Any Astronomy Buffs Here?

[DevilHorse]

Fireball and loud boom.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/firebal...ouisiana-nasa/

Larry
DevilHorse

[CameronBornAndBred]

Ooooooh!!!!

Earth's planet-scale observatory network, best known for creating the first-ever image of a black hole, is ready to report new results about the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

More information about the "groundbreaking" research on our galaxy will be presented on May 12 at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT). Although the announcement is two weeks away, it's likely that the discovery relates to the supermassive black hole that lurks at the center of the Milky Way. Called Sagittarius A*, this behemoth has been a key target for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) since 2017.

https://www.space.com/event-horizon-...ky-way-results

[OldPhiKap]

D296496B-B1B4-43AE-8501-C2A7E81026B8.jpg

[CameronBornAndBred]

D296496B-B1B4-43AE-8501-C2A7E81026B8.jpg

Maybe we'd finally get to see the other side of the moon before we die, though.

[DevilHorse]

Fireball and loud boom.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/firebal...ouisiana-nasa/

Larry
DevilHorse

Apparently pieces of the fireball have hit the earth.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...nd/9645384002/
This article shows a charred fragment, later in the article.

It was not Rich Strike.

Larry
DevilHorse

[DevilHorse]

We're getting an idea of how much better the James Webb telescope is than the Spitzer telescope. The following picture was released comparing the same view of the Large Magallanic Cloud (our nearest galactic neighbor):
webbPic1.jpg
A full article is here:
https://www.space.com/james-webb-spa...pdate-may-2022

More treats to come as I imagine this is not using any major magnification for this telescope, although it is exercising its superior focusing ability.

Larry
DevilHorse

[DevilHorse]

I'm glad to report, as a card carrying philatelist, that although several countries have issued James Webb Telescope stamps, the US Post Office has come around and will issue a James Webb Telescope Stamp later this year.
jwebbstamp1.jpg
https://www.space.com/usps-james-web...tamp-announced

Keeping with tradition, no specific date was set.

It will be competing for an issue date with the simultaneously announced Charles Schulz/Peanuts stamps, but then the JWT didn't cost peanuts.

First Day Covers anybody?

Larry
DevilHorse

[DevilHorse]

If you are lucky enough to have clear skies sunday night, there will be a total lunar eclipse:
https://abc7.com/lunar-eclipse-2022-...kend/11838463/

As a number of you know or may have surmised, two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse, there is the potential for a total/partial solar eclipse. We did have one in the southern hemisphere:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2022-april-30

Always nice to know syzygy happens.

Larry
DevilHorse

[killerleft]

Greensboro was cloudy, thus no visible lunar eclipse last night. Anybody get pics?

[CameronBornAndBred]

Greensboro was cloudy, thus no visible lunar eclipse last night. Anybody get pics?

I was too tired to haul out my telescopes (just got back from a weekend of camping), but I got this one from my camera and tripod.

It's the eclipse a little before totality.

LunarEclipse2022.jpg

[killerleft]

I was too tired to haul out my telescopes (just got back from a weekend of camping), but I got this one from my camera and tripod.

It's the eclipse a little before totality.

LunarEclipse2022.jpg

Thanks! My back hurts just thinking about camping.

[JStuart]

I was too tired to haul out my telescopes (just got back from a weekend of camping), but I got this one from my camera and tripod.

It's the eclipse a little before totality.

LunarEclipse2022.jpg

I was able to see the first third of the eclipse, went to take a brief nap, and when I went back outside at about 11:30, the clouds had moved in, and totality really was total...coudn't see a thing. Dang.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I was able to see the first third of the eclipse, went to take a brief nap, and when I went back outside at about 11:30, the clouds had moved in, and totality really was total...coudn't see a thing. Dang.

The clouds came here in New Bern not long after that photo. What I really want to know is what are the three dots in my photo. My first thought was Starlink, but I've seen at least one other pic that they showed up as well. Unless that one and mine were taken at literally the same moment, satellites seem unlikely.
I would have thought stars would be too faint, especially with the moon in front of them, to show up in a high speed camera image. And stars don't tend to be aligned so well. But it's possible, I suppose.

[-jk]

The clouds came here in New Bern not long after that photo. What I really want to know is what are the three dots in my photo. My first thought was Starlink, but I've seen at least one other pic that they showed up as well. Unless that one and mine were taken at literally the same moment, satellites seem unlikely.
I would have thought stars would be too faint, especially with the moon in front of them, to show up in a high speed camera image. And stars don't tend to be aligned so well. But it's possible, I suppose.

Might be stars - one pops out from behind the moon. If not, we should be in the uap thread!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhYpaF9E_bY

-jk

[CameronBornAndBred]

Might be stars - one pops out from behind the moon. If not, we should be in the uap thread!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhYpaF9E_bY

-jk

Actually 2 of the three show up, in the same alignment. Guess they are stars after all. Surprised they showed up with such a quick shutter.

[DevilHorse]

For sun worshipers, I mean sun watchers..
https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-activit...urora-updates/

A sun spot that is 10 times the size of our ship called the earth.

Amazing.

Larry
DevilHorse

[Utley]

https://www.universetoday.com/155928...t-on-may-31st/

Sounds like the skies could be exciting early next week - or not. Can’t remember if it was this article or another but the potential number of meteors could qualify it as a meteor storm as opposed to a meteor shower.

[DevilHorse]

Might be some gift ideas here:
https://popchart.co/products/the-cha...ic-exploration

I am not affiliated.

Happy viewing tomorrow night.

Larry
DevilHorse

[DevilHorse]

What keeps you up at night?

OK, tonight it might be a Meteorite Shower!

But otherwise it might be a comet/asteroid hitting the earth and taking us out. Of course there are unknown objects, that obviously can't be tracked (since they are unknown). But there are known objects with ambiguous or near earth orbits that 'might' hit the earth. Did you know that NASA keeps a list that you can track to help you sleep a little better:
https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/sentry/

Apparently NASA has recently improved its' ability to predict whether these objects will hit the earth: translates to measure the probability that a known object will hit the earth and when.

Rest easy. Not tonight!

Larry
DevilHorse

[DukeDude]

Anyone see anything impressive from the meteor shower last night? I saw a couple meteors but nothing I would consider a shower or storm.