A Sea of Deep Space Objects

The Galactic Center

The waning days of Summer are an excellent time to enjoy a view into the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy. We observe our own galaxy all around us in the night sky, and if you are in a reasonably dark location, you can see the band of stars that are the spiral arms of our own galaxy stretch across the sky. At this time of year, as the sky darkens after sunset, the Milky Way stretches high overhead, touching the southern horizon at the constellation Sagittarius. In fact, when you look due south toward that very constellation, you are looking toward the center of the galaxy. Not surprisingly, you also can see a lot of beautiful deep space objects, and with a pair of binoculars you can see many interesting objects, from clusters of stars to nebulae. The diagram gives you an idea of the richness of this part of the sky and galaxy, and even in city lights you will still be able to spot many of these objects. A telescope is fine to use as well, but I find that binoculars give you a big picture and are quite good for seeing the colors and breadth of many of the big nebulae in and around Sagittarius. 

Six months from now, as the Earth swings around the Sun and our view of the night sky has shifted, we'll be pointing the opposite direction toward the 'antipode' of the Milky Way Galaxy, a much less interesting part of the sky (but still cosmically significant). So enjoy Sagittarius and the center of the galaxy while you can.

The SETI and Europa Report

I don't post movie reviews on my blog, but I will talk a bit about a very interesting science fiction movie I enjoyed recently. The movie is called Europa Report, and it is a fact-based sci-fi, something that I quite enjoy because it employs very solid science and technology in its depiction of the future. In this case, the story is of a search for extraterrestrial life, a trip to the Jovian moon Europa in hopes of finding the first sign of life outside of Earth.

Europa Report poster

I find the search for extraterrestrial life and SETI (extraterrestrial intelligence) to be an excellent scientific endeavor, and the latest discoveries of exoplanets on the Kepler Mission, and the ongoing search being conducted by the SETI Institute at the Allen Array in Northern California, along with advanced astrobiology research going on at SETI in Mountain View, all are part of the grand search that captivates so many -- the ongoing pursuit of an answer to the question "are we alone in the universe?" I am happy that we live in a world where some of our tax dollars and donations support these scientific endeavors

The movie Europa Report, like Contact and Deep Impact, are portrayals of unusual or theoretical situations that attempt to remain scientifically grounded. I once heard astronomer and blogger Phil Plait give a fairly in depth assessment of Deep Impact, and although it has some flaws, it is mostly on the mark and an exciting movie for the subject at hand, a comet impacting the Earth. Europa Report follows the story of six astronauts on the long journey to one of Jupiter's moons, Europa, because it contains a large ocean of water under a layer of ice, and could harbor life. Without spoiling the movie ending, I'll simply say that the drama and excitement (and danger) of this kind of journey are well captured in this movie, and if you want an entertaining and riveting evening out, go see the movie. If you'd like a proper movie review, here are some good ones: Space.com is good, as is Roger Ebert's review and the review on io9.

KALW Broadcast - August 8, 2013

I provide a fairly in-depth outline of the Perseids and how to see them during this interview with Ben Trefny of KALW's Crosscurrents program. Click here to listen.

KFOG Broadcast - August 8, 2013

Today's discussion with Greg Gory and the Morning Show team at KFOG includes the Perseids, the International Space Station, Star Parties and Saturn. Listen here. 

Perseid Meteor Shower 2013

It's August, and that means it's time for one of the best meteor showers of the year, the Perseids. This shower occurs every year around August 11-12-13, bringing with it the promise of 50-100 meteors per hour under ideal viewing conditions. There are a lot of great resources on the web to learn about it (see below). For San Francisco and Bay Area residents, here are my thoughts on how to best enjoy it.

In the City: San Francisco and the Bay Area have a bit too much light pollution to see all of the meteors clearly, but you will certainly see some within city limits. The most important things are (a) to have a broad horizon with a view of as much of the sky as possible, and (b) to situate yourself in as dark of a spot as you can find, ideally shaded from streetlights or houselights. Let your eyes adapt and look overhead; you could see 5-10 per hour.

Outside the City: The best way to enjoy a meteor shower is outside of city limits, where darkness prevails and you have a broad view of the sky. As with any stargazing endeavor, you want to dress warmly and bring along creature comforts such as a sleeping bag, lawn chair, and a warm drink. Give yourself plenty of time to dark-adapt. And do this with friends -- it's much more fun when you share this with others.

Where to look: Directly overhead. They appear to originate from a spot in the eastern sky in the constellation Perseus, but they will be visible over all of the night sky.

When to look: meteor showers are always best viewed after midnight, when the rate of meteors goes up considerably. The peak nights for the 2013 Perseids are Sunday night (11th-12th) and Monday night (12th-13th), although Saturday night August 10th will be a fine night as well, as the meteors start to approach their peak and the weekend is in full swing.

In you live in the Bay Area, join the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers high atop Mt. Tamalpais for a full evening of astronomy and meteor watching on Saturday 10th. We'll have a lecture, star gazing through telescopes, and meteor viewing until 1:00 am. Admission is free. More details here: http://www.sfaa-astronomy.org/

Here are two excellent web resources on the Perseids:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/Get_Ready-for-the-2013_Perseids-218037521.html

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide

Enjoy the show!

A Graceful Moon

A Graceful Moon

This week we enjoy the start of the lunar cycle, from New Moon on the 6th through the waxing crescent phases. The Moon travels higher and more southerly each evening, as it starts its monthly orbit around the Earth, gracefully slipping along the ecliptic and closely brushing up against planets and bright stars. The view on Thursday 9th should be particularly engaging, as bright Venus stands in contrast to the brighter (but more diffuse) thin crescent Moon. You will need a good western horizon to enjoy this, where the pair will shimmer in the dusk sky. Later in the week the Moon will slide past bright star Spica and Saturn, and happily will set well before midnight, so as not to interfere with the Perseids meteor shower. More on the Perseids in my next blog post. For now, Clear Skies and Happy Viewing!

Clear Skies!

Amateur astronomers often sign off an email or message with the phrase "Clear Skies" because anyone interested in enjoying the night sky needs to have a clear sky to start with. I often close blog posts on this blog with the phrase "Clear Skies!" as a kind of wishful thinking and good luck charm.

Right now in San Francisco, I need all the good luck I can get. The coastal weather pattern each summer ensures that clear skies will be rare indeed, especially in the Outer Richmond district where I live. So I have had precious few viewing opportunities from my own backyard this summer, and the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers have been forced to cancel most of their "City Star Parties" that take place near Lands End on the western side of the city, due to fog.

Venus and the sunset sky

When we get the rare clear sky, or when I am in another part of the Bay Area and am enjoying a stunning view of the western horizon just after sunset, I am reminded why I love astronomy; the beautiful changing color of the sunset sky, and the gradual transition into night, and the dazzling light of Venus in the west, all combine to motivate me to look up in the sky, and more than ever, I appreciate the clear skies that usually are available here in the Bay Area.

So to all of you, I wish you "Clear Skies" and a warm night somewhere this summer to enjoy the heavens.

Image courtesy Pete Lawrence.

The Five Visible Planets

As an amateur astronomer and public speaker, I find the five visible planets fascinating. These 'wanderers

The Solar System

' are beautiful to watch with the naked eye, and are interesting in a telescope as well, even in a big city. Consequently, I am a close watcher of the changing motions and of these bodies, and I point them out often to groups at star parties. The planets all follow the band of the Zodiac across the sky, of course, because they move along the ecliptic, the projection of the orbits of all of the Solar System planets across the sky. And as such, their motion is interesting to watch, whether they are the inner planets of Venus and Mercury with their unusual twilight appearances, or the outer planets of Mars and Jupiter and Saturn, enjoying long seasons in the limelight of the night sky. 

We just had some interesting patterns of planets and stars, and of course can always enjoy those by knowing where to look for the five visible planets. Earth Sky has a fine article on these planets for July.