Category Archives: Astronomy News

Astronomy News

Clear Sky for Monday’s Eclipse

 Yes! Clear sky and mild temperature for viewing the eclipse.

How to view the eclipse in the Montreal area

Download the app: Developed by Quebec Federation of Amateur Astronomers (FAAQ), this app will give you information related to where you are standing. Also, it is good for years to come. While we won’t see another eclipse in Montreal in our lifetimes, they are fairly common and who knows? You might catch the bug and start chasing shadows. https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-app-helps-amateur-astronomers-watch-the-eclipse-1.6834789

There are two major hubs of activity for viewers in the Montreal area if you are ok with crowds.

Parc Jean-Dapeau  : Plan to get there early, the Metro is expected to be crowded. Free eclipse glasses will be distributed to the first 150 000 arrivals.

Montreal Science Centre :The Science Centre in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil will distribute 20,000 free pairs of eclipse glasses.

Watch to music: The OSM has a playlist on Spotify.  Click start right at 2:14 for best listening experience!

There is a small margin of error in the maps along the edges of the path of totality. Try to be closer to the centre, you wouldn’t want to miss this event by being a block too far away! If you are willing to travel, the best viewing, ie longest duration of totality, will be in the Eastern Townships.

Timing for the total solar eclipse in Montreal:

  • Eclipse begins: 2:14 p.m.
  • Total solar eclipse: 3:27 p.m.
  • Eclipse ends: 4:36 p.m.

What to watch for:

  • Just before totality, you may see ripples of light on the ground.These are the “shadow bands”.
  • Plants that close in the dark, such at the prayer plant or dandelions if any are out yet.
  • Pets may react strangely.(or they may be reacting to our strange behaviour!)
  • Colours, especially reds and blues, may look darker or brighter.
  • A drop in temperature
  • For a bit of fun, use a colander to view multiple little eclipses on the ground or project them onto a wall.
  • Shadows will appear sharper.
  • 360 degree sunset
  • Brightest stars, as well as Jupiter and Venus. Venus will be the brighter one.

Keep your glasses! The sun is approaching maximum, there are often sunspots you can see with your eclipse glasses. Just make sure to keep them in pristine condition and always check for scratches or pinholes.

Astronomy News, Space Travel / Exploration

Elon Musk’s Starship goes ‘farther than ever’

 SpaceX launches Starship for the third time.

By Jonathan Amos,Science correspondent, BBC
US company SpaceX’s Starship rocket made major progress in its third test flight on Thursday, completing many of its objectives.

The two-stage vehicle produced a clean getaway from its Texas launch site, to send its upper portion around the globe to a re-entry over the Indian Ocean.

Radio contact was lost towards the end but the firm said it was “incredible to see how far we got this time around”.

SpaceX boss Elon Musk was delighted with the outcome of the flight, too.

He posted on X, formerly Twitter, that “Starship will take humanity to Mars”.

 Huge crowds had gathered on nearby beaches to watch the launch

When the 120m-tall (395ft) vehicle launched in April and November last year, it blew apart not long into the missions.

Mr Musk was looking for significant improvement from his SpaceX team this time – and he got it.

The rocket left its launch mount with a huge rumble from its 33 engines, and the vehicle then proceeded to step perfectly through all of the anticipated phases in the climb to space.

Separation of the bottom half, the booster, from the top half, the Ship, occurred right on cue, two minutes and 44 seconds into the flight.

The ship then powered on, crossing the Atlantic and southern Africa.

Video cameras sent back spectacular views of Earth from more than 100 miles up.

SpaceX Ship above the Earth
SpaceX The Ship was aiming for a splashdown in the Indian Ocean

Then came the task of re-entry, when the ship needed to descend to a splashdown in the ocean.

Video imagery once again captured incredible scenes as hot gases enveloped the vehicle, just before radio contact was interrupted.

Controllers reported shortly after that the Ship had been “lost”, presumably because it had broken up.

SPACEX Plasma
SPACEX The hot gases (plasma) of re-entry surrounded the ship as it came down

Not every milestone was ticked off. It was hoped the booster after separation might have been able to power its way back to a controlled drop into the sea just off the Texas coast. It got close but it looked as though the vehicle came in way too fast and was lost before hitting the water.

The Ship, too, was expected to re-ignite an engine to initiate the re-entry, but this was skipped for a reason not immediately apparent.

READ MORE  Video, photos

 

Astronomy News

A SPIRAL COMET

Space Weather News for March 12, 2024
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

A SPIRAL COMET: Astronomers are monitoring Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks as it approaches the sun for a close encounter in April. Several amateurs have noticed something strange about the comet’s core: It’s a spiral. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

Solar flare alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive instant text messages when strong solar flares are underway
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Above: The spiral core of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks photographed by Jan Erik Vallestad of Sunnfjord, Norway

Astronomy News

TWO MAJOR SOLAR FLARES

TWO MAJOR SOLAR FLARES
Space Weather News for Feb. 22, 2024
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com
Giant sunspot AR3590 just unleashed two major X-class solar flares. The double blast approximately coincided with a widely-reported outage of cell phone service; however, experts agree that the flares were probably not responsible. More flares are in the offing. The sunspot has an unstable ‘delta-class’ magnetic field, and it is turning toward Earth. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.
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Above: An X1.8-class solar flare on Feb. 21st (2307 UT) observed at multiple wavelengths by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Astronomy News

SOLAR ECLIPSE COMET

Space Weather News for Feb. 21, 2024
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

SOLAR ECLIPSE COMET: A comet is approaching the sun for a rare appearance during this April’s total solar eclipse. Cryovolcanic comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is expected to be at least faintly visible inside the Moon’s shadow with a more dramatic display possible if one of its ice geysers erupts at the right moment. Full story & sky maps @ Spaceweather.com.

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Above: Venus, Jupiter and possibly Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will be visible during this April’s total solar eclipse

 

 

Astronomy News

Possible auroras down to northern-tier US States.

Never fails, these storms hit just when we have cloudy skies. But in case we get a clearing, watch for auroras around 13th, 14th. Also, if you have solar observing glasses such as the ones MonSFFA was given by the RASC MOntreal Centre at the January meeting, keep an eye on the sun anytime it peeks through the clouds. Lots of visible sunspots!
Space Weather News for Feb 12, 2024
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: A forecast model from NOAA shows multiple CMEs striking Earth on Feb. 13th. Their impacts could cause G2-class (Moderate) geomagnetic storms with auroras across northern-tier US States. Also, there’s a slim chance they might combine to form a more potent “Cannibal CME.” Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

CME impact alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive instant text messages when the CMEs strike.

Above: A NOAA forecast model shows multiple CMEs en route to Earth.

 

Astronomy News

MAJOR X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE

Space Weather News for Feb. 9, 2024
https://spaceweather.com
MAJOR X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Today, the sun unleashed one of the biggest solar flares in years, a X3.4-class explosion from behind the sun’s southwestern limb. Solar protons energized by the flare are now raining down on Earth’s atmosphere, causing polar shortwave radio blackouts and other effects. The intensifying radiation storm could last for days. Follow this developing story @ Spaceweather.com.Solar flare alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive instant text messages when strong solar flares are underway
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Above: The extreme ultraviolet flash from today’s X3.4-class solar flare, recorded by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Astronomy News

Exoplanet WASP-69 b is followed by a staggeringly long tail

One hundred and sixty light-years from Earth, an exoplanet orbits the star WASP-69. Although it’s been previously studied, astronomers have just confirmed that the blazing-hot world is trailed by a 350,000-mile-long (563,270 kilometers) gaseous tail
By | Published: January 29, 2024
An artist's impression of exoplanet WASP-69 b orbiting its host star. Credit: Adam Makarenko/W. M. Keck Observatory
An artist’s impression of exoplanet WASP-69 b orbiting its host star. Credit: Adam Makarenko/W. M. Keck Observatory

WASP-69, given the formal name Wouri by the International Astronomical Union in 2019, is a K-type star somewhat like our Sun but slightly smaller. The planet with the tail, however, is much different from anything in our own solar system.

That’s because WASP-69 b, named Makombé in 2019 to match its host star (Wouri and Makombé are both rivers in Cameroon), is a hot Jupiter. This class of planet is defined by two major factors: its size similarity to our own gas giant planets and its close-in orbit around its host star.

WASP-69 b certainly fits the bill: It is about 10 percent bigger than Jupiter — though only 30 percent its mass — and orbits its star at a distance just less than five percent the distance at which the Earth orbits the Sun. This means the exoplanet is constantly scorched by stellar radiation to a degree that would make even Mercury sweat.

WASP-69 b was the subject of considerable attention in the summer of 2022 when it became one of the first targets of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

In new research published Jan. 9 in The Astrophysical Journal, a team led by astrophysicists at UCLA has revealed the planet’s atmosphere is escaping into space, creating a cometlike tail that stretches at least 350,000 miles (563,270 km).

READ MORE

Astronomy News

JWST turns up even more heavier-than-expected black holes

These young supermassive black holes weigh more relative to their host galaxies than those today, supporting an idea called heavy seeding. By | Published: January 24, 2024

In this artist's conception, a black hole (center) is contained in a small host galaxy in the distant universe (left). In the nearby universe (right), the same sized black hole would be hosted in a much bigger galaxy. Credit: CfA/Melissa Weiss
In this artist’s conception, a black hole (center) is contained in a small host galaxy in the distant universe (left). In the nearby universe (right), the same sized black hole would be hosted in a much bigger galaxy. Credit: CfA/Melissa Weiss

In the two years since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launched, astronomers are learning one thing: The early universe is a lot weirder than we thought.

JWST, which is the largest space telescope ever launched, is able to see back in time like never before thanks to a combination of its large mirrors and its sensitivity to infrared light. This means that it can see in stunning clarity objects whose light was emitted billions of years ago in the ultraviolet or visible portion of the spectrum, and has now been stretched by the universe’s expansion to longer wavelengths than optical telescopes like Hubble.

Astronomers are using it to peer back to near “cosmic dawn,” a time when the first stars and galaxies were forming. And JWST is showing that these early galaxies are different than astronomers had anticipated, in a plethora of ways: Some are settling into shapes we didn’t think were possible so early after the Big Bang. Others are unexpectedly large.

And recent research shows that even the black holes in the early universe were odd — they’re way bigger than they should be, relative to the mass of the galaxy around them. Unexpectedly, JWST is spotting mammoth black holes anchoring relatively small galaxies.

READ MOREhttps://www.astronomy.com/science/jwst-turns-up-even-more-heavier-than-expected-black-holes/