Results tagged “astronomy”

No really, look up! Those are the Leonids streaking through the sky (they began on November 10). This meteor shower often gives one of the best shows of the year, on rare occasions being so spectacular that it surpasses being just a shower and becomes a "meteor storm," with over 1000 meteors per hour. We won't get quite that amazing a sight this year, but the debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle should still send about 500 pieces an hour through the atmosphere -- and with the peak arriving on Tuesday night and a barely visible waxing Moon to darken the sky, the Leonids will still be an astronomical show worth staying outside in the cold for (perhaps with your camera?).

       

In a circular plot of land in upper Northwest, the U.S. Naval Observatory has acted as America's timekeeper for over 150 years. Most people associate the USNO with the Vice President, but Number One Observatory Circle – a house sitting on the grounds, separate from Navy operations – has only been the VP's official residence since 1974. The real cultural and scientific draw of this institution is its role in using the Sun and stars to create our modern concept of time and navigation.

We've mentioned the International Year of Astronomy in passing, but not in great detail because Washington, D.C., disappointingly, doesn't seem to be hosting too many events. The IYA is a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the year Galileo Galilei first gazed through a telescope to look at the universe. Organized by the International Astronomical Union, IYA events have been planned all over the world all year, including tonight, the last night of Galilean Nights: three evenings encouraging the public to look up and get a closer look at our Moon and Jupiter and its moons (all of which will be close together in the sky this week) -- the objects Galileo first studied. If you're outside of D.C., see if there's a Galilean Night event near you, or follow other people's observations online through various webcasts and Twitter feeds (many with photos), or just head outside tonight and wait for a break in the clouds. You might consider buying a Galileoscope for just twenty bucks, which should give you a nice view of the Moon's craters, or participate in the last night of the Great World Wide Star Count.

The news isn't good for stargazers this weekend. Both events we mentioned last weekend, the National Capital Astronomers "Exploring the Sky" in Rock Creek Park and NOVAC's 27th Annual Star Gaze, are certainly going to be rained out. We'll let you know if the annual Star Gaze is rescheduled.

I think NASA would agree with me when I say, had I known the LCROSS mission -- which impacted the Moon early Friday morning -- was the mission that the mainstream media would finally report on en masse, getting it so unbelievably twisted in the process, I would have tried to explain the details of the mission much more clearly in the weeks leading up to it. Which isn't to say the coverage and the subsequent opinions by empty-headed followers hasn't been hilarious.

Back in early August, we previewed the Public Observatory Project at the National Air and Space Museum; this week the ribbon was cut and the telescope is officially in business. (Before I get too far, I should disclaim that I'm now a volunteer at POP -- having worked in observatories during college, this was too good an opportunity to pass up -- so I'm obviously a big fan of the project, and you may attempt to complete your DCist editor bingo card by trying to find me there during my weekly shift.) The observatory is focused on daytime observing and will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The research-grade 16" Boller and Chivens telescope, on loan from Harvard University, is fitted with a solar filter, making it perfect for viewing the Sun and Venus. On especially nice days, a portable 11" Celestron scope is rolled out, to which are attached two smaller scopes fitted with H-alpha and CaK filters, allowing viewers to see different wavelengths of light coming from the Sun -- during my first training session we caught spectacular prominence through the CaK scope. Programs with D.C. Public Schools will begin in November. The museum also has a new program in the Einstein Planetarium, Journey to the Stars.

Autumnal Equinox

       

Twice a year, as the vernal and autumnal equinoxes come upon us, nightwatchers in the D.C. area get a special treat when the full Moon's orbit brings it up behind the Capitol building, in line with the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Iwo Jima Memorial. Usually this occasion occurs in concert with the Harvest Moon, the name of the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox, which happens on September 22 this year; however, this time around, the closest full Moon actually occurs after the equinox. Nevertheless, it's September's Moon that gives us the spectacular line up, so this year our photographers met up near the Washington Monument last night to view the Corn Moon rise behind the Capitol. Check out the gallery above for their spectacular shots. Although the official full Moon was Friday, you should still get a pretty great view tonight, -- you might consider the Mall if you were looking for a romantic moon-lit walk with your partner.

It's a regular week of summer nights coming up. No meteor showers or amazing celestial events mark the calendar, but with the waxing Moon and (hopefully) some clear nights, it should be a great time to put on some bug spray and check out the regulars -- start with the Summer Triangle we pointed out last week.

As we mentioned last week, Jupiter reached opposition last Friday. At this point, the Sun and Jupiter are on opposite sides of the Earth (like when the Moon is full), making it the brightest it ever appears in the sky. Since it's only a couple days off, it should still be a distinctly bright spot rising at sunset and lasting all night.

       

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum has had quite the year so far. Last month they were visited by astronaut heroes from the beginning of the space race all the way through the latest space shuttle missions; they've continued to build out Phase Two at the Udvar-Hazy location, on track to finish in 2011; and will soon announce the opening, expected later this month, of their new Public Observatory on the Mall.

Did you look up last Wednesday and Thursday to see two of the brightest objects in the sky -- the Moon and Jupiter -- trek ever so close to each other? It's tough to say that maxedaperture's photo above doesn't really do it justice (because it sure as hell does the Moon itself justice), but the real view was so bright to make even non-fans of astronomy look up and, as a friend told me later, make him nearly run his car into a ditch. (Please practice safe sky viewing and pull over!)

              

Any fan of the space program should recognize quite a few faces roaming around D.C. this week. Last night, the biggest gathering of Apollo astronauts in years arrived at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum for the annual John H. Glenn Lecture featuring the Apollo 11 crew, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, along with NASA's first Flight Director, Chris Kraft, and of course, astronaut and Senator John Glenn himself. The audience was filled with other Apollo astronauts, as well as the STS-125 crew that flew the space shuttle Atlantis to repair the Hubble Telescope in May.

You can look up at the sky during almost any time of year and see some kind of astronomical occurrence -- meteor showers, planetary conjunctions, lunar and solar eclipses, and, for those of us in D.C., the well-known sight of the twice annual moon rising in line with the monuments. But few things have the celestial romance of seeing a comet in the sky. The last time we were able to see a comet from our roofdecks was in October 2007, when Comet Holmes burst to life a million times brighter, becoming as visible as the North Star.

We mentioned last week that the two brightest planets in our sky would soon converge together with the crescent Moon in the early evening, making their final swoop towards each other tonight. Flickr user (and our reliable astro-photographer) philliefan99 took this image on Saturday night, when they were still fairly far apart, but knowing the rain would make it tough to photograph on Sunday. We're looking at partly to very cloudy skies tonight, but try to scope them out anyway. If it's clear, the three will be visible just after sunset -- as you can tell from the photo above -- so look up while you're leaving the office today. Venus, Jupiter and the Moon will be huddled in the southwestern sky near the horizon and will be so close that you can cover all three with your thumb at arms length. Enjoy the show!

Since many of you will already be out tonight at Fort Reno or Screen on the Green, go ahead and tilt your head upwards to catch an even more spectacular show. The Perseid meteor shower has actually been appearing for a couple weeks already, as debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle burns up as it enters Earth's atmosphere, but tonight is special as it reaches its annual peak.

     

Washington saw a particularly beautiful full vernal moon, better known as the Full Worm Moon, on Thursday, and a number of our Flickr contributors added their best shots of it to the DCist Pool. Here's what the Farmers' Almanac has to say about the Full Worm Moon:

As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.