Comet PANSTARRS Update

This coming week observers in the northern hemisphere will finally get a chance to see comet PANSTARRS, which has been brightening steadily over the month of February. Follow the link above for maps, but here in Grand Portage one of the best places to look for it is to go out to the end of Hat Point by the water pumping station around sunset and look west across the bay. I will set up my big telescope and my camera tripod and attempt to get some photos so if anyone wants a look come on out to Hat Point on clear evenings next week. Binoculars will help in finding the comet but hopefully it should be visible to the naked eye. Start looking around March 8th and keep looking all week as the comet will fade in brightness as the month passes.

Here's to clear skies!

2013: Year Of The Comet?

2013 is looking like it will be a notable year for comets, with two predicted to become bright enough to see with the naked eye and one of them may be spectacular.

Photo: Comet McNaught
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121228-coslog-mcnaught-1015a.photoblog600.jpg

First up is the appetizer, comet PANSTARRS (an acronym of the telescope that found it) which will be visible in the western sky soon after sunset in mid-March. Hopefully it will brighten enough to be seen without binoculars, but comets are notoriously unpredictable. Follow the link for sky charts and more information.

 This is only a teaser, though, because the big show coming in the fall is the huge sungrazing comet ISON. This comet is thought to be making its first trip into the inner solar system, so it may give off a spectacular tail as it rounds the sun in November. If it survives its close encounter with the sun intact it should shine as bright as the full moon and be visible in daylight. Northern hemisphere viewers will be well-placed for seeing the show as the projected path through the sky takes it near the north celestial pole meaning you will be able to see it all night long here in Grand Portage.

Astronomers around the world are crossing their fingers that this one is sizzle not fizzle, but being that it is already showing a tail and it is still outside the orbit of Jupiter I hope the optimists are right and ISON will become known in history as the Great Comet of 2013.

Leonid Meteor Shower Tonight

The 2010 Leonid Meteor Shower is peaking this week, and the best time to view them is this Wednesday and Thursday early in the morning. They will be most visible in the few hours before sunrise, after the moon sets. It is supposed to be partly cloudy tonight and snowy tomorrow night, so it may be difficult to see them if the sky is cloudy. If you happen to wake up early in the morning and the sky looks clear, take a peak outside to see the meteors. We have optimal viewing here in the north woods, well away from the lights of a big city.
If you are interested in learning more about the history of the Leonid Meteors and to find out how they were named, you can visit space.com. They have an interesting article there about the meteor show.

Pic from www.thedailyinquirer.net

Forty Years Ago Today...

Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.

Even though I was only six years old I still remember being glued to our old black-and-white TV set watching the mission unfold (narrated by Walter Cronkite - R.I.P.). The space race was one of the main catalysts for my continuing love of science, particularly astronomy. Seeing the live footage of our astronauts and knowing we were witnessing history in the making impacted me even then, because I can still clearly picture the scene in our living room as we watched. We must continue to instill the wonder of science to our future generations by reaching out and showing them how science works so that they can also develop a thirst for knowledge.

Keeping on the astronomical theme there is breaking news from Jupiter. A black spot has formed near Jupiter's south pole and some astronomers are speculating it may have been caused by an impact similar to the 1994 impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 . More observations will be needed to determine if it is indeed an impact scar, so this story will continue to develop over the coming weeks.

South is inverted in this photo and the spot is near the top. It looks small but remember how big Jupiter is - at this scale the spot is probably larger than North America.

Update: Definitely an impact.