astronomy

If you're like me, you tend to forget to look at the sky when interesting things are happening. Tonight there will be a total lunar eclipse that will make the moon look red for 72 minutes, and I am hoping to catch it.

To help people see the show and learn about the event, Southern Stars is releasing the latest version of its SkySafari Lite iPhone app for free through December 21. The app correctly predicts when the eclipse will happen and displays it, along with additional information.

SkySafari Lite runs on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad and … Read more

Want an eye-popping view of the heavens but don't own a high-powered telescope or live near an observatory? Try building your own reflecting telescope. San Francisco-based designer Douglas Smith did just that after taking a course, and ended up creating a 10-foot monster with great optics and portability.

Smith took a class at the Randall Museum led by amateur astronomer John Dobson, long known for popularizing low-cost reflectors made of plywood and plastic. So-called Dobsonian telescopes are Newtonian reflecting telescopes consisting of a primary light-gathering mirror at the bottom and a secondary mirror near the top that reflects light into the viewfinder.

The unique feature of Smith's f/7.1 telescope is that the secondary mirror and viewfinder--a group called the Upper Tube Assembly--normally rests on long aluminum truss tubes. But when the instrument is being transported, Smith detaches the UTA so it nests inside the lower part of the scope, the plywood mirror box. Weighing about 160 pounds, the entire package rolls on wheels and can fit into a compact pickup truck.

It took Smith about four years working off and on and roughly $2,000 to build the telescope, which he dubbed FirstLight (similar commercial telescopes might cost around $2,000 and up). He used AutoCAD software to design it and Excel to confirm the critical balance point calculations, while friends helped with automated cutting of the plywood with a ShopBot machine.

The priciest components were the focuser, the truss tubes and connectors, and the plywood. Smith saved money by making his own 16.5-inch mirror, originally a flat, 1-inch-thick porthole glass.

"Grinding and polishing your own glass saves a lot of money, but the process is also time-consuming and one has to have a lot of patience," Smith said. "I spent a lot of time correcting mistakes in the learning process. I'm glad I did it, but it was challenging." … Read more

If you live either in the central or western regions of the United States, get up early on Saturday. It'll be worth the extra effort, and you can always take a nap later.

With the exception of the East Coast, a partial lunar eclipse will be visible starting around 3:17 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, and will reach its peak about 80 minutes later. As Earth's long shadow falls across the Moon, the part in the shadow will turn dark. It will look as though a chunk were missing from the Moon.

StarDate Online has more on … Read more

Sidereal Clock is a tiny application that allows users to keep track of local mean sidereal time. The program does function appropriately, but its complete lack of other features or options may be disappointing to some users.

This program may well be the smallest and simplest program we've ever reviewed. Users can enter their time zone or have the clock detect it automatically, and users can also enter their longitude. But that's it. The clock is small, about 1 inch by 2 inches, and displays sidereal time in hours, minutes, and seconds. An online Help file gives a … Read more

Radio-Jupiter Pro helps users find the best times to listen for radio noise from Jupiter. Although the publisher's description advises that the program can help users "get started in radio astronomy," those who are beginners with this sort of thing will have to be pretty ambitious if they're going to learn to use this program.

The program's interface is dated-looking and filled with numbers and graphs that will mean absolutely nothing to the uninitiated. We decided we'd better check the Help file for guidance, and we were dismayed (and annoyed) to learn that the … Read more

AstroViewer provides users with a map to the skies over their home. This versatile tool provides a better view of celestial bodies through a simple layout that users of all skill levels will appreciate.

We got right down to business, thanks to an interface that provides a large, easy-to-read map of the sky. Its command icons provided all the direction we needed, which was fortunate because there is no Help file. We chose our city from a comprehensive list of choices and entered the time and date to get a recreation of the sky outside our home. The results were … Read more

CyberSky provides users with a planetarium right on their computer screens. With options to please newcomers and astronomers alike, this is a great, educational program.

We were instantly overwhelmed with the interface's massive collection of command icons and numbers. However, after taking a deep breath and experimenting for a few minutes, we developed a strong understanding of how everything functioned. We couldn't help but stare at the program's dominating feature, a globe-shaped view of the sky above our home. We ensured this was our night's view after choosing our town from a comprehensive list of the … Read more

This week, astronomers will be up in the early morning hours to see Perseids, a meteor shower that has historically proven to put on quite a show. This happens every August when Earth passes through debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet.

If you're an amateur astronomer or someone looking to get started with the hobby, you might be surprised to know that there are online tools to help you tonight, when you want to see Perseids, and every other night you go in the back yard and set up your telescope.

Astronomy Network Astronomy Network is a social network for astronomers. It sounds like a neat idea, but after you sign up, you quickly realize that the site has such a small community, it's tough to find value in it.

That said, Astronomy Network's forums are a great place to hang out and communicate with some of the members. If you end up making friends with some users, you can instant message each other, send direct messages, upload videos, and add images to the site. It's a full-featured social network designed specifically for amateur astronomers, but until more people join, it won't live up to its potential.

CalSky CalSky is an invaluable astronomy tool. The site provides you with a search that you can modify to find exactly what you're looking for tonight. Do you want to see the International Space Station? Are you looking for meteor streams? The site will help you find it all.

When you get to the site, it determines your location. From there, it will find all the objects you search for in the night sky on a specific day (you can search for any day of the year). The site explains each cosmic event and where to find it in the sky. When you click on one of those events, it delivers a page that provides even more information. If you're serious about astronomy, this is the site for you.… Read more

An unseen comet or possibly an icy asteroid apparently crashed into Jupiter's atmosphere near the giant planet's south pole sometime during the last few days, creating a "gargantuan" blemish easily visible from Earth.

The presumed impact, discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley July 19 and confirmed by NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, came almost 15 years to the day after multiple fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter in 1994.

"We're not sure how large this fragment could have been," Leigh Fletcher, a researcher at the Jet … Read more