Courses in Astrophotography. The beautiful 3D map of space that plots our nearest galaxies - and reminds us how tiny Earth is. French researchers have created 3D representations of what our local universe looks likeIt centres around the Milky Way and Andromeda but extends up to 3,000 million light years awayBy plotting the universe, astronomers can learn more about how galaxies form By Victoria Woollaston Published: 16:56 GMT, 14 June 2013 | Updated: 16:56 GMT, 14 June 2013 We may soon be able to virtually explore our local universe in the same way we explore Earth - thanks to a new map of space that plots the location and flow of our nearest galaxies. The Cosmography of the Local Universe was created by Helene Courtois from the University of Lyon and a team of researchers. It attempts to map the universe up to around 3,000 million light years away from Earth including the the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies.
Scroll down for video The Cosmography of the Local Universe was created by Helene Courtois from the University of Lyon and researchers from the University of Hawaii. In 1982 astronomer R. R. Astronomy News. Can humanity cope with long-term space travel? Scans reveal damage to brains and eyes in astronauts. MRI tests on travellers to International Space Station uncover effects on eyeballs and brain connectionsMission to Mars may not be possibleHumanity's ability to get to and settle on another planet may also be a non-runner By Eddie Wrenn Published: 10:57 GMT, 13 March 2012 | Updated: 16:20 GMT, 13 March 2012 Brain scans of NASA astronauts who have spent more than a month in space have revealed damage to their eyeballs and brain tissue.
The research may have long-term implications for long-term space journeys, hypothetically preventing us from spreading through-out the solar system and beyond. Researchers used MRI scans to examine the eyes and brains of 27 astronauts, and found examples of brain damage caused by exposure to the micro-gravity of space. This ranged from a flattening and bulging of the eyeball to damage to the connections between the brain and the pituitary gland - one of the key glands governing bodily functions. The results, published in the journal Radiology, showed that: Nasa NuStar telescope dropped from plane: Rocket powered device soars into space. By Eddie Wrenn Published: 08:39 GMT, 13 June 2012 | Updated: 06:50 GMT, 14 June 2012 NASA has launched its latest X-ray space telescope on a two-year hunt for black holes lurking in the heart of the Milky Way and other galaxies.
The telescope was launched by a rocket released from a carrier aircraft that took off from the remote Kwajalein Atoll, a horseshoe-shaped island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The telescope then separated from the rocket as planned and unfurled its solar panels as it orbited about 350 miles (563 kilometers) above the Earth. NASA chose to air-launch the mission because it's cheaper than rocketing off from a launch pad. Launching from a plane: NASA's NuSTAR satellite launched from a Pegasus rocket carried on an Orbital plane (previous launch pictured) Unfurling in space: The NuSTAR orbiting telescope, which uses high-energy X-ray vision to hunt for black holes in the universe, will begin operations after a week in space.
Guide to Space. By Matt Williams on April 24, 2008 The Solar System: Outer Space: Space Exploration: People: Abd Al-Rahman Al-SufiAbu Ishaq Ibrahim al-ZarqaliAlbert EinsteinAristotleAryabhataAvenpace (Ibn Bajja)Avicenna (Ibn-Sina)Charles MessierChristiaan HuygensDemocritusEdmond HalleyEdwin “Buzz” AldrinEdwin HubbleFamous AstronautsFrancis BaconGalileo GalileeGerard KuiperGiovanni Domenico CassiniJan OortJohannes KeplerJohannes Gottfried GalleJohn Couch AdamsLord Kelvin (William Thomson)Muhammad ibn Musa al-KhwarizmiNicolaus CopernicusNilakantha SomayajiPtolemyQutb al-Din al-ShiraziRené DescartesRobert BoyleRobert HookeSir Isaac NewtonStephen HawkingNeil ArmstrongTycho BraheUrbain Le VerrierYuri GagarinValentina TereshvokaWilliam Bond CouchWilliam HerschelWilliam Lassell Cosmology: Earth Sciences: Messier Objects: Constellations: Image Credits: Solar System: spaceplace.nasa.govBig Bang: grandunificationtheory.comSpace Shuttle Columbia: NASAApollo 11 Crew: NASAMessier Objects: Michael A.
About Matt Williams. Saving space science – do you Uwingu? Space science is in a tight spot today. Much of it is funded by NASA and NSF, and both are facing very large cuts in the 2013 US budget. So what’s a space and science enthusiast to do? If you’re Alan Stern – head honcho of the Pluto New Horizons probe and longtime scientific researcher- you start a new company that’ll fund space science by engaging the public.
So he did. The idea is to create space-related products the public will like such as games, software, and merchandise. Right now they’re just starting it up, and they need cash to get it rolling – getting an accountant, paying for server support, and the like. At the moment they’re not giving out specifics about the sorts of merchandise and apps they’ll have, because they’re trying to build a little suspense. If you want more info, Pamela Gay has written about it, as has Carolyn Collins Peterson. The team also made a short introductory video: I hope you’ll consider donating to Uwingu.
Related Posts: Night Sky Constellations Naming History | Skywatching. There are 88 officially recognized constellations in the sky, and these astronomical patterns have a fascinating and long history. Forty-eight of the constellations are known as ancient or original, meaning they were talked about by the Greeks and probably by the Babylonians and still earlier peoples. After the 15th century, with the age of the great discoveries and worldwide navigation, the southernmost parts of the sky became known to man and had to be charted. Furthermore, across the entire sky were large gaps filled chiefly with dim stars between them.
In more recent times people have invented the modern constellations to fill up some of these spaces. In our current evening sky, roughly between the bright star Capella and the Big Dipper’s bowl are two examples of modern constellations. The first is the “camel-leopard,” Camelopardalis, which in Latin means giraffe. Although the telescope was just coming into general use during Hevelius’ time, he openly rejected the new invention. 10 popular misconceptions about astronomy explained. With the return of the brilliant planet Venus to our evening sky, I'm reminded of an amusing anecdote related by a good friend of mine, George Lovi, a well-known astronomy lecturer and author who passed away in 1993. One night, while running a public night at the Brooklyn College Observatory in New York, the telescope was pointed right at Venus, which was displaying a delicate crescent shape at the time.
Yet, one student gazing through the telescope eyepiece stubbornly insisted that he was really looking at the moon. When George pointed out that the moon wasn't even in the sky, the student replied, "So what? Doesn't a telescope show you things you can't see without it? " That story got me thinking about a number of popular misconceptions in astronomy. 1. When an announcement is made through the news media about an upcoming meteor shower, it likely will conjure up visions in the minds of many of a sky filled with meteors pouring out of the sky like water from a hose. 2. Most definitely! 3. Bernard Lovell who founded Jodrell Bank Observatory dies aged 98. By David Wilkes Published: 15:16 GMT, 7 August 2012 | Updated: 07:53 GMT, 8 August 2012 Sir Bernard Lovell, celebrated physicist and radio astronomer, who invented the Lovell Radio Telescope, in 2007 Sir Bernard Lovell, the man behind the Jodrell Bank Observatory, has died at 98.
The celebrated physicist was hailed yesterday by colleagues as ‘one of the great visionary leaders of science’ who ‘contributed a vast amount to our understanding of the universe’. The 249ft Lovell Radio Telescope remains the defining feature of Jodrell Bank and is the world’s third largest steerable telescope. It tracked the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik in 1957 and discovered new stars and constellations. Earlier, during the Second World War, Sir Bernard worked on the development of radar, which gave the RAF a vital edge over the Luftwaffe. Yesterday Lord Rees, the Astronomer Royal, said: ‘Bernard Lovell ranks as one of the great visionary leaders of science. 'A great man, he will be sorely missed.' The Daily Galaxy - Great Discoveries Channel: Sci, Space, Tech.
Mystery over the giant cosmic explosion of 774AD, which has left absolutely no trace - except deep within the rings of two cedar trees. By Eddie Wrenn Published: 12:10 GMT, 4 June 2012 | Updated: 16:39 GMT, 4 June 2012 The clues are in these rings: The rings capture microcosmic traces of particles in our skies - and tell us an explosion occurred It is a mystery which is truly beyond even Sherlockian scale - a cosmic explosion which left no trace behind except deep within the bark of two cedar trees.
Fusa Miyake, of the Nagoya University in Japan, studied the growth rings of two trees dating back 1,200 years - and discovered that an explosion of epic proportions occurred between 774 and 775AD. But there is no record of something happening in our skies in that period - except perhaps for one tiny, obscure account by a 13th-century historian. The problem - and this is where we need to call in Mr Holmes of Baker Street - is that there should be a record. Carbon-14 forms when cosmic rays - generally caused by massive solar flares, or by supernovae - interact with nitrogen and oxygen in our atmosphere.
Your Age On Other Worlds. Want to melt those years away? Travel to an outer planet! <div class="js-required"><hr> This Page requires a Javascript capable browser <hr></div> Fill in your birthdate below in the space indicated. (Note you must enter the year as a 4-digit number!) The Days (And Years) Of Our Lives Looking at the numbers above, you'll immediately notice that you are different ages on the different planets. The earth is in motion. The top-like rotation of the earth on its axis is how we define the day. The revolution of the earth around the sun is how we define the year.
We all learn in grade school that the planets move at differing rates around the sun. Why the huge differences in periods? Johannes Kepler Tycho Brahe Kepler briefly worked with the great Danish observational astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Here you see a planet in a very elliptical orbit. Kepler's third law is the one that interests us the most. Let's just solve for the period by taking the square root of both sides: Isaac Newton. Astronomical Society of the Pacific: Activities With Astrology. Introduction These activities help students to understand the difference between science and pseudoscience by investigating some of astrology's claims.
Letting students have a good discussion can be very effective. We encourage you to read "Your Astrology Defense Kit" before doing these activities. Students test the validity of astrology with three activities: 1. 2. 3. This activity was written by Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College and Astronomical Society of the Pacific) and incorporates suggestions by Diane Almgren, Daniel Helm and Dennis Schatz.
Activity Description Activity 1: Testing Astrology with the Birthdays of the Presidents Astrologers will tell you that the Sun sign (which is the sign of the zodiac the Sun was in when a individual was born) is a crucial factor for the occupation a person chooses and a strong determinant of overall personality as it relates to one's job. After all, it takes a certain kind of personality to be President (outgoing, well-spoken, ambitious). 1. 2. 3. Space - Astronomy and Exploration. Radio Waves from Brown Dwarf Discovered. An artist's impression of a brown dwarf similar to J1047+21.
Using the radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a team of astrophysicists from Penn State have discovered radio emissions from a brown dwarf in the constellation Leo. 33.6 light years away, this ultra-cool star, named J1047+21, is only 5 times hotter than Jupiter. Penn State astronomers using the world’s largest radio telescope, at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, have discovered flaring radio emissions from an ultra-cool star, not much warmer than the planet Jupiter, shattering the previous record for the lowest stellar temperature at which radio waves were detected. The team from Penn State’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds, led by Alex Wolszczan, the discoverer of the first planets ever found outside our solar system, has been using the giant 305-meter (1000-foot) telescope to look for radio signals from a class of objects known as brown dwarfs.
Source: Penn State University.