Space Shuttle Atlantis- NASA's Final Launch is this the End?

And so the ending of the Space Era is marked with this final flight for NASA. Could this be the end of Space exploration? I reallly and truly do not think so. My opinion on the matter is that our Country is seeing some serious economic issues and sadly our Space Exploration program costs so much, and there is really no way to make it any more inexpensive. As I mentioned I know this will change, I have faith we will still find funds, we are America, where everyone here lives the dream, of progress, building and creating! We will get over this and be sending our men and women farther than the moon!
I felt it was very important for me today to make a small appearance in my long abandoned Astronomy blog because, this subject is very important to me. I truly wish to keep actively contributing all of my knowledge to those readers who were once actively reading and contributing to the many topics I would discuss. It has been very hard for me to keep up, I have been working on my graduate degree that God willing I will complete this December.
I want to thank you all for still continuing to follow this blog and please know I promise to come in once and while and share a few tid bits here and there as I used to.

with much love, As usual Keep looking up!

-Vani

Happy Earth Day My Followers

WEll Hello my fellow Star gazers! This is V here it's been quite a while since I updated my spot, yet I am excited to say that today is Earth Day a very special commemorative day in which we should always continue to think of as everyday! As for our night sky we have lots of activity as we enter the early peek summer nigts. For those who were awake in the wee hours of Dawn you might of been able to see The Lyrid meteor shower ! How does this happen? Earth passes through a stream of debris from Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1). The best time to look at this is during the hours before dawn on Thursday morning. Forecasters expected as many as 20 meteors per hour! Tonight try it again there has been said that the remains can still be seen in wee hours of the morning in an area with the least light pollution. Also I am very excited to say that NASA has launched an amazing Sun observatory called First Light for the Solar Dynamics Observatory! CHeck it out at the nasa website or just click my post title and it should direct you to there! Thanks so much for staying faithful for almost a year now! I love your support!
Happy Earth Day and Remember......KEEP LOOKIN UP!


happy days
Vani

Updates

Greetings star gazers how are you all?
It has been quite a while since my last post and a lot has happened since then.
First I would like to know how was national astronomy day for you? If you have any pictures please feel free to post any as you wish. I have been extremely fortunate to have been accepted into my planetarium here as a volunteer intern. I have been doin this since last month and I really have been a bit busy with school, my part time job at a library and of course the daily routine. At this internship I have been learning how to use telescopes that are bigger than myself and in the process of it I have made good friends. If it wasn't for writing about these events happening in our skies today I wouldn't of gone for this opportunity or at least i didn't know it existed until I did some research and here I am.
Now as for updates let me tell you the moon has been in its first quarter this past weekend it has been looking gorgeous, and Saturn let me tell you it is looking great right now as well.
How you find it?
That's simple in the constellation of Leo there are three stars one of them being Regulus right next to it is Saturn to make it a bit much simpler find the moon to the left of the moon or the right depending on your direction adjacent to it will be three stars that form a right triangle the brightest looking one that doesn't shimmer is Saturn.
More updates will come as for now I am having a great time and happy to still see that you followers are still with me.

as Mr. Horkheimer always says "keep looking up" and till next time's update.

Events Events Events!

Good Morning Star Gazers have I got a treat for you all!
April and May happened to be approaching and the series of Astronomy events that will be taking place are endless. For starters we have:

Thu, 4/2/2009

100 hours of Astronomy

Taking place in:
Blue Back Square
Memorial Road
West Hartford, New England, CT 06107
United States

Times
7:30 - 9:30 pm

Admission Fees
There is no pre-registration or cost for this event.

What is there to do?
Drop by the plaza between Barnes & Noble and the Noah Webster Public Library in Blue Back Square on the evening of April 2. Join thousands of people around the world as we all look through telescopes as Galileo did 400 years ago.

Want more information? Visit this website:
http://www.thechildrensmuseumct.org/index.asp

Fri, 4/17/2009

Astronomy and Owl Prowl

Location
Roaring Brook Nature Center
70 Gracey Road
Canton, New England, CT 06107
United States

Times
7:30 - 9:30 pm
Admission Fees
$8/person for Nature Center/ TCM Members, $10/ person for non-members.
To register, call 860.231.2830 x44 or e-mail

What is there to do?
Join staff from the Travelers Science Dome at the Gengras Planetarium for a look at the spring sky. Following a brief discussion and astronomy project in the Nature Center auditorium, Nature Center staff will conduct a walk through the woods to open fields where we'll use telescopes to observe the heavens. As an added bonus, you will be looking and listening for owls along the way, as well as discussing the nesting habits of the Barred Owls that often breed in that part of the woods.

Thu, 4/23/2009 - Sun, 4/26/2009

Georgia Sky View - A Stellar Event

Location
Indian Springs State Park - Camp McIntosh
678 Lake Clark Road
Flovilla, GA 30216
United States

Admission Fees
$45.00 per person registration (a little expensive but worth it)

Whats there to do?

The Flint River Astronomy Club will host its fifth annual Star Party on April 23rd, 24th,25th, and 26th - 2009
Camp McIntosh - Indian Springs Park
(near Jackson, GA)

Saturday April 25

Times: 6:00-11:00 Pm

The Dark Sky Festival at Harmony

Location

3500 Harmony Square Drive West
Harmony, FL 34773

Whats there to see?

This is a special event its rather close to me and I will be attending:)
as for whats to see well lets just put it this way this location was featured as a cover story in the National Geographic of November 2008 http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/light-pollution/klinkenborg-text for being one of the least light polluted cities in all of the Unites States. Now I encourage every one in my area to go it will be amazing, from interacting with the pros to viewing all sorts of cosmic images. The crowd is family oriented so bring grandma, grandpa, kids, aunts, uncles its for every generation.




Lastly I would like to mention a reminder to everyone please Note in your calendars that National Astronomy Day is Saturday May 2,2009!

Well that's it for now thanks for following and as I always say
Keep looking up!

Unprepared for Asteroid Attack!

“Plans are being drawn up but we are still years away from technology testing space missions whose goal is to alter trajectories of Earth devastating asteroids.” www.space.com

Are we ready for an asteroid attack? Apparently not,
Yet the International Space station is on watch for any threats headed our way.

It is an imminent threat that asteroids will fall on the Earth's surface at one point or the other.
Whats' worse is how will we overcome its effects?

I for one don’t know much about an asteroid's makeup none the less its effects.
Its obvious that asteroids keep getting closer than we thought they would and I’m extremely worried after having watched this video.

http://www.space.com/common/media/video/player.php?videoRef=SP_090129_asteroid

If there’s anything that is happening now in our skies this is something I'm definitely keeping my eye on.
I think we need to think a little bit more on what we can do to prevent chaos!

Here are my questions to you the followers:

What do you think could possibly be done?
Does the U.S have a plan?
Will we be able to find ways of preparing now just in case something like this happens?
Will you be digging an underground shelter tonight? I know I might.

Let me know.. and feel free to post what’s on your mind on this topic.
And remember keep lookin up!





You might want to check out these videos too.

Venus is whats' to see!

Hello there Stargazers!

Today’s post will be dedicated to a follower of this blog that goes by alias of cheezypoofs182.
He had a question that dealt with what to expect from the western skies within the next week.
After research on various astronomy sites I found out that Venus was under a spotlight!

For those who don’t know much about Venus it is known as the Evening and Morning star.
“Venus, shrouded in cloud, is the
Brightest of the planets in our sky,
But she reveals her secrets reluctantly.”
-Levy

The Facts:
Venus is covered by clouds of water vapor and sulfuric acid so dense that we cannot see its surface without the use of advanced radar systems like the NASA’s Magellan spacecraft.
It also undergoes phases much like the moon because; its orbits are so close to the Sun’s than the Earth’s.
This time of year will be the time where the planet will be at it’s brightest particularly closer towards the western skies showing only a large thin crescent.

Why does this happen?
Because Venus will be closer to Earth.

Now what to look for?

Venus can be seen high in the west after sunset shining at magnitude -4.5 so can hardly be missed! Venus will be seen lower in the sky week by week and by the 20th will start to become hard to spot in the glare of the Sun. It will lie between us and the Sun (called inferior conjunction) on March 27th so will be invisible for some time before reappearing in the pre-dawn sky around the 5th of April.

For more details on where I obtained all of these updates just check out http://www.astronomy.com/ your number one resource on whats happenin in your night sky! Also I discovered this great feature they have called StarDome http://www.astronomy.com/asy/stardome/default.aspx which shows you what to expect near by.

That’s all for now, I do encourage your feedback and additional comments on all the happenings that I may have failed to mention, or if you want to know more about your skies just let me know where you may be by and I will be sure to make a post in your honor!
Thanks once again for your input cheezypoofs and to all my followers may you have a great evening and remember keep looking up!

SATURN SIGHTINGS

SATURN SIGHTINGS at it's brightest

Good evening my fellow stargazers today is a special kind of Sunday!

Saturn is out to make a star studded appearance on our planet Earth and all you would need to do is look towards the western horizon.

This is the best time to observe a planet because:
• It is visible almost all night.
• Its orbit brings it closest to the Earth, making it appear bigger and brighter.

Clearly Saturn will be in it’s opposition a term used in positional astronomy and astrology to indicate when one celestial body is on the opposite side of the sky and once it is viewed from Earth , the planet’s longitude will differ by exactly 180 degrees.

After 15 years, tonight Saturn will be appearing to us, “edge up” meaning its rings will not be visible.

Instead a few faint lines will cross over Saturn allowing us to see its moons much clearer.

For avid stargazers you will be able to use your telescopes to spot the brightest of Saturn’s moons, Titan, which happens to be, 3200 mile wide.

Till next time this is latest in what’s going on in our skies, if you spot Saturn let me know. If you have pictures of your findings even better! Feel free to submit any if possible.

As Mr. Horkheimer always says “keep looking up”.