Hello, astro-nuts!

I hope everyone had a nice New Year's celebration; hopefully you didn't celebrate too much. I tried to look for the Venus/Moon/Mercury/Jupiter show, but there were clouds all over the horizon. Fortunately there was just enough of a break for a few seconds that I could see all four objects. It was great! Venus looked just gorgeous next to an even prettier crescent moon! I invite anyone with observations or photos to share them; observations can be posted on the blog comments page or our astronomy forum, and photos can go to our Photo Gallery. Many people come up with New Year's resolutions, and one of mine is to become an expert at using my new telescope. Its all assembled, now I just need a good night to try it out! To kick off 2009, I'll be talking about NASA's plans for the year, and some of the history behind the International Year Of Astronomy.

Check This Out!

If the forecast is for clear skies over your area tonight, you may want to stay up just a bit later than usual (for a Friday night) to catch the Quadrantid Meteor Shower. Every year this active shower peaks around the morning of January 3rd, with varying numbers visible per hour (sometimes numbering in the hundreds). The Quadrantids favor northern hemisphere observers(especially western North America), and the farther north you are, the better the view! There is no single constellation associated with this shower as far as a radiant, but look towards the area where the handle of the Big Dipper, Bootes and Hercules are located. The Quadrantid meteors come from a now shattered comet 2003 EH1. Perhaps it will be too cold to stay outside too long tonight; if that is the case, tune into Spaceweather Radio to hear the echoes of meteors as they fly over the Air Force Space Surveillance Radar.

If you missed the show starring Venus, Mercury and Jupiter the other night, no worries! The three planets will be visible again about 45 minutes after sunset tonight. Mercury and Jupiter won't be as close together as they were on New Year's Eve, but they are both still visible; Mercury will be about 15 degrees above the horizon and will set about 90 minutes after sunset. Meanwhile, Venus will be hard to miss as it climbs higher into the evening sky at around magnitude -4.

Those of you who are fans of actress Jodie Foster may be surprised to know that she has an asteroid named for her. Asteroid 17744 JodieFoster will make its closest pass by Earth at a distance of 159,140,342 miles on Saturday. Meanwhile, Earth will be at its perihelion, meaning our closest distance to the Sun, at a distance of 0.983 AU, or 91,375,558 miles. As I mentioned the other day, January 4th is also the 5th anniversary of Martian rover Spirit landing on the Red Planet.

Astronews!

2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO. The goal is to help everyone "rediscover their place int he Universe through the day- and night sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery." Astronomy-related activities and projects are planned all over the world throughout 2009; more than 140 countries are expected to participate. The United States will be participating, and you can find information about that on the U.S. IYA site. 2009 also marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of his telescope to study the sky, and Johannes Kepler's Astronomia Nova. Galileo introduced the telescope for use in astronomy in 1609, and of course created his own version of the device, but he did not invent the telescope. Before him, Hans Lippershey was the first to apply for a patent to exclusive rights to make and distribute the device, which "would allow you to see distant objects as if they were nearby", and make its use widely known. However, he was not the first to make one, either. The actual inventor is not known to us, but it was more than likely a craftsman of some sort, likely a "spectacle-maker".

NASA has its own plans for the coming year, coming off of a pretty successful 2008. The year will be remembered for new discoveries on Mars and new ways of looking at our sun , shuttle missions and accomplishments of spacecraft and probes that have long since left the solar system. Looking into the future, the Constellation project is well underway; rockets and capsules are being built and tested and re-tested and re-re-tested. These will be the main source of space transportation after the three remaining shuttles are retired next year. Meanwhile, another mission to the Moon is in the works for 2020, while the International Space Station is expected to be completed next year. A new solar wing is expected to be added to the ISS this year. Eight shuttle missions, including one to repair the aging Hubble Space Telescope, are planned.

Awhile back, I talked about the plans for building Spaceport America, which would be the hub for sending tourists into space. Virgin Galactic recently signed a 20-year lease agreement with the state of New Mexico, announced New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Spaceport America is expected to be built in the town of Las Cruces, a with the terminal and hangar facility expected to be completed by 2010. Test flights of launch vehicle WhiteKnightTwo are already underway in Mojave, CA. WhiteKnightTwo will be the craft which carries SpaceshipTwo to release altitude. SpaceshipTwo would be the vehicle which will carry passengers and astronauts the rest of the way to the 62-mile mark, where Earth ends and outer space begins. Don't expect the ride to be cheap; a ticket for the flight could run upwards of $200,000!

Keep your eyes to the sky and enjoy the view!
~Lisa C.

Posted by Lisa Beightol on Friday, January 02, 2009 7:38 AM
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