Solar System Observing

Articles about how to understand, find and see solar system objects including planets, the Moon, the Sun, asteroids, meteors, and comets with binoculars, telescopes, and the naked eye.

Short Video of Comet C/2015 F4 (Jacques)

July 30, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

At the end of July 2015, the little comet C/2015 F4 (Jacques) passes the splendid double star Albireo, the star that marks the nose of Cygnus, the Swan. The comet was discovered on March 27, 2014 by C. Jacques at an observatory in Brazil. The comet is a dim 11th magnitude which makes it a very challenging object for visual observers. It may not get much brighter, but the video below gives you a view of this visitor from the outer solar system.

The video was captured by Tom Wildoner, aka the Leisurely Scientist. He assembled the video from 66 individual 30-second exposures using a Canon 6D and Celestron C6-A SCT on an equatorial mount.

Comet C/2015 F4 makes its closest approach to the Sun on August 10, 2015 at a distance of 1.64 astronomical units.

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Once in a Blue Moon

July 28, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

An artificially colored "Blue Moon" of November 2010 imaged from Brooklyn, New York. — An artificially colored “Blue Moon” of November 2010 imaged from Brooklyn, New York.

The second Full Moon of July 2015 arrives on July 31 at 10:43 Universal Time. No doubt the headline writers of the interwebs will be all over this bit of non-news, but as most readers of Cosmic Pursuits understand, a Blue Moon is simply the second Full Moon of a calendar month. Or in another definition, which does not apply here, a Blue Moon is the third full Moon of a season in which there are four Full Moons. In either case, there’s no astronomical significance to the event, and the Moon will not have a blue tinge. Though any Full Moon in summer makes for a pleasant evening walk when you can smell the thick air and scent of summer flowers in this all-too-brief season [Read more…] about Once in a Blue Moon

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Pluto: Stranger Than Expected

July 17, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science, Solar System

Ice mountains near the equator of Pluto. These mountains are 3,500 meters high and only 100 million years old.

We have learned again this week, with the fleeting passage of the New Horizons probe past Pluto, that nature is stranger than fiction, better really, with more surprises, plot twists, and interesting imagery than the most adept imaginations can conjure. The data is coming in slowly from Pluto, and we’ve received just a few images of the many yet to come. But here’s what we know from New Horizons so far… [Read more…] about Pluto: Stranger Than Expected

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New Horizons Lives Makes Successful Flyby of Pluto

July 14, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science, Solar System

Just confirmed at 5:55 PDT… the New Horizons spacecraft is still operating after passing Pluto earlier today. Congratulations to the NASA team for a job well done! The craft is now outbound to the Kuiper Belt and beyond. Stay tuned for more data and images that are (hopefully) coming in from the craft which is 4.5 light-hours away!

LOCKED! We have confirmation of a successful #PlutoFlyby. pic.twitter.com/Krfo9qxxHw

— NASA New Horizons (@NASANewHorizons) July 15, 2015

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New Image of Pluto by New Horizons

July 8, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science, Solar System

With less than 6 days to go before New Horizons makes its closest approach to Pluto, the dwarf planet is proving to be an interesting little world. Just released by NASA this morning, this image of Pluto shows the regions of the planet that will be inspected in next week’s close flyby. The dark region along the equator, at bottom, has been dubbed ” the whale”. The lighter heart-shaped region at right is about 1,200 miles across. The polar region is in the upper part of the image.

The probe had a little trouble over the weekend when a software glitch caused the probe to go into safe mode and halt all science operations. But engineers have tidied up the problem and full operations have resumed on July 7. The closest flyby comes next week on July 14, 2015 at 11:50 UTC.

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