Here comes the Sun as New Zealand switches to summer time, and there is so much going on: World Space Week, the Aerospace Conference, the International Observe the Moon Day, and the 100 hours of Astronomy, all in October! In the sky, the Fishhook of Maui drags the Milky Way down from the sky, making for a fabulous horizon looking west.
This post explores the star Sirius A and its companion white dwarf, Sirius B. Discovered in 1862, Sirius B is a dense remnant of a larger star. The post discusses mass transfer between the two stars and explains the formation of white dwarfs. Sirius B’s density, surface temperature, and estimated age of 150 million years are also highlighted.
The app we use to navigate around the night sky is SkySafari 7 Pro. Developed by Simulation Curriculum Corp, this app is a great way to learn about stars, planets and deep sky objects.
In this little video we’ll show you how to find the beautiful Sombrero Galaxy. This is easy to spot and is a very distinctive looking galaxy. The galaxy is about 28 million light years away near the constellation of Corvus. We start by showing you how to find Corvus and assume you already know how to find the Southern Cross. If you don’t know how to find the Southern Cross then watch our video called “How to Find The Southern Cross”. Try this out and let us know if you found the Sombrero Galaxy.
Celestial objects have looked down on every event that has affected humanity; times of conflict or celebration, times of famine or plenty, times of disease or vitality.
This short video shows how to find the galaxy, Centaurus A, which is also known as NGC 5128. This galaxy is very bright and should be easy to spot.
A great reason to look up at the night sky is that you might see a supernova like the the one that Albert Jones spotted in 1987.
Life needs CHNOPS, the six essential elements Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, and Sulphur. Curiosity found them on ancient Mars, but a new study shows Earth was born without them. Only a lucky impact with Theia made our world habitable. In contrast, Venus never stood a chance. Meet the three planetary siblings and discover why only Earth became a cradle for life.
Mars’s mantle contains ancient fragments up to 4km wide from its formation—preserved like geological fossils from the planet’s violent early history.
Cosmic rays are hitting the atmosphere constantly. One of the products of the collisions is muons, and we can detect muons on the surface of the Earth to learn about the cosmic rays.
NGC6025 is an beautiful open cluster close to Beta Trianguli Australis in Triangulum Australe. Visible with binoculars and great in a telescope, well worth a look.
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