This is a real treasure. Many thanks go to Hulu.com.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
more about "Carl Sagan’s "Cosmos" TV series, now …", posted with vodpod
Archive for the ‘Astronomy Links’ category
Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” TV series, now free online
June 19, 2009Is this the first-ever picture of an extrasolar planet?
September 19, 2008
This is National Dark Sky Week!
March 29, 2008From March 29 to April 4 is the annual National Dark Sky Week. And tonight, from 8 to 9PM is Earth Hour. To take part in tonight’s event, turn off the lights and appliances you don’t need (like a PC running 24/7?) from 8 to 9PM. Outdoor lights are especially encouraged. Similarly, National Dark Sky week promotes energy saving and a better view of the beautiful universe around us for the whole week.
And it’s always a good thing do put less carbon into the atmosphere. Give it a try!
More information here.
Spectacular Space Shuttle night launch video
March 22, 2008Space Shuttle Endeavour had cameras mounted on its solid rocket boosters when it climbed into orbit on March 11. Together they produced a beautiful video of a night launch from the spacecraft’s point of view. It’s hard to believe the shuttle is 28 miles up and moving at 3100 mph when the boosters detach—without the Earth in the background, the spacecraft appears still.
Holding the Sun
March 17, 2008 
This is a page of pictures submitted by regular folks, all with the theme of holding the sun. A few, like the one here, are very well done. One is a very creative joke picture.
Warning: There are some links to some Not Safe For Work pictures on the “Holding the Sun” page. The one I viewed was artful and beautiful, but I make no promises. Kids, please get your parent’s permission first.
“What’s Up For 2007?” free download (update)
January 31, 2008 
Just as in 2006, the folks at the “What’s Up – 365 Days of Skywatching” blog have produced a book and a free download of the book for 2007. Brief review here.
2008 Update- Like many good things, the “What’s Up” series has gone on to better things. It’s no longer a freebie, but the book can still be purchased.
Asteroid 2007 TU24’s close encounter with Earth
January 28, 2008Asteroid 2007 TU24, discovered only last October, skimmed past the Earth last night at 3:33AM EST (0833 UT) at a distance of 344,000 miles. It didn’t get as much media attention as I’d expected, and even the astronomy magazines have given it minimal coverage, if any. Sky & Telescope had a good article which piqued my curiosity.
So, I collected all the data I could find and prayed for clear skies. I expected to be disappointed, so I created a really cool animation of the pass from the point of view of the asteroid, and sped it up 30,000 times. It’s fun to watch. Unfortunately, WordPress.com doesn’t yet offer a way to include high-quality videos in blog entries, but here’s the best I can do for now. Sorry about lousy quality and advertising.
OK, that experiment worked out very poorly. When I watched it, the movie after mine was two young ladies in a smoking fetish video, which I don’t want in my blog. So here is a link to the good version of the video. You’ll need QuickTime to watch it.
The illustrations I’d seen showing TU24’s movement as a graceful arc across the sky weren’t and couldn’t be accurate enough to spot the asteroid. I thought this might partly explain the lack of coverage on TU24—it’s so close to Earth that it’s impossible to print a simple finder chart. Parallax, an effect of the geometry between two observers’ separate positions on the globe, an asteroid only 44% farther from Earth than the Moon, and the vastly more distant background stars, would shift TU24’s apparent position in the sky too much for even a single US chart to be accurate enough.
Starry Night to the rescue. Unfortunately, the publisher didn’t release updated with orbital elements for 2007 TU24, so I entered the data myself from JPL’s HORIZONS site and studied the asteroid’s movement for good viewing opportunities. I read anything I could find in the newsgroups and mailing lists.
We got lucky near Boston MA, and the night sky on 1/28 wasn’t clouded in, as it has been most nights. So I shoveled off the back deck and put all my optics out there to cool down. It was 30°F at 4PM, and was supposed to get down toward 20°F. I also prepared everything I could think of, and left a pile of gear that wouldn’t need cooling just inside the back door.
My plan was to use Starry Night and my laptop to get the Celestron 8i pointed near TU24, then star-hop around to home in on it, using the laptop to track the movement of the asteroid. This didn’t work. First, the scope and the program were about a degree apart, and I couldn’t get them to agree. Second, and I only found this out today, even the latest orbital elements from JPL were another degree off from where it really was in the sky last night. (Sky & Telescope ran another article today, with pictures taken from Boston.) So, after hours of prep work and almost three hours in the cold, I came within a degree or two. It’s a little comforting that only two of the three S&T editors could find it. (…though one was using a 5″ scope. Shhhh! My unconscious might be listening…)
I learned a few important lessons. First and foremost, though I’ve done below-freezing observing before, I forgot the cold-weather hiker’s motto: Cotton Kills. I only had cotton socks on under my boots, and around 10:30PM my feet started hurting in a way I knew wasn’t good. They felt so cold they felt wet, and I knew I had to get indoors as soon as possible. Long story short, after 10 painful-to-the-bone minutes having them in lukewarm water, there were no lasting effects. But, my socks were wet! From now on, it’s back to poly pro undersocks, and my wicking, hiking socks over them. How could I forget?
The second lesson was one I had come across in my reading, but mostly ignored. That is, Don’t Trust Near Earth Orbit Predictions! An experienced NEO spotter and Starry Night user had said to spot a place in front of the predicted pass, and wait 10 minutes or so for it to come into view. After an hour of futzing with the scope and the laptop, I took the advice, but to no avail.
The third lesson was, don’t use too-high magnification. With my 35mm Nagler, I had about a 1° field of view, which was too small. Next time, I’ll use tripod-mounted astronomy binoculars to locate the object.
The last lesson was, Practice Practice Practice! It was fun and I’ll definitely do it again. But this isn’t for everyone. It takes a lot of patience, and even more prep work than usual. That’s probably the real reason why it wasn’t in a lot of magazines.
The great Carl Sagan explains all of time
June 27, 2007The man is one of my heroes. His gift for making mind-boggling concepts accessible to anyone is very much on display here.
Prepare to feel very, very small. And very, very big at the same time. If I may paraphrase from memory, Carl once said, “Humanity may be the Universe’s way of looking at itself.”
Comet McNaught is visible in broad daylight!
January 13, 2007I haven’t seen this remarkable comet, brightest in 30 years, but I have another chance. It will be visible during the day, for a while. It’s hard to say how long, due to the unpredictable nature of cometary brightness. All I need now is a clear day!
Anyway, from here in the United States, tomorrow (Sunday, January 14, 2007) the comet will appear to the left of the Sun, or about 5° to the West of the Sun on the celestial sphere. So, if you can, wait until the Sun is clearly visible, and position yourself so that a building blocks your view of the Sun. Five degrees is about the width of your fist held at arm’s length (regardless of age, sex, or gender, unless you’re a woman with “man hands” as Jerry Seinfeld would say–not that there’s anything wrong with that!)
OK, back on track here. Again, speaking from the point of view of the northern hemisphere, block out the sun from your point of view. The sun will be moving left-to-right from your perspective, so leave the “left” of the sun visible. You could use a thick tree if you’re just going to use your eyes, but I highly recommend using a house or building if you’re going to use binoculars or a telescope. Once properly set up, the sun should not re-appear to your optics, and possible damage them, or make you blind. I’m serious! Sorry to be so heavy, but I want you all to be able to enjoy the lovely sky (and not sue me…).
If I get a look at the comet, I’ll write it up here. Who knows, maybe it will be bright enough to take a photo. If so, that’s coming, too.
Steve's Peeves & Affinities 