Saturday 18 September 2010

Visit the Royal Observatory

Astronomy Photographer of the Year

M31, The Andromeda Galaxy

This is a single 20 minute exposure with a William Optics 80mm refractor and Canon XSi. I used Photoshop to increase the exposure 2X and levels to darken the sky. I lost some of the detail in the core, but discovered detail in the arms.

BBC: Audio slideshow: Seeing into space

Universe Today: Moon Maps

Astronomy observation help

BBC: Explore the Solar System


Thursday 16 September 2010

SpaceTravel: NASA names 'last' space shuttle crew (The last one?)



by Staff Writers Washington (UPI) Sep 15, 2010 NASA says it has chosen the three-man, one-woman crew that could be the last to fly a U.S. space shuttle mission.
 Source: SpaceDaily
Click to find out who they are. Will there be  lift-off at all?

Space Daily: Closest Encounter With Jupiter Until 2022

by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science@NASA
Huntsville AL (SPX) Sep 16, 2010
Been outside at midnight lately? There's something you really need to see. Jupiter is approaching Earth for the closest encounter between the two planets in more than a decade--and it is dazzling.
The night of closest approach is Sept. 20-21st. This is also called "the night of opposition" because Jupiter will be opposite the sun, rising at sunset and soaring overhead at midnight. Among all denizens of the midnight sky, only the Moon itself will be brighter.

More info

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Hubble Completes 100,000th Orbit, Takes Yet Another Breathtaking Photo

Hubble, without a doubt the most spectacular digital camera in the solar system, has completed its 100,000th orbit. To celebrate, scientists pointed the telescope to NGC 2074, a spectacular star birthplace 170,000 light-years away, right next to the Tarantula nebula, where Ming of Mongo is probably building a weapon of mass destruction. Like always, the image—taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2—is breathtaking, especially the high resolution version:

Gallery: The Top 10 Telescopes of All Time


SOFIA Observatory Completes Open-Door Flight Tests




NASA's SOFIA observatory with a NASA F/A-18 trailing in chase soars over California City in the desert north of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on its last envelope-expansion test flight Aug. 4. The SOFIA's 2.5-meter infrared telescope and its associated telescope cavity doors are rotated open to their maximum 58-degree position in this view. (NASA photo / Carla Thomas)

Source: NASA