AURORA BOREALIS ALERT FOR THIS WEEK

© iStockphoto / Roman Krochuk

Hello everyone!

According to spaceweather.com the Sun is experiencing a massive geomagnetic storm.
This means we will be able to see Auroras clearly in the sky.
Tonight is a great night to go outside and look for Auroras Borealis, even in your city parks, street corners or a little darker place if you can find one. Take your camera with you, it can make a nice souvenir of the event!
So get out this evening  and enjoy the view!
Wiki-info: Auroras

Tapani Isomäki
Kustavi, Finland

Final words on UARS satellite: ???

Upper Atmosphere research satellite (UARS)

Here are the final words on the Upper atmosphere research satellite re-entry from Nasa: I give you the link, you can go and read it on their pages it is more convenient like that.
NASA UARS page --->

For my part, I was looking forward for videos and photos of the event, but apparently nothing was captured on tape...
This event turned up to be a mystery, conspiracy claim and had a ambiguous end. I guess we will never know!!!!

Here is a video I found on YT, it looks pretty cool! dont know if it is authentic, but it look amazing!!! Enjoy!

Tapani Isomäki
Kustavi, Finland

First video of the UARS satellite Re-entry HOAX or REAL!!???!!

Here you have it folks!

The first video of the UARS satellite falling into the atmosphere.

Is it a HOAX or is it REAL??!!??
In the video the guy says it is september 22th and we all know that the satellite dropped in the night of the 23-24th of september...
Also this video is suppose to be in Canada, but the guy says his in Oklahoma city...??!!??
So you can be the judge of it.
Me I like it, and we will have more informations along the day, so stay tuned!!!

Tapani Isomäki
Kustavi, Finland

Latest Updates on the UARS satellite Re-entry

Hours Remain Before the UARS Satellite Comes Crashing Down...

Here is a animation made by Analytical Graphics, Inc. that shows how the satellite will break down in the atmosphere.

 

The last updates of the falling satellite according to NASA: "As of 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 100 miles by 105 miles (160 km by 170 km). Re-entry is expected late Friday, Sept. 23, or early Saturday, Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time. Solar activity is no longer the major factor in the satellite’s rate of descent. The satellite’s orientation or configuration apparently has changed, and that is now slowing its descent. There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States, but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 12 to 18 hours.".

Here is a site where i found a nice and simple tracking system of the UARS satellite.

Go and check it out --> Traking site

For my part I am following the updates on the internet and many sites that i visited are down due to a large trafic of the sites. People are interested and it shows.
My camera is ready, but who knows where the satellite will fall. I hope it will be in our skies just to have a nice picture of the fiering fire ball. Lets see!  
 
Tapani Isomäki
Kustavi, Finland

Re-entry of Huge satellite to burn up in meteor-like fashion.

UARS Satellite  (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite)

Watch out, RE-ENTRY!

On September 7, 2011, NASA announced the impending uncontrolled re-entry of UARS and noted that there is a small risk to the public.

As of September 21, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 195 km (121 mi) by 210 km (130 mi). Re-entry is projected for 23 September 2011. Some debris may survive to reach the surface.

NASA has now refined its prediction for when this bus-sized satellite will fall to Earth. The 20-year-old defunct satellite now has a predicted re-entry Time of about 20:36 UTC on September 23, 2011, plus or minus 20 hours, according the the UARS Reentry Twitter feed.
So have a camera/video camera at hand and hope it passes by your skies!
Source: wikipedia

Tapani Isomäki
Kustavi, Finland

The OUTER SPACE series: Top 75 Spaceships in sci fi TV series and movies

Credit: denofgeek.com

In the OUTER SPACE series this week:

SPACESHIPS!
This week we have a list of spaceships from several sci fi tv series and movies. A list of Top 75 spaceships presented by denofgeek.com.

Surely there are spaceships missing in this list, but we can still enjoy the ones presented.
Here is the link to the spaceships -->

Leave a comment of your favorite(s) spaceship(s) or include a missing spaceship to the list.

Tapani Isomäki
Kustavi, Finland

More than easy Time Lapse animation with Gimp!

Click on image to view the animation

Hello everybody!

A friend of mine came to look at the stars with me on Saturday, I told him about a Time Lapse project I wanted to do with the passage of comet Garradd in the night sky and he immediately showed me how to do it with GIMP. 
This morning I went through my old astrophotos and stumbled across pictures of the partial solar eclipse that I had taken (Jan 4 2011). I decided I would do a Time Lapse of the eclipse.
So here it is an animation of the eclipse made on Gimp. The simplicity of making this animation was stunning, I was genuinely surprised at how simple it was.

Here is a link to the a tutorial on Timelapse processing with Gimp. HERE

About Astronomy Club Toutatis

THE OUTER SPACE series: Ancient astronauts

in the OUTER SPACE series this week:

Ancient astronaut theories!
Surfing on the internet can get exausting. Reading real hard reading about astronomy and related topics about space can be hard.
Sometimes it's good to let go and enjoy something a litle bit more "light".
So here is this week enjoyement!



Wiki info: Ancient astronaut

Tapani Isomäki
Kustavi, Finland