Items Featured In TGP NOMINAL 4.8 - Yuri's Night 2018
Yuri Gagarin, The first Human In Space (April 12 1961)
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The crater named after Yuri Gagarin on the far side of the Moon
Yuri's Night:
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Space Rocks:
Ross Hockham's April Skies:
.Our atmosphere starts at around 5-9 miles high this area is called the Troposphere, and is the most dense.
Almost all weather is in this region, including all those pesky clouds we have had lately, ruining our view of the sky.
For Astronomy a lot depends on atmosphere, or atmospheric seeing as opposed to the quality of your telescope, you can have the biggest and best scope but if there’s a lot of moisture in the air, fog, mist, clouds, heat haze even frost
can make your view bad,
So really we as astronomers should move to a desert where at night its cold but dry.
But even there we are not safe, Jet streams can get in the way.
Almost all weather is in this region, including all those pesky clouds we have had lately, ruining our view of the sky.
For Astronomy a lot depends on atmosphere, or atmospheric seeing as opposed to the quality of your telescope, you can have the biggest and best scope but if there’s a lot of moisture in the air, fog, mist, clouds, heat haze even frost
can make your view bad,
So really we as astronomers should move to a desert where at night its cold but dry.
But even there we are not safe, Jet streams can get in the way.
Jet streams consist of ribbons of very strong winds that move weather systems around the globe, they are found around 5-10 miles above the surface of the Earth and can reach speeds of 200 mph. The position of a jet stream varies within the natural fluctuations of the environment, are caused by the temperature difference between tropical air masses and polar air masses and if above you can make the view very turbulent so there’s lots that can get in the way of a good nights viewing. |
31 miles high you have the Stratosphere
The ozone layer which looks after us absorbing and scattering the solar ultraviolet radiation, is in this layer.
The ozone layer which looks after us absorbing and scattering the solar ultraviolet radiation, is in this layer.
From about 30 miles above the surface to the edge of space 600 miles up is the Ionosphere
The ionosphere is an abundant layer of electrons and ionized atoms and molecules that stretches overlapping into the mesosphere and thermosphere. This dynamic region grows and shrinks based on solar conditions.
The mesosphere starts just above the stratosphere and extends 53 miles high. Meteors burn up in this layer,
and its also where Noctilucent Clouds form.
These clouds are made up of meteoritic dust particles in-cased in ice crystals.
They can be seen when sun is below the horizon
as it reflects up onto them from below they look like silver-blue wisps across the sky.
You then have the Thermosphere up to 372 miles high
The Aurora and satellites you see shooting across the sky occur in this layer caused by high-energy particles from the sun interacting with the atoms in the ionosphere layer at this level of our atmosphere.
Now, there is no definite altitude above the Earth's surface where space begins.
But the Kármán line, at an altitude of 62 miles above sea level, is conventionally used as the official start of outer space in space treaties and for aerospace record keeping.
and its also where Noctilucent Clouds form.
These clouds are made up of meteoritic dust particles in-cased in ice crystals.
They can be seen when sun is below the horizon
as it reflects up onto them from below they look like silver-blue wisps across the sky.
You then have the Thermosphere up to 372 miles high
The Aurora and satellites you see shooting across the sky occur in this layer caused by high-energy particles from the sun interacting with the atoms in the ionosphere layer at this level of our atmosphere.
Now, there is no definite altitude above the Earth's surface where space begins.
But the Kármán line, at an altitude of 62 miles above sea level, is conventionally used as the official start of outer space in space treaties and for aerospace record keeping.
Yuri Gagarin's flight lasted 108 minutes, this including the 89 minutes he was actually in space. In this time he completed one orbit of the Earth, travelling at 17,000 miles per hour roughly the same speed the ISS does as it flies over. At which, the highest point, Gagarin was 203miles above mean sea level and became the first person officially in space. |
Above this you have the Exosphere
This is the upper limit of our atmosphere. It extends from the top of the thermosphere up to 6,200 miles wide.
Which is nearly the size of the Earth itself.
After this it is called OUTER SPACE, where we then get to see all the cool stuff in our universe,
under the right atmospheric conditions,
So, what can we see this month,
Well the planets are coming…
Jupiter rises around 11pm – highest as we are passing Jupiter
Saturn rises 3am – stays quite low in the sky coming up to Saturn
Mars rises just after 3.20am – lower still.
increasing in size as we catch it up to it should get some good views of its features in the coming months.
On the 15th Jupiter is closing in be at opposition next month, Opposition means we are pretty much closest in our orbit to the planet at which time it seems its brightest, it will be up in the sky as you awake for work and look out your window whilst making a coffee, if its facing east to west.
If you’re up ridiculously early with your telescope or a steady hand and some binoculars, you will see its red spot together with the moon IO’s shadow on the planet which transits at around 4am.
17th There is a very thin crescent Moon below a bright Venus as sun sets.
Venus is high and bright all this month and is a easy spot if you have not seen Earths deadly twin yet, as it is around the same size as our planet but totally inhospitable to life due to its thick atmosphere and average temperature of 464c or gas mark 16!
Saturn rises 3am – stays quite low in the sky coming up to Saturn
Mars rises just after 3.20am – lower still.
increasing in size as we catch it up to it should get some good views of its features in the coming months.
On the 15th Jupiter is closing in be at opposition next month, Opposition means we are pretty much closest in our orbit to the planet at which time it seems its brightest, it will be up in the sky as you awake for work and look out your window whilst making a coffee, if its facing east to west.
If you’re up ridiculously early with your telescope or a steady hand and some binoculars, you will see its red spot together with the moon IO’s shadow on the planet which transits at around 4am.
17th There is a very thin crescent Moon below a bright Venus as sun sets.
Venus is high and bright all this month and is a easy spot if you have not seen Earths deadly twin yet, as it is around the same size as our planet but totally inhospitable to life due to its thick atmosphere and average temperature of 464c or gas mark 16!
On the 18th Venus is hope fully shining bright again in the evening sky,
and will be below the naked eye group of stars called the Pleiades, accompanied by a thin crescent moon
and will be below the naked eye group of stars called the Pleiades, accompanied by a thin crescent moon
Early morning on 19th Jupiter’s moon Ganymede at around 2am will move into the planets shadow, seeming to disappear then emerge again only to then slip behind the planet itself, the moon callisto is also nearby passing with it…..
On the 22nd there will be something cool to see on our moon....
The Lunar X and V the terminator or shadow that crosses the moon is just at the right place for a strange phenomena to happen, it hits a couple of craters ridges at just the right point tonight to make a X and a V appear on the moon…
you can visit The UK Astronomy website, where I will have it up as part of the Object Of The Month.
The Lunar X and V the terminator or shadow that crosses the moon is just at the right place for a strange phenomena to happen, it hits a couple of craters ridges at just the right point tonight to make a X and a V appear on the moon…
you can visit The UK Astronomy website, where I will have it up as part of the Object Of The Month.
From 22-23rd The lesser well known Lyrid meteor shower peaks these nights and radiate roughly from the bright blue star Vega in the constellation of Lyra the Harp, they only peak at around 10 an hour but the moon is out the way, so whilst you’re here hunting take a look at the ring nebula, I will add this to the object of the month visual guide on our website.
Also the Letchworth and District Astronomical Society are hosting a Meteor Watch Event for the Lyrid meteor shower.
The constellation Lyra is pretty much a diamond with the star Vega attached to the top of it.
Also the Letchworth and District Astronomical Society are hosting a Meteor Watch Event for the Lyrid meteor shower.
The constellation Lyra is pretty much a diamond with the star Vega attached to the top of it.
If you look in between the bottom two stars of the constellation furthest from Vega with binoculars or a scope you may see what looks like a ring in space with a blue green tint,
What you’re actually seeing is the death of a sun a like star, It’s called a planetary nebula because they used to think it was a ball of gas that created planets.
It was first coined this by William Herschel, who had recently discovered the planet Uranus, which has a blue-green tint, and he thought that the new objects he saw resembled the gas giant.
In a way he was right as the heavier elements in our bodies, the jewellery we wear, cars we drive were created in these stars and thrown across the galaxy upon their deaths and are now a part of us,
This dead star swelled up into a red giant, expanded out then as it burned through its fuel, it collapsed.
The outer layers were ejected in the shell of gas you can see that will last a few tens of thousands of years before spreading into the vastness of space.
If you search on the internet you can see the small core, a white dwarf, the heat and light given off illuminates the layers in the dazzling, predominantly blue-green display we can see.
What you’re actually seeing is the death of a sun a like star, It’s called a planetary nebula because they used to think it was a ball of gas that created planets.
It was first coined this by William Herschel, who had recently discovered the planet Uranus, which has a blue-green tint, and he thought that the new objects he saw resembled the gas giant.
In a way he was right as the heavier elements in our bodies, the jewellery we wear, cars we drive were created in these stars and thrown across the galaxy upon their deaths and are now a part of us,
This dead star swelled up into a red giant, expanded out then as it burned through its fuel, it collapsed.
The outer layers were ejected in the shell of gas you can see that will last a few tens of thousands of years before spreading into the vastness of space.
If you search on the internet you can see the small core, a white dwarf, the heat and light given off illuminates the layers in the dazzling, predominantly blue-green display we can see.
30th brings something for the experts, a Comet called 2016 R2 panSTARRS moves from the constellation Perseus to the constellation Auriga which was the last podcasts object of the month.
CCD (Charge Coupled Device) imagers are picking out an amazing blue ion tail being spread across the sky as the comet heads towards the star Capella although it’s quite faint to see naturally it’s a good challenge for those budding astrophotographers….
UK Astronomy have actually been donated a planetary camera for our 16” dobby, so I hope to get out these next few months and get some lessons from our resident astrophotographer Mick Scott, who was taught a thing or two by the amazing Gary Palmer….
So watch this space as I will be going from an iphone to the actual proper stuff…. Sure I will find out lots of tips and tricks along the way that I can share with you as we close in on Jupiter, Saturn and Mars…..
CCD (Charge Coupled Device) imagers are picking out an amazing blue ion tail being spread across the sky as the comet heads towards the star Capella although it’s quite faint to see naturally it’s a good challenge for those budding astrophotographers….
UK Astronomy have actually been donated a planetary camera for our 16” dobby, so I hope to get out these next few months and get some lessons from our resident astrophotographer Mick Scott, who was taught a thing or two by the amazing Gary Palmer….
So watch this space as I will be going from an iphone to the actual proper stuff…. Sure I will find out lots of tips and tricks along the way that I can share with you as we close in on Jupiter, Saturn and Mars…..
As always, feel free to email U.K Astronomy at [email protected]
Or join the UK Astronomy FaceBook Group.
Where there are over 2800 members happy to help you with any questions.
Or join the UK Astronomy FaceBook Group.
Where there are over 2800 members happy to help you with any questions.
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