Eclipse Solar en el Pacifico Sur.

Eclipse en el Pacífico Sur

El domingo 11 de julio, un eclipse total de rara belleza se podrá observar en el Pacífico Sur.

Julio 9, 2010: Es el sueño de toda persona que se va de vacaciones: recostarse sobre la arena blanca de una playa para tomar una opulenta siesta bajo el sol del Pacífico Sur. El graznido de distantes gaviotas se desplaza a través de la brisa que sopla sobre el cálido mar, mientras que la fronda de las palmeras susurra lentamente sobre su cabeza. Usted absorbe todo a través de sus ojos algo cerrados.

¿El paraíso podría ser mejor? Este fin de semana lo será.

El domingo 11 de julio, la Luna nueva pasará directamente frente al Sol y producirá un eclipse total sobre el Pacífico Sur. La trayectoria de la totalidad se extenderá a través de más de 11.000 km de océano, y "tocará tierra" en las Islas Cook, en la Isla de Pascua, en algunos atolones de la Polinesia Francesa y en el extremo sur de América del Sur: ver mapa, ver horarios.

Arriba: Imagen de un eclipse sobre el Pacífico Sur, el 22 de julio de 2009, tomada desde las Islas Cook por el astrofotógrafo Alan Dyer. [Imagen ampliada]

domingo, 31 de mayo de 2009

Efemerides Astronomicas del mes.

En el Link señalado podrán informarse acerca de los sucesos astronómicos observables el presente mes.

http://fisica.usach.cl/~astronomia/efemerides.htm

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/september/2009/play
(En este Link pueden establecer las efemérides cada mes)

VICA.

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AURORAS.

Earth orbit is a great place to watch geomagnetic storms. On July 14th, astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) witnessed a broad curtain of green auroras over the southern hemisphere. This is what aurora australis looks like from space:

The picture was taken by one of the crew of space shuttle Atlantis, now docked to the ISS for the last resupply mission of NASA's 30-year shuttle program. In addition to Southern Lights, the picture also frames Atlantis's port side wing and a segment of the boom sensor system attached to the shuttle's robotic arm. See also the panoramic shot.

The display was caused by a solar wind stream which hit Earth's magnetic field on July 12th. Note to astronauts: Another solar wind stream is heading for Earth, due to arrive on July 19th-20th. The crew of Atlantis should remain alert for auroras.

Coronal Hole.

A dark gap in the sun's atmosphere--a "coronal hole"--is spewing solar wind toward Earth. Estimated time of arrival: July 19th. This morning, UV-filtered telescopes onboard NASA's Solar Dynamics Obervatory photographed the opening:

Above: A composite of EUV images at three wavelengths: 211 Å, 193 Å, and 171 Å. Credit: SDO/AIA

Coronal holes are places where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows hot gas to escape. A million mile-per-hour stream of solar wind flowing from this hole could spark polar geomagnetic storms when it arrives early next week. High-latitude sky watchers should be prepared for auroras.

SPOOKY COMMUNICATION

"The skies over the Spanish island of La Palma offer many beauties, but on July 4th I witnessed something unusual: a ghostly green laser beam crossing the Milky Way," reports Jan Hattenbach from the Canary Islands. "I have learned that it was part of an experiment in quantum communication." Scroll past the laser for more information:

"Rupert Ursin of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information at the Austrian Academy of Sciences explained to me that the laser was part of an inter-island quantum-cryptography experiment," says Hattenbach. "Physicists send entangled UV-photons from the Roque de los Muchachos observatory (ORM) on La Palma to the European Space Agency's Optical Ground Station 144 km away on the island of Tenerife. The goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of quantum communication over very long distances in space--e.g., to the International Space Station or other satellites.

"While the UV photons are invisible to the human eye, the green laser is not: it is used as a tracking laser or a giant laser pointer. It remained visible even in broad twilight - and made a good show together with the milky way, the morning zodiacal light and Jupiter."

Estación espacial el 4 de Julio.

4TH OF JULY SKY SHOW: Perfectly timed for the 4th of July holiday weekend, the International Space Station is beginning a series of evening flybys over the USA. Last night in Utah, hundreds of onlookers at the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival watched the brilliant spaceship bisect the Milky Way:

Asteroide Flyby.

Newly-discovered asteroid 2011 MD will pass only 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) above Earth's surface on Monday June 27 at about 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 UT). NASA analysts say there is no chance the space rock will strike Earth. Nevertheless, the encounter is so close that Earth's gravity will sharply alter the asteroid's trajectory:

At closest approach, 2011 MD will pass in broad daylight over the southern Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Antarctica. As the asteroid recedes from Earth, it will pass through the zone of geosynchronous satellites. The chances of a collision with a satellite or manmade space junk are extremely small, albeit not zero.

Judging from the brightness of the asteroid, it measures only 5 to 20 meters in diameter. According to JPL's Near Earth Object Program office, one would expect an object of this size to come this close to Earth about every 6 years on average. For a brief time, it will be bright enough to be seen even with a medium-sized backyard telescope. [observing tips] [3D orbit]

DOUBLE FLYBY ALERT:

DOUBLE FLYBY ALERT: Space shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station on Monday, March 7th, setting the stage for a series of spectacular double flybys. Traveling side by side, the shuttle and station are flying over parts of the USA and Europe where sky watchers can see them shining brightly in the night sky. Jerry Lodriguss sends this picture of the pair from Voorhees, New Jersey:

"Discovery and the ISS passed over New Jersey at 19:00:17 pm ET on March 7th," says Lodriguss. "The shuttle was the fainter of the two, but both were very bright, with Discovery leading the ISS by about 15 seconds."

Eclipse Lunar.

On Wednesday night, June 15th, sky watchers in Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, Antarctia and Europe witnessed the longest lunar eclipse in nearly 11 years. Only North America was excluded as Earth's shadow engulfed the full Moon for a whopping 100 minutes. In the countryside near Szubin, Poland, clouds and fog combined with the amber light of the eclipse to produce this eerie scene:

AURORA WATCH

AURORA WATCH: A coronal mass ejection (CME) is en route to Earth, due to arrive on March 6th. The CME is slow-moving and not especially massive. Nevertheless, its arrival could provoke geomagnetic storms around the Arctic Circle. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

Even without a CME, the skies over Abisko National Park in Sweden are already active. Chad Blakley took this picture before daybreak on March 5th:

"As I was eating dinner a friend of mine called and told me to stop whatever I was doing, grab my camera, and run outside," says Blakley. "I was not disappointed with what I saw. The auroras just keep getting better. I can't wait to see what the rest of this great season has to offer."

SUNSPOT SUNSET

SUNSPOT SUNSET: The sun isn't blank any more. Just look at the sunset. Photographer Jens Hackmann sends this example from Weikersheim, Germany, on March 1st:

"Because of high moisture in the air, the sunset was spectacular--and then it got even better," he says. "As the sun sank toward the treeline, sunspot 1164 popped into view." Hackmann's two-minute movie of the "sunspot sunset" is a must-see.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM:

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field on March 1st, sparking a day-long geomagnetic storm and bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. NASA space physicist James Spann photographed the display from Poker Flat, Alaska, where he is attending a scientific conference to study (you guessed it) auroras:

Photo details: Nikon D700 with 14-24mm lens at f/3.5, exposure of 25 seconds at 14 mm, ISO 1000

"This is the first time I have seen the aurora borealis in person," says Spann who lives in Alabama. "It was fantastic--the greatest light show on Earth. It was cold (<-20 F) outside but worth every minute of exposure and lost sleep. I am afraid now that I have been ruined for life since my first personal viewing of the aurora was so amazing."

As a researcher he also appreciated the greater meaning of the display: "This is the most obvious and accessible evidence of the connectivity that Earth has with our star the sun. Witnessing the connectivity first-hand was particularly special to me."

The storm is subsiding now, but it could start up again in response to ongoing high-speed solar wind. Stay tuned. [Aurora alerts: phone, text]

GOOD WAY TO BEGIN A MONTH

GOOD WAY TO BEGIN A MONTH: When dawn broke on March 1st, early risers witnessed a spectacular sight in the eastern sky. Venus and the cresent Moon were in conjunction:

"What a great way to begin the day--and the month," says Piotr Majewski, who sends this picture from the Nicolas Copernicus Astronomy Centre near Torun, Poland.

If you overslept and missed the show, there's good news. A similar meetup between the crescent Moon and Jupiter (nearly as bright as Venus) will occur in the evening sky on March 6th. Sign up for backyard astronomy alerts, and we'll remind you too look.

Se Acerca el Cometa HARTLEY.

COMET HARTLEY UPDATE: As comet 103P/Hartley 2 approaches Earth for an 11-million-mile close encounter on Oct. 20th, it grows bigger and bigger in backyard telescopes. The comet's beautiful green atmosphere now subtends an angle approximately equal to a lunar sea:

Paul Klauninger of Marathon, Ontario, took the picture on Oct. 2nd using a 3-inch refracting telescope. "I photographed the Moon with the same set-up and placed it beside the comet for scale," he says. "In a five minute exposure the comet appears bright green and 7-8 arcminutes across."

Most observers agree that the comet is not yet visible to the naked eye, but may be found using binoculars. Tonight the comet is located a mere 1^o from the photogenic Double Cluster in Perseus. Details and a sky map are available from from Sky & Telescope.

Jupiter y Urano.

upiter is at opposition on Sept. 21st, meaning the giant planet will be directly opposite the sun, soaring overhead at midnight with dazzling brilliance. In a coincidence of interplanetary proportions, Uranus is at opposition on the very same night! Fredrik Broms of Kvaløya, Norway caught the two converging during a geomagnetic storm on Sept. 15th:

"It's amazing to be able to observe two giant planets next to each other--and never have I seen such a pair against a completely green background!" says Broms.

While Jupiter is outshining everything in the midnight sky (except the Moon), Uranus is barely visible to the naked eye. It's a difference of scale: Uranus is almost three times smaller than Jupiter and five times farther away. Nevertheless, Uranus is still a pretty sight. A telescope pointed at Jupiter on Sept. 21st will reveal the aqua-colored disk of Uranus less than a degree away. And if the sky turns green at the same time, well, that's just a bonus.

EQUINOX AURORAS

Last night, the sun's magnetic field near Earth tipped south. This opened a crack in Earth's magnetosphere. Solar wind poured in and fueled a magnificent display of arctic Northern Lights:

Thilo Bubek took the picture not far from Tromsø, Norway. "We had some nice auroras," he says, with what can only be described as Norwegian understatement. "The clouds and calm sea contributed to a photogenic scene."

This is the time of year when south-pointing magnetic fields from the sun frequently puncture our bubble of protection against the solar wind. High latitude sky watchers should be alert for equinox auroras.

LIMB EXPLOSION.

On Sept. 4th around 1600 UT, a magnetic filament erupted and hurled a massive coronal mass ejection (CME) off the sun's northwestern limb. Click on the image to view a close-up movie of the blast from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:

Another movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows the CME billowing into space. The cloud is not heading toward Earth, and no geomagnetic storms are expected from this blast.

However, space weather could be in the offing for a different reason. A solar wind stream is heading for Earth and it could spark auroras when it arrives on Sept. 5th or 6th. NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of geomagnetic activity at high latitudes. People in Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and Antarctica should be alert for auroras in the nights ahead.

TRIANGULO CELESTIAL

CELESTIAL TRIANGLE: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Venus, Saturn, and Mars have converged to form a skinny triangle in the sunset sky. Stefano De Rosa sends this picture from the shores of Viverone lake in Turin, Italy:

"Superbright Venus popped out of the twilight first, followed minutes later by Mars and Saturn," says De Rosa. "The sight of the lovely celestial triangle over the calm water of the lake was really great!"

JUPITER IMPACT

JUPITER IMPACT: Amateur astronomers Anthony Wesley of Australia and Christopher Go of the Philippines have independently observed an impact event on Jupiter. The strike occurred at 20:31 UT on June 3rd and produced a bright flash of light in the giant planet's cloudtops:

Photo credit: Anthony Wesley, Broken Hill Australia

"I still can't believe that I caught a live impact on Jupiter," says Go, who has made a must-see video of the event.

"There were no visible remains at the impact point for the next half hour or so, until sunrise put an end to the imaging," says Wesley.

The nature of the impactor is presently unknown. It might have been an asteroid or a comet. In either case, a dark and cindery debris field is expected to develop around the impact point; that's what has happened in the aftermath of previous Jupiter impacts. Astronomers are encouraged to monitor Jupiter, and stay tuned for updates.

Update #4 (June 5, 1200 UT): "This morning I woke up at 6 am local time (9 UT) to see Jupiter with my 120 mm refractor," reports Mariano Ribas of Buenos Aires, Argentina. "The planet was high in the sky (45-50° over horizon). I observed carefully for almost two hours with my telescope, using 110 to 200 x, but I saw nothing at all in the impact zone, which transited at 10:51 UT."

Update #3 (June 4, 2200 UT): A full day has elapsed since the flash, and many observatories have imaged the impact site. So far, a prominent debris cloud has not emerged. Was this impactor too small to produce much debris? Observations will continue...

Update #2 (June 4 1500 UT): Wesley has posted a 46 MB video of the impact on his web page. A smaller version is available here.

Update #1 (June 4, 0100 UT): Anthony Wesley has pinpointed the impact site at Jovian latitude minus 16.1^o, and central meridian longitudes CM1: 300^o, CM2: 33.8^o and CM3: 210.4^o.

BLUE STAR MEETS RED PLANET

BLUE STAR MEETS RED PLANET: "Tonight, look to the west after the sky has gone dark and there you'll find a spectacular new 'double-star,'" says Pete Lawrence of Selsey UK. "It is Mars in conjuncton with the bright blue star Regulus." He took this picture on June 5th:

"Both are about the same brightness, but the color contrast is absolutely wonderful," he continues. "An exquisite sight with the naked eye, binoculars or low power in a telescope - catch it while it lasts!" [sky map]

more images: from Jens Hackmann of Weikersheim, southern Germany;

COMET McNAUGHT

COMET McNAUGHT: A fresh comet is swinging through the inner solar system, and it is brightening rapidly as it approaches the sun. Presenting, Comet McNaught (C/2009 R1):

Michael Jäger of Stixendorf, Austria, took the picture on June 6th using an 8-inch telescope. The comet's green atmosphere is larger than the planet Jupiter, while the long willowy ion tail stretches more than a million kilometers through space. These dimensions make the comet a fine target for backyard telescopes.

Comet McNaught can be found low in the northeastern sky before dawn gliding through the constellation Perseus. It is brightening as it approaches Earth for a 1.13 AU close encounter on June 15th and 16th. Currently, the comet is at the threshold of naked eye visibility (5th to 6th magnitude) and could become as bright as the stars of the Big Dipper (2nd magnitude) before the end of the month. Because this is the comet's first visit to the inner solar system, predictions of future brightness are necessarily uncertain; amateur astronomers should be alert for the unexpected. [ephemeris] [3D orbit] [Sky & Telescope: sky map, full story]

COMET MCNAUGHT

COMET MCNAUGHT: A fresh comet is swinging through the inner solar system, and it is brightening rapidly as it approaches the sun. Presenting, Comet McNaught (C/2009 R1):

Amateur astronomer John Chumack of Yellow Springs, Ohio, caught the comet passing by galaxy NGC 891 just before sunrise on June 8th. "I used a 5.5 inch telescope and a Canon Rebel Xsi digital camera to take this 15 minute exposure," he says. "It also looked great through binoculars."

Comet McNaught can be found low in the northeastern sky before dawn gliding through the constellation Perseus. It is brightening as it approaches Earth for a 1.13 AU close encounter on June 15th and 16th. Currently, the comet is at the threshold of naked eye visibility (6th magnitude) and could become as bright as the stars of the Big Dipper (2nd magnitude) before the end of the month. Because this is the comet's first visit to the inner solar system, predictions of future brightness are necessarily uncertain; amateur astronomers should be alert for the unexpected. [ephemeris] [3D orbit] [Sky & Telescope: sky map, full story]

VENUS - LUNA.

WEEKEND SKY SHOW: This weekend, Venus amd the Moon are inconjunction, beaming together through the sunset on both Saturday and Sunday evenings. Last night, Dennis Mammana photographed the display from Borrego Springs, California:

"The Moon appeared about 4^o below the bright planet Venus at dusk," says Mammana. "Although the Moon is officially in a crescent phase, sky watchers could easily see the outline of the full moon, which was illuminated by Earthshine--sunlight reflected back to the moon from the Earth itself. It was Leonardo da Vinci who first explained this beautiful phenomenon."

Venus - Luna - Estación Espacial - Transbordador Espacial.

Un extraño encuentro de planetas y naves espaciales

Algo especial sucederá este fin de semana. Venus y la Luna se encontrarán en el atardecer del sábado y del domingo, 15 y 16 de mayo, respectivamente. Esas mismas noches, la EEI volará sobre muchos pueblos y ciudades de Estados Unidos. Y, si el transbordador Atlantis es lanzado según está previsto, la gente allí podría ser testigo de un encuentro muy extraño entre el transbordador, la estación espacial, Venus y la Luna. Los detalles y los consejos para la observación los encontrará en la historia de hoy de Ciencia@NASA.

Mayo 13, 2010: Este fin de semana, Venus y la Luna creciente se encontrarán en el cielo del Oeste en una espectacular conjunción, y no estarán solos. La Estación Espacial Internacional (EEI) y, muy probablemente, el transborador espacial Atlantis se les unirán para formar un extraño encuentro cuádruple de naves espaciales y planetas sobre muchos lugares.

El espectáculo comenzará a la puesta del Sol, cuando Venus y la Luna emerjan desde el crepúsculo, muy cerca uno del otro. La Luna se verá exquisitamente esbelta, una medialuna iluminada, al 5%, el sábado 15 de mayo (mapa del cielo), y una algo más rellena, al 10%, el domingo 16 de mayo (mapa del cielo). Entre los extremos de la medialuna se podrá observar una imagen fantasmal de la Luna llena. Ese es el "Brillo de la Tierra" (la luz de nuestro propio planeta reflejada por el terreno oscuro de la Luna). Se considera que, en conjunción con Venus, una Luna creciente con Brillo de la Tierra es uno de los paisajes más bellos del cielo.

Derecha: Una conjunción de Venus y la Luna sobre los Alpes de Austria en el año 2008. Crédito de la fotografía: Tamas Ladanyi. [Más información]

Y a este cuadro de incomparable belleza se sumará una nave espacial (¡y quizás sean dos!).

La Estación Espacial Internacional volará sobre muchos pueblos y ciudades de Estados Unidos este fin de semana. La EEI aparecerá justo después de la puesta del Sol, casi en el mismo momento que tendrá lugar la conjunción de Venus y la Luna, y se deslizará lentamente a través del cielo brillando tanto como el mismo Venus. Ingrese al sitio SkyWatch, de la NASA, para enterarse si el lugar donde usted vive será uno de los puntos desde donde se podrá observar el espectáculo y también para conocer exactamente cuándo debe observar.

Anótese aquí para recibir nuestro servicio de ENTREGA INMEDIATA DE NOTICIAS CIENTÍFICAS

Si la EEI aparece sobre su ciudad, es probable que Atlantis también esté allí. El lanzamiento del transbordador está programado para el viernes 14 de mayo, desde el Centro Espacial Kennedy, a las 2:20 p.m. --hora diurna del Este (actualizaciones). El transbordador pasará el fin de semana viajando hacia la EEI y acoplándose a ella, maniobras que se verán como un punto definido de luz en compañía de la estación espacial, más brillante. Quienes han visto los sobrevuelos dobles de la estación y el transbordador dicen que incluso son mejores que la conjunción entre Venus y la Luna. Dos naves espaciales deslizándose juntas, en silencio, entre las estrellas, multiplican la belleza y la maravilla mucho más que por dos.

Arriba: Un doble sobrevuelo de la EEI y el transbordador espacial Discovery (Descubrimiento, en idioma español) sobre Lumby, Columbia Británica, Canadá, el 20 de abril de 2010. Crédito de la fotografía: Yuichi Takasaka. [Ver video]

Venus y Mercurio

SUNSET PLANETS: If you haven't looked at the sunset recently, you're missing a good show. Mercury and Venus are converging there for a bright conjunction:

"This is the first time I have seen Mercury," says Anton, who took the picture in Port Provideniya, Chukotka, Russia. "It was very clear and easy to see."

At closest approach on April 3rd and 4th, the two planets will be only three degrees apart--an eye-catching pair. Look before the sky fades to black. Two bright planets framed by deep twilight blue is a beautiful sight indeed. Sky maps: April 3, 4.

Charla: "PURO CIELO " en San Antonio.

El Viernes 27- Noviembre - 2009 después de reiteradas postergaciones por fin se realizo charla de Astronomía contemplada en el ciclo de charlas a nivel nacional PURO CIELO.
La charla en cuestión se efectuó en las dependencias del Salon de Eventos del Liceo Juan Dante Parraguez.
En la ocasión el destacado Científico de La Universidad Católica de Chile, Dr en Astrofisica Gaspar Galaz dicto una Charla Magistral, la se denominó "Un Viaje por El Universo".
A esta charla asistió una delegación de nuestro Taller de Astronomia.

La Luna y Las Pleyades.

MOON AND STARS: On Saturday night, March 20th, the crescent Moon and the Pleiades star cluster gathered for a close encounter over North America. In Texas, the encounter was so close, the Moon actually covered some of the Seven Sisters. Anna Morris sends this picture from San Antonio:

"We threw a star party to observe the occultation," says Morris. "Despite poor weather we were treated to a fantastic scene through brief breaks in the fast-moving clouds. Using a Nikon D40 and an Orion EON80ED telescope, I made four bracketed exposures to capture the Pleiades, the Moon's brightly-lit crescent and the Earthshine. This image is a combination of the four."

Nuestro Grupo de Astronomia resultó ser uno de los Ganadores de Concurso Fotografico.

Colegios de la Red Escolar de Radioastronomía Ganadores del Concurso de Fotografía “Las Fases de la Luna en Red”.

¡¡ Tenemos Ganadores!!

Esta actividad fue convocada por Planetario USACH, Observatorio Europeo Austral (ESO), Proyecto Radioastronómico ALMA y la empresa Nestlé, en el marco de la conmemoración de los 40 años de la llegada del hombre a la luna.

El jurado determinó 12 trabajos ganadores en el registro fotográfico de la luna, acreedores cada uno de ellos de una cámara fotográfica digital.

Dada las condiciones climáticas que dificultaron la observación y registro fotográfico del ciclo completo de las fases de la luna, ahora que las condiciones de clima nos acompañan, con el grupo de colegios ganadores se registrará y construirá una imagen del Ciclo Lunar completo y será difundida en nuestro sitio web.

Grupos de la Red Ganadores

COLEGIO	CIUDAD	REGIÓN
Colegio Metodista William Taylor	Alto Hospicio	Tarapacá
San Patricio	Antofagasta	Antofagasta
Diego de Almeida	El Salvador	Atacama
Santa Familia	Coquimbo	Coquimbo
San José	La Serena	Coquimbo
El Roble	Santo Domingo	Valparaíso
Liceo Abate Molina	Talca	Maule
Escuela Técnico Profesional	Copiapó	Atacama
San Antonio de Baluarte	Rengo	O´Higgins
Puerto Natales	Puerto Natales	Magallanes
Master College	Santiago	Metropolitana
Liceo Manuel Montt	Puerto Montt	Los Lagos

CHARLA DE ASTRONOMIA : BLACK HOLE.

El día jueves 29-Octubre-2009 se efectuó en las dependencias de la sala-Cine de la Escuela de Ingenieros Militares, charla del área astronomía dictada por los alumnos de la carrera de Física mención Astronomia de la universidad de Valparaiso.
En la ocasión asistieron representaciones de diversos colegios invitados de nuestra zona.
La charla versó sobre la temática de Agujeros Negros; de tal forma que fue posible tener una idea actualizada respecto a la información, concept

os e ideas que se barajan actualmente en el ámbito cientifico respecto de estos espectaculares fenómenos que estan presentes en el vasto universo que nos rodea.

Impacto Programado en LaLuna ( Viernes 09-Octubre-2009).

LUNAR IMPACT: NASA has updated the time of Friday morning's lunar impact. The LCROSS booster rocket will plunge into crater Cabeus at 4:31 am PDT (11:31 UT) followed by the LCROSS mothership four minutes later. Tune into NASA TV for live coverage of the event beginning at 3:15 am PDT (10:15 UT).

This morning, amateur astronomer Pete Lawrence photographed the impact site from his backyard observatory in Selsey UK. The red dot marks the spot:

"I used NASA's pointing chart to find target crater Cabeus," says Lawrence.

NASA hopes many amateur astronomers will be watching on Friday. "The more eyes the better," says LCROSS team member Brian Day of NASA/Ames. "We've never done this before and surprises are possible." US sky watchers west of the Mississippi river are favored with darkness and good views of the Moon at the time of the impacts.

To observers on Earth, the initial flashes of light marking the destruction of the two spacecraft will be hidden by crater walls. The debris plumes, however, should be visible in 10-inch class telescopes as they rise 10 km high above the rim of Cabeus. Note the shadows behind the red dot in Lawrence's image. The sunlit plumes will be highlighted by that dark backdrop: observing tips.

The impacts are designed to excavate frozen water from the cold and shadowy floor of crater Cabeus. Moon water is valuable stuff. It costs about $30,000 to rocket a liter of water from Earth to the Moon. If NASA could find water already on the Moon, it would save a lot of money for future thirsty colonists. H₂O also can be split into O₂ for breathing and H₂ for rocket fuel.

Evidence of water will be sought in the plumes of debris that billow out of Cabeus. The Hubble Space Telescope, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and several great telescopes on Earth will monitor the plumes for spectral signs of water (H₂O) or water fragments (OH). Some results could be available only hours after the impacts, so stay tuned.

Cometa 217P/LINEAR

FIND THE COMET: This weekend, Comet 217P/LINEAR is passing by the Orion Nebula. Can you find it? Scan the picture below for a gaseous tail:

Italian amateur astronomer Rolando Ligustri took the picture on Sept. 26th using a 4-inch wide field Global Rent-a-Scope in New Mexico. He needed 15 minutes of exposure time to reveal the green comet among the gas and dust of Orion's great star-forming region. The comet is receding from the nebula now, but still close enough for some nice parting shots. Astrophotographers who wish to try can use this JPL ephemeris to point their telescopes. Good luck!

(In case you're still looking, the comet is here.)

JUPITER.

Júpiter y sus Lunas

El planeta Júpiter es conocido desde la antigüedad. Es el quinto planeta del Sistema Solar y forma parte de los denominados planetas exteriores o gaseosos. Recibe su nombre del dios romano Júpiter (Zeus en la mitología griega).

Este planeta es, después del Sol, el mayor cuerpo celeste del Sistema Solar, con una masa casi dos veces y media la de los demás planetas juntos (con una masa 318 veces mayor que la de la Tierra).

Júpiter también posee la velocidad de rotación más rápida de los planetas del Sistema Solar: gira sobre su eje en poco menos de 10 horas.

El planeta es conocido por una enorme formación meteorológica, la Gran Mancha Roja, fácilmente vislumbrable por astrónomos aficionados dado su gran tamaño, superior al de la Tierra. Su atmósfera está permanentemente cubierta de nubes que permiten trazar la dinámica atmosférica y muestran un alto grado de turbulencia.

La atmósfera de Júpiter se compone principalmente de Hidrógeno (87%) y Helio (13%), además de contener Metano, Vapor de agua, Amoniaco, y Sulfuro de hidrógeno, los cuales componen menos del 0,1% de la composición total de la atmósfera.

Satélites Galileanos

Los principales satélites de Júpiter fueron descubiertos por Galileo Galilei el 7 de enero de 1610, razón por la que se los llama en ocasiones satélites galileanos.

Reciben sus nombres de la mitología griega. Originalmente, Galileo designó a los satélites como "Mediceos", en honor a Cosme de Médicis, duque de Florencia. El descubrimiento de estos satélites constituyó un punto de inflexión en la ya larga disputa entre los que sostenían la idea de un sistema geocéntrico, es decir, con la Tierra en el centro del universo, y el sistema heliocéntrico (establecido por Copérnico, con el Sol en el centro del Universo), en la cual era mucho más fácil explicar el movimiento y la propia existencia de los satélites naturales de Júpiter.

Los cuatro satélites principales son muy distintos entre sí. Io, el más cercano a Júpiter, es un mundo volcánico con una superficie en constante renovación y perturbado por el fuerte campo gravitacional de Júpiter. Europa, el segundo en cercanía, es un mundo helado bajo el cual se especula la presencia de océanos líquidos de agua e incluso la presencia de vida. Ganímedes, con un diámetro de 5268 km, es el satélite más grande de todo el sistema solar y está compuesto por un núcleo de hierro cubierto por un manto rocoso y de hielo. Callisto se caracteriza por ser el cuerpo que presenta mayor cantidad de cráteres producidos por impactos en todo el sistema solar.

Nombre	Diámetro (km)	Masa (kg)	Radio orbital medio radio (km)	Período orbital
Io	3.643,2	8,94×10²²	421.600	1,769138 días
Europa	3.122	4,8×10²²	671.100	3,551181 días
Ganímedes	5.262	1,48×10²³	1.070.400	7,154553 días
Callisto	4.821	1,08×10²³	1.882.700	16,68902 días

Minimo Historico de Actividad Solar - Calentamiento Global.

SOLAR MINIMUM VS. GLOBAL WARMING: From 2002 to 2008, decreasing solar irradiance has countered much anthropogenic warming of Earth's surface. That's the conclusion of researchers Judith Lean (NRL) and David Rind (NASA/GISS), who have just published a new analysis of global temperatures in the Geophysical Research Letters. Lean and Rind considered four drivers of climate change: solar activity, volcanic eruptions, ENSO (El Nino), and the accumulation of greenhouse gases. The following plot shows how much each has contributed to the changing temperature of Earth's surface since 1980:

Volcanic aerosols are a source of cooling; ENSO and greenhouse gases cause heating; the solar cycle can go either way. When added together, these factors can account for 76% of the variance in Earth's surface temperature over the past ~30 years, according to the analysis of Lean and Rind.

Several aspects of their model attract attention: "The warmest year on record, 1998, coincides with the 'super-El Nino' of 1997-98," points out Lean. "The ESNO is capable of producing significant spikes in the temperature record." Solar minimum has the opposite effect: "A 0.1% decrease in the sun's irradiance has counteracted some of the warming action of greenhouse gases from 2002 - 2008," she notes. "This is the reason for the well-known 'flat' temperature trend of recent years."

What's next? Ultimately, the authors say, temperatures will begin rising again as greenhouse gases accumulate and solar activity resumes with the coming of the next solar cycle. Of couse, the solar cycle could be out of whack; if solar minimum deepens and persists, no one is certain what will happen. Lean and Rind reveal their predictions for the future here.

Reference: Lean, J. L., and D. H. Rind (2009), How will Earth's surface temperature change in future decades?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L15708

Imagenes del Sol.

SOLAR SURPRISE: Even during the deepest solar minimum in a century, the sun has the capacity for surprise. Larry Alvarez got one yesterday when he bent over the eyepiece of his solar telescope in Flower Mound, Texas. "I thought it would be just another day with a vanilla-wafer solar disk, but I was in for a blazing shock when I checked out the edge of the sun," he says. "There was a huge worm popping out of the apple--a prominence of magnificent proportions!" Here is what he saw:

"What a doozy," he says. "I watched the prominence for more than two hours and got some really nice shots." He's working on a video now--stay tuned for that.

Realtime images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory indicate that the prominence remains active. Readers with solar telescopes should take a look. It's no longer a surprise, but still a doozy.

images: from Michael Borman of Evansville, Indiana; from Matt Wastell of Brisbane, Australia; from Pavol Rapavy of Observatory Romavska Sobota, Slovakia; from Mark Townley of Brierley Hill, West Midlands, UK; from Stephen Ames of Hodgenville, KY; from Fabio Mariuzza of Biauzzo-Codroipo, Italy; from Cai-Uso Wohler of Bispingen, Germany; from Emiel Veldhuis of Zwolle, the Netherlands; from Francisco A. Rodriguez of Cabreja Mountain Observatory, Vega de San Mateo, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands; from Gianfranco Meregalli of Milano, Italy;

Silueta de la Estación Espacial.

SPACE STATION SILHOUETTE: The sun is blank--no sunspots. That makes it a perfect backdrop for passing spaceships:

Amateur astronomer Levin Dieterle photographed the transit on August 15th from Hofstetten, Germany. "The ISS crossed the entire sun in only 0.64 seconds," he says. He captured the split-second event using a solar-filtered telescope and a Canon 40D digital camera.

The station's silhouette traces solar arrays, science labs, living quarters and a docked Russian supply ship. Next year, the outline will expand to include a cosmic ray telescope called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. From its perch atop the station's massive backbone, or "truss," the telescope will scan the heavens for antimatter galaxies, strangelets, dark matter and other exotic phenomena only detectable from Earth orbit. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

Explora V Región Visitó Nuestro Taller de Astronomia.

Exitoso taller de Radioastronomía en Colegio El Roble de Santo Domingo

13 de Julio de 2009

Comprometidos con la Red Escolar de Radioastronomía, apoyada por EXPLORA.

EXPLORA CONICYT convocó a docentes de la Región a una capacitación para formar la Red Escolar de Astronomía, que se realizó en el mes de abril en la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV). Dentro de este contexto, el Colegio El Roble de Santo Domingo formó exitosamente el taller de Radioastronomía, integrado por 20 alumnos de 8º básico a III medio, a cargo del profesor Víctor Carreño.

El grupo de Santo Domingo ha logrado participar en distintas instancias internacionales enviando fotografías de sus observaciones. Una de las actividades más interesantes efectuadas por estos estudiantes, son las Rutas Turísticas a La Luna, donde las diseñaron de acuerdo a lo aprendido en el taller. Actualmente, se encuentran detectando manchas solares y observando a Júpiter y sus satélites.

Esta es un iniciativa del Planetario de la Universidad de Santiago (USACH), en conjunto con los Departamentos de Física e Ingeniería Eléctrica de la casa de estudios y el fondo ALMA-CONICYT para el desarrollo de la astronomía chilena, en el marco del proyecto “Astronomía para el Bicentenario: Del Universo Visible al Invisible”, que convoca a los escolares del país para conformar la Red Escolar de Radioastronomía para el Bicentenario, de acuerdo a lo señalado en el sitio web http://fisica.usach.cl/~astronomia/.

El objetivo principal es promover el conocimiento de la radioastronomía y astronomía en general, además de las ciencias afines en escolares, docentes y en toda la comunidad. Lo anterior, a través de una red de establecimientos que conforman grupos de astronomía, a los cuales se les entregó un kit, un telescopio, un solar view y otros materiales astronómicos para ser implementados en los colegios, escuelas y liceos, según lo expresado en la página citada.

En este sentido, Víctor Carreño, enfatizó que “a través de la matemática interpretamos fórmulas, mediante la física, analizamos las emisiones de luminosidad y con la química, el espectro electromagnético. Pero también hay otra área súper importante, el trabajar en conjunto, resolviendo problemas y respetándose mutuamente. Por lo tanto, no solamente tiene un valor científico la iniciativa, también aprendemos a convivir como grupo”.

Refiriéndose a los aportes de la astronomía a la sociedad, Nicolás De la Mazza, integrante del taller, destacó que con la investigación en esta ciencia “se puede saber si se acerca un Hoyo Negro o si hay vida extraterrestre, entre muchas otras cosas importantes”. Junto con esto, relató que desde que se reúne con sus compañeros y el profesor Carreño, sabe dónde están las distintas constelaciones. Otra alumna, Javiera Silva, comentó que “desde hace tiempo me había gustado la astronomía, pero no sabía nada, con las visitas al planetario y las observaciones he aprendido mucho”.

Finalmente, el Taller de Radioastronomía del Colegio El Roble, debe superar problemas como no poder observar por falta de condiciones climatológicas adecuadas, o estar impedidos de tomar fotografías desde el Ocular o de observar las Manchas Solares. Las anteriores, son dificultades que deberán sortear siempre, sin embargo, la perseverancia y entusiasmo les permiten superar los inconvenientes para conocer más sobre astronomía, ciencia que para ellos se ha transformado en algo más que el tema central de una actividad escolar.

Ver noticia anterior relacionada:

Expertos de la USACH capacitan a profesores en Radioastronomía

LLUVIA DE METEOROS ( LAS PERSEIDAS ).

SUBSIDING PERSEIDS: The Perseid meteor shower is subsiding. According to the International Meteor Organization, the shower peaked on August 12th with 140 meteors per hour. Now Earth is exiting the debris stream of Comet Swift Tuttle and rates are dropping back to normal lows: data.

During the peak "we recorded a bright meteor or fireball over the Marshall Space Flight Center every 3 minutes--a fabulous rate," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. This image is a composite of the 130 brightest:

Cooke's meteor detection system consists of two cameras separated by 100 miles--one in Alabama and one in Georgia. The wide baseline allows him to triangulate the trajectory of meteoroids with some accuracy. Here is a map of the Perseids shown above. "Last night, says Cooke, "the stars really did fall on Alabama!"

Solitaria Prominencia en el Sol.

LONELY PROMINENCE: Yesterday, Alan Friedman of Buffalo, New York, looked through his solar telescope and actually felt sorry for the sun. "Seeing this solitary prominence, I imagined the sun experiencing a twinge of melancholia ... or perhaps it's my reaction to the seemingly endless solar minimum."

When Friedman took the picture on August 1st, the sun had just entered its 22nd consecutive day of spotlessness--no sunspots for more than three weeks! This is typical of 2009. So far this year, the sun has been blank 77% of the time, confirming the solar minimum of 2008-2009 as a century-class event.

En el espacio es posible alcanzar el Cero Absoluto?.

Planck, la nave más fría

Luego de que los detectores de alta frecuencia alcanzasen la increíblemente baja temperatura operacional de -273.05°C, la nave Planck se ha convertido en el objeto más frío conocido en el espacio. La nave ha entrado en la órbita final alrededor del segundo punto de Lagrange (L2) del sistema Sol-Tierra.

Planck se encuentra equipada con un sistema de enfriamiento pasivo que baja su temperatura hasta los -230°C radiando calor al espacio. Tres enfriadores activos luego actúan para bajar la temperatura a partir de allí, alcanzando los -273.05°C, solo 0.1°C por encima del cero absoluto, la temperatura teóricamente más baja posible del Universo.

Estas bajas temperaturas son necesarias para que los detectores de Planck pueden realizar un estudio del fondo cósmico de microondas (CMB, Cosmic Microwave Background), la primer luz desprendida del Universo solo 380000 años después del Big Bang, midiendo su temperatura a lo largo de todo el cielo.

Los detectores podrán medir variaciones en la temperatura del CMB que son de alrededor un millón de veces más pequeñas que un grado, lo que es comparable a medir desde la Tierra el calor producido por un conejo sentado en la Luna. Esta es la razón por la cual los detectores deben enfriarse a temperaturas cercanas al cero absoluto (-273.15°C o 0 Kelvin)

Credits: ESA

VICA