Ozark Skies

The Biggest Stars In The Universe

2012-05-13T20:56:00.001-07:00

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz4vGvoxQA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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Jill's Saturn!

2012-04-22T15:17:00.001-07:00

I dug out the newt to view a few night time gems last night and Jill wanted to try to capture Saturn with her iPhone 4S. I must say, it turned out pretty good for a one frame afocal shot! I had a 2X barlow and a 17mm eyepiece at the time. The planet is pretty low right now and it was in the trees when we captured it. The only post processing she did was an image crop. Way to go sweety!

ozark_okie shared an Instagram photo with you

2012-04-21T20:18:00.001-07:00

Hi there,

ozark_okie just shared an Instagram photo with you:

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"Saturn!"

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

ozark_okie shared an Instagram photo with you

2012-04-21T15:46:00.001-07:00

Hi there,

ozark_okie just shared an Instagram photo with you:

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"I'm not the only one ready for the sun to set... Wanna take a ride?"

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

ozark_okie shared an Instagram photo with you

2012-04-21T15:09:00.001-07:00

Hi there,

ozark_okie just shared an Instagram photo with you:

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"YUUUUP! Gonna view some planets..."
(taken at My Backyard)

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

@apod, 4/20/12 11:30 PM

2012-04-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

Another interesting image

Astro Pic Of The Day (@apod)
4/20/12 11:30 PM
3 ATs : apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120421.…

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Venus and Sisters

2012-04-06T09:03:00.001-07:00

NASA NightSkyNetwork (@nightskynetwork)
4/6/12 10:40 AM
Gorgeous photo of Venus & the Sisters via @apod by Fred Espenak ow.ly/i/yfPu

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The Telescope Curse

2011-11-22T22:30:00.001-08:00

I received my new used laptop today and wouldn't you know, the local meteorologist is predicting clouds for the next 14 years...

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Orion SVP 127

2011-11-20T10:48:00.001-08:00

I guess I'm going to put it up for sale. Ever since I got the 10" Newt, all it does is stay in a corner down stairs covered up...

OMG Facts: What does Space smell like?

2011-11-20T09:46:00.001-08:00

OMG Facts
http://mobile.omg-facts.com/view/Facts/45237?FromTwitter2

Sent from HootSuite for iPhone
http://hootsuite.com/iphone

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Oklahoma State Suffers Loss

2011-11-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

What a terrible week for the folks in Stillwater. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, loved ones and their closest friends, what a sad tragic loss...

On the other loss... The Cowboys should have taken care of business!

Windows XP

2011-11-17T21:11:00.001-08:00

I finally have a replacement laptop for the EQ-6. I won an older Dell D610 laptop with Windows XP Pro on eBay
last night. Hopefully I'll be back to astro imaging shortly after the holidays.

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Found this Image on the NASA App

2011-11-15T19:37:00.001-08:00

Absolutely Beautiful

2011-06-16:A Green Ring Fit for a Superhero
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1976.html

SOURCE:NASA IOTD. This glowing emerald nebula seen by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is reminiscent of the glowing ring wielded by the superhero Green Lantern. In the comic books, the diminutive Guardians of the Planet "Oa" forged his power ring, but astronomers believe rings like this are actually sculpted by the powerful light of giant "O" stars, the most massive type of star known to exist. Named RCW 120, this region of hot gas and glowing dust can be found in the murky clouds encircled by the tail of the constellation Scorpius. The ring of dust actually is glowing in infrared colors that our eyes cannot see, but show up brightly when viewed by Spitzer's infrared detectors. At the center of this ring are a couple of giant stars whose intense ultraviolet light has carved out the bubble, though they blend in with other stars when viewed in infrared. This bubble is far from unique. Just as the Guardians of Oa have selected many beings to serve as Green Lanterns and patrol different sectors of space, Spitzer has found that such bubbles are common and an can be found around O stars throughout our Milky Way galaxy. The small objects at the lower right area of the image may themselves be similar regions seen at much greater distances across the galaxy. Rings like this are so common in Spitzer's observations that astronomers have even enlisted the help of the public to help them find and catalog them all. Anyone interested in joining the search as a citizen scientist can visit "The Milky Way Project," part of the "Zooniverse" of public astronomy projects, at http://www.milkywayproject.org/. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech For credit and copyright guidance, please visit image webpage.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1976.html

About the NASA App: http://www.nasa.gov/nasaapp

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'Voyager' via the NASA App

2011-11-15T18:44:00.001-08:00

Voyager - The Interstellar Mission

Artist concept of Voyager spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL

Mission Objective

The mission objective of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) is to extend the NASA exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun's sphere of influence, and possibly beyond. This extended mission is continuing to characterize the outer solar system environment and search for the heliopause boundary, the outer limits of the Sun's magnetic field and outward flow of the solar wind. Penetration of the heliopause boundary between the solar wind and the interstellar medium will allow measurements to be made of the interstellar fields, particles and waves unaffected by the solar wind.

Mission Characteristic

The VIM is an extension of the Voyager primary mission that was completed in 1989 with the close flyby of Neptune by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Neptune was the final outer planet visited by a Voyager spacecraft. Voyager 1 completed its planned close flybys of the Jupiter and Saturn planetary systems while Voyager 2, in addition to its own close flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, completed close flybys of the remaining two gas giants, Uranus and Neptune.

At the start of the VIM, the two Voyager spacecraft had been in flight for over 12 years having been launched in August (Voyager 2) and September (Voyager 1), 1977. Voyager 1 was at a distance of approximately 40 AU (Astronomical Unit - mean distance of Earth from the Sun, 150 million kilometers) from the Sun, and Voyager 2 was at a distance of approximately 31 AU.

As of July 2003, Voyager 1 was at a distance of 13.3 Billion Kilometers (88 AU) from the sun and Voyager 2 at a distance of 10.6 Billion kilometers (70 AU).

Voyager 1 is escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.6 AU per year, 35 degrees out of the ecliptic plane to the north, in the general direction of the Solar Apex (the direction of the Sun's motion relative to nearby stars). Voyager 2 is also escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.3 AU per year, 48 degrees out of the ecliptic plane to the south.

Both Voyagers are headed towards the outer boundary of the solar system in search of the heliopause, the region where the Sun's influence wanes and the beginning of interstellar space can be sensed. The heliopause has never been reached by any spacecraft; the Voyagers may be the first to pass through this region, which is thought to exist somewhere from 8 to 14 billion miles from the Sun. Sometime in the next 5 years, the two spacecraft should cross an area known as the termination shock. This is where the million-mile-per-hour solar winds slows to about 250,000 miles per hour, the first indication that the wind is nearing the heliopause. The Voyagers should cross the heliopause 10 to 20 years after reaching the termination shock. The Voyagers have enough electrical power and thruster fuel to operate at least until 2020. By that time, Voyager 1 will be 12.4 billion miles (19.9 billion KM) from the Sun and Voyager 2 will be 10.5 billion miles (16.9 billion KM) away. Eventually, the Voyagers will pass other stars. In about 40,000 years, Voyager 1 will drift within 1.6 light years (9.3 trillion miles) of AC+79 3888, a star in the constellation of Camelopardalis. In some 296,000 years, Voyager 2 will pass 4.3 light years (25 trillion miles) from Sirius, the brightest star in the sky . The Voyagers are destined, perhaps eternally to wander the Milky Way. For current distances, check: Mission Weekly Reports

It is appropriate to consider the VIM as three distinct phases: the termination shock, heliosheath exploration, and interstellar exploration phases. The two Voyager spacecraft began the VIM operating, and are still operating, in an environment controlled by the Sun's magnetic field with the plasma particles being dominated by those contained in the expanding supersonic solar wind. This is the characteristic environment of the termination shock phase. At some distance from the Sun, the supersonic solar wind will be held back from further expansion by the interstellar wind. The first feature to be encountered by a spacecraft as a result of this interstellar wind/solar wind interaction will be the termination shock where the solar wind slows from supersonic to subsonic speed and large changes in plasma flow direction and magnetic field orientation occur.

Passage through the termination shock ends the termination shock phase and begins the heliosheath exploration phase. While the exact location of the termination shock is not known, it is very possible that Voyager 1 will complete the termination shock phase of the mission between the years 2001 and 2003 when the spacecraft will be between 80 and 90 AU from the Sun. Most of the current estimates place the termination shock at around 85 � 5 AU. After passage through the termination shock, the spacecraft will be operating in the heliosheath environment which is still dominated by the Sun's magnetic field and particles contained in the solar wind. The heliosheath exploration phase ends with passage through the heliopause which is the outer extent of the Sun's magnetic field and solar wind. The thickness of the heliosheath is uncertain and could be tens of AU thick taking several years to traverse. Passage through the heliopause begins the interstellar exploration phase with the spacecraft operating in an interstellar wind dominated environment. This interstellar exploration is the ultimate goal of the Voyager Interstellar Mission.

About the NASA App: http://www.nasa.gov/nasaapp

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Found this Image on the NASA App

2011-11-15T18:25:00.001-08:00

2011-08-19:Earth and Its Moon As Seen By Voyager 1
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2041.html

SOURCE:NASA IOTD. This image of the Earth and moon in a single frame, the first of its kind ever taken by a spacecraft, was recorded on Sept. 18, 1977, by Voyager 1 when it was 7.25 million miles from Earth. The spacecraft launched on July 20, 1975. This photo was made from three images taken through color filters, then processed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Because the Earth is many times brighter than the moon, the moon was artificially brightened so that both bodies would show clearly in the prints. Image Credit: NASA For credit and copyright guidance, please visit image webpage.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2041.html

About the NASA App: http://www.nasa.gov/nasaapp

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Mars Rover Spirit's Entire Journey on Mars - Time Lapse

2011-11-14T16:20:00.001-08:00

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A3XGzkcDUA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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A Beginners Guide to Telescopes by Adrian West

2011-11-13T15:21:00.001-08:00

http://www.universetoday.com/90936/the-holidays-are-coming-a-beginners-guide-to-telescopes/

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Back to the Rubber Dome

2011-11-13T12:02:00.001-08:00

It's going to be cloudy with a chance of rain later, time to go to sleep...

The Moon

2011-11-13T00:52:00.000-08:00

Another iPhone image. You can see the clouds were causing the background to look hazy. Moments later it was getting too cloudy, so I packed it up for the night.

Clear skies!

Jupiter and a iPhone

2011-11-13T00:39:00.001-08:00

It's not much to look at, but it was much more difficult than I expected.
Staying fixed on the focal point while the scope was tracking the object, holding the phone steady with two hands and touching the screen to capture the image, all without jerking the phone. It actually wore me out.
I spent 20 minutes and this was the best out of 10 attempts...

Clear Skies!

Ready for Action!

2011-11-12T23:40:00.001-08:00

The clouds moved out, so the scope came out. Then the clouds rolled back in, but not before Jill and the girls viewed Jupiter and one of it's moons in transit! I guess it's possible that what we saw was just a shadow from one of its moons? Either way it was a first for us, too cool...