The Stars of God

Tonight's Sky: August 2012

2012-08-06T16:33:00.000+01:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky."

In August, we have two full moons in one month, a great look at the Ring Nebula, and the Perseid meteor shower.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite. http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: July 2012

2012-06-29T11:26:00.000+01:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky."
Don't miss June's Venus transit, the last one for a century!
"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite. http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: June 2012

2012-06-02T09:19:00.000+01:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky."
Don't miss June's Venus transit, the last one for a century!

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite. http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: May 2012

2012-04-28T10:08:00.000+01:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky."
May brings us the Eta Aquarid meteor shower and a solar eclipse.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite. http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: April 2012

2012-03-31T12:48:00.000+01:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky."
In April, Saturn reaches opposition and the Lyrid meteor shower streaks through the sky.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite. http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

A tour of the planets

2012-03-03T18:44:00.001+00:00

Tonight's Sky: March 2012

2012-02-28T19:54:00.001+00:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky."
In March, the constellations of spring -- Gemini and Cancer -- take over the night.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: February 2012

2012-01-30T19:49:00.000+00:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky." In February, Orion strides across the night, sporting red giant Betelgeuse on his shoulder.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: January 2012

2012-01-11T19:22:00.002+00:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky." In January, see the Quadrantid meteor shower and find the double-star Capella.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: December 2011

2011-12-02T20:33:00.001+00:00

The mid-December night sky hosts a lovely meteor shower. From
December 13th to 14th, the bright and fast Geminids will skip across the
upper atmosphere. Watch for meteors zipping away from the constellation
Gemini after midnight.
Many skywatchers will enjoy a lunar eclipse on December 10. This
happens when the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow. The Moon does
not quite disappear but turns a coppery red. Viewers in North America will
see the eclipsed Moon sink into the western horizon before dawn.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

The Great Solar Mag Flip

2011-12-02T18:48:00.001+00:00

From NASA Heliophysics.
The number of sunspots increases and decreases over time in a regular, approximately 11-year cycle, called the sunspot cycle. The exact length of the cycle can vary. It has been as short as eight years and as long as fourteen, but the number of sunspots always increases over time, and then returns to low again.

More sunspots mean increased solar activity, when great blooms of radiation known as solar flares or bursts of solar material known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) shoot off the sun's surface. The highest number of sun spots in any given cycle is designated "solar maximum," while the lowest number is designated "solar minimum."
Each cycle, varies dramatically in intensity, with some solar maxima being so low as to be almost indistinguishable from the preceding minimum.

Sunspots are a magnetic phenomenon and the entire sun is magnetized with a north and a south magnetic pole just like a bar magnet. The comparison to a simple bar magnet ends there, however, as the sun's interior is constantly on the move.

By tracking sound waves that course through the center of the sun, an area of research known as helioseismology, scientists can gain an understanding of what's deep inside the sun. They have found that the magnetic material inside the sun is constantly stretching, twisting, and crossing as it bubbles up to the surface. The exact pattern of movements is not conclusively mapped out, but over time they eventually lead to the poles reversing completely.

The sunspot cycle happens because these poles flip -- north becomes south and south becomes north--approximately every 11 years. Some 11 years later, the poles reverse again back to where they started, making the full solar cycle actually a 22-year phenomenon. The sun behaves similarly over the course of each 11-year cycle no matter which pole is on top, however, so this shorter cycle tends to receive more attention.

Tonight's Sky: November 2011

2011-11-01T10:32:00.000+00:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky."
In November, Pisces swims across the night sky and the Leonid meteor shower makes an appearance.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: October 2011

2011-10-06T13:29:00.000+01:00

Views of the Andromeda Galaxy, Jupiter and the Orionid Meteor Shower grace October's skies.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: September 2011

2011-09-06T13:33:00.000+01:00

September is all wet! Look for September constellations Aquarius, the Water Jar, and the Water Goat.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: August 2011

2011-07-28T23:44:00.000+01:00

The Perseid Meteor Shower blazes across the sky. Star clusters and the Ring Nebula grace the night.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Massive Solar Eruption Close-up - Multiple wavelengths

2011-07-28T20:00:00.001+01:00

On June 7, 2011 the Sun unleashed an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare with a spectacular coronal mass ejection (CME). The large cloud of particles mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area almost half the solar surface.

SDO observed the flare's peak at 1:41 AM ET. SDO recorded these images in extreme ultraviolet light that show a very large eruption of cool gas. It is somewhat unique because at many places in the eruption there seems to be even cooler material -- at temperatures less than 80,000 K.

This video uses the full-resolution 4096 x 4096 pixel images at a one minute time cadence to provide the highest quality, finest detail version possible.

Tonight's Sky: July 2011

2011-06-28T13:32:00.001+01:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky." In July, Scorpius skitters across the night, the Delta Aquarid meteor shower graces the month's end, and star cluster M22 is visible to the naked eye.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: June 2011

2011-06-25T14:01:00.000+01:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky." In June, a partial solar eclipse greets Alaska, northern Canada, eastern Asia and far-northern Europe.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: May 2011

2011-04-27T00:07:00.000+01:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky." In May, the hat-shaped Sombrero galaxy and the Virgo galaxy cluster grace the skies, and expect an early visit from the Eta Aquarid meteor shower.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Tonight's Sky: April 2011

2011-03-29T13:12:00.000+01:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky." In April, Saturn reaches its closest point to Earth, the Big Dipper overflows with cosmic sights, and the Lyrid meteor shower streaks the sky. "Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.
http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Dictionary: Star

2011-03-18T13:12:00.001+00:00

A star is a celestial body whose temperature and density is high enough to allow energy to be generated by nuclear fusion.
A massive range of star types have been catalogued and described, ranging in size from less than 0.1 solar masses to about 100.
Most stars follow a simple, almost straight-line, relationship linking their mass to their light output or luminosity, the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
Stars are the basic study of most astronomers and astrophysicists, who in recent years have addressed issues including star formation, the later lives of stars after the major process of energy production – the production of helium by fusing hydrogen – has ceased, and the dynamics of interacting multiple stars, especially those involving a collapsed star and a normal one.
Astronomy Dictionary

Tonight's Sky: March 2011

2011-03-03T12:40:00.000+00:00

Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky."
In March, the constellations of spring appear, heralding the change in seasons.
Look for Gemini and Cancer as they dominate the night sky.

"Tonight's Sky" is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope.
This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.

Visit Tonight's Sky on HubbleSite.
http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky

Dictionary: Astronomy

2011-03-03T12:25:00.002+00:00

Astronomy = the scientific study of the individual celestial bodies (excluding the earth) and of the universe as a whole.
Its various branches include astrometry, astrodynamics, cosmology, and astrophysics.
TheFreeDictionary