Yes, when they found the neutrino, they could detect the direction it came from. Numbers of telescopes (from visual to X-ray) where then immediately pointed in that direction. They already knew that there was a blazar at that point, but the telescopes could see that blazar was flaring up right at that moment. Maybe a gas cloud fell into the black hole at the centre of that blazar, causing it to become more active.
By combining information from the neutrino (for example how much energy it had, which can be measured) with that of the telescopes, we can now improve our understanding of how these super-massive black holes work a bit. That's exciting, combining neutrino measurements with other observations, which we've now done for the first time.
I didn't - for financial reasons - get a 50th birthday gift and it's been a couple of years since I got a significant present. So this Christmas - now we are a little more solvent - I want a telescope. I will be able to go up to £1000 but it needs to be...
(a) Portable - I will probably use it most on the back patio which is reasonably dark, but as I live on the edge of the Peak District I will want to lob it in the car and drive ten minutes to somewhere with better all-round views and much darker.
(b) Flexible - I want to look at all of it! From the moon and planets to objects beyond our Milky Way!
(c) Easy to Maintain - If I do move it about regularly I worry that the mirror of a reflector will become dislodged and need correcting regularly, which will be a pain.
(d) Available in the UK - Speaks for itself really. I don't mind driving to somewhere to buy it within the UK but I don't want something only available in the US.
I suspect that I will be advised to spend as much - if not more - on the mount as on the scope itself, which is fair enough. But the budget will be fixed at £1000. It's like buying an electric guitar; those of us experienced will know to spend as much, if not more, on the amplifier than the guitar itself. You don't want to plug a £1200 guitar into a £100 amplifier. It won't do it justice.
My viewing is now limited to the Internet or naked eye (though my first major purchase when I started working was a telescope!) so my only suggestion would be to check with your local astronomy club. They can be very helpful.
I can't say I'm too thrilled about this dozen new moons they found around Jupiter. Some of these are half a mile across. At some point you need to ask yourself: can we still call this a moon, or is this just a piece of debris?
I hadn't heard of this. It does seem a bit extreme to be labelling them moons, but I guess they fit a definition somewhere.
As far as I can remember, if it is big enough to have strong enough gravity to be able to pull itself into a sphere, then it's a moon. Otherwise it's a satellite.
As far as I can remember, if it is big enough to have strong enough gravity to be able to pull itself into a sphere, then it's a moon. Otherwise it's a satellite.
I hadn't heard of this myself, but it sounds reasonable. A bit parallel to the definition of a planet.
BTW Two of these new Jupiter "moons" are predicted to smash into each other. At least that's nice.
Anyone in the path of theJuly 27 lunar eclipse? Longest this century, with all bodies in the right place.
Morning of July 28 for us. As an early riser I hope to see the part of it I can. Though knowing my luck I'll sleep in! Good explanation of the lunar eclipse phenomenon on that page too.
I've been enjoying the eclipse. Started watching at 04:30am and went out every 15 mins or so.
Currently [06:05] the moon is deep red, and sadly disappearing beneath the roof of a house so I'll soon miss it from my backyard. Still in my PJs so I won't wander the streets.
There is something primal [?], maybe mystical, about watching the moon slowly dim and turn red. How often we, unlike our ancestors, fail to look up and see the majesty of the vault of heaven above us.
Ditto eastern Scotland, where the clouds are gathering for the promised thunderstorms (bring it!). But otoh anything up to 11pm is, at this time of year, still daylight, so I don’t think we would have seen much impact.
I didn't - for financial reasons - get a 50th birthday gift and it's been a couple of years since I got a significant present. So this Christmas - now we are a little more solvent - I want a telescope. I will be able to go up to £1000 but it needs to be...
(a) Portable - I will probably use it most on the back patio which is reasonably dark, but as I live on the edge of the Peak District I will want to lob it in the car and drive ten minutes to somewhere with better all-round views and much darker.
(b) Flexible - I want to look at all of it! From the moon and planets to objects beyond our Milky Way!
(c) Easy to Maintain - If I do move it about regularly I worry that the mirror of a reflector will become dislodged and need correcting regularly, which will be a pain.
(d) Available in the UK - Speaks for itself really. I don't mind driving to somewhere to buy it within the UK but I don't want something only available in the US.
I suspect that I will be advised to spend as much - if not more - on the mount as on the scope itself, which is fair enough. But the budget will be fixed at £1000. It's like buying an electric guitar; those of us experienced will know to spend as much, if not more, on the amplifier than the guitar itself. You don't want to plug a £1200 guitar into a £100 amplifier. It won't do it justice.
Any suggestions?
I would recommend a Dobsonian reflector. In terms of "bang for buck" (essentially, aperture per pound) they are by far the best way to go. About 12 years ago I bought a 10-inch "Revelation" reflector and it has done me proud. In a not-particularly-dark-sky location can see many Messier objects, clusters etc. quite clearly with only a few minutes dark adaptation (obviously better the longer you wait). When I bought it it was under 400 pounds and a quick google shows it is still available around the 500 pound mark. It may not quite match your "portable" criterion unless you have a largish car since the tube is about 1.5 metres long but a smaller Dobsonian might well fit the bill. It is very quick to put on its mount though which you may find a boon.
If you want more portability and are prepared to pay a bit more then some sort of Cassegrain might be better. In this case I would probably recommend an alt-azimuth mount rather than an equatorial since it's easier to get the hang of and I assume you mainly want to look through it rather than doing astrophotography.
We didn't really get the redness - the eclipse happened before the moon had fully risen on this side of the Pond - but we got a lovely, bright full moon appearing and disappearing behind thin, quite fast-moving clouds.
I was sort of outside at the relevant time*, but heavy cloud cover and absolutely nothing on view. A noticeable slight red hue to the moon the night before, when it was clear, so I would have liked to see last night's eclipse.
* At a campfire concert that had been relocated to a partially covered venue.
New modelling suggests there are hundreds of alien exoplanets (or planets outside our solar system) out there that are dominated by water.
Since 1992 we've known of exoplanets orbiting other stars, and pondered what they might look like or offer us here on Earth.
What scientists now believe, thanks to data from the Kepler Space Telescope, is some of these may contain as much as 50 per cent water — well above Earth's 0.02 per cent by mass.
What's more, scientists think as many as a third of all known planets bigger than Earth could fit this "water world" description.
I find this stuff engaging. Fascinating. Not sure why; I'll never get there - but nice to have an image of the universe.
And just because we've had a full moon I started at as it rose for far too long last night. here's a photo on Twitter I liked.
Love the photos. When growing up I always thought travelling to distant planets would be exciting...in reality landing on asteroids fills me with just as much wonderment.
Have you ever seen Neptune? I haven't! Takes binocs or a scope, and some little skill.
But there's a conjunction (with Mars) coming up next month that should make it almost easy.
Starts With a Bang -- a favorite cosmology/physics blog -- has details.
I'm going to have to consider a purchase.
Yes, it's extremely cool. I'm in an African city right now and it took some effort to find a quiet enough space to hear this, but I managed.
I guess this was processed in some way, turning the volume up. I doubt that in the theoretical case that you could stand on Mars without a space helmet you would hear it. The atmosphere is just too thin. Still, this is the sensation that to me comes closest to actually being on Mars.
The raw audio sample from the seismometer was released unaltered; a second version was raised two octaves to be more perceptible to the human ear — especially when heard through laptop or mobile speakers. The second audio sample from APSS was sped up by a factor of 100, which shifted it up in frequency.
Comments
By combining information from the neutrino (for example how much energy it had, which can be measured) with that of the telescopes, we can now improve our understanding of how these super-massive black holes work a bit. That's exciting, combining neutrino measurements with other observations, which we've now done for the first time.
In more frivolous news, look at who is today's Google Doodle!
(a) Portable - I will probably use it most on the back patio which is reasonably dark, but as I live on the edge of the Peak District I will want to lob it in the car and drive ten minutes to somewhere with better all-round views and much darker.
(b) Flexible - I want to look at all of it! From the moon and planets to objects beyond our Milky Way!
(c) Easy to Maintain - If I do move it about regularly I worry that the mirror of a reflector will become dislodged and need correcting regularly, which will be a pain.
(d) Available in the UK - Speaks for itself really. I don't mind driving to somewhere to buy it within the UK but I don't want something only available in the US.
I suspect that I will be advised to spend as much - if not more - on the mount as on the scope itself, which is fair enough. But the budget will be fixed at £1000. It's like buying an electric guitar; those of us experienced will know to spend as much, if not more, on the amplifier than the guitar itself. You don't want to plug a £1200 guitar into a £100 amplifier. It won't do it justice.
Any suggestions?
Happy 50th!
http://maas.museum/observations/2018/07/20/the-2018-favourable-opposition-of-mars/
As far as I can remember, if it is big enough to have strong enough gravity to be able to pull itself into a sphere, then it's a moon. Otherwise it's a satellite.
BTW Two of these new Jupiter "moons" are predicted to smash into each other. At least that's nice.
These are also nice too:
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2018/07/some-of-the-most-spectacular-astronomy-images-of-2018/
Thanks Sparrow. I had thought a satellite and moon were the same. Thanks for the correction.
Anyone in the path of theJuly 27 lunar eclipse? Longest this century, with all bodies in the right place.
Morning of July 28 for us. As an early riser I hope to see the part of it I can. Though knowing my luck I'll sleep in! Good explanation of the lunar eclipse phenomenon on that page too.
I always get excited about Martian discoveries...there is something about that planet to me.
I think this Guardian article also give tips on how to see it.
Currently [06:05] the moon is deep red, and sadly disappearing beneath the roof of a house so I'll soon miss it from my backyard. Still in my PJs so I won't wander the streets.
There is something primal [?], maybe mystical, about watching the moon slowly dim and turn red. How often we, unlike our ancestors, fail to look up and see the majesty of the vault of heaven above us.
I would recommend a Dobsonian reflector. In terms of "bang for buck" (essentially, aperture per pound) they are by far the best way to go. About 12 years ago I bought a 10-inch "Revelation" reflector and it has done me proud. In a not-particularly-dark-sky location can see many Messier objects, clusters etc. quite clearly with only a few minutes dark adaptation (obviously better the longer you wait). When I bought it it was under 400 pounds and a quick google shows it is still available around the 500 pound mark. It may not quite match your "portable" criterion unless you have a largish car since the tube is about 1.5 metres long but a smaller Dobsonian might well fit the bill. It is very quick to put on its mount though which you may find a boon.
If you want more portability and are prepared to pay a bit more then some sort of Cassegrain might be better. In this case I would probably recommend an alt-azimuth mount rather than an equatorial since it's easier to get the hang of and I assume you mainly want to look through it rather than doing astrophotography.
* At a campfire concert that had been relocated to a partially covered venue.
May need to book a holiday for one of the flights. I know nothing is guaranteed, but I'd love to see a launch (relatively) close up.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45058911
Exciting mission! So close to the Sun. And so much to discover.
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And just because we've had a full moon I started at as it rose for far too long last night. here's a photo on Twitter I liked.
https://theconversation.com/new-era-of-astronomy-uncovers-clues-about-the-cosmos-100155
What an app! Well done, gentlemen.
Love the photos. When growing up I always thought travelling to distant planets would be exciting...in reality landing on asteroids fills me with just as much wonderment.
And now the wait begins...
But there's a conjunction (with Mars) coming up next month that should make it almost easy.
Starts With a Bang -- a favorite cosmology/physics blog -- has details.
I'm going to have to consider a purchase.
And China off to the dark side of the moon.
I guess this was processed in some way, turning the volume up. I doubt that in the theoretical case that you could stand on Mars without a space helmet you would hear it. The atmosphere is just too thin. Still, this is the sensation that to me comes closest to actually being on Mars.
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A long read from NASA for anyone interested...
Life and death of a planetary system.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46760729