Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

Brian Ventrudo

No Signal from “Alien Megastructure” Around Star

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

An artist's conception of a disk of dust around a distant star which could periodically block or attenuate its light for external observers (credit: NASA)
An artist’s conception of a disk of dust around a distant star which could periodically block or attenuate its light for external observers (credit: NASA)

Using the Allen Telescope Array, astronomers at the SETI institute have examined the star KIC 8462852 for signs of extraterrestrial communications. So far they have come up empty. But astronomers around the world continue to examine this curious star which appears to decrease in apparent brightness by up to 20% for a period of 5 days to 80 days. Some have suggested– seriously– that the timing and magnitude of the brightness drop might be caused by a massive alien megastructure that surrounds the star [Read more…] about No Signal from “Alien Megastructure” Around Star

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Book Excerpt: The Armchair Astronomer, Volume 1

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The “Heart Nebula” show the reddish glow of hydrogen atoms energized by bright stars that form inside this emission nebula. Lanes and patches of dark nebulae are also visible in the foreground of this star-forming region of the Milky Way.
The “Heart Nebula” show the reddish glow of hydrogen atoms energized by bright stars that form inside this emission nebula. Lanes and patches of dark nebulae are also visible in the foreground of this star-forming region of the Milky Way (Image by Terry Hancock).

(Today’s article is an excerpt of the book The Armchair Astronomer, Volume 1. It’s available from Cosmic Pursuits in multiple formats at this link).

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When 18th-century composer William Herschel grew restless with his life as a professional musician, he turned to the new science of astronomy for inspiration and challenge. Like most new stargazers, Herschel began by reading popular works of astronomy, learning the names of the stars and constellations, and inspecting the heavens with telescopes made with small glass lenses that collected the feeble light from distant stars [Read more…] about Book Excerpt: The Armchair Astronomer, Volume 1

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Mars, Jupiter, and Venus in This Morning’s Sky

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

A great view of Mars, Jupiter, and Venus (in order of increasing brightness) over the Canadian prairies in the morning sky on October 27, 2015 by Alan Dyer at AmazingSky.com.

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The Halloween Fireballs

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

Taurids
Taurid fireball imaged on October 28, 2005 by Hiroyuki Iida.

The Taurid meteor shower runs from early October through late November each year and peaks in the early morning of November 12. This year, in 2015, that’s just a day after new Moon, which means the sky will be at its darkest for this event. Because they are active over Halloween, and they displayed an impressive outburst about 10 years ago at the end of October, the Taurids are sometimes called the Halloween Fireballs [Read more…] about The Halloween Fireballs

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Orionid Meteor Shower 2015

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

Orionid-Meteor
An Orionid meteor captured in a full-sky camera (credit: NASA)

The usually reliable Orionid meteor shower runs from October 17-25, 2015, and peaks in the early morning of October 21. The first-quarter Moon will set after midnight at the peak of the shower year, so it will be a great year to see the Orionids, which at their peak, can display as many as 30 meteors per hour [Read more…] about Orionid Meteor Shower 2015

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