with an intensive campaign to characterize the tailings expelled while drilling "Mineral King." When APXS analyzes a target, it receives signals from the top millimeter or less of the sample (


New Venus Transits the Sun on June 5, 2012 New

Pictures of Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA - August 2011

Pictures of Rainwater Solar Observatory Construction, December 2010

Pictures of 2010 Mid-South Star Gaze


Clear Dark Sky

Lunar Phase for
Mon, 18 Mar 2024 CDT

Lunar Phase

Courtesy of the
U. S. Naval Observatory

Latest Picture of the Sun
Click for Current View of the Sun

Welcome to our Astronomy page! We have been studying the sun for decades. My interest in the sun through Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) lent to my interest into astronomy. We do not live in a very dark area as we are just a couple of miles northwest of Ellisville, MS and there are a group of baseball fields about 1/2 mile east of us over the hill behind our house. We have a farm in rural Franklin County, Mississippi where it is very dark. We are surrounded by paper company timber land and National Forest. We are members of the Rainwater Astronomical Association at French Camp, MS. It is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from our house there so we plan our trips there around events. This site will be under constant construction as I will add photographs and other items of interest as time goes by.


Sangre Telescope

This is the Sangre Telescope at Rainwater Observatory in French Camp, MS. It is a 0.65m
f/8 Ritchey-Chretien telescope and is part of the Las Cumbres Global Telescope Network.


Index:
Rainwater Celestron
Lunt Solar Systems Orion Telescopes


My Telescopes

Celestron CGEM-1100 We have a Celestron CGEM-1100 Computerized Telescope. It is an 11" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a CGEM Computerized Equatorial Mount. I converted the backplate and the star diagonal to the 2" versions. I bought a set of the Orion Q70 eyepiecies and a 2x Barlow to go with them. My wife has bought me various filters for Christmas, birthday, Father's Day, etc. We want to eventually get into Astrophotography, but not in a major way. Our home location is not very dark as there is a baseball park just over the hill behind us and lots of street lights. Over at our farm it is very dark, though. We do not have neighbors for miles and the closest street light is 13 miles away. We are surrounded by paper company timber land and National Forest. We may move to our farm after we retire in a few years. Right now I am using Starry Nights software.
Lunt LS35THa Solar Telescope We have a Lunt LS35THa Hydrogen-Alpha Solar Telescope. We also have a solar filter for our Celestron CGEM-1100. I am planning on buying a solar filter for my Orion XT8, also. The Lunt LS35THa has a 35mm Unobstructed Front Mounted Etalon with a Band Pass of less than0.75 Angstroms. This is at least 25% better than the Coronado PST with its less than 1 Angstoms of Band Pass, even though the Aperature is 5mm less. The Focal Length is 207mm and the Blocking Filter is 4mm with a Full Disk Image up to 400mm Focal.

We originally got interested in Astronomy because of my years studying the sun for Amateur Radio (Ham Radio). Sunspots have a great effect on High Frequency (HF) Radio Propagation. The high radiation from the sunspots ionize the Ionosphere and this causes better HF propagation because the radio waves bounce back to earth off of the highly ionized layers in the atmosphere. The number of sunspots on the Sun has a considerable effect on the levels of radiation emitted and thus impacting the ionosphere. This has a marked effect on radio communications of all forms. So sunspots are of great interest to anyone using HF radio communications, since it affects radio propagation so much.
Orion XT8 Telescope I do not take my big Celestron out very much because of the amount of time it takes for setup and take down. I thought that this scope would be easy to pick up and take out to the patio for casual viewing. It really surprised me on how clear and easy it was to use this telescope. The one thing I do miss is the Go-To computer to track the object once you are viewing it. The focuser is a little touchy, especially at higher magnifications, but it is a good little scope.

This Dobsonian Reflector has an optical diameter of 203mm and a focal length of 1200mm. It has a focal ration of f/5.9 with a maximum usable magnification of 300x. This means that I could theoretically use a 4mm eyepiece with this scope. I have used a 2x Barlow and achieved a magnification of 96x, which was fairly hard to focus without a fine adjustment on the 2" Crayford focuser. The construction took a couple of hours and it worked well on the first outing.

We have had some very good views of Saturn and have done a lot of viewing with it. It is easy to set up and I can quickly have it going so that my grandchildren can view our Universe.

Index