Monthly General Sky Orientation
Until you gain some familiarity with the night sky it may seem to be a bewildering array of stars whenever you look up. Learning to recognize some of the ancient star patterns called constellations is the best way to bring some sense of order to an initial feeling of confusion.If you remember to go out several times each month with a star chart or a planisphere then, over the course of one year, you will see for yourself the apparent rotation of the giant celestial sphere. And seeing the constellations you first learned in one season reappear as old friends exactly one year later brings the joy of recognition and a sense of returning to experience
The Red Planet is Back
Since the start of this year, Earth has been closing in on Mars at the rate
of almost a million miles per day. By opposition time, April 24th, observers
will get their nearest and best views of the red planet's surface since 1990.
That fact, and the rapid advances made in the past decade with CCD imagers and
video techniques, has planetary observers bubbling with anticipation.
Scientists and the public at large are getting excited too. NASA's Mars Global
Surveyor is about to begin its detailed mapping of the Martian surface, and
three more space probes are on the way. By year's end,
Black Hole Middleweights
Until now, black holes had only come in two sizes. Stellar-mass ones are created when giant stars explode as supernovae. Supermassive ones, which were probably formed in the early universe, are found at the cores of galaxies. Astronomers have finally uncovered signs of an in-between size black hole,
Three-Planet Solar System Discovered
A new chapter has opened in the discovery of planets orbiting other stars. Today two planet-hunting teams announced clear evidence that no less than three giant planets orbit the Sun-like star Upsilon Andromedae. Announcements of single giant planets circling other stars have become almost routine,
In the search for extra solar planets
Called the COROT (Convection Rotation and planetary Transits) in December is set to launch a satellite made between the European Space Agency, with significant input and the Spanish-French Space Agency. Its primary mission is the search for extra solar planets similar to Earth.
Given the importance of this mission, the team moved to Digital Science Grenada [...]
Series expansion of the satellite platform SPRINT JAXA
At a symposium held November 26 at Miraikan in Tokyo, the Japanese Space Agency has provided more information on the small satellite platform called SPRINT (Small Space Science Innovative Platform for Rapid experimenNT), intended to be mass-produced Take out the next mission scientists Japanese small.
Soon the first light to the telescope Sofia … Airborne
Designed by NASA, the highest telescope in the world is going on board a Boeing 747. Sofia will rise up and the lower limit of the stratosphere to observe in infrared. Despite major technical difficulties, the project progresses …
Sofia (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) is, as its name implies, an instrument for stratospheric infrared [...]
Civilization astronomy was dominated
Since the beginning of civilization astronomy was dominated by the study of the motions of celestial bodies. This work was essential for astrology, for the determination of the calendar, and for the prediction of eclipses. The connection between the calendar and the motions of celestial bodies is most important because it meant that astronomy was [...]
History of Radio Astronomy
Radio astronomy is the study of the Universe using radio waves, usually using electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths from the microwave band (a couple of centimeters) and upwards. Radio astronomy plays a key role in investigating the Universe.
The words “radio astronomy” were first used in the 1940s to describe the new method of studying the universe [...]
Radio Astronomy Works
When radio waves reach the earth they are extremely weak. Therefore a reflector must be shaped to reflect all the waves to a point. At this point an antenna receives the waves and sends them to a powerful short-wave radio receiver. Reflectors are usually concave and follow the same curvature as do the mirrors of [...]
Atmospheric turbulence imposes on accuracy.
During the last century several large reflecting telescopes have been built on mountains in clear-air regions. Telescopes are larger than ever before, and are now common to have a diameter of 100 inches (2.5 meters). Multiple-mirror and other designs have been developed and put into use. In order to work in the other regions of [...]
Types of Optical Telescopes
An optical telescope is an instrument that is used to collect light from a celestial object, bring the light into focus, and produce a magnified image. Optical telescopes are used to observe and photograph objects in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The two basic types of optical telescopes are refractors and reflectors. Refractors [...]
IBM sequence DNA on a chip
It is sometimes said, speaking of technological advances that reality catches up with fiction, this is not the news that deviate from the rule. In 1998, the film Gattaca presented an analysis of the genome faster and cheaper. One scene showed instant playback of information genetics of a newborn, through which were established its life [...]
Microsoft launches Windows Mobile 6.5 to the assault of the apple
In a place of Microsoft France brand new, located in Issy-les-Moulineaux, as Steve Ballmer, CEO, presented the new baby. It was under the generic name for Windows Phone the speaker the most energetic of the Net reveals a standard that has many manufacturers of smart phones such as LG, HTC, Samsung or Motorola.
Kindle ebook from Amazon arrives in France
For several years the terms E ink (electronic ink) or e-book (electronic book) invade the sphere of Internet. And for good reason, these words define technological change meant to replace paper printing since Gutenberg Popular …
Capsules special
The electronic ink consists of millions of microcapsules containing positively charged white particles and negatively
