The Upcoming Celestial Events thread

[Orion11]

Hey all,

I find myself often wanting to post astronomy related things going on in the skies, and instead of making a new thread for every event,
I figured it would be good to have one thread where anyone can post any upcoming events they come across.

cool? or not cool?

To start it off, Tonight right after Sunset, about 9pm,

http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=8172

See Mercury, the Moon, and the Pleiades together in the night sky

Don't miss a stunning sight around 9 P.M. local daylight time April 26 when a crescent Moon joins Mercury and the Pleiades in the deepening twilight.
Michael E. Bakich, Senior Editor
April 2009 Mercury finder chart
Mercury lies near the Pleiades star cluster after sunset in late April. The Moon joins this pair April 26. Astronomy: Roen Kelly [View Larger Image]
Mercury puts on a fine show starting the second week of April, and you won't have to get up early or venture far to see it.

In mid-April, Mercury sets more than 80 minutes after sunset. During the month's final 2 weeks, Mercury closes in on the spectacular Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters.

Astronomy magazine Contributing Editor Raymond Shubinski encourages everyone to observe Mercury. "Mercury is a major planet in our solar system," he says. "Everyone who's interested in the sky should see it at least once. And when the planet's bright like it is now, all it takes is a quick trip outdoors."

Don't miss a stunning sight around 9 P.M. local daylight time April 26 when a crescent Moon joins Mercury and the Pleiades in the deepening twilight. The Moon lies 2° (about 4 Moon-widths) above the cluster, and Mercury sits 3° (6 Moon-widths) below the cluster. The Moon's dark portion will be clearly visible, illuminated by sunlight reflected from Earth, known as earthshine. Binoculars will provide the best view.

On April 29, Mercury lies about 3 Moon-widths south of the Pleiades. The Moon has climbed significantly higher and will lie in the constellation Gemini the Twins. Mercury has dimmed to the brightness of Aldebaran, the nearby reddish 1st-magnitude star in the constellation Taurus.

Viewing Mercury through a telescope remains challenging. The planet's disk reveals little. Its low altitude in the sky and its visibility shortly after sunset leave observers viewing the disk while Earth's atmosphere remains turbulent. The unsteady air yields unsteady images.

Still, Mercury's appearance changes noticeably each evening. On April 9, 90 percent of the planet's disk was illuminated. You'll hardly notice it as less than full. The phase shrunk to three-fourths lit by April 15 and to half-phase April 21. By month's end, Mercury will display a 27-percent-lit crescent.

[Luana]

Orion..I think this is a great idea.

Cool

[judykott]

Orion, what a fabulous idea!

[J_rod7]

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Sgr A* - known by the Maya as "Hunab Ku"
'The Great Central Sun' of the Galaxy




This Chandra image of the supermassive black hole at our Galaxy's center, a.k.a. Sagittarius A* or Sgr A*, was made from the longest X-ray exposure of that region to date. In addition to Sgr A* more than two thousand other X-ray sources were detected in the region, making this one of the richest fields ever observed.

During the two-week observation period, Sgr A* flared up in X-ray intensity half a dozen or more times. The cause of these outbursts is not understood, but the rapidity with which they rise and fall indicates that they are occurring near the event horizon, or point of no return, around the black hole.

Absolutely, a good idea. It will be interesting to see other contributions


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[Orion11]

thanks ladies, and bro.

Jrod.. that is an amazing image!!!!!!

not sure ive seen that one,
i got another one that reminds of this one, from its description, Ill try to find it.

that is beautiful man!!
thanks for sharing,
i to look forward to what will be shared in this thread.

i love yas. <3

Ad Astra per Aspera!*

p.s.. that image reminds me of being born for some reason. lol

[Orion11]

ahhh,
here it is , friends...

Original caption:

This 400 by 900 light-year mosaic of several Chandra images of the central region of our Milky Way galaxy reveals hundreds of white dwarf stars, neutron stars, and black holes bathed in an incandescent fog of multimillion-degree gas. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Galaxy is located inside the bright white patch in the center of the image. The colors indicate X-ray energy bands - red (low), green (medium), and blue (high).

The mosaic gives a new perspective on how the turbulent Galactic Center region affects the evolution of the Galaxy as a whole. This hot gas appears to be escaping from the center into the rest of the Galaxy. The outflow of gas, chemically enriched from the frequent destruction of stars, will distribute these elements into the galactic suburbs. Because it is only about 25,000 light years from Earth, the center of our Galaxy provides an excellent laboratory to learn about the cores of other galaxies.
Source

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall...r_xray_rgb.jpg

[J_rod7]

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LOVE the Mosaic, good find Orion11

Here are two nebula East and West of Sgr A* =

This oval, shell-like feature is thought to be a supernova remnant, material from which may help fuel an accretion disk. (The red point in the image is the Sgr A* radio source.)

Sgr A* East



Sgr A* West =
Recent observations of atomic hydrogen gas suggest that some of these filamentary structures are part of massive cloud falling in toward the Galactic Center.



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[rhythm]

O! rhythmm

absolutly

lovin


this

one

keep it comin

and thankyou

[burgundia]

wonderful idea. I'll be checking the thread regularly.

[Orion11]

I was just out there a minute ago, and i got Jupiter and all its moons in the eyepiece!!!
lol, first time ive gotten that!!
woot!!

I could see the bands, the storm (red spot) and all its Moons... man.. soo very cool! . lol
I watched it for over an hour, until it got to light out and it was drowned out.

I got some pics to, they are on the cam, ill se ehow they came out before i go showin em. lol

I just pulled this out of my stellarium... (the stars look extra big due to shining, in the program i guess, thr the scope they were alot finer and smaller than Jupiter. lol)

and made it the same size as i saw it thru the scope, with the 9mm eyepiece.. just for kicks, really.

But this is what ive been staring at..
making contact, in a sense.. lol

Edit: dang... does anyone else find it kind of annoying that we can only upload one pic per post? ive never personally seen that on any other forum.... its always at least 3.. and most of em like 10.. so we gotta make seperate posts in order for seperate pics... .. and they are also resized wicked small when uploaded thru the post. lol

ok, sorry for that.. just had to get it out.

[J_rod7]

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La présentation: The closest Star to Earth...
This Star is best seen during daylight hours
(LOL / ROFLOL)
just after Sunrise, or before Sunset...:::

Multiwavelength Sun
coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu




Sun Pictures Gallery
space.about.com



We should all keep an eye on this Beauty (DARK Sunglasses, fur shur)

Yo, Orion, Great photo of Jupiter and 4-Moons. Will LOVE to see the shot through your 'Scope

My 'Scope is an Orion modified Max-Cass with Equatorial mount, Orion Nebula looks good with it.

Do we have some 'Synchronicity' at work here?

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[Orion11]

La présentation: The closest Star to Earth...
This Star is best seen during daylight hours
(LOL / ROFLOL)
just after Sunrise, or before Sunset...:::We should all keep an eye on this Beauty (DARK Sunglasses, fur shur)

hahahahahahaha!!!!!

thats funny man.......

just the other day... i said to a friend and his girlfriend...

"hey... look at that star!!!!" (i even kinda pointed) LOL

and they both looked all around for a bit.., and said.. "wheree??!??"

lmaoo!!

Yo, Orion, Great photo of Jupiter and 4-Moons. Will LOVE to see the shot through your 'Scope

My 'Scope is an Orion modified Max-Cass with Equatorial mount, Orion Nebula looks good with it.

Do we have some 'Synchronicity' at work here?

haha, awesome bro!
what size scope? i wanna get a max-cass onea thse days..
when i fully learn the art of material manifestation. lol

the synchronicity(s) are always at work ...
everyday they show more n more.

so.. fur shur!! haha.

thanks bro.

[Gemeos]

Hi Orion,

Thank You for opening this thread. I love Astronomy!
Every time I can, I go up to the country and do some night-sky observations with my 10x50 binoculars. It's great.

This is a must-read thread!

Best

Gemeos

[Dantheman62]

Explanation: Is our Galaxy this thin? We believe so. Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is likely similar to our own spiral galaxy, but viewed edge-on from far away. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky as it lies in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp color image reveals the galaxy's bulging central core dominated by light from a population of older, yellowish stars. The core is dramatically cut by obscuring dust lanes which lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane. NGC 4565 lies about 30 million light-years distant and spans over 100,000 light-years in diameter. Visible through a small telescope, some sky enthusiasts consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed.

[Dantheman62]

Explanation: What's causing those strange dark streaks in the rings of Saturn? Prometheus. Specifically, an orbital dance involving Saturn's moon Prometheus keeps creating unusual light and dark streamers in the F-Ring of Saturn. Now Prometheus orbits Saturn just inside the thin F-ring, but ventures into its inner edge about every 15 hours. Prometheus' gravity then pulls the closest ring particles toward the 100-km moon. The result is not only a stream of bright ring particles but also a dark ribbon where ring particles used to be. Since Prometheus orbits faster than the ring particles, the icy moon pulls out a new streamer every pass. Sometimes, several streamers or kinks are visible at once. The above photograph taken in mid-January by the robotic Cassini Spacecraft orbiting Saturn. The oblong moon Prometheus is visible on the far left of the image.

[Orion11]

damn thats sweet Dan!!

the pic of Saturns rings.. to the top left....
almost looks like a 'worm hole' opening up... or closing. lol

cuz you know.. ive seen soo many in my life! LOL

thanks bro

[Dantheman62]

Explanation: Last Sunday's fading evening twilight featured a young crescent Moon along the western horizon. The young Moon also shared the sky with the lovely Pleiades star cluster and wandering planet Mercury. Framed by clouds in this serene skyscape from Selsey, UK, a similar twilight scene was visible around the globe. Emerging from the cloud bank below the Pleiades, the narrow sunlit lunar crescent is overexposed. Still, the Moon's dim night side is impressively clear, illuminated by earthshine. Bright, innermost planet Mercury lies near the bottom of the field. Mercury will remain near the Pleiades, low in the west after sunset over the coming days, an ongoing conjunction of planet and star cluster that will offer skygazers some excellent binocular views.

[iainl140285]

Originally Posted by Dantheman62

Explanation: Is our Galaxy this thin? We believe so. Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is likely similar to our own spiral galaxy, but viewed edge-on from far away. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky as it lies in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp color image reveals the galaxy's bulging central core dominated by light from a population of older, yellowish stars. The core is dramatically cut by obscuring dust lanes which lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane. NGC 4565 lies about 30 million light-years distant and spans over 100,000 light-years in diameter. Visible through a small telescope, some sky enthusiasts consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed.

Something I've always wondered - Can anyone explain how we get such pictures looking AT our galaxy when no man made object has seemingly left out galaxy?

I can understand how we could see objects looking OUT from the galaxy but how have they managed to do the reverse? i.e. Looking at our galaxy from the outside...

Thanks
Iain

[Orion11]

Hey Iain,

well, they really , truly do not know what our Mily Way galaxy looks like from the outside...

I recently read something on a science site...

that said many scientists now believe our Galaxy to actually have only 2 arms,
rather than 4 as previously thought.

interesting eh?

[Orion11]

Milky Way gets a makeover...
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sp...20080603a.html


http://www.viewzone.com/milkyway.html (good link, read this!))

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/milkyway/

http://www.manythings.org/voa/script...s_Thought.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9960025-7.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14057

[J_rod7]

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Iain, Quote under the photo: "Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is likely similar to our own spiral galaxy,..."

No, WE don't have any photos of our own Galaxy from anywhere but from here at Earth. If anyone "out-there" has any such photos, they haven't shared them with us. I wish they would share everything they have with us, but we shall just have to be patient.

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[taadev]

Thanks to all those that posted these amazing pics!

[iainl140285]

Hey Orion - very cool pics

[iainl140285]

Originally Posted by Orion11

Hey Iain,

well, they really , truly do not know what our Mily Way galaxy looks like from the outside...

I recently read something on a science site...

that said many scientists now believe our Galaxy to actually have only 2 arms,
rather than 4 as previously thought.

interesting eh?

Hey Orion + Jrod - thanks for clearing that up

That is interesting Orion yes. Are there any examples we know of out there of a galaxy only having 2 arms?

[Orion11]

hey there bro.. you are welcome...

and yep.. there are many actual pictures of real galaxies that have only 2 arms...

Here is a couple..

M51


M81




and this link.. i posted above.. http://www.viewzone.com/milkyway.html

tells how we (our solar system) is really not from the milky way at all!! but from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy..
its got some interesting stuff!!..

like...

Scientists Now Know: We're Not From Here!

Summary & comments by Dan Eden for Viewzone

Imagine the shock of growing up in a loving family with people you call "Mum" and "Dad" and then, suddenly, learning that you are actually adopted!

This same sense of shock came as scientists announced that the Sun, the Moon, our planet and its siblings, were not born into the familiar band of stars known as the Milky Way galaxy, but we actually belong to a strange formation with the unfamiliar name of the Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy!

How can this be?

Using volumes of data from the Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), a major project to survey the sky in infrared light led by the University of Massachusetts, the astronomers are answering questions that have baffled scientists for decades and proving that our own Milky Way is consuming one of its neighbors in a dramatic display of ongoing galactic cannibalism. The study published in the Astrophysical Journal, is the first to map the full extent of the Sagittarius galaxy and show in visually vivid detail how its debris wraps around and passes through our Milky Way. Sagittarius is 10,000 times smaller in mass than the Milky Way, so it is getting stretched out, torn apart and gobbled up by the bigger Milky Way.


A new infra red digital survey of the entire sky was made in 2003. Teams from the universities of Virginia and Massachusetts used a supercomputer to sort through half a billion stars to create a -- NEW STAR MAP showing our Solar System (yellow circle) to be at the exact nexus crossroads where two galaxies are actually joining.

"It's clear who's the bully in the interaction," said Steven Majewski, U.Va. professor of astronomy and lead author on the paper describing the results.

"If people had infrared-sensitive eyes, the entrails of Sagittarius would be a prominent fixture sweeping across our sky," Majewski said. "But at human, visual wavelengths, they become buried among countless intervening stars and obscuring dust. The great expanse of the Sagittarius system has been hidden from view."

Not any more. By using infrared maps, the astronomers filtered away millions of foreground stars to focus on a type of star called an M giant. These large, infrared-bright stars are populous in the Sagittarius galaxy but uncommon in the outer Milky Way. The 2MASS infrared map of M giant stars analyzed by Majewski and collaborators is the first to give a complete view of the Milky Way galaxy's meal of Sagittarius stars, now wrapping like a spaghetti noodle around the Milky Way. Prior to this work, astronomers had detected only a few scattered pieces of the disrupted Sagittarius dwarf. Even the existence of Sagittarius was unknown until the heart of this nearest satellite galaxy of the Milky Way was discovered by a British team of astronomers in 1994.