Pluto was once considered a planet on its own, but sadly, it is now classified as a dwarf planet. Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. It took Tombaugh over a year to find Pluto. It was named by an 11 year old girl from Oxford, England, who had submitted the name to her father, who had it sent to the astronomers at Lowell Observatory. Pluto is the name of the mythological figure that was the god of the underworld. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the meaning of a planet, which bumped Pluto into the dwarf planet category.
There are five other icy planets at the edge of our solar system in the same category as Pluto, but there are likely hundreds more still waiting to be discovered. Pluto is currently the second largest known dwarf planet coming in at about 2,302 kilometers (1,430 miles) in diameter. Eris, the largest known dwarf planet, isn't much larger, measuring 2,326 kilometers (1,445 miles).
A dwarf planet is a solid (typically ice and rock) planet-like body that orbits the Sun, but has not cleared its orbital path around the Sun of other orbital debris, such as asteroids. The five known dwarf planets in our solar system are in an area known as the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is a ring of objects, like comets, asteroids, and dwarf planets, that orbit the Sun at a distance of 30-55 AU (remember: AU stands for Astronomical Unit and is the average distance between the Earth and Sun; 93 million miles). The comets that live in this area are usually seen more frequently. These comets usually orbit the sun every 200 years or so. Halley's Comet is an example of this type.
Beyond the Kuiper Belt lies the Oort Cloud. It occupies an area of our solar system between 5,000 and 100,000 AU. This area houses the comets that take hundreds to thousands of years to orbit the Sun. Comet Hale-Bopp is a good example of this type.
Most, if not all of the objects in these 2 regions of our solar system are smaller than Earths Moon, including Pluto and Eris. The Moon measures about 3,475 kilometers (2,160 miles) in diameter, which is about a quarter the size of the Earth. Pluto is about 33% smaller than the Moon.
If you wanted to view Pluto at night, forget it! Unless you have a 10 inch telescope or larger, you won't be able see it. Even then, it will just look like a regular star. It would have to be viewed continuously over a long period of time to see it move against the background stars.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Lunar Eclipse April 2014
I didn't think it would be right for me to keep all the pictures to myself. So here are some from the Lunar Eclipse Monday night into Tuesday morning. Enjoy!
The following pictures were taken with a cell phone through my binoculars:
This eclipse was the first in a series of four called a tetrad. The next one is on October 8th (save the date), followed by 2 more in 2015. The next time we will be able to observe a tetrad is in 2032-2033.
The following pictures were taken with a cell phone through my binoculars:
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Eclipses
There are two main types of eclipses: Solar and Lunar. Eclipses occur when the Earth, Moon, and Sun align to form a straight line in space. Eclipses are a common occurrence but depending on how the Earth, Moon, and Sun align, the eclipse may not be visible in your area. When an eclipse occurs, it creates an area or path on the Earth in which the observers will be able to see it. Anywhere outside of this path and the observer will only be able to see a partial eclipse or nothing at all.
Depending on the order of alignment of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, it will create a different type of eclipse. A Solar Eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. This only happens during a New Moon. A New Moon is when the moon is in conjunction (the same orbital path) with the Sun and invisible from Earth. Since the Moon does not have a perfect circular orbit around the Earth, during an eclipse the Sun may not be totally blocked by the moon. When the moon is too small to cover the entire face of the sun, it is called an Annular Solar Eclipse. This is often referred to as a "ring of fire" because the area of the sun that is not covered by the moon looks like, well, a ring of fire! The most recent occurrence of an Annular Solar Eclipse over Utah was in May of 2012. I was fortunate enough to travel to Brain Head which was in the center of the path that this eclipse made that year. I was able to take a few pictures of this eclipse using my binoculars, solar filters, and a digital camera aimed through the binoculars.
A Total Solar Eclipse is when the Moon completely covers the face of the Sun. During a Total Solar Eclipse an observer can see the corona (outer atmosphere) of the Sun.
A Lunar Eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon. The shadow of the Earth is cast on the Moon causing it to appear orange to red in color. This type of eclipse also creates a path or area where it can be fully viewed from a location on Earth. When in the right area, the entire surface of the Moon will be covered by Earth's shadow, called a Total Lunar Eclipse. If outside of the area, only a partial Lunar Eclipse will be visible.
From North America, we will be able to view two Lunar Eclipses in the year 2014. The first occurs on the night of April 14th and remains visible until morning on April 15th. The eclipse will begin at 10:55 p.m. and end at 4:36 a.m. If you can't stay awake long enough to watch the entirety of the eclipse, set your alarm for 1:45 a.m. to view the Total Lunar Eclipse, when the moon is completely covered by Earth's shadow.
The next Total Lunar Eclipse will be visible on October 8. It will start at 2:15 a.m. and end at 7:30 a.m. with totality occurring at 4:55 a.m. There will also be a Partial Solar Eclipse visible from Utah on October 23.
Be sure to mark your calendars and set your alarms for the upcoming eclipses! You won't need anything special to view them - just your naked eyes. Try taking some pictures of your own.
Depending on the order of alignment of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, it will create a different type of eclipse. A Solar Eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. This only happens during a New Moon. A New Moon is when the moon is in conjunction (the same orbital path) with the Sun and invisible from Earth. Since the Moon does not have a perfect circular orbit around the Earth, during an eclipse the Sun may not be totally blocked by the moon. When the moon is too small to cover the entire face of the sun, it is called an Annular Solar Eclipse. This is often referred to as a "ring of fire" because the area of the sun that is not covered by the moon looks like, well, a ring of fire! The most recent occurrence of an Annular Solar Eclipse over Utah was in May of 2012. I was fortunate enough to travel to Brain Head which was in the center of the path that this eclipse made that year. I was able to take a few pictures of this eclipse using my binoculars, solar filters, and a digital camera aimed through the binoculars.
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| May 2012 Annular Solar Eclipse |
A Lunar Eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon. The shadow of the Earth is cast on the Moon causing it to appear orange to red in color. This type of eclipse also creates a path or area where it can be fully viewed from a location on Earth. When in the right area, the entire surface of the Moon will be covered by Earth's shadow, called a Total Lunar Eclipse. If outside of the area, only a partial Lunar Eclipse will be visible.
From North America, we will be able to view two Lunar Eclipses in the year 2014. The first occurs on the night of April 14th and remains visible until morning on April 15th. The eclipse will begin at 10:55 p.m. and end at 4:36 a.m. If you can't stay awake long enough to watch the entirety of the eclipse, set your alarm for 1:45 a.m. to view the Total Lunar Eclipse, when the moon is completely covered by Earth's shadow.
The next Total Lunar Eclipse will be visible on October 8. It will start at 2:15 a.m. and end at 7:30 a.m. with totality occurring at 4:55 a.m. There will also be a Partial Solar Eclipse visible from Utah on October 23.
Be sure to mark your calendars and set your alarms for the upcoming eclipses! You won't need anything special to view them - just your naked eyes. Try taking some pictures of your own.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Space Historian
What is a space historian? As was briefly mentioned in the post "Orion the Hunter", stars are not very close to the Earth, with the exception of our Sun, which is approximately 93 million miles (1 AU) away. That might not sound very close, but in astronomical terms, it's right next door. The distance between the Sun and the Earth is called an astronomical unit (AU). This is the standard unit of measurement for objects in our solar system, but once outside of the solar system, an AU is not large enough to feasibly measure distance. That's where the light year comes in. In review, one light year is the distance that light can travel in one year which is roughly 6 trillion miles.
The Sun, which is our closest star is still so far away from us that it takes light about 8 minutes to reach us. The next closest star to us is Proxima Centauri, which is about 4.2 light years away. It is a member of a star system containing two other stars; Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B. Unfortunately, we cannot see this star system from the northern hemisphere. One of my goals is to travel to the southern hemisphere so I can see this system. Even though it is the closest star to our solar system, it is not the brightest star in the night sky. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, followed by Canopus which is about half as bright as Sirius. Alpha Centauri A is the third brightest star. Without a telescope, an observer would not be able to see the complete star system and could only see Alpha Centauri A.
As mentioned, Proxima Centauri is 4.2 light years away, meaning it takes 4.2 years for the light to reach Earth and our eyes. Most objects in the night sky are hundreds to millions of light years away. The Ring Nebula (M57) is about 2300 light years from Earth. The light that we are seeing from this nebula today was produced around the fall of the ancient Egyptians. Our closest neighboring galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy is called the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). It currently lies some 2.5 million light years away from us. When looking at this galaxy with our unaided eyes, binoculars, or telescope, we are seeing the galaxy as it was 2.5 million years ago! This is before homo sapiens started to evolve. The Andromeda Galaxy is currently on a collision course with the Milky Way. But don't worry! This won't happen for another 4 billion years.
We are even viewing our closest celestial neighbor in the past, even if by a small amount. The moon is about 239,000 miles away from the Earth. Light travels at about 186,000 miles a second, so when viewing the moon, we are seeing the moon as it was about 1.3 seconds ago.
Next time you look up at the stars or even the moon or sun, remember that you are looking back in time. Even light, the fastest moving thing known to us, isn't instantaneous.
The Sun, which is our closest star is still so far away from us that it takes light about 8 minutes to reach us. The next closest star to us is Proxima Centauri, which is about 4.2 light years away. It is a member of a star system containing two other stars; Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B. Unfortunately, we cannot see this star system from the northern hemisphere. One of my goals is to travel to the southern hemisphere so I can see this system. Even though it is the closest star to our solar system, it is not the brightest star in the night sky. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, followed by Canopus which is about half as bright as Sirius. Alpha Centauri A is the third brightest star. Without a telescope, an observer would not be able to see the complete star system and could only see Alpha Centauri A.
As mentioned, Proxima Centauri is 4.2 light years away, meaning it takes 4.2 years for the light to reach Earth and our eyes. Most objects in the night sky are hundreds to millions of light years away. The Ring Nebula (M57) is about 2300 light years from Earth. The light that we are seeing from this nebula today was produced around the fall of the ancient Egyptians. Our closest neighboring galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy is called the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). It currently lies some 2.5 million light years away from us. When looking at this galaxy with our unaided eyes, binoculars, or telescope, we are seeing the galaxy as it was 2.5 million years ago! This is before homo sapiens started to evolve. The Andromeda Galaxy is currently on a collision course with the Milky Way. But don't worry! This won't happen for another 4 billion years.
We are even viewing our closest celestial neighbor in the past, even if by a small amount. The moon is about 239,000 miles away from the Earth. Light travels at about 186,000 miles a second, so when viewing the moon, we are seeing the moon as it was about 1.3 seconds ago.
Next time you look up at the stars or even the moon or sun, remember that you are looking back in time. Even light, the fastest moving thing known to us, isn't instantaneous.
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