Author Archive
New Year 2012
January 1st, 2012 | Author: Herb
Wishing a Safe and Happy New Year to the Inhabitants of Earth!
Draconid Meteor Shower Reminder
October 8th, 2011 | Author: Herb
Don’t forget the Draconid Meteor Shower is expected to peak today Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 1900 UTC/GMT! Some resources are estimating as many as a thousand meteors per hour, unfortunately the Moon will hinder observations to a large degree and light pollution won’t help either. However, that being said you should at least step out after sunset and see what you can see, you just never know! For more information please see: www.SpaceWeather.com
UARS Re-Entry
September 20th, 2011 | Author: Herb
Space Weather News for Sept. 20, 2011
Source: spaceweather.com
UARS, a NASA satellite the size of a small bus, will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere later this week producing a brilliant fireball somewhere over our planet. Best estimates place the re-entry time during the late hours of Sept. 23rd over a still-unknown region of Earth. Observers of the rapidly-decaying satellite say it is tumbling and flashing, sometimes almost as brightly as Venus. Video images featured on today’s edition of spaceweather.com show how the doomed satellite looks through a backyard telescope.
Readers who would like to catch a last glimpse of UARS streaking across the night sky should check SpaceWeather’s Satellite Tracker for flyby times: spaceweather.com/flybys. You can also turn your smartphone into a UARS tracker by downloading our Simple Flybys app: simpleflybys.com
ASRC’s 30th Anniversary
June 24th, 2011 | Author: Herb
June 21st 2011 marked the 30th anniversary of the formation of the Astronomical Society of Rowan County(ASRC). The stars may be dimmer now due to light pollution, but the interest in all things spacey remains quite high. This is especially true among our students. And this is where the ASRC really shines, by offering those young inquiring minds, their parents, and even their grandparents a chance to see the stars, planets, nebula and galaxies close up through real telescopes.
Cheers to the ASRC and their efforts at sharing the unsurpassed beauty of the cosmos with anyone wishing to see and learn more about the natural universe they are apart of. Their telescopes have opened the cosmic window for countless people throughout the years. Let’s hope the local light pollution problem will be addressed in a satisfactory manner so the next 30 years will be even more rewarding.
Huge Storm on Saturn
May 19th, 2011 | Author: Herb
NASA Science News for May 19, 2011
A storm of rare power has formed in Saturn’s northern hemisphere. Wreaking havoc for months, it now stretches around the entire planet and can be seen through backyard telescopes…
FULL STORY AT:
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/19may_saturnstorm/