Confirmation of Cosmic Inflation

In the late 1970's Alan Guth made a proposal: early in the history of the universe, shortly after the big bang, the universe went through a rapid and dramatic expansion. This expansion was so rapid it might be described as an "explosion" or a second big bang, though neither term is quite right. Instead this expansion was given the understated name "inflation."

Inflation caused the universe to expand faster than the speed of light. You might think this violates special relativity. But special relativity does not say that "nothing can travel faster than light" only that ordinary material objects cannot do so. It does not prevent space itself from expanding faster than the speed of light.

Up until recently inflation was purely a theoretical concept, there was no direct experiment evidence to support it. There was indirect evidence. There are observations which were not explained by the standard big bang theory. And these observations are neatly explained by inflation, but do not prove that inflation is true.

Observations made from telescopes near the south pole recently provided more direct evidence for inflation. By detecting gravitational waves from the early universe, scientists have direct evidence for the first time. See this article by Dennis Overbye in the New York Times...

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/science/space/detection-of-waves-in-space-buttresses-landmark-theory-of-big-bang.html

The size of the solar system.

Many people don't realize how spread out the solar system is. There is a lot of distance between the Earth and other objects like Venus and Mars. Here are two pages which demonstrate this in two different ways...

1) you'll need to scroll to the right to explore. You'll need a lot of scrolling to the right...
http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html

2) this should be more or less self explanatory...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE2w_JBGEwk

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