You look through the telescope. Blink. Shake your head and look again. The planet you expected to see in the eyepiece is not the one that's actually there. Too much eggnog?
No, it's just Saturn's crazy Christmas tilt.
All year long, the rings of Saturn have been tilting toward Earth and now they are almost perfectly edge-on. The opening angle is a paper-thin 0.8o. Viewed from the side, the normally wide and bright rings have become a shadowy line bisecting Saturn's two hemispheres--a scene of rare beauty.
Amateur astronomer Efrain Morales Rivera of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, has been monitoring Saturn and he created this composite image to show how the geometry has changed:
Science & Technology
In the Bible, a celestial beacon now known as the Star of Bethlehem led the Magi, or wise men, to Jesus's manger.
Astronomers have been debating for centuries whether the star existed and, if so, what it might have been. Comets, meteor showers, and supernovae have all been proposed, but in recent years two main theories have come to dominate the discussion.
The first relates to a singular planetary gathering, or conjunction, of the bright planets Venus and Jupiter. A particularly striking conjunction occurred in June 17, 2 B.C.
It makes for a probable Christmas star, some astronomers say, because the two bright planets appeared so close in the evening sky that they would have seemed to merge.
Astronomers have been debating for centuries whether the star existed and, if so, what it might have been. Comets, meteor showers, and supernovae have all been proposed, but in recent years two main theories have come to dominate the discussion.
The first relates to a singular planetary gathering, or conjunction, of the bright planets Venus and Jupiter. A particularly striking conjunction occurred in June 17, 2 B.C.
It makes for a probable Christmas star, some astronomers say, because the two bright planets appeared so close in the evening sky that they would have seemed to merge.
A high-flying telescope has detected the strongest evidence yet that water - the essential ingredient for any life we know - exists on a giant gassy planet orbiting a far-away star.
It's highly unlikely that such a huge and massive object - a planet larger even than Jupiter - could be home for anything alive, but it does increase astronomers' confidence that life is just waiting to be detected on smaller, rocky planets in what are called habitable zones around distant suns like ours.
A report on the new discovery is published today in the journal Nature by scientists who monitor images and data sent to Earth from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which has been in orbit around the sun for the past five years.
It's highly unlikely that such a huge and massive object - a planet larger even than Jupiter - could be home for anything alive, but it does increase astronomers' confidence that life is just waiting to be detected on smaller, rocky planets in what are called habitable zones around distant suns like ours.
A report on the new discovery is published today in the journal Nature by scientists who monitor images and data sent to Earth from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which has been in orbit around the sun for the past five years.
Hidden in the peaks and valleys imprinted on the cosmic microwave background - the radiation leftover from the Big Bang - is a wealth of information not only about the early universe but the distribution of matter throughout the cosmos.
On December 8, researchers at the Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics in Vancouver reported reading some of these imprints to identify three previously unknown galaxy clusters. The find bolsters using the cosmic microwave background as a tool for understanding how the universe's galaxy composition has changed over time. This understanding is critical for analyzing the fingerprints of dark energy, the mysterious force that is revving up the rate at which the universe expands.
On December 8, researchers at the Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics in Vancouver reported reading some of these imprints to identify three previously unknown galaxy clusters. The find bolsters using the cosmic microwave background as a tool for understanding how the universe's galaxy composition has changed over time. This understanding is critical for analyzing the fingerprints of dark energy, the mysterious force that is revving up the rate at which the universe expands.
Major climatic events during past global ice ages did not occur at once or with the same intensity everywhere, according to new data.
The research by Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation's (ANSTO), which used sophisticated nuclear dating techniques on rocks from Mongolian glaciers, could impact future climate change forecasts.
The research shows that Mongolian glacier advances during the last ice age were not synchronised with alpine glaciers in Europe and North America, suggesting that climate varied significantly between continents.
The research by Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation's (ANSTO), which used sophisticated nuclear dating techniques on rocks from Mongolian glaciers, could impact future climate change forecasts.
The research shows that Mongolian glacier advances during the last ice age were not synchronised with alpine glaciers in Europe and North America, suggesting that climate varied significantly between continents.
© ESO
This colour image of the region known as NGC 2264 — an area of sky that includes the sparkling blue baubles of the Christmas Tree star cluster — was created from data taken through four different filters (B, V, R and H-alpha) with the Wide Field Imager at ESO's La Silla Observatory, 2400 m high in the Atacama Desert of Chile in the foothills of the Andes. The image shows a region of space about 30 light-years across.
This colour image of the region known as NGC 2264 — an area of sky that includes the sparkling blue baubles of the Christmas Tree star cluster — was created from data taken through four different filters (B, V, R and H-alpha) with the Wide Field Imager at ESO's La Silla Observatory, 2400 m high in the Atacama Desert of Chile in the foothills of the Andes. The image shows a region of space about 30 light-years across.
William Herschel discovered this fascinating object during his great sky surveys in the late 18th century. He first noticed the bright cluster in January 1784 and the brightest part of the visually more elusive smudge of the glowing gas clouds at Christmas nearly two years later. The cluster is very bright and can easily be seen with binoculars. With a small telescope (whose lenses will turn the view upside down) the stars resemble the glittering lights on a Christmas tree. The dazzling star at the top is even bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye. It is a massive multiple star system that only emerged from the dust and gas a few million years ago.
In addition to celebrating Christmas today, science history buffs might note that today is also the 250th anniversary of a notable return of Halley's Comet in the skies over Germany.
Edmond Halley was a contemporary of Isaac Newton. In addition to his own manifold contributions to science, he convinced Newton to write his seminal book, "Mathematical Principles of Science," and even paid for its publishing.
In Halley's time comets were thought to be one-time phenomena. In 1705, after searching historical records and calculating orbits, Halley published his hypothesis that four comets seen in the previous 250 years were actually the same comet, on an orbit that brought it back to the inner solar system every 76 years. He predicted the comet's return in 1758, but died 16 years too early to see if he had been right.
Edmond Halley was a contemporary of Isaac Newton. In addition to his own manifold contributions to science, he convinced Newton to write his seminal book, "Mathematical Principles of Science," and even paid for its publishing.
In Halley's time comets were thought to be one-time phenomena. In 1705, after searching historical records and calculating orbits, Halley published his hypothesis that four comets seen in the previous 250 years were actually the same comet, on an orbit that brought it back to the inner solar system every 76 years. He predicted the comet's return in 1758, but died 16 years too early to see if he had been right.
For meteor observers, the presence of an almost-full Moon cast a bright pall on this month's performance of the Geminid Meteor Shower, normally one of the best meteor displays of the year. But for a wild card, another very good meteor shower may be right around corner. And for this one, the Moon will not play a factor at all.
So, get out your 2009 calendar and put a big circle around Saturday morning, Jan. 3.
So, get out your 2009 calendar and put a big circle around Saturday morning, Jan. 3.
Steven Jeffrey Ostro, a senior research NASA scientist who pioneered the field of asteroid radar astronomy, died on December 15 at age 62, following a two and a half year battle with cancer.
Dr. Ostro was a New Jersey native who earned bachelor's degrees in liberal arts and ceramic science from Rutgers University; a master's degree in engineering physics from Cornell University; and a doctorate in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Beginning in 1979 - after a personal invitation from Carl Sagan - Dr. Ostro served as an assistant professor at Cornell University. In 1984, he began creating his life's legacy through his work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Dr. Ostro was a New Jersey native who earned bachelor's degrees in liberal arts and ceramic science from Rutgers University; a master's degree in engineering physics from Cornell University; and a doctorate in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Beginning in 1979 - after a personal invitation from Carl Sagan - Dr. Ostro served as an assistant professor at Cornell University. In 1984, he began creating his life's legacy through his work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
© Robert W. Gaskell
A model of the asteroid Eros constructed from images from the NEAR spacecraft and, at far left, the beginnings of a topographic map of Mercury. The Eros model is made from 12,000 overlay “maplets” of the asteroid. Computer software processes the digital images in groups of 1,000.
A model of the asteroid Eros constructed from images from the NEAR spacecraft and, at far left, the beginnings of a topographic map of Mercury. The Eros model is made from 12,000 overlay “maplets” of the asteroid. Computer software processes the digital images in groups of 1,000.
"Then you punched the number into the computer and figured out the latitude and longitude," recalled Robert W. Gaskell, a planet-mapping expert. The result was two-dimensional, with only hints of surface texture or complexity.
No more. With modern computers, digital photography and laser range-finding, scientists today do a much better job of pinpointing the locations of their spacecraft, picking landing sites and otherwise describing the solar system's extraterrestrial landscapes.
