Sky Watching Event Guide For 2015

[Suzanimal]

Handy dandy list.

Make a resolution in 2015 to head outside and check out some of the amazing celestial events that will be happening in the night sky. Whether you’re an experienced astronomer or just taking a look at the night sky for the first time, you’ll want to check out these events. Nearly all of these events can be seen with the naked eye, but can be better enjoyed with a telescope or a decent set of binoculars.

Unless otherwise noted, these events can be best seen from mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

January

3-4 — Quadrantids Meteor Shower — The first meteor shower of the year will be visible from January 1-5, but will peak overnight on the 3rd and into the early hours of the 4th. This shower typically produces about 40 sightings per hour, but the full moon on the 5th will wash out all except for the brightest meteors. These meteors are leftover pieces of comet 2003 EH1, and will appear to be originating from the constellation Bootes, though they may be visible throughout the sky.

February

6 — Jupiter at Opposition — This is the best day of the year to view Jupiter, as it makes it's closest approach to Earth and will be fully reflecting light from the sun. A good pair of binoculars or a telescope will be able to see Jupiter’s four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. This will be visible in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

22 — Conjuncture of Venus and Mars — Just after sunset, Venus and Mars will appear only half of a degree apart in the western sky.

March

20 — Total Solar Eclipse — The sun’s corona will be visible around the moon when the total solar eclipse peaks on the morning of March 20th. The best view of the event will be from the Atlantic Ocean near Greenland, and into the northern parts of Siberia. However, those living in Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia will be able to partially view the eclipse.

April

4 — Total Lunar Eclipse — This is the third event of the Total Lunar Eclipse tetrad, which began in April 2015. The moon will spend nearly nine and a half hours in the penumbral or umbral phase, with just under five minutes as a total eclipse. The best view of the eclipse will be in Australia, though it can also be viewed from anywhere in North America, most of South America, most of Asia, and bits of Africa.

22-23 — Lyrids Meteor Shower — The remnants of Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher will be visible between the 16th and 25th, with the Lyrids peaking overnight on the 22nd with up to 20 meteors per hour. The best time to view the meteor shower will be after midnight, just after the first quarter moon sets. These meteors have the potential to be very dusty with bright tails that seem to hang in the air. The meteors will appear to be coming from the constellation Lyra.

May

5-6 — Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower — This shower is composed of dusty remnants of the famed Halley’s Comet. The long-running shower is visible from April 19th until May 28th, but will peak overnight on May 5th with up to 30 sightings per hour. Unfortunately, the full moon from the 4th will wash out all but the brightest meteors. The meteors will appear to be coming from the constellation Aquarius. The Eta Aquarids can be seen in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, though those in the South will have a better view.

23 — Saturn at Opposition — This will be the best night of the year to view Saturn, as it makes its closest approach and will be reflecting plenty of sunlight. A medium telescope (about 5-8 inches; 13-20 centimeteres) is required to see Saturn’s rings and some of its largest and brightest moons.

July

28-29 — Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower — This meteor shower is the remnant of two different comets, Marsden and Kracht. The shower runs from July 12th through August 23rd. It will peak overnight on July 28th and into the morning of the 29th. Normally, there could be as many as 20 sightings per hour, but the light from the full moon on the 31st will wash out all but the brightest meteors. The meteors will appear to be coming from the constellation Aquarius.

August

12-13 — Perseids Meteor Shower — These meteors are leftovers from the Swift-Tuttle comet and are a favorite among many skywatchers. The shower can be visible from July 17th through August 24th, and will peak overnight on August 12th at 60 sightings per hour. This year is expected to be an amazing show, as the new moon on the 14th will make for nice, dark skies. The meteors will appear to be coming from the constellation Perseus.

September

1 — Neptune at Opposition — This will be the best day of the year to view Neptune, as it makes its closest approach. While more experienced astronomers with large, high-powered telescopes may be able to see some details of the eighth planet, it will appear only as a blue speck to those using smaller equipment.

13 — Partial Solar Eclipse — This crescent-shaped partial solar eclipse will be peak over Antarctica, though it will be visible to those living in southern African countries as well. Remember: Do not look at the sun directly without appropriate eye protection.

28 — Total Lunar Eclipse — The 2014/2015 Total Lunar Eclipse tetrad will conclude on this night. The total eclipse will last for over an hour and will be visible to those living in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and some portions of Asia. The eclipse will not be visible from Australia.

October

8-9 — Draconids Meteor Shower — Produced by the dusty remnants of comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, the Draconids will span from October 6-10 and peak overnight on the 8th. This is a small shower, with about 10 sightings per hour. The second quarter moon will wash out many of the meteors, though the brightest may still be visible. The meteors will appear as if they are originating from the constellation Draco.

11 — Uranus at Opposition — This will be the best night of the year to view Uranus, as it makes its closest approach. Only those with large, high-powered telescopes may be able to see some details of this amazing planet. Individuals using smaller equipment will only be able to see it as a small teal dot.

21-22 — Orionids Meteor Shower — Like the Eta Aquarids, this shower is also made up of remnants from the famed Halley’s Comet. The shower spans from October 2nd through November 7th, and it will peak overnight on the 22nd with up to 20 sightings per hour. The first quarter moon will set by midnight, creating more favorable conditions for viewing the shower. The meteors will appear to be originating from the constellation Orion.

26 — Conjuncture of Venus and Jupiter — Venus and Jupiter are two of the brightest planets in the sky and will be one degree away from each other on this night. They will be best viewed before sunrise, looking into the eastern sky.

28 — Conjuncture of Venus, Mars, and Jupiter — Building off of the event with Venus and Jupiter two nights before, Mars will join and create a triangle with the other planets, seen just one degree apart. The best time to view this will be just before sunrise, looking into the eastern sky.

November

5-6 — Taurids Meteor Shower — The Taurids is a small shower produced by dust from Asteroid 2004 TG10. It has an extremely long span from September 7th through December 10th. It will peak overnight on the 5th with about 5-10 sightings per hour. The meteors will also be competing with light from the second quarter moon, which will likely wash out all but the brightest meteors. The meteors will appear to originate from the constellation Taurus.

17-18 — Leonids Meteor Shower — The Leonids are created by remnants of comet Tempel-Tuttle. The shower ranges from November 6th through the 30th, though it will peak overnight on the 17th and into the early hours of the 18th with about 15 sightings per hour. The best time to view it is after midnight, once the first quarter moon has set. In 2001, the Leonids produced hundreds of sightings per hour, but we aren’t expected to see that kind of show again until 2034. The shower will appear to originate from the constellation Leo.

December

7 — Conjuncture of the Moon and Venus — Our moon and Venus will appear to be only two degrees away from one another in the early morning hours of the 7th. For the best viewing, look at the eastern sky right before sunrise.

13-14 — Geminids Meteor Shower — The Geminids is produced from the remnants of a small asteroid named 3200 Phaethon, and is a perennial favorite among skywatchers. The shower spans from December 7th through the 17th, but will peak overnight on the 13th and into the early hours of the 14th with up to 120 sightings per hour. The meteors will appear multicolored, which gives an added bonus to the already spectacular show. The best time to view it will be after midnight, when the moon has set and conditions are darker. These meteors will appear to originate from the constellation Gemini.

22-23 — Ursids Meteor Shower — The final meteor shower of the year is caused by remnants of the comet Tuttle. The event will span from the 17th through the 25th, peak overnight on the 22nd and into the early hours of the 23rd with about 10 sightings per hour. Unfortunately, the full moon on the 25th will wash out all but the brightest of these meteors. The shower will appear to originate from the constellation Ursa Minor.

http://www.iflscience.com/space/sky-...ent-guide-2015

[axiomata]

I'm going to Alaska for the next three months. I'd really like to see some northern lights but I'll be mostly confined to Anchorage without a car so I might not escape the city light pollution.

[Suzanimal]

I couldn't resist.

Green comet Lovejoy lights New Year's skies

The New Year’s first celestial object to light up the skies in the Northern hemisphere is Lovejoy comet, already visible to the naked eye and expected to get even brighter over the next week.

The comet C/2014 Q2, named after an amateur Australian astronomer Terry Lovejoy, is flying our way from the edge of the solar system. The comet discovered back in August has brightened to 5 magnitude late December and will be visible high in the dark winter sky through January.

On January 7 it will pass at its closest, about 70 million kilometers from Earth. Although visible to unaided eye, spotting it in suburban light pollution would likely require at least a pair of binoculars.

To a naked eye the comet will appear grey, but in reality the celestial body produces a green glow due to ionization by the Sun. Photographers are expecting to take breath-taking pictures as the Lovejoy comet passes near the Orion constellation, as well as Taurus, Pleiades and the Aries.

Lovejoy comet initially had an extremely long orbital period of over 10,000 years, but it was shortened by gravitational effects. So the next time Lovejoy returns will be in just around 8,000 years.

http://rt.com/news/219159-lovejoy-comet-green-light/

[Suzanimal]

Meteor shower peaks this weekend; here’s where to look

TORONTO – If you have clear skies and are willing to brave frigid temperatures that are expected across the country, you might want to bundle up and head outside to catch the first significant meteor shower of the year.

The Quadrantid meteor shower, which occurs from Dec. 30 to Jan. 12, peaks on the night of Jan. 3.

The maximum is expected to peak at 2 a.m. Universal Time (11 p.m. EST, 8 p.m. PST), meaning that we’re not exactly in the prime viewing location. That’s because the radiant, or area from which the meteors seem to originate, will be low in the north (almost at the horizon) at the time. However, as the night progresses, the radiant will rise higher. By 5 a.m. EST (2 a.m. PST), it will have risen almost 42 degrees above the horizon (about the width of your thumb to pinky held at arm’s length; think of the Hawaiian surfing shaka or hang-ten symbol).

Where to find it in the night sky? The easiest way is to just look for the asterism of the Big Dipper (the Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major), which can be found to the northeast. Find the first star in the handle and you’re looking in the general direction of the radiant.


But you don’t have to stare right in that direction; you just need to be looking up.

The Quadrantids typically produce about 120 meteors per hour at a dark-sky site at the peak. But because the moon will be almost fully illuminated, we’ll only be able to see the brightest. According to the American Meteor Society, it will more likely be around 50 meteors per hour.

The Quadrantids are a tricky one to catch even without the challenge of a bright moon. That’s because the peak lasts a mere six hours, as opposed to other meteor showers which can last for days.

A few rules to catching meteor showers: Keep looking up; don’t divert your eyes; get to a dark location; and stay out as long as you can bear it. Also, in case you know you won’t have clear skies the night of the peak, you can try to look for them in the days leading up to the peak. But don’t expect too many meteors with this shower.

READ MORE: Bright meteor lights up the sky over Toronto, eastern Ontario

The history of the Quadrantids is interesting. Most meteor showers’ names are derived from the constellation in which the radiant appears. Bet you’ve never heard of the constellation Quadrans Muralis, have you? That’s because it no longer exists.

Quadrans Muralis was added to the list of constellations in 1795. A few years later, a meteor shower was discovered in the new constellation and was given the name Quadrantids. Fast forward to 1930 and the constellation was cut by the International Astronomical Union. But the shower name remained.

Remember, as with any meteor shower, there’s always a chance you might catch a fireball, or bright meteor. If you do, report it to the American Meteor Society or Meteorites and Impacts Advisory Committee.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1752219/me...where-to-look/

[Suzanimal]

The Quadrantid meteor shower, which occurs from Dec. 30 to Jan. 12, peaks on the night of Jan. 3.

Bump for the Quadrantid meteor shower, it's suppose to peak tonight and keep an eye out for the Lovejoy comet.

[Suzanimal]

Jupiter's moons are showing off this January!

Jupiter's moons are putting on an amazing show this month. The orbital path of the moons is tilting edge-on to Earth and the sun. This lineup makes it possible to watch the moons pass in front of each other and even eclipse each other with their shadows.
http://www.sciencedump.com/content/j...howing-january

Great balls of fire!!!



An amazing shot of a fireball in the sky above Rundle Mountain, CA.

[Suzanimal]

I wonder if it rains men (Hallelujah!) on Mars...

[Suzanimal]

I couldn't resist.

Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2, is still about at its peak brightness: about magnitude 3.8, as bright as it should get. Use the finder charts at the bottom of this page to find its location among the stars. Although magnitude 3.8 ought to make it a naked-eye object, its diffuse fuzziness means that most viewers, who live under light pollution, still need optical aid. In binoculars it's a biggish gray fuzzball, with a brighter core slightly off center. Can you see signs of the dim tail?

"Using 8×42 binoculars on the evening of the 8th I scooped it up easily, even with the skyglow in Boston’s outer suburbs," says S&T's S. N. Johnson-Roehr. "It was a slightly irregular fuzzy. No sign of a tail, but this is the first time I’ve seen even a hint of green in the blur. It may be a naked-eye object in dark skies, but not from the suburbs."

- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astro....pQjlbWYv.dpuf

[Suzanimal]

Get your binoculars: Huge asteroid to pass close to Earth next week

A huge asteroid is headed toward Earth, and NASA says that all it will take is a pair of binoculars to catch a glimpse of it as it makes its closest approach later this month.

The asteroid 2004 BL86 is about a third of a mile in size and will come within approximately 745,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) of Earth on Jan. 26. NASA said it will be the closest any space rock comes to Earth until asteroid 1999 AN10 flies past in 2027.

The 2004 BL86 asteroid is expected to pass safely by.

"While it poses no threat to Earth for the foreseeable future, it's a relatively close approach by a relatively large asteroid, so it provides us a unique opportunity to observe and learn more," Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said.

...
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/get-your...rth-next-week/

[jllundqu]

Get your binoculars: Huge asteroid to pass close to Earth next week

I've got some nice Nikon binos... Monarch 7 (12 x 42).... but I think I'll dust off the old Celetron C8 for this one

[Suzanimal]

Asteroid That Flew Past Earth Today Has Moon


This GIF shows asteroid 2004 BL86, which safely flew past Earth on Jan. 26, 2015

Scientists working with NASA's 230-foot-wide (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, California, have released the first radar images of asteroid 2004 BL86. The images show the asteroid, which made its closest approach today (Jan. 26, 2015) at 8:19 a.m. PST (11:19 a.m. EST) at a distance of about 745,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers, or 3.1 times the distance from Earth to the moon), has its own small moon.

The 20 individual images used in the movie were generated from data collected at Goldstone on Jan. 26, 2015. They show the primary body is approximately 1,100 feet (325 meters) across and has a small moon approximately 230 feet (70 meters) across. In the near-Earth population, about 16 percent of asteroids that are about 655 feet (200 meters) or larger are a binary (the primary asteroid with a smaller asteroid moon orbiting it) or even triple systems (two moons). The resolution on the radar images is 13 feet (4 meters) per pixel.

The trajectory of asteroid 2004 BL86 is well understood. Monday's flyby was the closest approach the asteroid will make to Earth for at least the next two centuries. It is also the closest a known asteroid this size will come to Earth until asteroid 1999 AN10 flies past our planet in 2027.

Asteroid 2004 BL86 was discovered on Jan. 30, 2004, by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) survey in White Sands, New Mexico.

Radar is a powerful technique for studying an asteroid's size, shape, rotation state, surface features and surface roughness, and for improving the calculation of asteroid orbits. Radar measurements of asteroid distances and velocities often enable computation of asteroid orbits much further into the future than if radar observations weren't available.

NASA places a high priority on tracking asteroids and protecting our home planet from them. In fact, the U.S. has the most robust and productive survey and detection program for discovering near-Earth objects (NEOs). To date, U.S. assets have discovered over 98 percent of the known NEOs.

In addition to the resources NASA puts into understanding asteroids, it also partners with other U.S. government agencies, university-based astronomers, and space science institutes across the country, often with grants, interagency transfers and other contracts from NASA, and also with international space agencies and institutions that are working to track and better understand these objects.

NASA's Near-Earth Object Program at NASA Headquarters, Washington, manages and funds the search, study and monitoring of asteroids and comets whose orbits periodically bring them close to Earth. JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

In 2016, NASA will launch a robotic probe to one of the most potentially hazardous of the known NEOs. The OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid (101955) Bennu will be a pathfinder for future spacecraft designed to perform reconnaissance on any newly discovered threatening objects. Aside from monitoring potential threats, the study of asteroids and comets enables a valuable opportunity to learn more about the origins of our solar system, the source of water on Earth, and even the origin of organic molecules that led to the development of life.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will provide overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver will build the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages New Frontiers for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

NASA also continues to advance the journey to Mars through progress on the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), which will test a number of new capabilities needed for future human expeditions to deep space, including to Mars. This includes advanced Solar Electric Propulsion -- an efficient way to move heavy cargo using solar power, which could help pre-position cargo for future human missions to the Red Planet. As part of ARM, a robotic spacecraft will rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid and redirect an asteroid mass to a stable orbit around the moon. Astronauts will explore the asteroid mass in the 2020's, helping test modern spaceflight capabilities like new spacesuits and sample return techniques. Astronauts at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston have already begun to practice the capabilities needed for the mission.

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/dis...?News_ID=48702

[euphemia]

Thanks for sharing. I'm not typically a skywatcher, but I think I will take some of these opportunities.

[Suzanimal]

Black Supermoon Will Be Visible Wednesday Night

The new moon that will grace our skies on Wednesday evening (or Thursday morning, depending on where you are in the world) appears to have employed some advanced publicity agents: It has been dubbed both a black moon and a supermoon.

While it will no doubt be as beautiful as any new moon, and well worth checking out for that reason, it won't actually look very different from ordinary new moons.

Black moons, like blue moons, are not actually colored any differently than others of the same phase. The name refers either to the second new moon in a month or to the third in a season with four new moons. If you use astronomical, rather than meteorological seasons, the northern hemisphere's winter runs from the December solstice to the March equinox, and there will indeed be four new moons this winter. The first was on December 22, less than three hours after the North Pole was tilted furthest from the sun.

The origins of the term are obscure, but probably an imitation of blue moon, which in turn seems to be an adjustment of the obsolete “belewe.”

Supermoons are a more recent invention, possibly by people wanting to make money out of scaring the public with predictions of huge earthquakes. Nevertheless, the name has taken off as a reference to when a full or new moon occurs at the time when it's closest to Earth, making it appear larger. It's a bit more catchy than “perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system,” which is the technical name.

It makes some sense to refer to full moons that look particularly large as supermoons – after all, we do get up to 30% more light in those cases. It's less clear how super a new moon can be. We'll see...more darkness?

Nevertheless, all this publicity could do some good. If you decide you'd like to see a black moon and a supermoon, find yourself a location with a good western horizon. Watch for it as the sun is setting and then make sure you stick around as the sky darkens. Mars and Venus will be low in the west and close enough that they can fit in the field of view of most binoculars. In a few days, the moon will accompany them. Jupiter has only just passed opposition and will provide a magnificent balance in the east. It's also a great time to see the Zodiacal Light.

http://www.iflscience.com/space/new-...lack-and-super

[Acala]

Saw an awesome meteor this morning by accident when taking out the garbage. Major fireball!

[Ronin Truth]

Any sign of Nibiru?

[Natural Citizen]

Saw an awesome meteor this morning by accident when taking out the garbage. Major fireball!

Yeah? That's neat. I see them a lot too. Sometimes they're soooo close , though.

[Acala]

Yeah? That's neat. I see them a lot too. Sometimes they're soooo close , though.

Someday there will be a direct hit with a BIG one. Just a matter of time. So live it up while you can. Before you are blasted into space by the shock wave.

[Suzanimal]

Saw an awesome meteor this morning by accident when taking out the garbage. Major fireball!

Where are you? Could it have been this one?

500lb meteor spotted over Pennsylvania

Americans in New York, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania reported seeing a fiery, 500-pound meteor soar through the sky this week before the space rock apparently broke up somewhere over the Keystone State, according to scientists.

NASA said on Tuesday this week that the meteor entered the Earth’s atmosphere in the sky above western Pennsylvania earlier that morning and was reportedly witnessed by spectators stretching for hundreds of miles across the United States from the Mid-Atlantic to the Midwest.

Three cameras maintained by the American space agency captured the meteor making its way over the US, including one at the Allegheny Observatory near Pittsburgh, PA that NASA says shows the space rock traveling roughly 60 miles above the Earth at a speed of 45,000 miles per hour.

“It flared brighter than the full moon before the cameras lost track of it at an altitude of 13 miles above the town of Kittanning” near Pittsburgh, NASA said in a statement on Tuesday.

The fiery trail was visible all the way on Earth because, according to non-profit scientific organization, American Meteorological Society, air molecules excite a column of atmospheric atoms along the rock’s path as it enters the atmosphere.

According to NASA, fragments of the burnt out meteor (known as “meteorites”) likely ended up on the Pennsylvania ground miles below the rock’s pathway.

“This celestial visitor had an orbit that took it out to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter - it came a mightly [sic] long way to a fiery end in the predawn Pennsylvania sky,” NASA said on the aerospace group’s official Facebook page.

In all, the AMS received nearly 100 reports from eyewitnesses who said they saw a fireball in the vicinity of southwestern Pennsylvania earlier Tuesday.

http://rt.com/usa/233575-pennsylvani...esday-morning/

[Acala]

Where are you? Could it have been this one?

Unlikely. I'm in southern Arizona.

[Suzanimal]

Venus, Mars, moon set to dance in night sky this weekend

Mars, Venus and the moon will meet up in a particularly beautiful cosmic display starting Friday.

If you've been watching the evening twilight sky over the past few weeks, you will have seen the brilliant planet Venus gradually moving away from the sun, setting slightly later every evening. At the same time, the planet Mars has been gradually moving downward toward the sun, setting slightly earlier every evening.

On Friday, the moon, moving much faster than either of the planets, will pass by them, so three hands on the celestial clock will almost coincide. The three cosmic bodies will form a triangle only 2 degrees across, small enough to fit into a low-power telescope's field of view. Mars and Venus were also closely paired in the night sky Thursday. [Watch a video about Mars, Venus and the moon meeting up]

The two planets will pass close to each other on Saturday, but that close encounter will happen in the daylight sky, shielding the meeting from view. The best time to see the two bodies will be the evening before, on Friday.

Currently, both Venus and Mars are on the far side of the sun, so their disks are both very small. Venus is only 12 arc seconds in diameter, and Mars is even smaller, at less than 5 arc seconds. These planets are comparable in size to very small craters on the moon. The lunar surface should be partially lit up by earthlight, sunlight reflected off the planet Earth.

Close groupings like these are wonderful subjects for photography. Zoom your lens to maximum magnification, and try to frame the cosmic bodies with interesting foreground objects. If your camera has automatic exposure, your pictures may come out overexposed, so you may want reduce the exposure to get a more pleasing result.

The solar system is like a giant clock, with the objects orbiting each other in precise time like the clock's hands. The movements of the moon and planets can be predicted accurately for thousands of years into the future.

Many people wonder whether this celestial clock ever reaches the equivalent of exact midnight on a regular clock, with the hour, minute and second hands all aligned. (The moon, Mars and Venus might serve as a good stand in for the three hands of the clock.)

The answer is that this has never happened, not even once, in the 4-billion-year history of the solar system, and will never happen before the sun swells to a red giant more than 4 billion years hence.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/venus-ma...-this-weekend/

[Natural Citizen]

Someday there will be a direct hit with a BIG one. Just a matter of time. So live it up while you can. Before you are blasted into space by the shock wave.

Meh. Maybe we'll luck out and it'll just take out Georgia or something. Heh...

[Suzanimal]

Someday there will be a direct hit with a BIG one. Just a matter of time. So live it up while you can. Before you are blasted into space by the shock wave.

Meh. Maybe we'll luck out and it'll just take out Georgia or something. Heh...

I guess I'd better get to living it up.

[Natural Citizen]

I guess I'd better get to living it up.

Oh, I was talking about Georgia, the country, Suzanimal. Why would I wish an asteroid upon you in your own thread, woman? Whatsamatter wit you?

[Suzanimal]

Oh, I was talking about Georgia, the country, Suzanimal. Why would I wish an asteroid upon you in your own thread, woman? Whatsamatter wit you?

Lol, enough to fill up the Personal Health forum.

[Suzanimal]

Four Planets Await After Sunset

Right now, in the night sky just after sunset, you have a chance to see three alien worlds at the same time.

Venus and Uranus are currently undergoing a close encounter; tonight (March 5) they’ll be a little over a degree apart, just about three times the width of the full Moon on the sky. Below them, not far away (maybe 10° or so) is red Mars.

To see them look to the west after sunset. It’s best to wait a few minutes for the sky to get dark. Venus is pretty obvious; it’s the third brightest natural object in the sky (after the Sun and Moon). Mars is still fairly bright and easy to spot below it. Uranus, though, is just on the edge of visibility to the naked eye even from dark sites, so you’ll probably need binoculars to spot it. I found it really easy to see last night using mine.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astro...l?wpsrc=fol_fb

[Suzanimal]

The first of two lunar eclipses visible in the U.S. this year will take place early Saturday morning.

Skywatchers in the western third of the U.S. will get to see a total eclipse, while folks in the central and eastern U.S. will only see a partial eclipse before the moon sets.

You'll have to look low in the western sky to see the eclipse. As with all lunar eclipses, its safe to look at the moon during the eclipse, unlike during solar eclipses.

According to NASA, the total phase of the eclipse will only last about five minutes, making it the shortest lunar eclipse of the century. In the West, the total eclipse will begin at 4:58 a.m. Pacific Time and end 5 minutes later.

In the East, the partial eclipse lasts from 6:15 a.m. ET until the moon sets.

...

A special treat: Most of the moon will glow some shade of intense orange or red, thus the "blood" moon nickname.

"That red light shining onto the moon is sunlight that has skimmed and bent through Earth's atmosphere: that is, from all the sunrises and sunsets that ring the world at any given moment," said Alan MacRobert of Sky and Telescope magazine.

As for viewing conditions, central and southern California should be clear while clouds could ruin the view in the Pacific Northwest, according to AccuWeather. Most of the central U.S. will be okay, but much of the East and South will be socked in with clouds.

The next — and final — lunar eclipse of 2015 will be on Sept. 28.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/weathe...moon/70831278/

[Suzanimal]

Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks on April 22 (Earth Day) With ‘Unpredictable’ Show

At the end of a day devoted to Earth (Earth Day on April 22, 2015), people can look to the heavens for a beautiful shower of Lyrid meteors.

The Lyrid Meteor shower will reach its peak late Wednesday night when as many as 20 meteors per hour are expected to whiz through the night sky.

“The Lyrids are really unpredictable,” Bill Cooke, director of NASA‘s Meteoroid Environment Office, said in a statement. “For the 2015 shower, I’m expecting 15 to 20 Lyrid meteors an hour.”

Peak meteor action should happen after 10:30 p.m. local time in the northern hemisphere, while Cooke said people in the southern hemisphere should be able to catch a glimpse after midnight local time.

All it takes to view the meteor shower is an unobstructed view of the sky away from artificial lights. NASA recommends bringing a lawn chair or blanket, laying back and enjoying the view.

For those who would rather stay indoors but still check out the view, NASA will be live streaming the Lyrids.

http://consciouslifenews.com/lyrid-m...-show/1183844/

[invisible]

Handy dandy list.

Wow, we get to see Uranus in October! I'm surprised no one else has remarked on that yet.

[Suzanimal]

Wow, we get to see Uranus in October! I'm surprised no one else has remarked on that yet.

I don't want to be the butt of your joke. I love Uranus, be respectful.

[Natural Citizen]

I'm getting ready to go outside and lay back. The last time I watched, there were some really nice ones. Purples, greens, blues, orange, red...