Star Gazers ...

[Jolie Rouge]

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/s480x480/46327_147055772115927_585681841_n.jpg

[Jolie Rouge]

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Every single time I see this image I just want to pack up and move to the middle of no where....

[Jolie Rouge]

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/57311737" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>

Star Trails at Victoria, Australia

http://vimeo.com/terrastro/liquidlight

http://cheezburger.com/46836993#comments

[Jolie Rouge]

The Milky Way Over New Zealand

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/6984307456/hEFE5DCEC/



The aforementioned pictures were taken with an exposure time of several minutes as a minimum. And I highly suspect some additional effects on the first one (colors and lightings).

[Jolie Rouge]

For all you astronomy lovers, here is information on the upcoming viewing of Comet PanSTARRS. This information comes from my astronomy experts David Williams & Jason Talley.

Comet PanSTARRS is expected to be at it’s brightest (possibly 2nd magnitude) on March 10th, and very well positioned near the Moon on March 12th.

Although the comet is expected to be visible to the unaided eye next week, binoculars may be the best choice to see it due to bright twilight.
(Prior to March 9th, the comet will be very low above the horizon, and may not be visible to most observers in our area.)

Below is a diagram showing the path of Comet PanSTARRS. This diagram is drawn for a viewer near 40° north latitude (Denver, New York, Madrid) 30 minutes after sunset. If you're south of there, the comet will be a little higher above your horizon early in the month than shown here.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/s480x480/578613_225732074240282_913923811_n.jpg

The St Charles Parish Library Planetarium has lots more info: http://myscpl.org/planetarium/

[Jolie Rouge]

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Big Asteroid to Zoom By Earth This Weekend
By Mike Wall | SPACE.com – 7 hrs ago.

A newly discovered asteroid the size of a football field will cruise through Earth's neighborhood this weekend, just days after another space rock made an even closer approach to our planet.

The 330-foot-wide (100 meters) asteroid 2013 ET will miss Earth by 600,000 miles (960,000 kilometers) when it zips by on Saturday (March 9). The space rock flyby will come just days after the 33-foot (10 m) asteroid 2013 EC approached within 230,000 miles (370,000 km) of us early Monday (March 4).

When asteroid 2013 ET passes Earth, it will be at a range equivalent to 2.5 times the distance between the planet and the moon, making it too faint and far away for most stargazers to spot in the night sky. But the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy, run by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, will webcast a live telescope view of the space rock's flyby on Friday (March 8), beginning at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT). You can access the free broadcast here: http://www.astrowebtv.org.

There is no danger that 2013 ET will hit Earth, researchers say, just as 2013 EC posed no threat. But their flybys are slightly unsettling nonetheless, since both asteroids were discovered a mere few days ago.

Indeed, many space rocks are hurtling undetected through Earth's neck of the cosmic woods. Astronomers estimate that the number of near-Earth asteroids tops 1 million, but just 9,700 have been discovered to date.

Undetected objects can strike Earth without warning, as the surprise meteor explosion over Russia last month illustrated. The 55-foot (17 m) asteroid that caused the Feb. 15 Russian fireball detonated in the atmosphere before astronomers even knew it existed.

While many scientists stress the urgent need for expanded and improved asteroid-detection efforts, there is some good news: Humanity is unlikely to go the way of the dinosaurs anytime soon.

NASA researchers have identified and mapped the orbits of 95 percent of the 980 or so near-Earth asteroids at least 0.6 miles (1 km) wide, which could threaten human civilization if they hit us. None of these behemoths are on a collision course with Earth in the foreseeable future.

For comparison, the asteroid believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago likely measured about 6 miles (10 km) across, scientists say.

http://news.yahoo.com/big-asteroid-zoom-earth-weekend-115835023.html?fb_action_ids=502318946481426%2C101 51483376799767&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%22502318946481426%22%3A31590 9068532577%2C%2210151483376799767%22%3A50033834335 8351%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22502318946481426%22%3A%22news .reads%22%2C%2210151483376799767%22%3A%22news.read s%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

[Jolie Rouge]

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[Jolie Rouge]

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Meteor Shower Will Be Most Visible Early Tuesday Morning

By Colleen Curry | ABC News Blogs – 8 hours ago

Time to set your alarm clock, space gazers.

The annual Aquarid meteor shower is set to peak early Tuesday morning between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. in all continental U.S. time zones.

The meteor shower will give those in the southern part of the U.S. the best chance at seeing a stream of debris from Halley's Comet. According to NASA, the bits of comet that have broken off burn up in Earth's atmosphere, making them visible to Earthlings down below.

There will be about 30 meteors per hour between midnight and 5 a.m., according to NASA.

If you can't make it out to a dark, open space good for space-viewing, you can tune into NASA's livestream of the meteor shower over Alabama. http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/eta-aquarids-ustream-2014.html#.U2efxfldXms

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/meteor-shower-most-visible-early-tuesday-morning-145728408--abc-news-tech.html

Catch a Glimpse of Halley's Comet Debris:
2014 Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower

Each spring as Earth passes through the debris trail from Halley's Comet (1P/Halley), the cosmic bits -- moving at 148,000 mph -- burn up in our atmosphere to create the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower. This year's peak occurs on the night of May 5-6, with meteor rates of about 30/hour in the northern hemisphere and about 60/hour in the southern hemisphere. The first-quarter moon sets just after midnight, helping to darken the skies. Peak viewing for the shower will be from 2:30 a.m. until dawn, your local time.

The Eta Aquarids are pieces of debris from Halley's Comet, which is a well-known comet that is viewable from Earth approximately every 76 years. Also known as 1P/Halley, this comet was last viewable from Earth in 1986 and won't be visible again until the middle of 2061. The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower gets its name because the radiant -- or direction of origin -- of the meteors appears to come from the constellation Aquarius.

[Jolie Rouge]

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Meteor Shower Will Be Most Visible Early Tuesday Morning

By Colleen Curry | ABC News Blogs – 8 hours ago

Time to set your alarm clock, space gazers.

The annual Aquarid meteor shower is set to peak early Tuesday morning between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. in all continental U.S. time zones.

The meteor shower will give those in the southern part of the U.S. the best chance at seeing a stream of debris from Halley's Comet. According to NASA, the bits of comet that have broken off burn up in Earth's atmosphere, making them visible to Earthlings down below.

There will be about 30 meteors per hour between midnight and 5 a.m., according to NASA.

If you can't make it out to a dark, open space good for space-viewing, you can tune into NASA's livestream of the meteor shower over Alabama. http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/eta-aquarids-ustream-2014.html#.U2efxfldXms

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/meteor-shower-most-visible-early-tuesday-morning-145728408--abc-news-tech.html

Catch a Glimpse of Halley's Comet Debris:
2014 Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower

Each spring as Earth passes through the debris trail from Halley's Comet (1P/Halley), the cosmic bits -- moving at 148,000 mph -- burn up in our atmosphere to create the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower. This year's peak occurs on the night of May 5-6, with meteor rates of about 30/hour in the northern hemisphere and about 60/hour in the southern hemisphere. The first-quarter moon sets just after midnight, helping to darken the skies. Peak viewing for the shower will be from 2:30 a.m. until dawn, your local time.

The Eta Aquarids are pieces of debris from Halley's Comet, which is a well-known comet that is viewable from Earth approximately every 76 years. Also known as 1P/Halley, this comet was last viewable from Earth in 1986 and won't be visible again until the middle of 2061. The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower gets its name because the radiant -- or direction of origin -- of the meteors appears to come from the constellation Aquarius.

Excellent for stargazing. On May. 3, 2014, the network reported 6 fireballs. (5 sporadics, 1 eta Aquariid) Tomorrow's earth-asteroid encounter: 2014 HO132--May 5--2.1 Lunar Distance--31 meters. (spaceweather.com)

The waxing crescent moon and planet Jupiter are beautiful in the western sky after sunset on May 4, 2014. They’re a wonderful prelude to the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which will peak in the predawn hours on May 5 and 6. Eta Aquarid meteors are peppering the sky now, in the wee hours before dawn. The forecast calls for the greatest number of meteors to light up the predawn darkness over the next few mornings. The peak is expected to come on Tuesday morning – May 6 – in the hour before dawn begins to light the sky. Astronomers call this time astronomical twilight. Under ideal conditions, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower produces up to 20 to 40 meteors per hour. The shower is best seen in the Southern Hemisphere, but all of Earth will catch some meteors. Luckily, the waxing crescent moon will set well before the peak hours of this year’s Eta Aquarid display. Although the more southerly latitudes have the better view of this shower, tropical and subtropical latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere still enjoy a decent view of the annual Eta Aquarid meteors. North of 40o north latitude the meteors tend to be fewer. But no matter where you live worldwide, the greatest number of meteors usually fall in the dark hours just before dawn. The point in the sky from which meteors in annual showers appear to radiate is called the meteor shower radiant. You don’t have to locate the radiant to watch the Eta Aquarid meteors, but people always ask about them. Although the Eta Aquarid meteors streak all over the sky, they appear to radiate from the Y-shaped group of stars called the Water Jar. The Water Jar is part of the constellation Aquarius. To star-hop to the Water Jar, first of all find the four stars of the Great Square of Pegasus. Looking eastward at about 4 a.m. (Daylight Saving Time), the Great Square of Pegasus glitters like a celestial baseball diamond. Imagine the bottom star as home base. Draw a line from the third base star through the first base star, then go twice that distance to locate the star Sadal Melik. To the lower left of Sadal Melik is the small Y-shaped Water Jar, marking the approximate radiant of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. Again, you don’t need to know the shower’s radiant point to watch the meteors! (earthsky.org)

[Jolie Rouge]

International Space Station passed over Baton Rouge last night at 8:02 PM visible for 5 minutes moving from SW to NNE.

For anyone interested if you email spotthestation@mail.nasa.gov they'll send you emails when it's about to pass over.

[Jolie Rouge]

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