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Mars Express team readies for Siding Spring
Posted by ESA Mars Express Team on 2014/02/26 01:31 CST | 3 comments
On Sunday, 19 October 2014, at around 18:30 UTC, comet C/2013 A1 – known widely as 'Siding Spring' after the Australian observatory where it was discovered in January 2013 – will make a close fly-by of Mars.
Intro Astronomy Class 3: Telescopes, the Moon
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2014/02/21 04:35 CST
Explore optical, radio, and space telescopes and the Moon in the video of class 3 of Bruce Betts' Introduction to Planetary Science and Astronomy class.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2014/01/22 11:31 CST | 8 comments
The astronomy world is all a-twitter this morning over the discovery of a new supernova in M82, a galaxy that's in our astronomical backyard, "only" 12 million light-years away. And early word is that it appears to be a Type Ia supernova, the kind that's used as a standard candle to measure the expansion of the universe.
Planetary Radio: The Gemini Planet Imager
Featuring GPI PI Bruce Macintosh and Astronomer Franck Marchis
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2014/01/14 11:06 CST | 1 comments
It's very nice to infer the existence of planets circling other stars. It's even better to see them. This new instrument has just become the most powerful exoplanet viewer yet created.
Posted by Jason Davis on 2014/01/14 09:24 CST | 1 comments
A short film on the Giant Magellan Telescope, which could revolutionize exoplanet research and shape the search for life in the Universe.
A case of the measles for Jupiter?
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/11/26 03:09 CST | 1 comments
Amateur astronomer Christopher Go has found Jupiter to be putting on a fun show for observers: it's sprouting little red spots "like it has a measles attack!"
Neptune: The new amateur boundary?
Posted by Christophe Pellier on 2013/11/07 05:39 CST | 3 comments
Can features on Neptune be observed by amateur astronomers? For years, the Hubble Space Telescope and some professional terrestrial observatories have been revealing incomplete belts and spots on the surface of Neptune. Now, spots have been imaged by amateurs.
Posted by Matthew Knight on 2013/10/29 12:23 CDT
You may have noticed that Comet ISON appears to have a green halo in some recent images, but in other images acquired at about the same time, it doesn’t. Thanks to the beautiful new spectrum posted earlier today by Christian Buil, it’s relatively easy to understand why.
Posted by Geraint Jones on 2013/10/18 11:23 CDT | 3 comments
It’s been a long time since anyone paid Uranus a visit. The Uranus system is, however, fascinating, as evidenced by the wealth of topics covered by the diverse group of planetary scientists who gathered to discuss it last week at the Paris Observatory.
Our Improved Optical Search for ET
New hardware processes terabytes of data every second
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/10/08 11:15 CDT
The Planetary Society Optical SETI (OSETI) Telescope was successfully upgraded and fully tested, and is now fully operational looking for aliens. Here are some updates on the performance and progress. In summary, the upgraded telescope is performing just as hoped and is scanning the skies.
Making mirrors for the Giant Magellan Telescope
Posted by Jason Davis on 2013/09/02 06:00 CDT | 1 comments
A video on the Giant Magellan Telescope and its third mirror, which was cast on August 24, 2013 at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory Mirror Lab in Tucson, Ariz.
Book review: Europe to the Stars, by Govert Schilling and Lars Lindberg Christensen
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/08/16 11:05 CDT
The world's great telescopes capture stunning photographs of stars, nebulae, and other sky phenomena. In Europe to the Stars, authors Govert Schilling and Lars Lindberg Christensen share many such photos. But the real stars of this book are the great telescopes of the European Southern Observatory.
Comet ISON lives on! (we think...)
Posted by Karl Battams on 2013/08/13 01:31 CDT | 1 comments
For several weeks now, ground-based observers have been blind to Comet ISON as our local star was sitting directly between us and the comet. I am delighted to share two pieces of good news: first, that ISON is still alive and well, and secondly that it has been recovered.
The Peak of Discovery
Touring the Mount Wilson Observatory with the Hale Family
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/07/16 04:20 CDT
This week's Planetary Radio goes on tour at the Mount Wilson Observatory with descendants of its founder.
Planetary Society Hangout: Arkyd Telescopes, Planetary Resources, Chris Lewicki
Thursday, Jun 27, noon PDT/1900 UTC
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/06/27 11:15 CDT | 2 comments
We talked to Chris Lewicki, President of Planetary Resources, about their upcoming Arkyd telescopes including one for the public, asteroid mining, and more. Hosted by Bruce Betts with Jennifer Vaughn.
Astronomy Enters a New Era
Join us for a live webcast about thrilling new tools that will come online in the next decade.
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/05/26 08:45 CDT | 3 comments
A live conversation about just a few of the powerful new instruments that will revolutionize our knowledge of the cosmos once again.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/03/12 01:57 CDT | 2 comments
We don't have any spacecraft at Jupiter right now, which is a pity. Until we do, we have to rely upon Earth-based astronomers to monitor the changing face of the largest planet.
Posted by Mike Brown on 2013/03/06 10:41 CST | 3 comments
Ever wonder what it would taste like if you could lick the icy surface of Jupiter’s Europa? The answer may be that it would taste a lot like that last mouthful of water that you accidentally drank when you were swimming at the beach on your last vacation.
Planetary Society Weekly Hangout: Studying Asteroids from Earth with Andy Rivkin
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/28 01:25 CST | 5 comments
Emily Lakdawalla's guest this week was Applied Physics Laboratory asteroid astronomer Andy Rivkin. We talked about the menagerie of rocks in the asteroid belt, how many of them travel in pairs and triples, how some of them are surprisingly wet, and how much you can learn about asteroids using Earth-based telescopes.
Posted by Edward Gomez on 2013/02/18 05:14 CST | 4 comments
Mostly the Universe stays unchanged for hundreds, thousands or even millions of years. There are some cases however when some things change really rapidly. Recently I observed one of these rapidly changing, transient phenomena, as asteroid called 2012 DA14. I work for Las Cumbres Observatory and we have been trying to observe this asteroid since 5 February.
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