John Dobson

John Dobson popularized what is now called the "Dobsonian" telescope in the 1950's. He passed away earlier today....

From the Sidewalk astronomer's web site (https://www.facebook.com/Sidewalkastro)

It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we have to report the passing of Mr John L. Dobson. He died peacefully this morning, January 15th, 2014, in Burbank, California. He was 98. John leaves behind a son, many close friends, and legions of friends, fans, and admirers around the globe.

ISAN 7 (International Sidewalk Astronomy Night) will be held in honor of John on March 8th. Amateur astronomers worldwide can join in and celebrate his life by carrying the torch that John lit back in 1968 when he co-founded the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers.

John was a friend and mentor to all who met him. He will be dearly missed.

Update on Comet ISON

Comet ISON has brightened recently. Comets can be unpredictable, so we can't know exactly how bright it will get. But it is worth taking a look.

It will pass behind the sun on November 28th, the best view is likely to be sometime between now and the 28th. If you want to view the comet the following are good resources:

• http://www.isoncampaign.org/
• http://www.isoncampaign.org/karl/did-ison-fragment
• http://isontracker.com/

On November 18, there was information about Comet ISON on spaceweather (http://spaceweather.com/).

'We may be able to watch dark energy turn on': U-M involved in unprecedented sky survey

"Through the Dark Energy Survey, which began Aug. 31, more than 200 researchers from 25 institutions, including U-M, will search for answers to a fundamental question about the cosmos: Why is its expansion speeding up?"

This is a paragraph from the University of Michigan news service article "'We may be able to watch dark energy turn on': U-M involved in unprecedented sky survey." This survey, if successful, may shed light on the nature of the mysterious dark energy.

http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/multimedia/videos/21661-we-may-be-able-to-watch-dark-energy-turn-on-u-m-involved-in-unprecedented-sky-survey

The new nova in Delphinus

In the constellation Delphinus, a bright nova was detected on August 14th. A nova is simply a star that unexpectedly gets much brighter than normal. As of August 15th it is still getting brighter.

It is easy to see in binoculars, and possible to see naked eye (under dark sky conditions).

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/Bright-Nova-in-Delphinus-219631281.html

A snow line in an infant solar system: Astronomers take first images.

This is from the University of Michigan News Service:

Published on Jul 18, 2013

ANN ARBOR—Like the elevation in the Rocky Mountains where the snow caps begin, a snow line in a solar system is the point where falling temperatures freeze and clump together water or other chemical compounds that would otherwise be vapor. Astronomers believe snow lines in space serve a vital role in forming planets because frozen moisture can help dust grains stick together. 

Astronomers have, for the first time, directly imaged a snow line at another star.

For the full article see...

http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/21595-a-snow-line-in-an-infant-solar-system-astronomers-take-first-images

Asteroid 1998 QE2 approaches the earth today (May 31, 2013)

The latest asteroid to approach the earth (1998 QE2) has its own moon.

The asteroid will be visible in an amateur telescope (except for the smallest ones), the moon will not be. The closest approach will be about 5PM Eastern Time (US/Canada) today (May 31, 2013). It will keep a healthy distance from the earth of about 6 million kilometers, so a collision will not occur.

NASA released this article yesterday....

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/30may_asteroidmoon/

Failure on Kepler spacecraft

There has been a failure on the Kepler spacecraft.

Kepler was specifically designed to look for planets in orbit around other stars (stars other than our sun) and to date has been very successful. In order to find planets, the spacecraft must be able to precisely position itself in space. There are four reaction wheels, one stopped working last year, and there has been a problem with a second one recently. With only two working reaction wheels, precise positioning is probably impossible.

If this problem can't be corrected, Kepler cannot continue to look for planets (though it wont remove the planets already found).

NASA has not given up and there are plans to attempt a repair from the ground. Kepler is far enough from the earth that a repair mission (as has been done for the Hubble Space Telescope) is not practical. It remains to be seen if these ground repairs will work.

See

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/science/space/equipment-failure-may-cut-kepler-mission-short.html?_r=0