Skywatch

[Bo D]

http://www.scientificcomputing.com/news/2015/02/nightfall-raises-curtain-celestial-nomad-takes-center-stage?et_cid=4422507&et_rid=54725525&location=top

Here's a small picture. Open the link above and click on the picture for a larger, spectacular version!

[libby]

   That is definitely spectacular.  I used to test my vision by looking for the Pleiades. Haven't done that in a long time.   

[Palehorse]

Google this: "metal sphere on stratospheric balloon".

Then pick a source to read the story at.

Some scientist claims to have sent a few stratospheric balloons 16 miles or so up, and had one come back with a microscopic metal sphere imbedded in it. This sphere is about the size of a human hair in circumference, and is oozing some kind of biologic matter from within it. . . And is covered in a filamentous life on the outside.

Feeding a hypothesis that this may be the method via which life first came to this planet; via one initially postulated by Francis Crick surrounding Directed Panspermia, in which he discounted the hypothesis of Panspermia via a meteor or comet being the source, in favor of his own.

[libby]

Posted it twice!

[Palehorse]

Don't know why, but that made me think of an old sci-fi short story about time travel that I read years ago.

A scientist and time traveler went back in time and while studying the various plants and animals in a heavily wooded area, came upon a female of a species unknown to him -- not quite human -- and decided to impregnate her and then go into the future and see the results of his experiment. He found her again, and

she killed him!

That would explain the whole preying mantis behavior! 

[libby]

Did anybody see the convergence of Venus and Jupiter last night? I went outside about 10:30 and it looked cloudy. I was really tired and sleepy so went in and to bed.  Anyway, it may be visible again tonight if the sky is clear.

That convergence, according to some scientists, was most likely the "Star" described in the Bible that the three wise men followed to the birthplace of Christ.

The Washington Post
By Nick Kirkpatrick July 1 at 5:12 AM    

Tuesday night stargazers across the globe captured Venus and Jupiter converging to their closest point. The two planets were within one-third of a degree of each other forming a celestial conjunction.

NASA explains: "A conjunction is a celestial event in which two planets or a planet and the moon or a planet and a star appear close together in the night sky. Conjunctions have no real astronomical value, but they are nice to view. While conjunctions aren't as rare as one might think, this conjunction of Jupiter and Venus will be more impressive than most."

While they aren't rare, Space.com reports that this will be the closest, and the last pairing for 24 years.


This is from Dr. Hartigan, Rice University:

Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter 6/28 - 7/2, 2015

"Venus and Jupiter are typically the two brightest planets in the sky (Mars sometimes competes with Jupiter for second place), so whenever they get close together in the sky it is a spectacular sight to see. Beginning around June 24, a rather rare astronomical event will slowly unfold in the evening sky that is easy to see from Houston. It is something easy to show to children before bedtime. Between about 8:30pm and 10:30pm in the western sky you will see two bright objects: the brilliant one is Venus, and the somewhat fainter but still bright one is Jupiter. Within the next few days the planets will appear to approach one-another in the sky, and on Tuesday night will be closer together than the diameter of the Full Moon. They will make for a pretty sight. It is a great way to show that planets move in the sky. The planets are in actuality far-separated, with Jupiter on the opposite side of Sun as seen from the Earth, and Venus on the near side.

I looked into this a bit, and from the period 2000-2035 there does not seem to be as good of a combination of close approach and distance above the horizon at sunset in Houston as this one has. So the combination is quite special. The only one of comparable quality in the evening sky will be in 2023. There will be an even closer one between these two next year, but it will be much lower in the dusk sky. In our current event the planets are closer together than ~ 1 degree for 5 nights centered on next Tuesday."

[Palehorse]

Did anybody see the convergence of Venus and Jupiter last night? I went outside about 10:30 and it looked cloudy. I was really tired and sleepy so went in and to bed.  Anyway, it may be visible again tonight if the sky is clear.

That convergence, according to some scientists, was most likely the "Star" described in the Bible that the three wise men followed to the birthplace of Christ.

The Washington Post
By Nick Kirkpatrick July 1 at 5:12 AM    

Tuesday night stargazers across the globe captured Venus and Jupiter converging to their closest point. The two planets were within one-third of a degree of each other forming a celestial conjunction.

NASA explains: "A conjunction is a celestial event in which two planets or a planet and the moon or a planet and a star appear close together in the night sky. Conjunctions have no real astronomical value, but they are nice to view. While conjunctions aren't as rare as one might think, this conjunction of Jupiter and Venus will be more impressive than most."

While they aren't rare, Space.com reports that this will be the closest, and the last pairing for 24 years.


This is from Dr. Hartigan, Rice University:

Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter 6/28 - 7/2, 2015

"Venus and Jupiter are typically the two brightest planets in the sky (Mars sometimes competes with Jupiter for second place), so whenever they get close together in the sky it is a spectacular sight to see. Beginning around June 24, a rather rare astronomical event will slowly unfold in the evening sky that is easy to see from Houston. It is something easy to show to children before bedtime. Between about 8:30pm and 10:30pm in the western sky you will see two bright objects: the brilliant one is Venus, and the somewhat fainter but still bright one is Jupiter. Within the next few days the planets will appear to approach one-another in the sky, and on Tuesday night will be closer together than the diameter of the Full Moon. They will make for a pretty sight. It is a great way to show that planets move in the sky. The planets are in actuality far-separated, with Jupiter on the opposite side of Sun as seen from the Earth, and Venus on the near side.

I looked into this a bit, and from the period 2000-2035 there does not seem to be as good of a combination of close approach and distance above the horizon at sunset in Houston as this one has. So the combination is quite special. The only one of comparable quality in the evening sky will be in 2023. There will be an even closer one between these two next year, but it will be much lower in the dusk sky. In our current event the planets are closer together than ~ 1 degree for 5 nights centered on next Tuesday."

I went out but by the time the two were high enough for me to see them, they were very close but not "together". . . None-the-less, it was a sight to see. I actually saw that they were getting close a couple of days prior too. . . 

[Locutus]

This is supposed to be good through around Saturday.  I hope so, because I've tried seeing it the last two nights, and the weather has NOT cooperated.   

[libby]

Palehorse, I'm glad you got to see them. Not so here again tonight. I was hoping I could at least see Venus and Jupiter in the east and overhead, but by the time the sky darkened we also had rain clouds. I just looked and there is some sky visible between the clouds, but I have high trees in the back (west) so can't see the sun, moon, or stars set -- except in the winter months after the trees lose their leaves.

[Bo D]

If this doesn't blow you away, then you're dead.

[Henry Hawk]

 

[Bo D]

Oops! 

http://www.scientificcomputing.com/news/2015/07/galactic-pyrotechnics-display?et_cid=4660179&et_rid=54725525&location=top

[Henry Hawk]

If this doesn't blow you away, then you're dead.

It is hard for me to even remotely wrap my head around this, but it IS beyond blowing ones head away.  It amazes me to look at such pictures....it kind of put everything in perspective on just how insignificant we really are in the whole scheme of things.

[Bo D]

It is hard for me to even remotely wrap my head around this, but it IS beyond blowing ones head away.  It amazes me to look at such pictures....it kind of put everything in perspective on just how insignificant we really are in the whole scheme of things.

You know ... it's hard for me to explain, but for me, it doesn't make me feel insignificant at all. Just to realize that I am made of the stuff of dying stars makes me feel like a part of all this.

[Henry Hawk]

You know ... it's hard for me to explain, but for me, it doesn't make me feel insignificant at all. Just to realize that I am made of the stuff of dying stars makes me feel like a part of all this.

I kind of know what you mean.....I guess more so, it makes me realize how incredible GOD is. That our human minds can never fully grasp the power this place we call "space" really is. 

That is what blows my mind away when we see such pictures and what we have managed to learn.....incredible!