Stunning Sky on Monday Evening

Source - Space Weather News for Monday, Dec. 1, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look south. Beaming through the twilight is one of the prettiest things you'll ever see--a tight three-way conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the crescent Moon. The event is visible from all parts of the world, even from light-polluted cities. People in New York and Hong Kong will see it just as clearly as astronomers watching from remote mountaintops. Only cloudy weather or a midnight sun (sorry Antarctica!) can spoil the show.

The great conjunction offers something extra to Europeans. For more than an hour on Monday evening, the crescent Moon will actually eclipse Venus. Astronomers call such an event a "lunar occultation." Venus emerging from the dark edge of the Moon is a remarkably beautiful sight. Sky watchers across Europe will be able to see this happen.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos, webcasts and more information.

Are We Alone for 12/01/08 - Got Life?

Are We Alone - "Got Life?"
"Spore" is the ultimate game of life. Play it wisely and you can evolve from a single-celled organism, swimming in salt water, to an intelligent being rocketing through the galaxy. It's survival of the cleverest - are you game?

Join us as we attend the "Spore" launch party. Hear how the game's primary author, Will Wright (of "SimCity" fame) simulated the arc of evolution; whether complex life is inevitable; and how SETI scientists inspired one of the most anticipated video games in history.

Also, why real human evolution is picking up the pace (did you know that blue eyes are relatively new?)... and a doctor's film about the meaning of life.
Click here to become a Spore-TeamSETI Member!

Guests:

• Will Wright - Creator of "Spore" and "Sim City"
• Howard Weiner - Neurologist, Harvard Medical School
• John Hawks - Anthropologist, University of Wisconsin-Madison

You can listen to this and other episodes at: http://radio.seti.org/ and be sure to check the Are We Alone Profile and Blog on MySpace.

Double Flyby Alert

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 28, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

DOUBLE FLYBY ALERT: Space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station this morning, and the two spacecraft are now orbiting Earth in tandem. Endeavour is scheduled to land in Florida on Sunday, Nov. 30th. Between now and then, many sky watchers (especially those in Europe) will be able to see the shuttle and the space station cutting across the night sky together--a rare and beautiful "double flyby." Get predictions for your hometown from the Simple Satellite Tracker: http://spaceweather.com/flybys .

SPECTACULAR CONJUNCTION: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look southwest. You'll see something very pretty: Venus and Jupiter beaming together through the twilight. The two closely-spaced planets are about to be joined by the slender crescent Moon for a spectacular three-way conjunction that arguably ranks as the best sky show of 2008. Check http://spaceweather.com for sky maps, photos--and be sure to keep an eye on the sky in the evenings ahead.

You are subscribed to the Space Weather mailing list, a free service of Spaceweather.com.

Runaway ISS Toolbag Sighted and Filmed

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 25th: http://spaceweather.com

ISS TOOLBAG: A backpack-sized tool bag inadvertently dropped from the International Space Station last week is orbiting Earth and has been sighted from the ground. The tool bag is surprisingly bright, about 6th or 7th magnitude, which makes it an easy target for binoculars or a small telescope. Today's edition of http://spaceweather.com offers observing tips, sighting reports and a movie of the bag in orbit.

AURORA WATCH: High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras tonight and tomorrow. Earth is entering a solar wind stream and this could trigger geomagnetic storms around the Arctic Circle.

Spectacular Conjunction

Source - NASA Science News for November 24, 2008

Venus and Jupiter are converging for a spectacular three-way conjunction with the crescent Moon, a rare gathering some astronomers are calling 'the sky show of the year.' Today's story tells when and where to look.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/24nov_skyshow.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

Are We Alone for 11/24/08 - First Contact!

Are We Alone - First Contact! (Encore Presentation)
From human settlers to alien visitors - when one society meets another, the results can be messy.

The Jamestown settlement may have kicked off the colonization of the New World. But, you'll hear how it also left an indelible mark on its ecosystem and the human landscape. Plus, why the Galapagos Islands haven't been the same since their most celebrated visitor set foot on their rocky shores more than a century ago.

Also: how a spider led the re-population of Krakatau after a devastating volcanic eruption... the "raining" threat of alien microbes... and one man's emergency plan for when Mars attacks.
Guests:

• Charles C. Mann - author and journalist. His article "America Found and Lost" is in the May issue of National Geographic Magazine
• Travis Taylor - author of An Introduction to Planetary Defense: A Study of Modern Warfare Applied to Extraterrestrial Invasion
• Robert Whittaker - Professor of Biogeography at the University of Oxford
• John Rummel - Senior Scientist for Astrobiology at NASA
• Timothy Silcott - Director for Information and Development for the Charles Darwin Foundation based in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands

You can listen to this and other episodes at: http://radio.seti.org/ and be sure to check the Are We Alone Profile and Blog on MySpace.

Solar Wind Rips Up Martian Atmosphere

Source - NASA Science News for November 21, 2008

The solar wind appears to be ripping big chunks of air from the atmosphere of Mars. This could help solve a longstanding mystery about the Red Planet.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/21nov_plasmoids.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

Discovered: Cosmic Rays from a Mysterious, Nearby Object

NASA Science News for November 19, 2008

An international team of researchers has discovered a puzzling surplus of high-energy electrons bombarding Earth from space. The source of these cosmic rays is unknown, but it must be close to the solar system and it could be made of dark matter.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/19nov_cosmicrays.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

Are We Alone for 11/17/08 - Skeptical Sunday: I'll Buy That!

Are We Alone - Skeptical Sunday: I'll Buy That!
Smoking is good for you! Doctors want you to light up! Discover how cigarette companies of the 1950s manipulated the media to peddle their tobacco - and why not much has changed since then. Also, what goes on in our brain when we buy; the results of a global neuroscience study. Plus, our Hollywood Skeptic tests the purifying claims of Kinoki pads and Brains on Vacation debunks Carl Sagan ufology.

Guests:

• Martin Lindstrom- Marketing expert and author of Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy
• Robert Jackler - Associate Dean, Continuing Medical Education, Stanford University School of Medicine and organizer of the exhibition Not a Cough in a Carload: Images Used by Tobacco Companies to Hide the Hazards of Smoking
• James Underdown - Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, Los Angeles
• Phil Plait - Astronomer, author and keeper of badastronomy.com

You can listen to this and other episodes at: http://radio.seti.org/ and be sure to check the Are We Alone Profile and Blog on MySpace.

Video: How the Moon was made

In this FORA.tv video NASA scientist Jennifer Heldmann explains how the Moon was made:



Try this URL in case the embedded video is down:

http://fora.tv/2008/10/07/A_NASA_Scientist_Explains_How_the_Moon_was_Made

Any thoughts? Leave a comment :-)

Converging Planets and Leonid Meteors

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 16, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

EVENING PLANETS: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look southwest. The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, are shining through the twilight side by side. You'll want to keep an eye on these two because they are drawing noticeably closer together every night. Venus and Jupiter are converging on a patch of sky in Sagittarius where they will have a spectacular double-conjunction with the Moon at the end of the month. Don't wait until then, though. Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and start watching now.

LEONID METEOR WATCH: The Leonid meteor shower peaks this year on Nov. 17th and 18th. Bright moonlight will probably spoil the show, but not necessarily. Researchers who study Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, the source of the Leonids, say Earth is going to pass through one or two of the comet's dusty filaments. Peak rates of 20 to 100 meteors per hour are possible during the early hours of Nov. 17th (especially 0000-0200 UT) and again during the waning hours of Nov. 18th (around 2130 UT). These times favor sky watchers in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Smaller numbers of Leonids could appear between the anticipated peak times. Meteor enthusiasts everywhere should monitor the sky on Nov. 17th and 18th; the hours before local dawn are usually best.

News items of interest

Here is an article from the Astralian Broadcasting Corp. about the discovery of some lost data tapes from the Apollo era: Fridge-sized tape recorder could crack lunar mysteries

And I thought some of you might be interseted in the WorldWide Telescope from Microsoft. I am curious if other have tried this so feel free to leave a comment if you have played the WorldWide Telescope.

Hubble Directly Observes a Planet Orbiting Another Star

Source - NASA Science News for November 13, 2008:

"NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken the first visible-light snapshot of a planet circling another star. The planet, called 'Fomalhaut b', orbits the bright southern star Fomalhaut located 25 light-years from Earth.

FULL STORY at: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/13nov_fomalhaut.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!"

*****

Here is another article about 'Fomalhaut b' in which the second picture shows two of the three planets that orbit HR 8799:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/11/13/huge-exoplanet-news-items-pictures/

Hopefully in the near future we can image Earth-like planets in other systems.

NASA Begins Hunt for New Meteor Showers

Source - NASA Science News for November 10, 2008

NASA astronomers have set up a monitoring station to scan the night sky for unknown or unexpected meteor showers--and they're finding more than they bargained for. In only two months of observing, the newly commissioned system has captured a flurry of meteors from an unknown comet and an object from the asteroid belt exploding like 500 lb of TNT. See the movies in today's story.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/10nov_sentinel.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

Are We Alone for 11/10/08 - Time's Mysteries Part II: Warping Time

Are We Alone - Time's Mysteries Part II: Warping Time

Ever since Einstein, we've known that time doesn't barrel willy-nilly into the future. Moving clocks tick at a different rates, and by riding a fast rocket, we can slow time to a crawl. Such tricks may give you a way to see the distant future, but can you go back in time?

Discover one man's quest to build a time machine. Also learn how to put the brakes on aging by getting near a black hole. Plus, does your entire life really pass before your eyes if you jump off the Brooklyn Bridge? Our perception of time.

Guests:

• Roy Gould - Astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
• Ronald Mallett - Professor of Physics, University of Connecticut, and author of Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality
• Simon Steel - Astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
• David Eagleman - Neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine, and Director of the Laboratory for Perception and Action

You can listen to this and other episodes at: http://radio.seti.org/ and be sure to check the Are We Alone Profile and Blog on MySpace.

Solar Cycle Update: The Sun Shows Signs of Life

Source - NASA Science News for November 7, 2008

A flurry of new-cycle sunspots in October 2008 may signal the beginning of the end of Solar Minimum.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/07nov_signsoflife.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

Taurid Meteor Shower

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 6, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

TAURID METEOR SHOWER: The annual Taurid meteor shower is underway and it could be a good show. 2008 is a "swarm year" for the Taurids. Between Nov. 5th and 12th, Earth is due to pass through an unusually dense swarm of gritty debris from parent comet 2P/Encke. When a similar encounter happened in 2005, sky watchers observed a slow drizzle of midnight fireballs for nearly two weeks. Whether 2008 will be as good as 2005, however, remains to be seen. In 2005, the swarm encounter was more central; Earth passed through the middle of the cloud. In 2008, forecasters believe we are closer to the outskirts. How much this will affect the shower, no one knows. The best time to look is during the hours around midnight when the constellation Taurus is high in the sky.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and photos of the ongoing shower.

Would you like a phone call to alert you when the ISS is about to fly over your hometown--or when auroras are active--or when meteor showers erupt? Sign up for SpaceWeather PHONE: http://spaceweatherphone.com

Are We Alone for 11/03/08 - "Time's Mysteries Part I: Marking Time"

Are We Alone - "Time's Mysteries Part I: Marking Time"

Time's a mystery, yet we've invented clever ways to capture it. From sundials to atomic clocks, trace the history of time-keeping. Also, discover the surprising accuracy of nature's dating schemes - from the decay of carbon to laying down tree rings. Plus, why the "New York minute," stretches to hours in Rio de Janeiro: cultural differences in the perception of time.

Guests:

• Chris Turney - Geologist at the University of Wollongong, Australia and the author of Bones, Rocks and Stars: The Science of When Things Happened
• Demetrios Matsakis - Head of the U.S. Naval Observatory's Time Service
• Steven Jefferts - Physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado
• Robert Levine - Psychologist at California State University in Fresno and the author of The Geography of Time
• Norman Mohr - Owner, Mohr Clocks, Mountain View, California

You can listen to this and other episodes at: http://radio.seti.org/ and be sure to check the Are We Alone Profile and Blog on MySpace.

ISS Space Junk Reentry

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 1, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

More than a year ago, in July 2007, International Space Station astronauts threw an obsolete, refrigerator-sized ammonia reservoir overboard. Ever since, the 1400-lb piece of space junk has been circling Earth in a decaying orbit--and now it is about to reenter. If predictions are correct, the "Early Ammonia Servicer" (EAS for short) will turn into a brilliant fireball as it disintegrates in Earth's atmosphere during the early hours of Monday, Nov. 3rd. Uncertainties in the exact reentry time are so great (plus or minus 15 hours at the time of this alert) that it is impossible to pinpoint where the fireball will appear. At the moment, every continent except Antarctica has some favorable ground tracks.

Readers should check our Satellite Tracker (http://spaceweather.com/flybys/) for possible overflights. Before reentry, the EAS will seem about as bright as a 2nd or 3rd magnitude star, similar to the stars of the Big Dipper. During re-entry, the disintegrating reservoir could light up like a full Moon. Flyby predictions should be regarded as approximate because the orbital elements of the EAS are now changing so rapidly. Updates will be posted on http://spaceweather.com.