Moon passing through Gemini and Leo

As we transition from spring to summer, during the early phases of the lunar cycle the Moon's path appears to jump out of the western twilight sky fairly steeply toward the zenith. Gemini is the zodiac constellation that appears highest in the sky compared to the 11 other constellations of the zodiac. Thus in springtime when the Moon passes through Gemini, it appears fairly high in the western sky. This week you can see the Moon on its journey first through Gemini, then briefly across Cancer, then into Leo and a flyby of Saturn.

I am fascinated by the daily lengthening of the minutes and hours of sunlight at this time of year. Each day the sun rises a minute earlier and sets a minute later. It's very interesting to watch the transition from sunset to dark moving later and later each evening. In addition to the timing of sunset, the location is also changing. The sun sets quite far north of west and the point of sunset continues to move north until the summer solstice.

Jupiter in the morning

Jupiter and the Moon are going to share the southern sky during the early morning hours the next few days. If you are up before dawn look south-east for the waning Moon and bright Jupiter. On the 17th the two will have a close encounter that should be a pretty sight for the naked eye or through binoculars.

KFOG Broadcast: May 13th, 2009

Get Involved: the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

Astronomers, whether professional or amateur, inevitably ask themselves "are we alone in the universe?" It's a natural question to ask when you spend a lot of time looking into the sky, whether in pursuit of scientific research or in a backyard enjoying the view of a deep space object in a telescope. The term "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (abbreviated SETI) is the name for a collection of worldwide projects that are studying the universe and gathering data in the hope of answering the question "are we alone?"

Here in the Bay Area, the SETI Institute is hard at work on a broad range of scientific pursuits that support the mission of SETI, "to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe. We believe we are conducting the most profound search in human history - to know our beginnings and our place among the stars." The SETI Institute is building a massive array of radio telescopes in Northern California, the first phase of which is already listening for signals of intelligent life every day.

The Director of SETI, Jill Tarter, recently was honored with the TED Prize given in February at the TED Conference. The prize brings visibility to the project and is propelling forward a major initiative to bring together a global community of technologists using social networking methods to collaborate on SETI. There is a blog on the TED website where you can follow the progress of the SETI Institute.

I am captivated by the work of the scientists and visionary leaders at the SETI Instititute and encourage others to get involved by learning about the Institute, becoming a member of TeamSETI, or volunteering in a greater capacity to support their efforts. And put your computer to work on the SETI@Home project.

Near-Earth Astronomy: Iridium Flares

For quite a while I have been captivated by the sight of the International Space Station (ISS) whenever it is visible in the evening or morning sky. It is a big object, about 100 meters across and highly reflective. In the sky it looks as bright as Venus but it moves as swiftly as an airplane and in a very beautiful arc across the sky. Last week I was introduced to another near-earth satellite, actually a group of satellites known as Iridium Satellites. These are a collection of 66 communications satellites that circle the globe from a higher orbit than the ISS, but nonetheless light up quite brightly when viewed from just the right orientation. When sunlight glints off the antenna panels they create a very bright beam of light known as an "Iridium Flare."

I had never taken the time to look for one of these flares so I consulted a website known as Heavens Above (also permanently linked from this blog). There you can enter your location on a Google map and get a listing of the next 7 days of Iridium Flares. I did this and yesterday saw an amazingly bright flare from my front steps.

Iridium Flares are very localized events - that is, when a flare is visible at a particular moment and in a particular location, you won't see it nearly as bright (or at all) 10 or 20 miles away. So if you want to see one, take the time to carefully select your location on the map and then jot down the exact times and locations of the next few flares in your neighborhood. They are indeed impressive and you will be glad you took a moment to see one. They are astronomy - from my point of view - because you are looking carefully at the sky and seeing something that is outside of our own atmosphere.

Thursday Nightlife at the California Academy of Sciences

I spent most of this evening in Golden Gate Park at the California Academy of Sciences. Several months ago they initiated a new program called Nightlife. From the Academy of Sciences website:

Every Thursday, the Academy is transformed into a lively venue filled with music, provocative science, mingling, and cocktails, for visitors 21 and older. Activities and performers change week to week.

The event has been selling out week after week and tonight was no exception. I am so impressed that literally thousands of San Franciscans show up to take in the science, the music, the food and drink, and the company of friends and neighbors. The Living Roof was my primary haunt because of the clear skies over San Francisco. The view was great this evening and there were three amateur astronomers on the roof with telescopes showing off Saturn and the nearly full Moon. Although I don't work for CAS, I could not help myself but to talk with guests while they waited in line to look through the telescopes. I shared my insights of the night sky, of what to look for in the telescope, of how far away these celestial objects are, and so on. I really enjoy doing this for people who show an interest in the sky - to enhance their experience and to impart some new knowledge of the universe.

No surprise, I am enrolling in the training program to become a volunteer at the CAS :-)

Saturn, the Lion, the Moon

Saturn is visible high in the evening sky for the coming months. The ringed planet is a gem to see through a telescope so if you have a telescope now is the time to get it out and take a look at one of the most impressive sights in all of the universe.

Saturn, like all the other planets and the Moon, travels around the Solar System in a path called the Ecliptic. This path extends through twelve constellations known as the Zodiac. Saturn, which takes nearly 30 earth-years to travel around the Sun once, spends about two and a half years moving through each sign of the Zodiac and is presently moving gradually eastward through Leo the Lion. This constellation is a favorite for many because its shape is quite distinctive and resembles a Lion in the sky with its furry mane and head pointed to the west and its tail and hind quarters to the east. As you can see in the diagram, Saturn is below the constellation and to the left (east) of the bright star Regulus.

Cosmic Juxtaposition: Pleiades, Mercury and Moon

The next three evenings present a visually stimulating lineup of objects near and far in a juxtaposition that is just right for binoculars. You will need a clear western horizon so I have my fingers crossed that conditions permit this at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, but wherever you are, the diagram shows the close alignment of Mercury and the Pleiades star cluster and the daily motion of the Moon through this configuration. On Saturday 25th the challenge will be to spot the very young Moon. On Sunday 26th the sight of all three things in one binocular-field-of-view. And if you get a weather trifecta and see this three nights in a row, then Monday 27th you will have seen just how far the Moon *and* Mercury move in 48 hours - and I think the results will surprise you.

Happy Viewing!