Amateur Astronomy

Largest Black Hole Found

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 20:04:00 +0000

Biggest Black Hole in the Known Universe Discovered —and it’s BIG. Whatever gave birth to this monster can be real proud. The biggest black hole in the universe weighs in with a respectable mass of 18 billion Suns, and is about the size of an entire galaxy.

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Upgraded Hubble telescope to be 90 times as powerful

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:47:00 +0000

Space shuttle astronauts will attempt an unprecedented in-orbit repair of key Hubble Space Telescope (HST) instruments during the servicing mission scheduled for August 2008. The repairs, along with the addition of two new instruments, will make Hubble 90 times as powerful as it was after its flawed optics were corrected in 1993.

NASA Satellites Capture Start of New Solar Cycle

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:40:00 +0000

On January 4, a reversed-polarity sunspot appeared, signalling the start of Solar Cycle 24. Solar activity waxes and wanes in 11-year cycles and the previous solar cycle, Solar Cycle 23, peaked in 2000-2002 with many furious solar storms.

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Solar Observation - How To's

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:51:00 +0000

One of the most interesting and my all-time favorite celestial objects is the Sun. Many star-gazers somehow miss this quite average star which is the closest star to us and the only one that we can observe in such detail. It is also one of the few celestial objects that you can observe during the day. This is one of my first pictures of the Sun:

The very first thing that you hear about solar observation is safety. As everybody already knows you can't look directly at the Sun with your naked eyes. However, as it turns out, most makeshift solar filters such as mylar, dark or smoked glass, exposed film, etc. do not offer the adequate protection from UV (Ultraviolet Rays) that can cause permanent eye damage. Do not use them! It is very important to use a properly graded astronomical filter before attempting any kind of solar observation. There are many types – just make sure you get something that is rated 'safe for astronomical use'.

The type of filter that I use is Baader Astro Solar Filter (ND-5 rated). It replaces the cap at the end of the scope tube and blocks 99.999% of all sunlight. This type of filter is easy to use and is probably the safest. However, the filter that I got despite being made the same manufacturer as the telescope (Celestron) doesn't securely lock into place. I always use masking tape to secure it just in case. A gust of wind could easily rip it of and the Sun can blind you in a splint second.

There are also filters that attach to the eyepieces by they are known to crack and will not protect your telescope. Depending on the aperture of your telescope you may actually have heat build-up inside the tube that will literally melt your instrument.

Pointing telescope at the Sun is tricky and requires some practice (remember, you can't look through the viewfinder). The method commonly used is moving the tube until you minimize it's shadow on the ground. When you achieve this the telescope will be in alignment with the Sun.

I personally think that solar observation is 'a must' for any beginner astronomer. I actually regret not trying out my telescope during the day at first. When you get your instrument out of the box for the first time it makes it A LOT easier to learn it in daylight. Everything from setup, configuration and focusing is easier with the Sun over your head. It took me about 15 minutes just to focus the telescope the first time I got it out. As it turns out, focusing on stars is a lot more difficult than I originally thought!

Pointing your telescope to a distant object in daylight allows you to practice focusing and using your scope as well as it allows you to notice any problems which are a lot more difficult to spot at night.

Will Asteroid 2007 WD5 hit Mars?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:07:00 +0000

As you reading these lines, 2007 WD5 – asteroid 50 m (160 ft) in diameter, is speeding towards Mars at over 30,000 miles an hour. There is about 4% chance of 2007 WD5 smashing into the red planer on January 30, 2008. Whether the asteroid will actually hit Mars or not is still uncertain. Unfortunately, even if it does happen, don’t expect to see celestial fireworks. The impact would not be observable from Earth and would produce an explosion equivalent to about 3 megatons of TNT. It is expected that the impact would result in a crater approximately 0.8 km (0.5 mi) in diameter.

NASA Animation showing the motion of the uncertainty region of 2007 WD5 as it approaches Mars. The thin white line is the orbit of Mars. The blue line traces the motion of the center of the uncertainty region, which is the most likely position of the asteroid. orbital data as known on December 21, 2007 (Wikipedia). More on 2007 WD5.

Solar Photography - First Attempt

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 02:12:00 +0000

My first shot at solar photography was somewhat successful. I was hoping to capture stunning sun spots but there were only a couple of tiny ones to my disappointment.

Equipped with my trusted Celestron NexStar 8SE (8" SCT) and my camera (Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi), I secured the solar filter to the scope and started taking some pictures. The type of filter that I use is Baader Astro Solar Filter (ND-5 rated). It is made by Celestron.

After getting the alignment right, I made the following photographs by using prime focus method (through the telescope) with and without f/6.3 Focal Reducer. Without the focal reducer the Sun doesn't fit in the field of view of my telescope.

The Sun, with a focal reducer. This is false color temperature (from the following shot).

The Sun, 1/4000 sec exposure. This is true color through the filter. I had to play with the exposure so that one can see the spherical shape.

This picture is without a focal reducer (as you can see - it no longer fits in the field of view). I enhanced saturation, shadows and color to bring out the spherical form. Notice two small sun spots on the right side.

This is the close up of the sun spots. I enhanced contrast and highlights. You can also see that the Sun doesn't have a smooth surface the way it appears through the filter. It is actually granular. By playing with the contrast you can see the variations in temperature (thus the brightness).

Best Sights in Astronomy in 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:04:00 +0000

What do you think were some of the best sights in astronomy in 2007?

Share your thoughts by posting a comment!

Happy New Year!

Comet Holmes

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:25:00 +0000

The most bizarre astronomical sight of 2007 was definitely Comet Holmes. I heard about its outburst on October 25th, which surprised many astronomers. Before that the comet was merely a 16-magnitude spec, dimmer than Pluto, and was dimming every day. It could be seen only through powerful telescopes. Then something unexpected happened. On October 24th, it began to explode into view brightening by 60%(!) every hour!

Having to wait for clear skies, I finally observed in on October 29th. It took me literally a couple of seconds to spot the comet in the constellation of Perseus with my naked eyes! You could tell right away you were not looking at a star - it looked like nothing I've seen before! This is what I saw:

My 8-inch reflector telescope revealed more detail. Fuzzy yellowish coma surrounding the nucleus looked like something out of this world (literally!). It first looked more like a sphere (because of our perspective on the comet's position) so I played with the contrast on the following picture to make out the tail of the comet. You can actually tell the direction of the comet:

At more magnification I saw the comet's inner comma surrounding the nucleus. This my best shot of this incredible spectacle.

Why did such the outburst took place? We may never find out. As we know, comets are icy rocks that are heated by the Sun releasing gases trapped in the ice. The prevailing theory about Comet Holmes' outburst is that the varying warming by the Sun caused a "crust" to form effectively trapping heated gases under that crust. Once the pressure inside grew, the crust broke releasing all this gas at once.

Will we see comet Holmes again? With it's orbital period of less than 7 years it is our neighborhood's frequent guest. However, we are more likely to see it again as a tiny pinpoint. Last time Comet Holmes put up a show like this, it was 115 years ago when it was first discovered by the English astronomer Edwin Holmes. Don't you fell lucky?

UN declares 2009 the Year of Astronomy

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 01:22:00 +0000

In the statement issued by International Astronomical Union (IAU): "The United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy. The Resolution was submitted by Italy, Galileo Galilei's home country. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is an initiative of the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO..."

Full statement by International Astronomical Union (IAU)

The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) website

Astronomy Pictures of the Year for 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 07:26:00 +0000

Twelve of the more memorable images posted to Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) in 2007

Arecibo Observatory - End

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 23:02:00 +0000

At the end of the day, I could not resist but give a little "astronomy" speech to the renowned scientists at Arecibo Observatory. I think they enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the visit. :) Overall, it was worth the 1.5 hour trip from San Juan (Puerto Rico's capital)! I would definitely come back again!

More pictures from Arecibo Observatory

Arecibo Observatory - 3

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 22:55:00 +0000

When built in 1963, the telescope was (and still is) an engineering marvel, contributing to and propelling advances in electrical and mechanical engineering, antenna design, signal processing, and electronic instruments. Its operation lead to many discoveries in radioastronomy, planetary and atmospheric studies.

With the help of the Arecibo telescope scientists have made many important discoveries. On 7 April 1964, Gordon H. Pettengill's team determined that the rotation rate of Mercury is only 59 days (as opposed to the previously thought 88 days). In 1968, the radiotelescope provided the first solid evidence of neutron stars. Finally, in 1974 Hulse and Taylor discovered the first binary pulsar (PSR B1913+16), for which they were later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, which is permanently on display in the Observatory's museum.

The radiotelescope is also collecting observational data for the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) project. SETI is a distributed computing project using Internet-connected computers, searching for possible evidence of radio transmissions from extraterrestrial intelligence. Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can join this project (http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/)

Arecibo Telescope has been used in the filming of two popular movies: as the villain's antenna in the James Bond movie GoldenEye and as itself in the film Contact. As a huge fan of James Bond , you can see that I had a dual interest in visiting this place. :)

Arecibo Observatory - 2

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 22:36:00 +0000

The 38,778 perforated aluminum panels (below) that make up the dish are individually adjusted to produce a curvature with a with a 2mm precision.

Special kind of shoes (below) must be worn by all personnel walking inside the dish. These shoes protect the panels by evenly distributing person's weight.

39 cables support the 1,000 ton platform with the receiver suspended in the air. Each cable weighs 10 tons and the total length of all cables is over 4 miles (6.7 km). The small cable sample below weighs 66 pounds (30 kg).

The towers are 110 m (365 ft) high. Special concrete blocks at the foundation of each tower (below) are used to tighten the cables.

Arecibo Observatory

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 22:19:00 +0000

During our visit to Puerto Rico, we went to Arecibo Observatory - the world's largest radiotelescope. It is located in a middle of a rainforest approximately 9 miles (14 km) south of the town of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

The dish is the largest curved focusing dish on Earth (305m or 1000ft in diameter). The dish was constructed in the 1960s inside of the natural depression left by a sinkhole. The size of the structure is just mind-boggling.

This type of a dish is called a spherical reflector. Since the telescope's dish is fixed in place, the receiver has to be repositioned at its focal point in order to receive signals reflected from different directions. The 1,000-ton receiver (above) is suspended 150 m (450 ft) in the air above the dish by 18 cables running from three gigantic concrete towers.

The main dish is made of 38,778 perforated aluminum panels. It's overall collecting area is about 73 000 m² (790 000 ft² or ~18 acres). The telescope's focal length is 132.5 m (434.7ft).

The platform housing the receiver (and other equipment) can be accessed by a long suspended walkway or by a lift. We saw several technicians servicing the receiver. They must be enjoying a beautiful scenery from up there!

More on Arecibo Observatory

How big is the Universe?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 19:36:00 +0000

Welcome to this blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew K) — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 01:38:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to my Amateur Astronomy blog! I have been interested in astronomy and space exploration for most of my life but never had any practical experience. I recently decided that the time has come to pursue this hobby more seriously. I got myself a telescope, a camera, and joined a local astronomy club. At the same time I started this blog to document my learning experience and share it with other amateur astronomers around the world.

I have been a lucky telescope owner for about six months now. Also, I have recently gotten interested in astrophotography. As part of my learning experience I have done a lot of research about the sky and astronomy in general, equipment, astrophotography, various processes, etc. During this time I found that the exiting part of becoming an amateur astronomer is sharing your findings with others, getting help and tips from more mature and experienced astronomers, and helping other beginners who may be struggling with similar issues and questions that I had to go through.

I will start by documenting and publishing my previous experience for the past six months. I hope that other amateur astronomers who are sharing same interests will find my observations and results interesting as well as useful. I will try to outline many issues and questions that I have been facing along with the solutions that I found. I hope that you enjoy this blog and I am looking forward to your feedback!

My equipment:
- Celestron NexStar 8SE (8" SCT)
- Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi)