Brian Ventrudo

Algol, the “Demon Star”

September 26, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

An artist’s conception of an eclipsing binary star.

Algol, the second brightest star in the northern constellation Perseus, is the finest example of an eclipsing variable star in the entire sky. In this compact stellar system, two stars revolve around their common center of mass in a rhythmic and precise gravitational dance, and the resulting eclipse causes the brightness of the star to vary like clockwork to a degree that’s easily perceptible to the human eye. And you can watch it from your backyard. No telescope required [Read more…] about Algol, the “Demon Star”

Share This:

Dawn Sky – Crescent Moon, Mercury, Regulus, and Orion

September 14, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video

Late-summer sunrise from Bruneau Dunes State Park, Idaho.

After a cloudy night, the sky cleared as dawn arrived on a late summer morning as seen from Bruneau Dunes State Park in southern Idaho on September 8, 2018. Here you see a very slender waning crescent Moon to the upper left of the star Regulus. Mercury is at the lower middle of this image, just above the clouds. Just minutes earlier, the constellation Orion tried to peak through the early-morning clouds (see below) [Read more…] about Dawn Sky – Crescent Moon, Mercury, Regulus, and Orion

Share This:

A Speedy Little Double Star

September 6, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

An image of 70 Ophiuchi by Damian Peach.

When it comes to observing the stars and other sights beyond our solar system, there’s always something new to see. But once you see it, chances are it’s not going to chance much in the coming years. That’s because things move slowly in the cosmos, at least compared to a human lifetime.

There are, however, a few exceptions. One of the most important for astronomers is the nearby binary star called 70 Ophiuchi, a little gem in the asterism known as Taurus Poniatowski in the constellation Ophiuchus. It’s a beautiful star for casual stargazers armed with a small telescope. Serious stargazers can watch over the course of a year or two to detect the motion of the two components as they slowly revolve around each other during their 88-year period. It’s one of the few double stars that make a complete revolution within the course of a human lifetime [Read more…] about A Speedy Little Double Star

Share This:

Simulating a Supernova in an Aquarium

August 29, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

NOVAE – An aesthetic vision of a supernova from Thomas Vanz on Vimeo.

Astronomers have a reasonably good handle on what happens during a supernova, an immense stellar detonation that occurs when a massive star that’s run out of fuel collapses and explodes with the brightness of 10 billion suns . These events are relatively rare, with just one or two each year, on average, in a galaxy the size of our Milky Way. While the math and physics of a supernova explosion are reasonably well understood, it’s up to visual artists and computer-generated imagery (CGI) experts to help us visualize a supernova explosion in all its glorious violence and complexity [Read more…] about Simulating a Supernova in an Aquarium

Share This:

Lunar Sunrise, Lunar Sunset

August 24, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video

The folks at NASA Goddard in Greenbelt, MD, have put together a glorious video of an accelerated sunrise and sunset on the Moon that will reward you with some of the finest images ever taken of our nearest neighbor, and perhaps inspire you to see some of these features with your own telescope. NASA set this visualization of sunrises and sunsets on the Moon to the strains of Claude Debussy’s most famous work, Clair de Lune. Watch the whole thing. It’s a great way to spend a few minutes.

From NASA’s notes [Read more…] about Lunar Sunrise, Lunar Sunset

Share This: