James Carlson
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God is a mute and sightless stone statue sitting in the jungle, created and managed entirely by mankind.
God is a mute and sightless stone statue sitting in the jungle, created and managed entirely by mankind.
3,726 followers
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In celebration of the solar eclipse later this month, I am sharing stories of amazing women in astronomy in my series of Guiding Stars in Astronomy. Today's post shares the story of Scottish-American astronomer Williamina Fleming, who went from being a single mother working as a maid to one of the most proficient astronomers of the late-19th century.
https://selfrescuingprincesssociety.blogspot.com/2017/08/guiding-stars-in-astronomy-williamina.html
https://selfrescuingprincesssociety.blogspot.com/2017/08/guiding-stars-in-astronomy-williamina.html
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Does anyone doubt that there's a direct relationship between Trump's tweets and the large number of leaks in the White House?
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“The faintest meteors will be washed out; the brightest meteors will appear dimmer; the total rate of the shower’s peak, instead of about 100 meteors-per-hour, will be approximately halved. If you were hoping to get up early (or stay up very, very late) for a great view, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Luckily for you, not only is the debris stream that creates the Perseids wide, but the views are quite good for a day or two before and after the peak.”
The full or almost-full Moon might be one of the most familiar sights in the night sky to those of us here on Earth, but it’s also the largest natural source of light pollution we have to contend with. The peak of this year’s Perseid meteor shower meant, if all things were equal, the best time to see the highest rate of meteors would be the pre-sunrise sky of August 12. But with a large gibbous Moon dominating the skies during that time, it’s actually one of the worst ways you can try and view the Perseids this year. Instead, go out when the skies are darkest: before the Moon rises just after the peak. Because of how wide the cometary debris stream that gives rise to the Perseids is, viewing the sky in the evening before the Moon rises on the 12th or even the 13th is a far safer bet.
Come get your fix of the great night sky views of August, just a week before the solar eclipse comes to your daytime skies!
The full or almost-full Moon might be one of the most familiar sights in the night sky to those of us here on Earth, but it’s also the largest natural source of light pollution we have to contend with. The peak of this year’s Perseid meteor shower meant, if all things were equal, the best time to see the highest rate of meteors would be the pre-sunrise sky of August 12. But with a large gibbous Moon dominating the skies during that time, it’s actually one of the worst ways you can try and view the Perseids this year. Instead, go out when the skies are darkest: before the Moon rises just after the peak. Because of how wide the cometary debris stream that gives rise to the Perseids is, viewing the sky in the evening before the Moon rises on the 12th or even the 13th is a far safer bet.
Come get your fix of the great night sky views of August, just a week before the solar eclipse comes to your daytime skies!
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Asteroid 3140 Stellafane Closest Approach To Earth (1.829 AU)
Orbital period: 1,913 days
Discovered: January 9, 1983
Orbits: Sun
Discoverer: Brian A. Skiff
Asteroid group: Asteroid belt
Discovery site: Anderson Mesa Station
(3140) Stellafane = 1983 AO
Named for the regional telescope makers' annual meeting in Vermont that has become recognized worldwide as a preeminent gathering for telescopic design and innovation. The "Shrine to the Stars" has provided a forum to exchange astronomical ideas, to enhance the performance of astronomical instruments and to further good contact between amateurs and professionals. Name suggested and citation provided by P. L. Dombrowski.
http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=3140
Orbital period: 1,913 days
Discovered: January 9, 1983
Orbits: Sun
Discoverer: Brian A. Skiff
Asteroid group: Asteroid belt
Discovery site: Anderson Mesa Station
(3140) Stellafane = 1983 AO
Named for the regional telescope makers' annual meeting in Vermont that has become recognized worldwide as a preeminent gathering for telescopic design and innovation. The "Shrine to the Stars" has provided a forum to exchange astronomical ideas, to enhance the performance of astronomical instruments and to further good contact between amateurs and professionals. Name suggested and citation provided by P. L. Dombrowski.
http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=3140
8/1/17
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Exploring an unusual metal asteroid
Alumna and former MIT professor Lindy Elkins-Tanton is working with MIT faculty in her role as principal investigator for NASA's upcoming Psyche mission.
Lindy Elkins-Tanton ’87, SM ’87, PhD ’02 is reaching for the stars — literally. She is the principal investigator for Psyche, a NASA mission that will explore an unusual metal asteroid known as 16 Psyche.
The mission does not launch until 2023, but preparations have begun in collaboration with faculty in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). Professors Benjamin Weiss and Maria Zuber, who also serves as MIT's vice president for research, wrote a paper about the asteroid with Elkins-Tanton that was the basis for the team’s selection for NASA’s Discovery Program. MIT Professor Richard Binzel is also a team member.
At MIT, Elkins-Tanton earned BS and MS degrees in geology and geochemistry with a concentration on how planets form. Then she detoured from academia to the business world before becoming a college lecturer in mathematics in 1995.
http://news.mit.edu/2017/nasa-psyche-mission-lead-lindy-elkins-tanton-exploring-metal-asteroid-0726
Alumna and former MIT professor Lindy Elkins-Tanton is working with MIT faculty in her role as principal investigator for NASA's upcoming Psyche mission.
Lindy Elkins-Tanton ’87, SM ’87, PhD ’02 is reaching for the stars — literally. She is the principal investigator for Psyche, a NASA mission that will explore an unusual metal asteroid known as 16 Psyche.
The mission does not launch until 2023, but preparations have begun in collaboration with faculty in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). Professors Benjamin Weiss and Maria Zuber, who also serves as MIT's vice president for research, wrote a paper about the asteroid with Elkins-Tanton that was the basis for the team’s selection for NASA’s Discovery Program. MIT Professor Richard Binzel is also a team member.
At MIT, Elkins-Tanton earned BS and MS degrees in geology and geochemistry with a concentration on how planets form. Then she detoured from academia to the business world before becoming a college lecturer in mathematics in 1995.
http://news.mit.edu/2017/nasa-psyche-mission-lead-lindy-elkins-tanton-exploring-metal-asteroid-0726
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The Special Hell
Unfortunately some folks are selling fake eclipse glasses, even going so far as to claim they are safe.
Unfortunately some folks are selling fake eclipse glasses, even going so far as to claim they are safe.
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Really really fast! New data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, indicates that the Sun’s core is rotating about four times faster than the solar surface. Get the details: http://go.nasa.gov/2hlDIeb
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Fred Hiatt has distilled a theme we've been seeing since inauguration day. What he calls The Boomerang Effect is the pattern of most of Trump's actions (and even his mere existence) having just the opposite effect of what you would expect.
Alt-Right European candidates who were poised for victory have lost or are losing. The Russia investigation is stronger because of Trump's efforts to destroy it. Congressional Republicans are fairly unified in punishing Putin with sanctions despite Trump's efforts to cozy up to Russia. Trump's tweets about trans people in the military prompted the likes of Sen. Hatch to make calls for us to respect and honor the dignity and service of all trans people. And most telling of all Obamacare is more popular than ever. Most Americans now believe that healthcare is a right that should be guaranteed by the government and some Congressional Republicans have gone on record saying that they did not come to Washington to hurt people (gasp).
But Hiatt doesn't spend much time talking about the causes of this boomerang effect and maybe that's because it's pretty simple to see: We are outraged at the cruelty and stupidity of the Trump administration and the Republicans who go along with it. We protest. We call our members of Congress. We make one hell of a noise. We cannot be ignored.
And we are growing.
Keep up the pressure. Get involved if you haven't already. Find a campaign near you that you can volunteer for. Make Republicans pay for what they've done with their jobs.
Alt-Right European candidates who were poised for victory have lost or are losing. The Russia investigation is stronger because of Trump's efforts to destroy it. Congressional Republicans are fairly unified in punishing Putin with sanctions despite Trump's efforts to cozy up to Russia. Trump's tweets about trans people in the military prompted the likes of Sen. Hatch to make calls for us to respect and honor the dignity and service of all trans people. And most telling of all Obamacare is more popular than ever. Most Americans now believe that healthcare is a right that should be guaranteed by the government and some Congressional Republicans have gone on record saying that they did not come to Washington to hurt people (gasp).
But Hiatt doesn't spend much time talking about the causes of this boomerang effect and maybe that's because it's pretty simple to see: We are outraged at the cruelty and stupidity of the Trump administration and the Republicans who go along with it. We protest. We call our members of Congress. We make one hell of a noise. We cannot be ignored.
And we are growing.
Keep up the pressure. Get involved if you haven't already. Find a campaign near you that you can volunteer for. Make Republicans pay for what they've done with their jobs.
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Universe's Largest Black Hole May Have An Explanation At Last
"The brightest, most luminous objects in the entire Universe are neither stars nor galaxies, but quasars, like S5 0014+81. The sixth brightest quasar known so far, its mass was determined in a 2009 study: 40 billion Suns. Its physical size would have a radius that's 800 times the Earth-Sun distance, or over 100 billion kilometers. This makes it the most massive black hole known in the entire Universe, as massive as the Triangulum galaxy, our local group's third largest member."
The largest black hole in the Universe was a shocker when it was first discovered. At 40 billion solar masses, it certainly is impressively large. Like other quasars and active galaxies, it has a luminous accretion disk that can be seen from a great distance. Like only a few, one of its two incredibly energetic, polar jets is pointed directly at Earth, creating a blazar, the brightest of all active galaxies. But what makes this object, known as S5 0014+81, so special is that it got so big and massive so quickly. Its light comes to us from a time when the Universe was only 1.6 billion years old: just 12% of its current age. If this brilliant, massive object were located a mere 280 light years away, or 'only' 18 million times the Earth-Sun distance, it would shine as brightly as our life-giving star.
Come learn about the largest ultramassive black hole known in the Universe, what explains its existence, and how there might be an even more massive one out there for Mostly Mute Monday!
"The brightest, most luminous objects in the entire Universe are neither stars nor galaxies, but quasars, like S5 0014+81. The sixth brightest quasar known so far, its mass was determined in a 2009 study: 40 billion Suns. Its physical size would have a radius that's 800 times the Earth-Sun distance, or over 100 billion kilometers. This makes it the most massive black hole known in the entire Universe, as massive as the Triangulum galaxy, our local group's third largest member."
The largest black hole in the Universe was a shocker when it was first discovered. At 40 billion solar masses, it certainly is impressively large. Like other quasars and active galaxies, it has a luminous accretion disk that can be seen from a great distance. Like only a few, one of its two incredibly energetic, polar jets is pointed directly at Earth, creating a blazar, the brightest of all active galaxies. But what makes this object, known as S5 0014+81, so special is that it got so big and massive so quickly. Its light comes to us from a time when the Universe was only 1.6 billion years old: just 12% of its current age. If this brilliant, massive object were located a mere 280 light years away, or 'only' 18 million times the Earth-Sun distance, it would shine as brightly as our life-giving star.
Come learn about the largest ultramassive black hole known in the Universe, what explains its existence, and how there might be an even more massive one out there for Mostly Mute Monday!
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