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Monthly Archives: February 2011
How to shoot your own space station photos
The space station photos we featured yesterday inspired me today to write a little guide on how just about anyone can take a picture of the orbiting ship. With a little luck in the weather department and a bit of … Continue reading
Venus-moon spectacle and amazing shuttle rendezvous photos
If you’re out at dawn the next two mornings you’ll see a lovely sight in the southeastern sky as the crescent moon passes near the planet Venus. Tomorrow it will lie some six degrees to the right of the planet, … Continue reading
Tagged albedo, Astro Bob, Discovery, NanoSail-D, space station, Venus
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Sweet sounds of flute 217 miles overhead
Watch a 3-minute interview with astronaut Cady Coleman and listen to her play the flute in orbit. We nailed it. Clear skies in the nick of time made it possible for me and my work colleagues to spot both the … Continue reading
Tagged Astro Bob, Cady Coleman, ISS, shuttle, space station, Whirlpool galaxy
3 Comments
Shiny birds skim the sky tonight
Will it be clear or won’t it? Always the question in the astronomer’s life. Last night I had hoped to get home early enough from work to see NanoSail-D, a 100-square-foot polymer solar sail in orbit around the Earth. I … Continue reading
Tagged NanoSail-D, solar sail
4 Comments
Discovery carries first non-human passenger into space
Everything went A-OK during Thursday afternoon’s launch of the space shuttle Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Even 40 miles away, the shuttle made for a spectacular sight as you can see in Duluthian JeRay Johnson’s photo. The … Continue reading
Tagged Astro Bob, Discovery, R2, Robonaut 2, shuttle
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Man in the moon’s smile still fresh after 172 years
Photography, which has been around for nearly two centuries, is constantly reinventing itself. Who could have guessed 20 years ago that telephones would do double duty as cameras? The first photograph was made in 1826 by French inventor Joseph Niépce. … Continue reading
Tagged Astro Bob, draper, LRO, moon, photography
3 Comments
Amateur astronomers record probable lunar impact
While observers in the northern U.S. and southern Canada have seen little to no northern lights in the wake of recent solar flares, that hasn’t been true for people living in the Arctic north. This photo is proof of that. … Continue reading
Depth and perception in the solar system
Tonight the moon rises around 10:45 p.m. in the southeast, but if you wait until 11:30 or so, you’ll get to see it lined up “single file” under Spica and Saturn. The moon will be about 4 degrees below Spica … Continue reading
Tagged Astro Bob, conjunction, moon, Saturn, SOHO, Spica, sun
3 Comments
Space station returns to view in time for Discovery rendezvous
The space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to launch at 3:50 p.m. Central time this coming Thursday. Some three and a half months ago, Discovery was grounded because of cracks in its external fuel tank Those have been repaired and the … Continue reading
Tagged Astro Bob, flares, ISS, shuttle, space station, sun
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Are you ready for a Siriusly good time?
Sirius glinted off the ice on our rural road last night. At 8.6 light years away, it reminded me of what life was like 8.6 years ago, when texting didn’t exist and my children were still children. I like this … Continue reading
Tagged Astro Bob, Canis Major, Sirius, Sirius B, the Pup, white dwarf
2 Comments
