Category Archives: Space participation

Astronomy, Education, Space participation

Night sky highlights for May 2023

May 1, 2023 TopSpacer

** What’s Up: May 2023 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL

What are some skywatching highlights in May 2023?

Venus reaches its highest point in the evening sky for the year, while Jupiter disappears behind the Moon for some U.S. observers. Plus, some key differences in the Southern Hemisphere’s skies compared to those of the North.

0:00 Intro
0:12 Moon & planet pairings
1:16 Venus at its highest
1:38 Skies of the Southern Hemisphere
3:48 May Moon phases

Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatch….

** Tonight’s Sky: May 2023 – Space Telescope Science Institute – Tonight’s Sky

In May, we are looking away from the crowded, dusty plane of our own galaxy toward a region where the sky is brimming with distant galaxies. Locate Virgo to find a concentration of roughly 2,000 galaxies and search for Coma Berenices to identify many more. Keep watching for space-based views of galaxies like the Sombrero Galaxy, M87, and M64.

** What to see in the night sky: May 2023 – BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Astronomers Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal the best things to see in the night sky this month, including catching Venus before it disappears, the daytime lunar occultation of Jupiter, the Moon and the tongue-twisting stars of Libra!

** Sky & Telescope’s Sky Tour Podcast – May 2023 – Sky & Telescope Youtube

Our monthly Sky Tour #astronomy #podcast provides an informative and entertaining 10-minute guided tour of the nighttime sky. Listen to the May episode and look for tiny bits of #halleyscomet; watch the #Moon cover up #Jupiter; track down a couple of evening #planets; and take stock of bright #stars in the late-spring sky.

See also

** Night Sky Notebook May 2023 – Peter Detterline

Find out what’s happening in the sky when you look up in May 2023.

** What’s in the Night Sky May 2023 #WITNS Lunar Eclipse | Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower | Manhattanhenge – Alyn Wallace

00:00 Intro
00:32 Lunar Eclipse
02:39 Eta Aquariids
03:41 Noctilucent Clouds
04:40 Milky Way
06:07 Moon and Planets
07:45 Manhattanhenge
08:38 WITNS Winners

** See also:

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Celestron
70mm Travel Scope
Portable Refractor Telescope
Fully-Coated Glass Optics
Ideal Telescope for Beginners
BONUS Astronomy Software Package

Stellaris: People of the Stars

Astronomy, Education, Space participation

Night sky highlights for April 2023

April 1, 2023 TopSpacer

** What’s Up: April 2023 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL

Mercury reaches its highest in the evening sky for the year for Northern Hemisphere observers. The Moon makes its monthly rounds to pair up beautifully with several planets. And viewing conditions may be ideal for the annual Lyrid meteor shower, thanks to no interference from the Moon.

0:00 Intro
0:11 Mercury
1:11 Moon & planet highlights
2:43 Lyrid meteor shower
4:08 April Moon phases

** Tonight’s Sky: April 2023 – Space Telescope Science Institute – Tonight’s Sky

Clear April nights are filled with starry creatures. Near the Big Dipper, you will find several interesting binary stars. You can also spot galaxies like the Pinwheel Galaxy, M82, and M96—the last of which is an asymmetric galaxy that may have been gravitationally disrupted by encounters with its neighbors. Keep watching for space-based views of these celestial objects.

… “Tonight’s Sky” is a monthly video of constellations you can observe in the night sky. The series is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA’s Universe of Learning. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes—and other astronomy videos—at https://hubblesite.org/resource-galle….

** What to see in the night sky: April 2023 – BBC Sky at Night Magazine

What’s in the night sky tonight? Astronomers Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through April’s night-sky highlights, including Mercury’s favourable position in the evening sky, a wonderful encounter between Venus and the Pleiades, Mars in Gemini and the Lyrid meteor shower.

** Sky & Telescope’s Sky Tour Podcast – April 2023 – Sky & Telescope Youtube

Our monthly Sky Tour #astronomy #podcast provides an informative and entertaining 10-minute guided tour of the nighttime sky. Listen to the April episode and follow the #Moon around the sky; spot #Venus and #Mercury soon after #sunset; track down a hunter, a lion, a bear, a snake, and a crow; and watch for the #Lyrids, a modest meteor shower toward month’s end.

See also

** What’s in the Night Sky April 2023 – Hybrid Solar Eclipse | Lyrid Meteor Shower – Alyn Wallace

00:00 Intro
00:24 Pink Paschal Moon
01:14 Milky Way
02:26 Mercury Elongation
03:33 Venus and Pleiades
04:12 Mars
04:29 Saturn
04:40 Hybrid Solar Eclipse
05:45 Lyrid Meteor Shower
07:03 Summary
07:14 WITNS Winners

** Night Sky Notebook April 2023 – Peter Detterline

Find out what’s happening in the sky when you look up in April 2023.

** See also:

=== Amazon Ads ===

Celestron
70mm Travel Scope
Portable Refractor Telescope
Fully-Coated Glass Optics
Ideal Telescope for Beginners
BONUS Astronomy Software Package

Stellaris: People of the Stars

Astronomy, Education, Space participation

Night sky highlights for March 2023

March 3, 2023 TopSpacer

** What’s Up: March 2023 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL

What are some skywatching highlights in March 2023?

Following their close approach in the sky on March 1, Venus and Jupiter go their separate ways. Venus climbs higher each evening, while Jupiter exists the morning sky at month’s end. And those with binoculars of a small telescope can seek out dwarf planet Ceres, which is at its brightest this month.

0:00 Intro
0:13 Moon & planet highlights
0:59 Dwarf planet Ceres at opposition
3:20 March Moon phases

** Tonight’s Sky: March 2023 – Space Telescope Science Institute – Tonight’s Sky

In March, the stars of spring lie eastward: Look for the constellations Gemini and Cancer to spot interesting celestial features like star clusters M35 and the Beehive Cluster, and NGC 3923, an oblong elliptical galaxy with an interesting ripple pattern. Keep watching for space-based views of the galaxies.

** What to see in the night sky: March 2023 – BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Astronomers Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal their pick of March’s night-sky highlights, including the 1st March Venus and Jupiter conjunction, dwarf planet Ceres at opposition, conjunctions with the Moon, and stars Castor and Pollux.

** Sky & Telescope’s Sky Tour Podcast – March 2023 – Sky & Telescope Youtube

Our monthly Sky Tour #astronomy #podcast provides an informative and entertaining 10-minute guided tour of the nighttime sky. Listen to the March episode and mark the #equinox, watch a spectacular pairing of #Jupiter and #Venus, spent some time with #Orion, and learn what #Sirius has to do with hot #summers.

Listen and subscribe to this podcast at https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/ and don’t forget to subscribe to S&T’s YouTube channel to get alerts about new videos, including this monthly podcast.

See also

** What’s in the Night Sky March 2023 – Ramadan Moon | Venus-Jupiter Conjunction – Alyn Wallace

00:00 Intro
00:47 Venus-Jupiter Conjunction
01:56 Orion and friends
02:53 Milky Way core
04:21 Ramadan Moon
05:08 Full Moon
05:19 Equinox
05:52 Zodiacal Light
07:32 WITNS Winners

** Night Sky Notebook March 2023 – Peter Detterline

** See also:

=== Amazon Ads ===

Celestron
70mm Travel Scope
Portable Refractor Telescope
Fully-Coated Glass Optics
Ideal Telescope for Beginners
BONUS Astronomy Software Package

Stellaris: People of the Stars

Space Arts, Space Music, Space participation

Space music roundup – Feb.22.2023

February 22, 2023 TopSpacer

Here are some space music related items:

** Julia Westlin and David MeShow do a nice acapella cover of TALK’s Run Away To Mars (Listen to the TALK version in the previous Space Music posting):

**Space Song (Lyrics) – Beach House – Vibe Music – YouTube

** An anthology of lyrics to Filk songs has been created by Chris Weber and is available as an e-Book, in paperback, and in hardback at Sentient Chili and Stranger Filk: Lyrics to 107 Songs of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Fandom eBook : Weber, Chris: Kindle Store/Amazon [commission link].

** Hole in Space — the mother of all video chats – CIS 471: A story about early satellite-enabled global music and art events:

New technology enables new art forms and artists Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz (K&S) began working with geostationary satellite links in 1977. Their first work was an experiment in remote dance and music. Video of dancers at The Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and an educational television center in California was transmitted to a central control studio where a composite was formed and sent back to monitors the dancers could see.

Night sky highlights for February 2023

February 3, 2023 TopSpacer

** What’s Up: February 2023 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL

What are some skywatching highlights in February 2023?
See Jupiter and Venus appear nearer each night, as they head for a close conjunction at the start of March. Use bright stars Capella and Elnath to identify the constellation Auriga, and then find your way to two distant star clusters using Sirius as a guidepost.

0:00 Intro
0:12 Moon & planet highlights
0:47 The constellation Auriga
1:52 Easy-to-find star clusters
3:10 February Moon phases

** Tonight’s Sky: February 2023 – Space Telescope Science Institute – Tonight’s Sky

In February, the Winter Triangle is your guide to the night sky: The northern hemisphere is treated to views of the stars Procyon, Sirius, and Betelgeuse. Keep watching for the awe-inspiring space-based views of the Orion Nebula, which is sculpted by the stellar winds of central bright stars.

** What to see in the night sky: February 2023 – BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal the best things to see in the night sky this month, including Mercury, Venus, Comet C/2022 E3, Orion, Gemini and the Moon.

** Sky & Telescope’s Sky Tour Podcast – February 2023 – Sky & Telescope Youtube

Our monthly Sky Tour #astronomy #podcast provides an informative and entertaining 10-minute guided tour of the nighttime sky. Listen to the February episode and explore the #Moon’s phases, watch three #planets in the evening sky, take stock of winter’s brightest #stars, and track down two lesser-known #constellations.

See also

** Night Sky Notebook February 2023 – Peter Detterline

** The Night Sky February 2023 | What To Photograph In N. Hemisphere – AstroFarsography – YouTube

The Night Sky February 2023 is here and we begin saying farewell to our emission nebulae as galaxy season begins to rear its head.

The Night Sky is a curated list of deep sky targets, planets and other events that happen in our night skies during February in the Northern Hemisphere.

All targets are split into focal length ranges and are based off of a full frame camera sensor. However equivalent focal lengths are provided.

To use equivalent sizes is simple. Find the camera you’re using and see what focal length I’ve supplied. This is the focal length of telescope you need to match the example I’ve suggested.

All planets are from my latitude in the United Kingdom of about 52° North and I only include them if they rise above 20° altitude for a decent amount of time during the month. So depending on how high or low you are will vary your seeing conditions!

Clear skies everyone, keep looking up and keep them cameras clicking.