Professional astronomers searching image archives from the Spacewatch program, discovered several faint traces of 2004 MN4 on images taken in March of this year. The newly-reported positions were used to revise the orbit of the asteroid. The new calculations show that the asteroid will be a spectacular sight in 2029, but will safely pass the earth.
Camarillo Observatory is one of the small private observatories that was called into action a few days before Christmas, to obtain observations of the newly-discovered asteroid in an effort to improve the knowledge of its orbit around the sun.
Although there was no reason for immediate concern, the current excitement stemmed from the fact that this was the first asteroid to rise above the level of 1 on the Torino Scale. Similar to the Richter scale used for earthquakes, this scale is a measure that scientists developed to communicate the relative risks of an asteroid impact with our planet to the public.
In fact, it had reached a level 4 for a date in 2029, but posed no possible hazard before then. There are still several dates after 2029 which are still being investigated, with several measuring 1 on the Torino Scale.
Rest assured that there is no possibility that we will lose track of this asteroid. It will be visible for several more months, during which time Camarillo Observatory and others will continue to obtain crucial measurements, before it returns to the depths of space. After that there will be at least two favorable periods, when we can confirm the behavior of the asteroid's motion around the sun. 2004 MN4 will be favorably positioned in its orbit to be safely observed from the earth in 2013 and 2021.
At 54 times the distance of the Moon, the animation above was taken with the Helin telescope on 15 January 2005, starting at 03:50 UTC. Approximately 12.5 minutes of motion is compressed into one second.
Star Party Equipment – Red Light Refrigerators
Star parties are by far the best means of engaging in amateur astronomy. These gatherings are usually held in remote places, and hundreds of keen astronomers gather together – observing strict rules about avoiding light pollution – to enjoy the wonders of their heavens with their latest telescopes.
The one drawback about star parties is, however, that they are so far from civilization. While this is a necessity to avoid the drawbacks or urban lighting, it does mean you are cut off from some of the luxuries of life.
Many people try to improve the star party experience by taking along a cooler to keep food and drinks in. While this is an acceptable solution, for those willing to spend the money purchasing a portable refrigerator for their vehicle can be a better choice.
Refrigerator reviews are almost unanimous than an Engel refrigerator makes a great car fridge. These units are highly efficient – which is great if you are sharing your cars power source with a sophisticated observing array – whilst also very effective.
Some refrigerator reviewers also have great things to say about Arb fridges, but my personal preference will always be Engel. I have a medium sized Engel refrigerator freezer for my Toyota Landcruiser, and I’d be lost without it.
It fits easily into the back on a sliding tray that allows for easy access, and comes with a nice cover to keep it looking neat when not in use. If I don’t go overboard on my eating and drinking, it can easily carry enough supplies to last me through several nights of starwatching.
One thing to keep in mind if you do purchase a car refrigerator for your next Star Party – some of them have internal lighting! If the model you choose has one make sure you trade it out for a night vision friendly red light.
If you do not do this your star party colleagues may not invite you back next year!
Asteroid 2004 MN4 Will Not Strike on Friday the 13th
Something not many people know about me is that by day, I work at a merchant account company helping other businesses accept credit card payments. But I moonlight as a wannabe astronomer; that’s where my real passion is. I am most interested in asteroids. I’ve always hoped that I would be able to discover one and name it after myself but anyone else out there who is also an astronomy buff knows that this will probably never happen. Asteroids are typically named by their year and half-month of discovery. Sometimes they are given a name after the orbit has been confirmed but that’s not always the case.
One asteroid that has excited me most in the past 10 years is 2004 MN4. Astronomers Chesley, Yeomans, and Chodas discovered this one on Christmas Eve in 2004 and it looked like it would collide with the earth on April 13, 2029. Friday the 13th! If this asteroid were to hit earth, it would collide with a land area about the size of Texas and certainly cause a tsunami if it were to land in an ocean.
Luckily for us, further observation of the asteroid’s track revealed that it will miss us but not without providing us a bright glimpse of it. Residents in Africa, Europe, and Asia will get the best look at it and it is said that it will be able to be seen through city lights, to the unaided eye, and it will look like a very bright star.
I’ve already decided that I am going to book a trip to England and stay with my relatives during that time so that I will be able to see it. Yes, I know that it’s a long ways off and I will be over 50 by then, but give me a break! Every day I deal with customers calling me about their merchant accounts and it can get quite tedious. I need to have things to look forward to in order to keep me sane.
Decision Support System in Astronomy – Is It Useful?
We all know that the age of computer have increased its popularity a lot these days, now a person can barely live without a computer or the Internet. It is obvious that computer age makes works, tasks and jobs simple. Traditionally, offices use to store their confidential and important information in the company through writing. They use to write down notes and put in in a secured place or case. Even schools store their important information gathered and analyzed through the manner of writing. It is nice to hear and say that computer age makes all this things and stuffs simple, from gathering, storing and analyzing data, loading them is also added. You can now load the information being gathered into a computer. Here it comes Decision Support System or DSS as it is also called. The Decision support system plays a big role in the process of decision making. You can read a lot more about DSS Decision Support System software here at Decision Support System which analyses and tests the various types of Decision Support Software and explains the basics behind a Decision Support System With that, it can be easy for you to finalized a decision from the data gathered and information that are being analyzed and by simply loading it into computers, then you now have all the information needed. So, it is great and nice to hear that we can now have all the information we want to and this can be very beneficial and useful for Decision support System in Astronomy.
It is very much beneficial for schools to use Decision support System in Astronomy. We all know that astronomy talks scientific study of all the matter. So, you need to have all the important information about astronomy such as dealing with their origin, the energy found in the universe, distribution, movements and composition. With these vast of topics that talks about astronomy, decision support system will be playing a big role in here. It is expected that you will gather data and analyzing data about astronomy and DSS will be a big help. It will store up all your needed information that is being gathered. So, it is not difficult for you to do studies and read all about astronomy which you have been gathered and stored. Astronomy touches many things especially on analytical aspects and decision support system will make all things simple for you as you are using this helpful tool for your analysis.
Venus and Jupiter Become Close Friends
Last week in the skies above the UK the two planets Venus and Jupiter appeared as bright as diamonds in the black night. I quickly grabbed a nice warm cup of coffee from my fancy new espresso maker and made for the back garden with the binoculars.
Despite being a vast distance from each other (Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth and Jupiter is many times further away from the Sun than the Earth) they appeared to be within touching distance of each other.
Venus is the brightest of the two and Jupiter will appear to move past it in a straight line during March.
But there’s more Venus fun to come in this month when Venus makes a transit of the Sun which will, from some parts of the world, appear as a small black disc moving across the disc of the Sun.
What’s more, this year saw Mars pass the closest to the Earth for many years to come. 2012 is proving a great year for planet gazers.
Lower Pollution to See the Stars – Purchase a Hybrid Vehicle
We all value our ability to see the stars at night. Do your part to keep the stars bright and cut down on pullution by financing a hybrid car. Use online tools such as this payment calculator to calculate your loan payments.
When someone wants to figure out how much a loan will cost the borrower. If someone does not know how much a loan will cost him before he enters the a lending institution, the officer may laugh in his face. If the employee cares about a high paying job with a lot of job security, he may simply politely decline the request. A PaymentBot can help someone avoid this harrowing fate. The reader may wonder how something as simple as this particular item can keep someone from being turned down for a loan. As the reader might suspect, the answer is relatively simple. Using a PaymentBot is about getting easy access to certain types of information.
The PaymentBot is a simple piece of code. The simple piece of information is how much a person can pay over time. Algorithms also determine a persons credit score, and whether or not the bank will let the loan get to a human lender. Before a person can get this far, he can avoid some trouble by making sure that he has the money he needs to make the monthly payments. The PaymentBot cannot tell someone if he makes enough money, although a well-programmed version may give the user guidelines.
When someone looks for this interesting piece of software, he does not need to go to his local BestBuy or into his local Staples. No downloads are needed for a person to use this software. All the user has to do is point his browser to his favorite program. If the perspective borrower knows which business he wants to choose, all he has to do is go to there website. There is a high probability his perspective lender already makes such a script available its site. Instead of waiting to see where this is going, check out the lender’s site now.
Learning NASA history and developments with NASA App
Are you one of the people who have an interest in NASA operations? If you are a student studying a course related to space and other planets, you may be interested in using the NASA Free iPhone app. Isn’t it interesting to see what NASA are doing today or even get information on their developments without necessarily waiting for the news to tell you? Well, with this app, you have a chance to learn about what NASA have been doing over the past few years and what they are planning to do in the coming years.
If you would like to observe the stars, watch NASA television, get NASA news and feature stories, tweets from NASA, satellite tracking and see images as well as videos from space, you should download the NASA iPhone app which is free from the apple store. Apart from the above mentioned features, you are in a position to enjoy other great features such as earth and ISS orbiting satellite trackers, you can access the maps to NASA visitor centers. All in all, this is the best app for informing you on what is going on the NASA offices.
If you are an aspiring astronaut or would like to work with NASA in the future, you should have this app as you need to know more about the program before being recruited. There are numerous chances of employment into NASA and not only astronauts are employed. They actually take people from different fields and incorporate them into their system, therefore get the free app today and start the journey of your career. Most information shown on the NASA app or TV is not easily accessible and may only be watched on national television if it affects Americans. Some information such as past and future missions aren’t available on TV but can be accessed through this app.
Why I Love Star Gazing
“Let’s see if we can see a satellite,” whispered my mother one evening. I was 8. Full of wonder I followed my mother outside. We lay on the ground looking up at the stars. We waited.
That night we saw five satellites pass overhead. The crossed the milky way, blazoned across the night sky. I learned how to tell the difference between a planet and a star. (With planets you can just about make out a disk, while stars are points of light.) And we counted off the major constellations: Orion, Taurus and the seven sisters.
My mother pointed out brightest star in the sky: Sirius in the constellation Canis Major with its blue-white light. My mind boggled as my mother explained that it was only the brightest star because it was “close” to the Earth (just 8 light years). That if Betelguese, the giant orange star in Orion was as close to the earth as Sirius, it would cast shadows.
Time. Distance. Void. Expansion. I loved all those concepts. My head shifted. I felt in awe. A feeling that has never left me.
I was lucky that my first encounter with the night-sky was in a remote location in Nicaragua. We owned a property there, which we were trying to sell. It was in the middle of nowhere. No man-made light was interfering with the giant spectacle.
It was my mother too who woke me up in the middle of the night several years later to show me Halley’s comet. “Like a tennis racket in the sky,” she said. She was right. We spotted the comet before the ’prime’ time, it’s icy trail at this point was clearly visible.
I’ve gazed up at the night-sky on countless occasions since. Tracing the line from the big bear to the pole star. Finding the south poie with the help of the Southern Cross. Counting the sisters in Pleiades (that first night in Nicaragua we could easily count to 7). Looking for the smudge of the Andromeda galaxy.
I still feel in awe. Humble.
The Final Frontier
Space exporation, that’s quite a vast and never ending task but it is one that many people decide to delve into. Let me tell you, it is very interesting. You do have to have that certain something that makes you want to study the sky for days at a time but it is all worth it when you see something new or different that reminds you that out there is everything and forever.
This kind of job can be tiring though because of the levels of concentration youhave to put in so taking regular breaks to freshen your eyes and your mind is highly recommended. We just got a great new corner sofa installed in the break room and it certainly clears the worries from your head as soon as you sit down. It is so comfortable and relaxing and you can lose yourself for quite some time on there.
I am hoping to write a paper soon about some of my theories and I am sure you will forgive me for not divulging the exact content but let’s just say a certain Mr Higgs will be yesterdays news when they hear what I have to say.
Witness How We Have A Beautiful Space At Night
When talking about space exploration, it is actually defined as the use of space technology and astronomy as used to explore outer space. Tagrenovering – Renovering af tag would surely make the exploration has taken place. Astronomy is the observations of objects in space. Astronomy is one of the oldest scientific studies. It is a fact that our space has these shining stars at night. Witnessing how beautiful our space at night would make you conclude that the creator is very unique and intelligent. The stars at night are the reason why we have more bright lights at night. Moon is also the reason why we see light at night. When you try to check space exploration topic, you would surely amazed and conclude that the creator of these amazing asteroids is amazing. Another target of space exploration is astrobiology which means the study of the life in the whole universe. Did you realize how exciting if we talk about space exploration? Talking about space exploration would surely inspire generations of people most especially the kids. Most children love to hear about the story on spaces and also story of the universe. They easily inspired with this interesting and exciting topic.
The last endeavor as humans is the space travel. Aside from learning space exploration, space travel is also an exciting and interesting topic to hear. It is the buildup of progress, invention and hardship over hundreds and even thousands of years. The celestial bodies and objects are actually one of the main reasons why we have a beautiful space at night and even in a day. Tagrenovering – Renovering af tag is one of the most interesting and important information and fact that tackles about the space. This topic is actually being discussed at school. This worldly topic and also that talk about the universe remain essential. In teaching children, astronomy may be the most and the best science. Astronomy doesn’t mean only on teaching children but also it is a themed learning project. Astronomy doesn’t only teach children but also in many other subjects like writing, reading, geometry, photography, history, math and many other more.
Almost any kind of topic that adds knowledge can be combined into children’s astronomy workshop or class. Our solar system is an interesting topic to talked and discuss with. So, it is nice that astronomy will make children start to be fascinated. Tagrenovering – Renovering af tag is a part of astronomy discussion. Children love to hear those topics and also about the solar system. A topic about solar system is also a part of astronomy. So, being aware on the things and facts about space exploration is not just an exciting and interesting subject but being aware on these stuffs is essential as inhabitants here on Earth. Children can easily appreciate tings most especially when talking about beautiful things. So, it is true that space exploration is an interesting fact. All the things in the universe are essential and being aware on these things and know these things would be a great knowledge.
After A Crisis
The hard thing if you believe that we, as a society need to be doing more to prevent crisis is that the public has a notoriously short attention span for crisis in terms of planets and the Earth. Heck, it took Earth Day itself over 40 years to get to the point where the average American had any clue what day it actually was!
Moving forward, one of the main questions facing the scientific community in terms of preventing a catastrophic event, is how to keep the public’s attention long enough to gain the necessary funding that only comes with long term sustained public attention.
All our PR folks out there-any ideas?
Want to Be an Astrologist? Prepare for a Rigorous Academic Endeavor
Many young people that want to be an astrologist don’t realize the rigorous education they will need to attain. It’s important that those willing to get this education take the time to use free online tool that will promote their success such as a gpa calculator.
Getting straight A’s does not always guarantee one success but it surely does not hurt to give your best in school. A high GPA will most likely open up more opportunities in life such as making more money and pursuing further education and if one is already paying so much for their education; they might as well make the most out of it.
One does not necessarily need to be a genius or study nonstop for days on end to get good grades. The most essential habits that lead to academic success are being efficient and disciplined. Here are a few strategies that can help a student to maintain a good GPA without too much stress.
• Attend classes: This is one of the main issues that students don’t like to deal with but it is very important. With the advent of online homework and classes, it is very tempting for students to skip class, download the lesson and study on their own at their own convenient time. Attending classes also earns you a good reputation in the eyes of the grader and this might just raise your grades.
• Take handwritten notes: This step will help you to improve your grades because you are not only forced to pay attention; the physical process of writing will help to jog your memory. Written notes also provide a point of reference that helps to create a link between the notes and the tutor’s verbal explanation. This is very essential in effective and efficient studying.
• Avoid doing an all-nighter: An all-nighter often shows that one has been slacking for the most part of the semester and has to fit what they needed to do in three months into a single night. If one uses a gradual study plan, this will never be necessary.
A simple GPA calculator will help a student to evaluate his or her performance and whether his or her study strategies are working or not. It does not take a genius to get a perfect score but one has to be willing to put a little more effort if they want to get there.
Herschel Telescope Reaching the End
It is the largest infrared telescope ever to have been sent up into space, but alas scientists are expecting the end to be coming soon. It’s called the Herschel Space Observatory and was launched in the Summer of 2009, it was of course named after the famous astronomer William Herschel. It’s a huge telescope and has a main mirror which measure over 11 feet in diameter. Just to put this into context that’s nearly 50% bigger than the Hubble Telescope. It’s goal was to focus on the infrared spectrum and attempt to map the universe and it’s light wavelengths.
There have been some stunning success stories, some of the best are perhaps that of the Eagle Nebula which you can see below.
However the problem with this telescope is that all the instruments it needs to carry out it’s work, must be kept very cool - as close as possible to absolute zero (-271 Celsius)as possible. Without these temperatures the instruments won’t work properly and will soon fail. These low temperatures are maintained by seating them above a tank which is filled with liquid helium.
At least it used to be filled, slowly the helium has been evaporating into space and now it is thought is nearly all gone. The scientists are not sure how long it will last but they are fearing the end soon. When the coolant does run out the temperature of the equipment will start to rise quite quickly.
The experiment though has been deemed to be a success for the ESA who are based in Darmstadt, Germany. It has clocked up over 20,000 hours of scientific observation. You can see some of the highlights of the experiment on various TV channels across Europe – there was some good ones on the German broadcasters. You will need a German proxy if you’re based outside Germany unfortunately.
The project was always aware that it’s lifespan was limited by the suply of liquid Helium so they’ve maximised the use of the telescope and no one can doubt it’s value to space exploration.
Reach For The Stars
Space exploration isn’t exactly wha you see in the films. Where Hollywood might send people up into space and get in contact with weird and wonderful life forms in reality the majority of it is done in observatories across the world.
New discoveries happen from time to time but again, it is not like in the films. There is a lot of paperwork and checking to make sure it is something new so by the time you actually find out whether or not you have made a worthwhile discovery the novelty of it has worn of to some extent.
That’s not to say that we don’t enjoy a nice little single malt whisky to celebrate but it really isn’t how the folms portray things. I still love it though and am constantly amazed by the universe and everything that is in it. I hope to be around for the next BIG discovery no matter what that might be.
One thing is for sure, the way things are developing we will have a lot beter chance than ever before of seeing something truely remarkable that might change the way we think!
Defending Ourselves
The other day I was watching CNN and they were interviewing an ex NASA engineer about his plans to create a private company which will be tasked with creating some type of defense against wayward asteroids.
I had a hard time believing that a private company would need to do something like this-after all isn’t this the definition of the job of the government. He said they had raised enough cash to get the project designed, but to get this super laser into positon in outer space, it was going to cost about 500 million dollars. Not so bad right, after all we did just spend 2 trillion dollars in the war in Iraq-that saved 22 million people and the asteroid defense would save all 7 billion of us.
Seems like a good deal don’t you think?