Translate

18 February 2013

Suprise conjunction with the Moon, Jupiter and HIP 21517


Conjunction with the Moon, Jupiter and HIP 21517
(Click on picture to enlarge and see the supergiant HIP 21517
Left bottom of the Moon)
This Sunday we had the conjunction between our Moon and Jupiter. Many people had good weather and some of us (including me) had cloud weather. You can find many pictures of the conjunction on Space weather.

Today I manage to see the Moon and Jupiter through the thin clouds. The conjunction was great,but as I crop the picture in editing I found a "bright" star near the Moon. So this picture shows a conjunction with the Moon, Jupiter and HIP 21517 (HD 29260).

HD 29260 or HIP 21517 is a white supergiant star in the constellation Taurus. It shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 6.49. It an intrinsic variable star that varies between magntitudes 6.49 and 6.83 over a period of 3.15 days.
Sky position: RA 4h 37.2m, Dec +18° 32.4'
Common designations: HIP 21517, HD 2926


White Supergiant HIP 21517 near the Moon.
prtScn @ Stellarium














Great to be outside and take shots of the night sky. Clear skies! 

15 February 2013

Meteorite hits central Russia, more than 500 people hurt


The trail of a falling object is seen above a residential
apartment block in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk,
in this still image taken from video shot on February 15, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/OOO Spetszakaz

(Reuters) - More than 500 people were injured when a meteorite shot across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, sending fireballs crashing to Earth, shattering windows and damaging buildings.
People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow.
A fireball blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail in its wake which could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away in Yekaterinburg. Car alarms went off, windows shattered and mobile phone networks were interrupted.

"I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it was day," said Viktor Prokofiev, 36, a resident of Yekaterinburg in the Urals Mountains.
"I felt like I was blinded by headlights," he said.
No fatalities were reported but President Vladimir Putin, who was due to host Finance Ministry officials from the Group of 20 nations in Moscow, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were informed.

A local ministry official said such incidents were extremely rare and Friday's events might have been linked to an asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool due to pass Earth at a distance of 27,520 km (17,100 miles) but this was not confirmed.
Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the meteorite was travelling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second and that such events were hard to predict. The Interior Ministry said the meteorite explosion had caused a sonic boom.
Russia's Emergencies Ministry said 514 people had sought medical help, mainly for light injuries caused by flying glass, and that 112 of those were kept in hospital. Search groups were set up to look for the remains of the meteorite.
"There have never been any cases of meteorites breaking up at such a low level over Russia before," said Yuri Burenko, head of the Chelyabinsk branch of the Emergencies Ministry.
WINDOWS BREAK, FRAMES BUCKLE
Windows were shattered on Chelyabinsk's central Lenin Street and some of the frames of shop fronts buckled.
A loud noise, resembling an explosion, rang out at around 9.20 a.m. (12:20 a.m. ET). The shockwave could be felt in apartment buildings in the industrial city's center.
"I was standing at a bus stop, seeing off my girlfriend," said Andrei, a local resident who did not give his second name. "Then there was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a shockwave that smashed windows."
A wall was damaged at the Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant but a spokeswoman said there was no environmental threat.

Video of meteor falling to Earth on Friday February 15, 2013 (Live Leak video)

Although such events are rare, a meteorite is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 miles) in Siberia in 1908, smashing windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.
The Emergencies Ministry described Friday's events as a "meteor shower in the form of fireballs" and said background radiation levels were normal. It urged residents not to panic.
Chelyabinsk city authorities urged people to stay indoors unless they needed to pick up their children from schools and kindergartens. They said what sounded like a blast had been heard at an altitude of 10,000 meters (32,800 feet).
The U.S. space agency NASA has said an asteroid known as 2012 DA14, about 46 meters in diameter, would have an encounter with Earth closer than any asteroid since scientists began routinely monitoring them about 15 years ago.
Television, weather and communications satellites fly about 500 miles higher. The moon is 14 times farther away.
(Additional reporting by Natalia Shurmina in Yekaterinburg and Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow, Writing by Alexei Anishchuk and Timothy Heritage, Editing by Michael Holden)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/15/us-russia-meteorite-idUSBRE91E05Z20130215

11 February 2013

Near-Earth Asteroid brush past Earth in record close flyby on Feb. 15 2013


Asteroid 2012 DA14 Close flyby seen from Turku, Finland
Map of the sky and location of the Asteroid
Click on picture to see where is the Asteroid in your location
Asteroid 2012 DA 14 is a near-Earth Asteroid. This space rock is about 50 meters in diameter (160 ft) and an estimated mass of 180,000 metric tons.

The asteroid will pass 27,700 km (17,200 mi) from the surface of Earth. It's closest approach will be from the center-point of Earth only of 34,100 km. The 2013 passage of 2012 DA14 by Earth is a record close approach for a known object of this size.
The risk of a collision with Earth is none. Asteroid 2012 DA14 will not impact Earth.
This event gives professional and amateur astronomers a like a great chance to study this Asteroid. The chance to see how space rocks passes us real close.

Here in the South of Finland, we will be attempting to locate it and take a picture of it. We hope the weather will be on our side.
Good luck if you are chasing the Asteroid, please post some pictures and timelapses of the event.

Read a great post HERE of David Dickinson on Universe Today that tells you how to view the Asteroid.
On heavens Above you can find the Asteroid trajectory for your location HERE
Wikipedia link: Asteroid 2012 DA14