Archive for the ‘Astronomy’ Category
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 13, 2010
Watch this space indeed! Well the weather didn’t disappoint me, it was cloudy all night long so I didn’t get to see the Perseid meter shower. No problem. Comet Hartley 2 will pass to within 11.2 million miles of the Earth on Oct. 20 but I’ll have to be up early in the mornings and somewhere out in the country to see it as it will not be very bright. Of course there are other events to see like the Geminid shower on or about Dec 14 and later on the 20/21st there is a total eclipse of the Moon but whether I will see them or not doesn’t really matter there are many other things of interest in the night sky which can be seen at almost any time.
At this moment the Sun is going through a fairly active phase after a long spell of minimum activity. The Solar Cycle (about 11 years) sees the Sun going between phases of minimum to maximum activity, more sunspots, more raging storms and solar prominences with the accompanying higher levels of radiation. For the amateur, the best way to observe the Sun is by the projection method. The output from the telescope is directed on to a sheet of white paper and the Sun’s image shows up quite clearly. Sunspots are easily seen as well as other features. Absolutely no way should one view the Sun directly through a telescope or binoculars as doing so will result in instant and permanent blindness!
Today I have no work to do but we have employed E’s other nephew (the builder and brother to the guy who has done some of the other work in our front garden) to build that buttress I talked about in the rear garden. Today he is digging further to what we have already done after which he will lay the foundation (concrete) for the buttress. Unfortunately he will be going to France on Sunday to see his girlfriend and will be away for a week. It gives us time however to finish the preparations to laying the hard-core for the extension to the existing concrete area. When he returns he will build the buttress and lay the concrete. E and I have unenviable task of either burning the large amount of branches we have stored on another plot to the side of the house behind the garage or ‘mince’ them in the wood-chipping machine. Probably both methods will be used. We are having the old greenhouse brick walls demolished together with some small garden walls in this area ready for the re-building of a perimeter wall and the landscaping of that plot of land which we hope to use as a vegetable garden and adjacent screened patio area but that will be months away yet. It all makes for an interesting life. I’m going to get a beer from the fridge……………………
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, Astronomy, Garden, Life | Tagged: Astronomy, General Chat, Life | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 12, 2010
People in this country talk much about the weather, its ups and downs and all that, often with justification. Many times in the past has the weather let me down, not just me but many people. We cannot control the weather so we simply accept it and make the most of things. I have been interested in Astronomy since I was about eight years old and love going out on a dark, moonless night to just look at the sky. That of course means no clouds but therein lies the problem. Having no clouds at all in our skies is quite a rare thing in the UK. Last night, in fact over the last couple of nights the Earth has been passing through the debris left by an old comet. The earth does this several times every year although not through the same debris. This produces the well-known meteor showers we can see at different times during the year. The meteor showers themselves are usually named after the constellation of stars from which they appear to be coming from. This is purely a line-of-sight effect because the debris is in fact orbiting the sun albeit in most cases highly elliptical orbits. No doubt the other planets in the solar system experience the same thing when they pass through the debris. Last night was the turn of the ‘Persied’ shower. This particular shower has provided spectacular displays over previous years and by all accounts this years’ shower was going to be the same. This of course cannot last forever as each passage through the shower relieves it of material and we see that material burning brightly as each particle of dust and stones enters the Earths atmosphere. This is when we see the ‘shooting stars’, the long (in some cases) streaks in the sky left in their wake and to their demise. Some meteors are so large that they actually make it to the ground or into the oceans and thus become meteorites. Many places on the Earth have meteorites just lying around waiting for somebody to pick them up. Well all this is fine to know but the real thrill is seeing them light up the sky as they fly through the atmosphere. Last night I saw nothing! Oh they were there but the sky above my head was filled with dense cloud. This is typical of the UK weather. I have found over the years that here in the Uk we are not very well placed for seeing many of the sights that occur heaven-ward anyway but that combined with our notorious weather makes enjoyment of my hobby difficult. It is always the same. In order to see the beauty of the Milky Way for instance I have to travel to some remote corner of the country where there is no artificial lighting. Not impossible but just inconvenient. Perhaps I should have been outside of the country last night to watch those meteors. Maybe I will have another chance to see them tonight when the display is at its peak? Watch this space or better still go outside and have a look for yourself.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Astronomy, Weather | Tagged: Astronomy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on March 26, 2010
So now it is Spring! When I was young I remember travelling down by steam train to Edgebaston, Birmingham to visit my grandmother with my mother. It was late November, just after my birthday (21 Nov) and the snow was quite deep everywhere. Yes, November. In later years I noticed the snow didn’t arrive until December but there was nearly always snow at Christmas. Later again it gradually stopped snowing at Christmas and we only saw snow in January and February and in some places March too, early March that is. Over the last few years, where I live at least, we have had very little snow over the whole of Winter. Winter is slowly getting milder but so is Summer. I have winter coats that I hardly ever wear now. It may be the effect of global warming, whether that is a natural cycle or aided by mankind. In years to come we might see a reversal. Astronomically speaking of course there is a gradual shift of the seasons caused by what is known as the ‘Precession of the Equinoxes’. We know the equinoxes fall on or around 21 March (Spring) and 23 September (Autumn). Although the precession (or gradual shifting) of the equinoxes is forward, that is they are happening later in the year, the drift is extremely slow and will take many thousands of years before they become appreciably noticeable. We also have a ‘wobbling’ Earth, like a spinning top that is beginning to slow down and this has the effect on the Earth’s axial tilt. At present the axis is orientated so that the north is almost exactly pointed to Polaris, the ‘Pole Star’. In many years to come it will be pointing elsewhere and this will have an effect on the seasons. Although these changes are happening, along with others, we have no need to worry because the changes are extremely slow. Without the seasons life on Earth would be very different from what it is now and possibly human life would be in danger of extinction, if we ever reach that point. So don’t complain because the weather is cold or wet and isn’t dry and sunny all the time, we need the seasonal changes.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Astronomy, Nature | Tagged: Nature | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 29, 2010
I was looking out of my window tonight when I saw the full Moon and just to the left, Mars shining so brightly against the dark sky. Mars is presently in ‘opposition’, that is it is in the same line (roughly speaking) as both the Moon and the Earth on the same side of the Sun. If it was exactly on the same plane, the Moon too, Mars would be eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow if it was closer to us. As it happens that could never be as it never gets closer than about 35 million miles. At this time it is about 62 million miles away but still at it’s closest at this present time. It depends on where the Earth and Mars are in their respective orbits when opposition happens. I have always been keen on astronomy so the subject fascinates me. Seeing the heavens on a clear night in Winter is something special. The air is crisp, dry and cold so visibility is excellent. Objects in the telescope or binoculars don’t jump about as they do when the air is warm. What is extra special is the beauty of it all, creation. I am a firm believer in God the creator, our Father in Heaven and I am awestruck at His creation. Whatever you may think, it is still a beautiful sight to behold and it makes me realise at least just how small we are in the scheme of things. Not in God’s eyes though for to Him we are very much more important.
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Posted in Astronomy, Religion | Tagged: Religion | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on April 23, 2009
I am not sure whether most people are aware of the forthcoming visits of Apophis to Earth in the years 2029 and 2036, Apophis is an asteroid and is one of several that have or will come into a relatively close encounter with us. ‘Relatively’ here means 45,000 miles. That is very close indeed and would only take a small shift in it’s solar orbit to actually hit us. One hundred years ago (8 June 1908) in Tungusta, Russia there occured vast devastation over a forrested area in which thousands of trees were felled by what was probably an asteroid colliding with the Earth. Apophis is reckoned to be much larger than that object. If it did collide with us there would be devastation on a huge scale. Many lives would be lost even by those in places remote from the collision. We all know the story, the theory that is of how the dinosaurs became extinct. It may have been caused by such an object, although that one was possibly far larger than Apophis. The thing is, the asteroid does not necessarily have to be very large to be destructive on a large scale. The elder amongst us may not worry about such things but for others the danger is going to be very real.
There are tentative plans to attempt to deflect such objects should they be in orbits which come dangerously too close for comfort. However, politicians being what they are, even now are dragging their heels over this one. Let’s hope some action is decided upon before it is too late!
Shirley Anne x
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Posted in Astronomy, Information | Tagged: Information | 6 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on March 30, 2009
I was looking at some pictures of Galaxies yesterday, beautiful things to see. Our planet and the sun around which it and all the other planets here orbit are all themselves in orbit around our own galaxy, The Milky Way. When I say orbit around, I really mean orbit within. One orbit would take us many billions of years. The whole galaxy, as with other galaxies is composed of stars and planets in orbit. There are thousands of millions of them! Looking at one particular galaxy it was stated that is was at a distance of 3,800 light years away, pretty close in the scheme of things. I couldn’t get my head around this distance. Light travels 186,000 miles in one second. Think how far light then travels in one year! Now multiply that by 3,800 and you begin to understand just how far away this object is! Now then, I realised I was looking at a picture of something as it looked 3,800 years ago. I was looking into the past. If it was to disappear from exsistence it would take another 3,800 years before I would notice! Now this galaxy is by no means far away relatively speaking. There are galaxies much, much further away from us. The strange thing is that the further away the galaxy is from us the faster it is receding from us too. There are even galaxies so far away we shall never be able to see them because they seem to be travelling at almost the speed of light in the opposite direction. Space is indeed a very, very large place and we are just a tiny speck in the whole set-up. Sobering thought!
Shirley Anne x
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