The significance of this enigmatic star and its new-found meaning What was the “Star of Bethlehem”? It has been my tradition to tell this story every year at this time, first from my planetarium days years ago, taking the audience on a 2000-year-old journey from biblical times to the present day, until now and, more[…]
This Year’s Winter Solstice Occurs on Saturday, December 21, 2024, at 4:20 am EST (09:20 UTC). For a full calendar, please visit Time and Date. In the illustration above, the angular distance on the sky at the meridian between the Celestial Equator (the projection of the Earth’s equator onto the sky) and the Ecliptic (the[…]
The late, great Carl Sagan would have been 90 on November 9th By James Daly, Ph.D If anyone could ever accuse Carl Sagan of anything, it would be that he was a seeker of truth and peace. Indeed, his Pale Blue Dot was an exhortation to us all, so tiny on this pale blue dot, a Pale[…]
Why should it cost you thousands of dollars to enjoy astronomy? It doesn’t and it shouldn’t. All you have to do is “look up” on a clear, dark moonless night to enjoy the beauty of the night sky. But what if I want to get a closer look at the moon or Saturn’s rings, for[…]
The October Full moon is also known as the Hunter’s moon and is the full moon following the Harvest moon. Hunter’s Moon Lore Lore has it that as winter approaches and the days get shorter, hunter’s of all types (human and animal) lose more daylight with each passing day in their quest for prey and[…]
UPDATE: Due to in-situ conditions from Hurricane Milton on October 10 and subsequent site evaluation and cleanup, Europa Clipper will now launch tomorrow, Monday, October 14 with the launch window opening at ~12:05 EDT. Watch Online Here Message in a Bottle will launch on Europa Clipper! A Message from Humankind An animation representing U.S.[…]
Europa Clipper Mission to Jupiter And Europa NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission to Jupiter and Europa will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Thursday, October 10th. Europa Clipper is the first NASA spacecraft dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth. It aims to find out if[…]
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) A bright, fast moving comet is now gracing the early morning skies. For the early riser, it rises at about 5:45 AM, EDT and will pass behind the sun on October 9th and then become an evening object as it recedes from the sun. The comet arrived at perihelion on Friday, September[…]
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) A bright, fast moving comet is now gracing the early morning skies. For the early riser, it rises at about 5:45 AM, EDT and will pass behind the sun on October 9th and then become an evening object as it recedes from the sun. The comet arrived at perihelion on Friday, September[…]
For our readers, members and subscribers in lower New York State and the greater Tri-State area. A proposal has been made to integrate a Las Vegas style resort and casino into the storied Nassau Coliseum, potentially leading to the demolition of the coliseum. The Nassau Coliseum is just a few blocks from Hofstra University, where[…]
The Solar Dynamics Orbiting Observatory continuously monitors the sun in 10 wavebands, mostly in the extreme ultraviolet part of the spectrum. These UV emissions correspond to super-heated gas in the million-degree range. Our full-featured video is linked below. When observing the sun in visible light, it seems benign enough and is something we’re used to[…]
Jacqueline Fazekas with the Catalina Sky Survey, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of Steward Observatory, the University of Arizona, discovered the asteroid just hours ago, about eight hours before its predicted impact. The asteroid has been given the provisional designation CAQTDL2. Why wasn’t the object detected earlier? In two words: size and albedo. It’s approximately[…]
I gazed at the full moon, hanging low and bright oe’r the trees last night, warm and inviting on that September night. The Autumnal Equinox The full moon nearest to the Autumnal Equinox is known as the “Harvest Moon” and they both generally occur in September. On rare occasions, the Harvest Moon occurs in October,[…]
Time-lapse video of Capella rising at 11:00 PM EDT through 1:45 AM EDT Capella is the 3rd brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere. What would happen if we replaced the sun with it? We explore that question in our full-featured video below. This isn’t just some hypothetical exercise; it helps us better understand[…]
The August 2024 Full Sturgeon Moon is low in the southeast in this view due south at 9:30 PM, EDT, 2 hours after its rising, Monday, August 19th. The teapot of Sagittarius is on the meridian, with Scorpio and its heart, the red supergiant Antares, to the west. I gazed at the full moon, hanging[…]
Update (11 August, 2024) Some additional funding has been secured, enough to keep the observatory operational at a reduced level with a reduced staff. We just published an article describing the 25th anniversary celebration of NASA’s Chandra Orbiting X-Ray Observatory, the Supernova remnant SN1987a and a study using current Chandra data. But, guess what? Chandra[…]
Great Observatories Program Back in 2009, NASA released the following image of Messier-101 to celebrate the Great Observatories Program and to commemorate the International Year of Astronomy, 2009. From left to right, the Grand Design Spiral can be seen in Infrared light from the Spitzer Space telescope (the IR Predecessor to JWST), visible light from[…]
The Sun in the Extreme Ultraviolet Strong Rise in Solar Activity With the magnitude and frequency of solar flares increasing along with the accompanying Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), the Sun continues its strong rise towards next summer’s probable record-setting Solar Maximum. After May’s series of powerful flares and CMEs, the latest outburst occurred on July[…]
The Late Summer As the summer wanes on, the hallmarks of the season are now front and center, clearly visible in the early evening view above. In the stunning view below, Orion is rising with the third-quarter moon and the major planets in the pre-dawn hours, all preceding the sun before it’s rising. Stellafane, 2024[…]
July 2024 Full Buck moon passing the meridian at 04:48, UTC (00:48 EDT) on July 21. Note: the “Tea Pot” of Sagittarius directly to the west of the moon. Image via Stellarium. The full moon for this month occurs on Sunday, July 21. According to lore, July’s full moon is also known as a “Full[…]
As we transition from late June to early July, the weather changes from the mild days of spring to decidedly warmer days and balmy nights. Summer has arrived. Having just past June’s Strawberry moon (named to mark the Strawberry harvest in many regions) and the almost coincidental occurrence of the Summer Solstice, the stars of[…]
Please see this article for more details about this image and the June 2009 occultation of the red supergiant star Antares. This year’s Summer Solstice occurs on Thursday, June 20 (details below), followed the next day by this year’s full ‘Strawberry’ Moon on Friday, June 21st. Why is June’s full moon the “Strawberry Moon”? In[…]
This side-by-side comparative video illustrates two solar flares in 2 distinct, separate wavebands of the Extreme Ultraviolet region of the Electromagnetic Spectrum on May 27th and May 29th, 2024 respectively. Last month, May, 2024 saw a remarkable rise in the frequency and number of strong M and X-class solar flares, an indication that internal[…]
Entire books, many videos, and thousands of hours of time have been wasted building this ‘conspiracy theory’, devoted to “debunking” the Apollo moon missions as some grand government conspiracy. We have spent much digital ink debunking the claims of Flat Earthers (simply enter “Flat Earth” in the search tool at the top of this page[…]
Increasing magnitude and frequency of solar flares heralds approaching solar maximum Using data, video and imagery from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we’ve produced a video featuring two 1.1 magnitude X-Class solar flares (video link at foot of page). As part of its mission, the Solar Dynamics Observatory observes the sun in the extreme Ultra Violet[…]
The Vernal Equinox, the Astronomical beginning of spring, occurs this year today, Tuesday, 19 March, 2024 at 3:06 UTC (11:06 PM EDT). What’s so special about this event? 12 equal hours of daylight and darkness everywhere on the planet. The beginning of Astronomical Autumn for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere The sun rises due[…]
Some counties in Texas have issued a disaster declaration ahead of the total eclipse that will occur on April 8 Background and Context Next month, on April 8, a total solar eclipse will grace the North American Continent. Starting in the Pacific Ocean off the southwest coast of Mexico, the 198 km-wide path (Nazas, Durango,[…]
The recent “flop” by the Odysseus lunar lander in the lunar south polar region is being celebrated as a brilliant success. It landed and literally fell over on its side – it flopped. Of course the celebration, since the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris and the White House have characterized this failure[…]
Supernova remnant SNR-1987a is one of the closest and most studied of any supernova or supernova remnant since Kepler’s supernova in 1604. It was one of the first objects observed with the newly deployed Hubble Space Telescope in 1991 and, thus, the first -and closest supernova- to be observed with a modern observing platform. Although[…]
This Year’s Winter Solstice Occurs Today, Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 10:27 pm EST (3:27 UTC, December 22, 2023) In the illustration above, the angular distance on the sky at the meridian between the Celestial Equator (the projection of the Earth’s equator onto the sky) and the Ecliptic (the plane of the Solar System) is[…]
We’re watching the solution to Fermi’s Paradox unfold in real time Before I begin, I wish to state up front that this post contains no political content and does not take sides in any particular conflict. Political motivations or outcomes not withstanding, I am a sentient being who knows and feels pain. I feel the[…]
Launched on August 12, 2018, the Parker Solar Probe is designed to withstand the brutal near-solar environment and heat of the sun and its atmosphere. Its mission is to probe the near-solar environment and help us answer yet unanswered questions about the hot, tenuous solar corona, the solar wind, coronal streamers and the near-solar environment in[…]
I gazed at the full moon, hanging low and bright oe’r the trees last night, warm and inviting on that September night. Previously, we featured a story discussing this month’s full moon. In that article, we noted that the full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox is known as the Harvest Moon. It should be[…]
I gazed at the full moon, hanging low and bright oe’r the trees last night, warm and inviting on that September night. The late summer sky is no less beautiful now than when it was at the beginning. The moon, with the southern stars of summer, Antares in Scorpio and Sagittarius to the east, are[…]
Supernova 1987a was the closest supernova to be observed since Kepler’s supernova in 1604. It was one of the first objects observed with the newly deployed Hubble Space Telescope in 1991 and thus, the first -and closest supernova- to be observed with a modern observing platform. Although it is named and designated according to the[…]
World renown lover of the stars and Professor of Astronomy, James B. Kaler has now gone onto that grand cosmos that was his home while he was with us. Jim Kaler quietly passed away from complications related to Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 84 at his home on November 26, 2022. There are now[…]
Comet Nishimura will be at its closest approach to the sun this weekend and thus affords us a rare opportunity to observe it at its brightest! Discovered on August 12 of this year by Hideo Nishimura, the comet originated in the Oort Cloud, a spherical shell of ancient debris, rock and ice left over from[…]
This is the fifth installment of our ten-part series on the brightest stars and, with it, we’re pleased to present the red supergiant star, Betelgeuse, the right shoulder of Orion, the hunter. Even though we’re still in August and Orion is a winter constellation, its prominence as a near-term supernova candidate makes it especially interesting.[…]
A view towards the SSE at astronomical twilight (8:15 PM EDT), Sunday, August 27. The waxing gibbous moon is low above the southern horizon and Saturn is rising further to the east. The ecliptic is presented in this view to illustrate where the plane of the solar system is. Note that all solar system objects[…]
Tonight, we will be witness to the occultation of the red supergiant star Antares by the First Quarter moon. A previous occultation of the red supergiant star by the full moon was observed by Dr. Jim Daly back on June 6, 2009. Why are occultations important? The accurate timing of lunar occultations is performed[…]
The Full Moon in August is named after North America’s largest fish, the lake sturgeon. Other names for this Full Moon include Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, and Barley Moon. Blue Moon The “first” full moon for this month occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The August 30 (Wednesday) full moon will be the second, hence,[…]
Since 2016, Astronomy for Change has provided expert, world-class content from dedicated professionals, Astronomers, Physicists, Scientists and Information Technology Specialists. We’ve provided that content on our main web portal in the form of articles, interactive sky charts, a rich, searchable library as well as high-value, educational videos on our YouTube Channel. As of today’s date,[…]
Using data and imagery obtained with the JWST, a recent study claims the universe is now 26.7 billion years old. We will unequivocally show that the age of the universe is still 13.77 Gyr. One of the principal reasons the JWST mission was conceived in the first place was to test existing theories and current[…]
The August 2023 Full Sturgeon Supermoon is still low in the southeast about 1 hour after its rising tonight at 01:30 UTC (9:30 p.m. EDT). The teapot of Sagittarius is due south on the meridian at this time, with Antares and Scorpio to the west. Tonight’s moon is the 2nd of 4 supermoons that occur during[…]
Regarding the existence of “UAPs”, is recent congressional testimony by “credible witnesses” fact or fiction? Dr. James Daly of Astronomy for Change responds to YouTuber Kim Iversen’s recent video: Is The UAP “National Security Threat” A MIC Fabrication To Escalate War Into Space? Kim, your comment regarding the existence of life elsewhere in the universe[…]
Featured Image The rugged Andes mountains of Patagonia, Argentina appear in the foreground in the featured image above along with the great comet of 2007, the iconic Comet McNaught. This image was obtained during the Austral Summer (20070126) by Professor Miloslav Druckmueller of the Brno University of Technology, the Czech Republic. It was also featured[…]
A powerful M-class solar flare erupted on the sun at 5:48 AM, EDT (01:48 UTC), July 18 2023. In this video obtained from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the powerful M-5.7 solar flare is clearly visible at the 4:00 position. The video is a composite produced from 3 discrete wavebands in the extreme ultraviolet region of[…]
The James Webb Space Telescope has trained its sharp, infrared eyes on the ringed planet and produced this stunning, new image. An excerpt from the Webb blog published by NASA follows: This image was taken as part of Webb Guaranteed Time Observation program 1247. The program included several very deep exposures of Saturn, which were designed[…]
In full HD and using a state of the art digital planetarium, Dr. James Daly takes us on a tour of the early July and Independence Day week night sky for 2023. He presents the major planets, the placement and phase of the moon and many other notable objects of interest at this time of[…]
Does the Brightening of Betelgeuse Portend The Immanent Occurrence of a New Galactic Supernova? Betelgeuse is at it again. Back in 2019, the red supergiant star, the bright and iconic right-shoulder of Orion had dimmed dramatically and uncharacteristically resulting in a flurry of speculation that the star was about to end its life in[…]
New podcast by Astronomy for Change’s James Daly, Ph.D:
We are fortunate to have on staff professional volunteers with advanced degrees in Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrophysics. Some of these individuals have acted in an advisory capacity in the crafting and enactment of green, sensible lighting laws for the following municipalities: The Township of Brookhaven, NY The Incorporated Village of Patchogue, NY The Township of[…]
The 2023 Summer Solstice, the Astronomical beginning of summer and the longest day of the year, occurs this year at 10:57AM, EDT on Wednesday, June 21st. What is the Summer Solstice? Often referred to as the ‘First Day of Summer‘, a subjective term, the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the day the sun[…]
Every year on this date, the anniversary of the famous May 29, 1919 Total Solar Eclipse, we celebrate Einstein’s Triumph, the experiment that provided incontrovertible evidence for the veracity of his theory on Gravity, the General Theory of Relativity. Up until the turn of the 20th century, the natural universe was governed by Newton’s Laws;[…]
Don’t forget, we offer tutoring in all the STEM fields, especially Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics. At this time of year, this could be a valuable resource for those who will be taking their final exams! A core aspect of our mission at Astronomy for change is education and how it can be a force for[…]
Brilliant Supernova in a Nearby Galaxy Imagine inhabiting a planet within 100 light years of a Type II supernova. Take a good look at the image above. The pink emission region immediately to the east (left) of the supernova would be about 100 light years. At the time the second image (the “after” image in[…]
Due to insurmountable irregularities attributable to our previous Web Hosting Provider, we have been offline. That has now been corrected, we have a new Web Hosting provider and are back online! Astronomy For Change: https://astronomyforchange.org Did you enjoy this article or like what we do? Why not leave a tip or buy us a Coffee?[…]
In addition to our YouTube channel, we have established ourselves on the video hosting platform Rumble. Over the coming days, we will be populating existing videos, already published on YouTube, as well as new content on Rumble. The videos published thus far on Rumble: Overview of James Webb Space Telescope Deep Field Confirming Evolutionary Theories[…]
The Vernal Equinox, the Astronomical beginning of spring, occurs this year on Monday, 20 March, 2023 at 21:24 UTC (5:24 PM EDT). What’s so special about this event? 12 equal hours of daylight and darkness everywhere on the planet. The beginning of Astronomical Autumn for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere The sun rises due[…]
The southern extent of NGC-1365 showing the galaxy’s active galactic nucleus at the bottom left. A plethora of background galaxies are visible, with one prominent elliptical galaxy to the southwest (upper right) amid the other edge-on galaxies. Appearing as a small bright sphere, this galaxy is 2.9 billion light-years distant or 52x more distant than[…]
By James Daly, Ph.D The following quote from the gospel according to Matthew is often found on holiday greeting cards and is heard around the world during this season as a message of peace and hope; the year is over and it’s time to rest, to be with family, friends and to prepare for the[…]
This Year’s Winter Solstice Occurs on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at 4:48 pm EST The sun is at its lowest point on the sky at mid-day during the third week in December in the northern hemisphere and represents the ‘beginning of winter’. The two Equinoxes (Vernal or ‘Spring’, 3rd week in March and Autumnal, 3rd[…]
By James Daly, Ph.D At 1:47 AM, EST on November 16, 2022, humanity took the first step on the long road back to the moon and on to Mars with the launch of Artemis 1. With that launch, the mighty SLS (Space Launch System) boosted the unmanned Orion spacecraft into earth orbit and on to[…]
We often speak of a “Super Moon” within the context of the Full Moon phase, rather than its opposite, the ‘New’ moon. The New moon is the beginning of the lunar cycle when the moon is aligned with the earth and the sun with the moon towards the sun. It is the only phase of[…]
Full 6 waveband Composite Image of Stephan’s Quintet In the ERO release images of this group of galaxies by NASA, much to do was made about their interaction. In the NASA release, NIrCam (near IR) and MIRI (mid IR) data were included in the composite images. While it was briefly mentioned in the news release,[…]
The Hunter’s Moon The full moon following the “Harvest Moon” is known as the Hunter’s Moon. This year, that occurs on Sunday, October 9 at 8:54 PM (UTC), 4:54 PM (EDT). As the name suggests before the invention of the electric light, the light of the full moon gave aid to the farmers and hunters[…]
Composite Image Produced from Two Flagship Orbiting Observatories At 32 million light years, this image of the Grand Design spiral galaxy, M-74 appears in this composite rendition using JWST and Hubble data. The JWST component includes data in the 2, 3 and 3.6 micron range. The Hubble component includes 435 nm, 555 nm, 656 nm[…]
I gazed at the full moon, hanging low and bright oe’r the trees last night, warm and inviting on that September night. The Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes are two days during the year with 12 equal hours of daylight and darkness. The Vernal Equinox heralds the beginning of Spring and the Autumnal Equinox, Autumn. The[…]
On July 12th of this year, the world was gifted with 5 studies and a treasure trove of data and images, content released through NASA’s Early Release Observations (ERO) program for JWST (attribution at the foot of this page). The great thing about a public space agency: the fruits and products of the agency are[…]
The last supermoon for the year occurs tonight, Thursday, August 11th. Why is August’s full moon known as a “Sturgeon Moon”? The August 2022 Full Sturgeon Supermoon is still low in the southeast over two hours after its rising at 20:15 UTC (8:15 PM, EDT) on Thursday, August 11. Flanking the moon to the north[…]
Note: this video is the companion to our article and a prelude to our full feature video A brief overview of our study, highlighting evidence in JWST NirSpec data that affirms the veracity of prevailing theories of the early universe’s composition and evolution. Some important discoveries and confirmations have been realized with the first public release of[…]
The tiny red dot at the center of this image is our galaxy of interest, z13.1,13.1 billion light years distant. Heavy Element Nucleosynthesis, the process by which heavy elements are synthesized in the cores of high-mass stars, was ongoing in this galaxy less than 700 million years after the big bang. Note: this video is[…]
Note: This article is an addendum to James Webb Space Telescope Full Science Operations Begin As 5 ‘First Light’ Images Are Released (1 of 5). Some important discoveries and confirmations have been realized with the first public release of JWST data and imagery. We can unequivocally state that our evolutionary theories of the early universe[…]
In our presentation of the NASA-hosted event opening the James Webb Space Telescope to the world’s astronomical community, we discussed one of the five commissioning targets presented to the public. That choice to open this 5-article series was SMACS 0723, a distant galaxy cluster receding at 29% the speed of light. In this article, we’ll[…]
OMG, the sky is falling! In what appears to be another visceral, emotionally charged characterization, a thinly-veiled attempt at clickbait, another article has now appeared, describing the JWST micrometeoroid event of May 24 as an ‘uncorrectable‘ tragedy, a show-stopper, the proverbial final nail-in-the-coffin. Nothing could be further from the truth! The actual report, a peer-reviewed,[…]
Full resolution image (2799×2856) of the SMACS 0723 cluster of galaxies, 4.6 billion light years distant in the southern constellation Volans. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster is overflowing with detail and is described more fully below. Images and results from Webb’s observations are archived here with the first images[…]
July 2022 Full Buck Supermoon low in the southeast following its rising at 21:00 UT (9:00 PM, EDT) on July 13. Note: the brilliant ruby Antares is near the meridian with the “Tea Pot” of Sagittarius to the east. Image via Stellarium. The full moon for this month occurs on Wednesday, July 13. According to[…]
The sun as recorded in the extreme ultraviolet part of the spectrum by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) between July 6 and July 10. Pay particular attention to the bright orange-pink outburst that occurs on July 8 at the 10:00 position on the solar disk. This was a magnitude 2.6 M-Class flare, a classification one[…]
Update: James Webb Space Telescope Full Science Operations Get Underway As 5 ‘First Light’ Images Are Released To kick off the beginning of full science operations for the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA will be hosting a full public event Tuesday, July 12th. During the event, a traunch of full-color images and data will be[…]
Hubble Space Telescope image of UGC 12158, a “Grand Design” barred spiral (Sb D) galaxy, 384 million light years distant in the constellation Pegasus. With a distinct bar in its nuclear region and 140,000 light years in diameter, it is believed to be similar in size and structure to our home galaxy, the Milky Way.[…]
A lunar occultation of Delta Scorpii, a bright, second magnitude star and one of the principal stars in Scorpio, the scorpion, occurs tonight, Sunday June 12th. What is a Lunar Occultation? A lunar occultation is exactly what it sounds like. The moon occults a star and astronomers often take advantage of these events to better[…]
The 2022 Summer Solstice, the Astronomical beginning of summer and the longest day of the year, occurs this year at 5:14 AM, EDT on Tuesday, June 21st. What is the Summer Solstice? Often referred to as the ‘First Day of Summer‘, a subjective term, the Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere is the day the[…]
Update: James Webb Space Telescope Full Science Operations Get Underway As 5 ‘First Light’ Images Are Released Update: James Webb Space Telescope Full Science Operations Get Underway As 5 ‘First Light’ Images Are Released The recently launched James Webb Space Telescope (December 25th, Christmas Day, 2021) has produced what should be the first of many thousands of[…]
The Vernal Equinox, the Astronomical beginning of spring, occurs this year on Sunday, 20 March, 2022 (today) at 15:33 UTC (11:33 AM EDT). What’s so special about this event? 12 equal hours of daylight and darkness everywhere on the planet. The beginning of Astronomical Autumn for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere The sun rises[…]
The successful launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has placed the orbiting observatory on the path to become the premier space platform for the next decade and beyond! On Christmas Day, 2021 the world witnessed the launch of JWST, by all accounts a brilliant launch in its precision and timing! That launch put[…]
This Year’s Winter Solstice Occurs on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 10:59 am EST The sun is at its lowest point on the sky at mid-day during the third week in December in the northern hemisphere and represents the ‘beginning of winter’. The two Equinoxes (Vernal or ‘Spring’, 3rd week in March and Autumnal, 3rd[…]
JWST Launch Following a 6-day delay and now (Dec 22) an additional day for adverse weather conditions on Dec 24, the James Webb Space Telescope, originally scheduled to launch on December 18, will finally launch on December 25 (Christmas Day) of this year. JWST is the next generation orbiting observatory that will push back the[…]
There are two days during the year with 12 equal hours of daylight and darkness, the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes. The Vernal Equinox heralds the beginning of Spring and the Autumnal Equinox, Autumn. The Autumnal Equinox for this year occurs on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 7:21 pm UTC (3:21 pm EDT). Many significant astronomical[…]
To suffer is to learn humility, true humility. Jocelyn Bell, no doubt, suffered in silence from the insult and the culture that led to it, one of the greatest professional injustices in modern academia. Given my Irish heritage, I have a particular interest in this story and, although the title could be a trigger or[…]
Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat is a French mathematician and physicist, renowned for her pioneering work on the initial value problem of General Relativity. Her work was one of the “Milestones of General Relativity” featured in a recent CQG focus issue. She has been on the faculty of the University of Marseille, the University of Reims and the[…]
Discovered by Anglo-German Astronomer William Herschel on November 17, 1784 and located approximately 68 million light-years distant in the southern constellation Fornax, is NGC (New General Catalog) 1385. Like the Milky Way, NGC-1385 is a Barred Spiral Galaxy but 40% smaller at 70,000 light years in diameter. The central ‘bar’ is the result of density[…]
On August 8 and visible now during the summer, the faint cataclysmic variable star RS Ophiuchi at over 6,500 light-years distant brightened from magnitude 11.2 to 4.8 during the August 8-9, 2021 time frame. It went from a threshold small-telescope object to naked-eye visibility within 24 hours. Irish amateur Astronomer Keith Geary was the first[…]
Since 2016, Astronomy for Change has provided expert, world-class content from dedicated professionals, Astronomers, Physicists, Scientists and Information Technology Specialists. We’ve provided that content on our main web portal in the form of articles, interactive sky charts, a rich, searchable library as well as high-value, educational videos on our YouTube Channel. All of this content[…]
The Full Moon in August is named after North America’s largest fish, the lake sturgeon. Other names for this Full Moon include Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, and Barley Moon. Tonight’s full moon marks this year’s first Real ‘Blue Moon’ (a term suggesting the occurrence of something rare). Normally, there are only three[…]
Six Hour Time Lapse Video Showing the Perseid Meteor Shower’s Radiant Point The Perseid meteor shower is an annual event that occurs during the 2nd week in August as the Earth passes through the same debris field left behind by comet Swift–Tuttle. The Radiant Point is the imaginary point on the sky that they appear[…]
In this video, we present three favorite star clusters of summer for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. We open looking due south at twilight for mid-northern latitudes and note brilliant Venus setting as it follows the sun and Scorpio on the meridian with Sagittarius due east. Scorpio with red Supergiant Antares, the heart of the[…]
Today we look at the sky for the week beginning Sunday, July 25th. With this edition of the sky tonight, the sky has changed somewhat since last week. In the morning, Mercury is in Cancer with the sun and lost in the solar glare before sunrise. The evening sky sees Venus remaining prominently placed[…]
Today we look at the sky for the week beginning Sunday, July 25th. With this edition of the sky tonight, the sky has changed somewhat since last week. In the morning, Mercury is in Cancer with the sun and lost in the solar glare before sunrise. The evening sky sees Venus remaining prominently placed with[…]
This pair of images represent Hubble’s targets on July 17, 2021 and demonstrate the telescope’s return to full science operations on that date. The images are part of a study being conducted by Julianne Dalcanton of the University of Washington in Seattle. The Galaxies ARP-MADORE2115-273 is a rare example of an interacting pair of galaxies[…]
With a period of 24 days, TOI-1231-b orbits an M-class (M3V) star of 0.48 solar masses, first discovered by the TESS orbiting exoplanet finder in 2019. Further confirmation came from the Planet Finder Spectrograph on the Magellan Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Led by Jennifer Burt of NASA/JPL, her team at JPL and the University[…]
With this edition of the sky tonight, the sky has changed slightly since last week. Today we look at the sky for the week beginning Sunday, July 18th. Sunday, July 18th, we have brilliant Venus and ruddy red Mars still well placed in the Southwest sky and setting at 9:50 PM, EDT, following the sun[…]
The total solar eclipse of July 11th, 1991 was hailed as the “Eclipse of the Century”. On this day 30 years ago, traveling with a group of friends and colleagues, I was in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to observe the Eclipse of 11 July, 1991. 2 days of the 5-day, 4-night trip was in Cabo.[…]
Using the Keck Observatory’s Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) and DEep Imaging and Multi-Object Spectrograph (DEIMOS) attached to the 10 meter telescopes on Mauna Kea, we’ve observed a long-postulated, third type of supernova, an “Electron Capture” supernova. It is believed, based on composite imaging across multiple spectral regimes, the famous Crab Nebula may have been[…]
With this edition of the sky tonight, the sky has changed slightly since last week’s premier installment of our weekly sky tonight program. Today we look at the sky for the week beginning Sunday, July 11th. Sunday, July 11th, we have brilliant Venus and ruddy red Mars beautifully flanking the 46-hour old waxing crescent moon,[…]
With this first installment, we begin a new program feature here at Astronomy for Change, the weekly “Sky Tonight” broadcast. Each week on Friday or Saturday, we’ll post a short podcast and video of the coming week’s sky and what to look for. Sunday, July 4th (Independence Day in the US), we have brilliant Venus[…]
With this first installment, we begin a new program feature here at Astronomy for Change, the weekly “Sky Tonight” broadcast. Each week on Friday or Saturday, we’ll post a short podcast and video of the coming week’s sky and what to look for. Sunday, July 4th (Independence Day in the US), we have brilliant Venus[…]
On December 17, 2020, Dr. James Daly of Astronomy For Change interviewed Alberto Caballero, founder of the The Exoplanet Project and The SETI Project. Alberto holds a Master’s degree and is the host of the “Exoplanets” YouTube channel whose focus is habitable exoplanets, extraterrestrial intelligence and Interstellar Travel. Alberto is also involved with the Habitable[…]
Please visit our Patreon page to learn what happened “A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away….” VIdeo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Astronomy For Change: https://astronomyforchange.org Buy us a Coffee? https://www.buymeacoffee.com/astronomychange Follow Us On Twitter: https://twitter.com/astronomychange Why not support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/astronomyforchange Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of[…]
This year’s ‘Strawberry Moon‘ occurs on Thursday, June 24th. Why is June’s full moon the “Strawberry Moon“? In North America and Europe, the name of each month’s moon is linked to nature and related to a particular season or seasonal activity. June’s full moon is known as the “Strawberry Moon” since it is during this[…]
Tonight’s southern vista features the waxing gibbous moon 2 days before full, 4 degrees north of the heart of the Scorpion, the red supergiant star Antares. For complete ephemerides of the moon, including phase, please visit Time and Date. The current phase of the moon is always displayed on any of our articles or pages[…]
The Summer Solstice this year occurs on Sunday, June 20 at 3:32 AM, UTC (11:32 PM EDT). What is the Summer Solstice? Often referred to as the ‘First Day of Summer‘, a generally subjective term, the Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere is the day the sun is at its highest point above the southern[…]
Image credit: Adrien Mauduit of Night Lights Films In this June, 2019 view from Vicuña, south of the Atacama Desert Plateau, Chile, home to ESO’s Very Large Telescope Complex, we stand in awe of the Milky Way’s Galactic Center front and center. Brilliant Jupiter is ‘below’ (east) of red-orange Antares and the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud[…]
Recently, we published an article with video celebrating the Anniversary of the famous May 29th, 1919 Total Solar Eclipse instrumental in confirming a key prediction of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Update Not only was this eclipse instrumental in confirming a key aspect of Einstein’s GTR, the duration of totality was just under 7 minutes,[…]
Every year on this date, the anniversary of the famous May 29, 1919 Total Solar Eclipse, we celebrate Einstein’s Triumph, the experiment that provided incontrovertible evidence for the veracity of his theory on Gravity, the General Theory of Relativity. Up until the turn of the 20th century, the natural universe was governed by Newton’s Laws;[…]
By James Daly, Ph.D NASA Video at foot of article NASA Hubblesite news release here On the occasion of the Hubble Space Telescope’s 31st successful year in orbit last Saturday (4/24, launch date: 4/24/1990), the iconic orbiting telescope was tasked with capturing AG Carinae, a blue supergiant star in the southern constellation of Carina. This[…]
By James Daly, Ph.D Farewell, Michael, you dared to do mighty things and succeeded! I remember you well as I watched the historic mission on the family’s B&W TV at the age of 13. History will smile on you and remember you fondly. Vaya con dios, mi amigo! Michael Collins, the pilot of Apollo[…]
A quick video showing the placement of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies with the massive elliptical galaxy Messier-87 at its center. Imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope, M-87 is shown here surrounded by thousands of globular star clusters. Our Milky Way galaxy, a member of the Local Cluster of Galaxies is, in turn, a member[…]
The full moon for April, 2021 occurs tonight, April 26. The full moon is a unique and interesting lunar phase for a variety of reasons. It always rises as the sun sets and is the only phase during which we can witness a lunar eclipse, the immersion of the moon into the earth’s shadow. As[…]
Did you ever wonder why each of the seasons features a unique and distinctive procession of stars and constellations? The year is divided into four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We begin the astronomical year on the Vernal Equinox, the astronomical beginning of Spring and the date the sun, moving eastward along the Ecliptic,[…]
In a stunning image, worthy of publication on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day or, as a new category, as “Astronomy Picture of the Year”, Finnish Astrophotographer JP Metsavainio has produced a GigaPixel class image that took 12 years and more than 1,250 hours to produce! Join Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change has[…]
Link to video below As we all mourn the passing of Larry King, an icon, a professional with an uncommon sense of honesty, integrity and decency, a giant among journalists and communicators, let us remember him as a science communicator as well, the “middle-man” as such, between the science professional and the common man. Link[…]
The Vernal Equinox, the Astronomical Beginning of spring, occurs this year on Saturday, March 20, 2021 at 9:37 UTC (5:37 AM EDT). What’s so special about this event? 12 equal hours of daylight and darkness The beginning of Astronomical Autumn for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere The sun rises due east and sets due[…]
We recently produced a multi-part series of videos showcasing the amazing physics and technology of the Mars2020 Rover Perseverance. This series specifically focused on the physics necessary to safely and successfully get the rover to the martian surface. Coming soon, we will continue our coverage of the mission, showcasing new discoveries and milestones such as[…]
This is the second part in the two part series showcasing and explaining the amazing physics and technology that made NASA’s latest mission to Mars such a resounding success. In the first video Dr. Daly explains the physics behind the launch and cruise phases of the mission, complete with explanations, diagrams, theory and calculations specific[…]
Join Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy for Change as he showcases and describes a rare triple conjunction of Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn in the early morning hours before sunrise, a planetary alignment visible through Sunday, March 14. Those who are early risers will be witness to this rare planetary alignment. Especially rare and quite spectacular[…]
Link to video below With this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change presents Part 1 of a multi-part series on the amazing physics and technology behind the brilliant journey and successful landing of the Mars2020 Perseverance Rover. In this first video, Dr. Daly will discuss and describe the basic physics behind the mission[…]
Link to video below Beginning Friday, March 5th, the asteroid 99942 Apophis or simply Apophis, passes 1/10 of an Astronomical Unit from earth, making that the first of 4 such close approaches. In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change describes the asteroid’s trajectory and this passage while presenting some history and context[…]
Link to video below The Deep Space Network (DSN) provides continuous send and receive service for all planetary and deep-space missions throughout one solar day or 24 hours. Stationed in three separate regions of the planet, a seamless hand off transitions service from one network complex to another as the earth rotates providing worldwide coverage[…]
Live stream the event here: https://youtu.be/gm0b_ijaYMQ or at http://nasa.gov/live Astronomy For Change: https://astronomyforchange.org On Twitter: https://twitter.com/astronomychange Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/astronomyforchange Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of all articles can be found here. If you enjoyed this article, please consider supporting us with a modest donation or through a subscription on our Patreon Page Membership[…]
Video Link Below With this video we introduce a new program feature at Astronomy for Change: “The Mystery and Wonder of Astronomy”. The true structure of spiral galaxies, as yet undetermined into the first quarter of the 20th century with Edwin Hubble, Harlow Shapley, Heber Curtis and Fritz Zwicky making great strides in determining the[…]
Video link below We were reminded of the enormous power of our home star on November 29 of last year (2020), when NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a powerful Solar Flare, entitled the ‘Anemone’ Eruption’! In this video, Dr. James Daly presents and discusses our sun and the spectacular display witnessed on November 29, 2020.[…]
Link to video below As we all mourn the passing of Larry King, an icon, a professional with an uncommon sense of honesty, integrity and decency, a giant among journalists and communicators, let us remember him as a science communicator as well, the “middle-man” as such, between the science professional and the common man. Link[…]
Link to video below As we all mourn the passing of Larry King, an icon, a professional with an uncommon sense of honesty, integrity and decency, a giant among journalists and communicators, let us remember him as a science communicator as well, the “middle-man” as such, between the science professional and the common man. Link[…]
Link to video below In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change choreographs the arrival of Perseverance at Mars on Thursday, February 18th and reminds everyone to set their calendars as Astronomy For Change will be live-streaming the event beginning at 1:45 PM, EST. Nine years ago this August, Curiosity rover landed at[…]
In this video, Dr. Daly discusses the advantages of visual astronomy and shares his view of the world, history and how we can back on track – and it’s not that hard! Astronomy for Change: https://astronomyforchange.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/astronomychange Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/astronomyforchange NASA/ Apollo 11 legacy archive video: https://moon.nasa.gov/resources/288/apollo-11-launch/ NASA STS-125 SM4 10th Anniversary video: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/10-years-ago-hubble-s-final-servicing-mission-made-it-better-than-ever Featured[…]
Last month we brought you Kilauea LIVE! Well, the fun continues with the volcano remaining active and eruptive as the lava lake continues to fill the caldera. In today’s video, well take a look at the 24-hour thermal scan of the caldera’s well, a thermal webcam at the summit rim of the volcano; we’ll zoom[…]
Rather than rewrite the story, we’ll reproduce today’s news release here in its entirety: The Square Kilometre Array Public Website Square Kilometre Array Exploring the Universe with the world’s largest radio telescope SKAO is born – Launch of international Observatory signals new era for radio astronomy Nighttime composite image of the SKA combining all elements[…]
In this video Dr. James Daly of Astronomy For Change responds to Dylan’s claims that printed star charts are a waste, that we don’t have to “cut down trees to look at the stars” and that he will always defer to a digital solution. He’s free to do that but the claim that the digital[…]
When I was a young child, long before I received my first telescope as a Christmas gift from my parents, I often looked up at the moon and thought to myself, this is what the moon will look like in a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, long after I’m gone. While[…]
Link to video below As we all mourn the passing of Larry King, an icon, a professional with an uncommon sense of honesty, integrity and decency, a giant among journalists and communicators, let us remember him as a science communicator as well, the “middle-man” as such, between the science professional and the common man. Link[…]
Link to video below. We were reminded of the enormous power of our home star on November 29 of last year (2020), when NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a powerful Solar Flare, entitled the ‘Anemone’ Eruption’!In this video, Dr. James Daly presents and discusses our sun and the spectacular display witnessed on November 29, 2020.[…]
Dr Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change chronicles the latest dramatic increases in eruptions at Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano. YouTube video link below. Video specific content links: US Geologic Survey: usgs.gov USGS Kilauea Eruption: https://www.usgs.gov/science-explorer-results?es=kilauea+eruption USGS Webcams at Kilauea: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/webcams NASA: nasa.gov NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: nasa.gov/goddard Google Earth Links https://www.google.com/earth/versions/ (includes all sources) https://www.google.com/earth/versions/#download-pro[…]
Related articles linked at the foot of this page In this first of a series video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change discusses (and debunks) the growing Flat Earth Phenomenon. Related articles The #FlatEarth Phenomenon DeBunked, Part I (video) Update: Real #Science Answers to #FlatEarth Claims Real #Science Answers to #FlatEarth Claims The #EarthIsFlat[…]
On this cold, clear night when the stellar jewels are alight above, take the time, if just for a moment, to gaze upwards, to make that visceral connection with that from whence we all came. Regardless of your religious persuasion, if any, we are all connected at the deepest level to those stars; that grand[…]
The production team here at Astronomy For Change has stitched together seasonal and appropriate selections from our original content, presenting them to our viewers, patrons, members and the world at large as a gift and expression of peace for the holidays and hope for a bright 2021. Featured Image: Photo of the Canis Major produced[…]
Link to YouTube video at foot of the article The following quote from the gospel according to Matthew is often found on holiday greeting cards and is heard around the world during this season as a message of peace and hope; the year is over and it’s time to rest, to be with family, friends[…]
Update: The #Christmas Star and the Great #Conjunction 2020 (with Video) Live Stream of the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, 2020 from the University of Exeter, England. Unlike Saturday’s attempt, the weather cooperated and we witnessed the Conjunction, an event not to be repeated until 2080. Dr. Daly offers instruction and commentary where appropriate.[…]
Updated 21 December, 2020 Updated 24 December, 2020: The #Christmas Star and the Great #Conjunction 2020 (with Video) Mark your calendars! We’ll be streaming the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, 2020 LIVE tomorrow, Sunday, December 20, 2020 beginning at 11:15 AM, EST (4:15 PM, GMT) with live feed from the University of Exeter, England.[…]
Update: The #Christmas Star and the Great #Conjunction 2020 (with Video) Mark your calendars! We’ll be streaming the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, 2020 LIVE tomorrow, Saturday, December 19, 2020 beginning at 11:00 AM, EST with live feed from the University of Exeter, England. Although the two planets will appear closest together on Monday,[…]
Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change Interviews Alberto Caballero. The Exoplanet Project’s home page: https://exoplanetschannel.wixsite.com/home. Alberto holds a Master’s degree and is the host of the “Exoplanets” YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdDS4j318UpKjNcpe_LeQxQ) whose focus is habitable exoplanets, extraterrestrial intelligence and Interstellar Travel. He is also involved with the Habitable Exoplanet Hunting Project, an international consortium of[…]
Total Solar eclipse via live feed from west coast of Chile, hosted and narrated by Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change. Dr. Daly narrates and describes the progress of the eclipse, providing appropriate commentary and instruction on relevant and related topics in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of[…]
This is the fourth installment of our ten-part series on the brightest stars and, with it, we’re pleased to present Sirius, the brightest star in Canis Major, the Great Dog. As we transition to winter, with the Winter Solstice occurring this year on the 21st of December (don’t forget to watch the Conjunction of Jupiter[…]
In this video, Dr. Jim Daly presents and discusses this once-in-a-century event: the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, 2020, an event occurring on December 21st, the Winter Solstice, and an event that won’t be repeated again until the year 2080, 60 years hence. The University of Exeter (in the UK) will host a live-stream[…]
This is a follow-up story to recent developments at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Radio Observatory. At 7:53:50 AM EST, December 1st, the observatory’s radio transceiver superstructure, suspended above the 305-meter spherical radio dish, collapsed and fell to the dish below (watch video at the foot of this article). The NSF news release reporting the event follows:[…]
Update: watch our interview with Alberto Caballero, the project leader: The #SETI Project with Alberto Caballero (Interview) Part of our mission is to engage society, to inspire and empower current and future generations and thus affect positive change through astronomy and science education. Astronomy For Change is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to affect[…]
Update: Emergency Action Petition to the WhiteHouse to evaluate and stabilize the Arecibo radio telescope In an unexpected blow to the worldwide Astronomical community, the National Science Foundation announced on Thursday (11/19) that they would soon begin decommissioning the iconic radio telescope, the heart of the Arecibo Radio Observatory. The telescope was made famous in[…]
Climate Change is an Existential Threat to All Life on the Planet and to the Continuance of the Human Species as the dominant life form on the planet. By James Daly, Ph.D That’s a pretty bleak outlook and as stark as it gets but, sadly, it’s the truth regardless of how many politicians choose to[…]
Dr. Jim Daly narrates the evolution of a high mass star, describing heavy element nucleosynthesis and how such a star will ultimately end it’s life in a spectacular fashion as a Type-II Core Collapse Supernova. In this video, the evolution of a 15 solar-mass star is depicted from its “0-age” or the point on it’s[…]
In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy for Change discusses the star Vega, where it is in the night sky, how it compares to the sun and the mythology surrounding Lyra, the constellation that it’s in. As an exercise in Astrophysics and imagination, Dr. Daly describes what would happen to our solar system if[…]
An interactive Sky Tonight portal is now available on our Web portal. Simply click the Blue Bar (or here) to launch an interactive Sky Tonight application courtesy of Stellarium Web. Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of all articles can be found here. If you enjoyed this article, please consider supporting us with[…]
Dr. Jim Daly of AFC discusses the star Arcturus and its similarities to our own sun, our sun as seen through a lens that takes us on a journey in time 2.6 billion years into the future. What will happen to our solar system when that happens. We also take a look at the sky[…]
Dr. James Daly of Astronomy For Change narrates “The Sky Tonight” for for Mid-October. This is our latest Planetarium Show where we tour the waning skies of summer and focus on the third star in our list of the 10 brightest stars, Antares. Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of all articles can[…]
In a scene reminiscent of the view from Tatooine or from a planet orbiting a red dwarf star, this author witnessed a remarkable sunset this week. By now, everyone should be aware of the unprecedented fires engulfing the US State of California. As the climate continues to change and warm unabated, the frequency and intensity[…]
Related videos available at the foot of the page. With this third in installment in our ten-part series on the ten brightest stars we’re pleased to present the red supergiant star Antares, the Heart of the Scorpion. Derived from the Greek, the star’s name refers to it as a “rival to-Ares” (“opponent to-Mars”) with a[…]
Related articles linked at the foot of this page […]
Related articles linked at the foot of this page By James Daly, Ph.D We’ve published a variety of articles to address a new, and growing phenomenon, the belief that the earth is flat. To my mind, it is inconceivable that, in the 21st century, when we’ve brilliantly navigated a robot craft to flyby Pluto some[…]
Related articles linked at the foot of this page By James Daly, Ph.D I wouldn’t normally write about such things as this as there is so much to be concerned of as of late that this topic might seem trivial by comparison. Trivial on its face, yes but it bespeaks a deeper problem with grave[…]
Opinion by James Daly, Ph.D, Astronomer, Curator and Author We’ve written extensively on this subject as it is impossible to overstate the threat to ground-based Astronomy this project poses and have chronicled the various professional facilities and how they will be effected: #SpaceX #Starlink Project Tops Shortlist Of Really Bad Ideas #Starlink (#SpaceX) Update and[…]
The Perseid meteor shower is an annual event that generally occurs each year during the 2nd week in August as the Earth passes through the same debris field left behind by comet Swift–Tuttle. This year the shower peaks on the morning of August 12. Unlike last year, however, the moon is at 3rd quarter and[…]
This is the second installment of our ten-part series on the brightest stars and, with it, we’re pleased to present Vega, the “Contact Star” (made famous by the feature-length Hollywood production of the same name, starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey). Vega, at 25 light-years distant, is the fifth brightest star in the sky and[…]
Here at Astronomy for Change we often get questions, good questions, about various topics in astronomy. Here’s a sampling of some of the more common questions received as of late: Which planets we can see from earth What star did sailors use to navigate? Why is Sirius so easy to find in the night sky?[…]
One of our sponsors, Radio Astronomy Supplies, has posted an “Invitation to Observe“, for astronomers (Amateur or Professional) to participate in exploratory radio observations of the rich galaxy cluster in the constellation Coma Berencies. The details follow: Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of all articles can be found here. If you enjoyed[…]
Link to video at foot of page Back in 2016 we published an article Where are the five brightest stars in our sky? Since then, this article has been one of our most popular and, accordingly, we’re going to continue the discussion, expanding the list from 5 (6, really, when you consider the sun) to[…]
Update (22 July, 2020) As of today’s date, Comet 2020 F3 NeoWise rises with the sun and is thus, exclusively an evening object. The comet is well placed at twilight, south and west of Merak and Dubhe, the famous “pointer stars” of the “Big Dipper“, the Northern-Hemisphere asterism made famous as a great “dipper” in[…]
Opinion I’m an Astronomer and Astrophysicist by training and profession and care deeply about all living things, the state of our world and the planet we inhabit. In studying the universe and the natural world most of my life, I have come to learn a few things; among those, I’ve come to learn about the[…]
Here at Astronomy For Change, we’ve discussed at length, the recent discoveries, observations and scientific breakthroughs regarding these enigmatic objects whose light was emitted billions of years before the sun burned bright in space: A Discovery that Shook the World! In a galaxy far, far away, KiloNova Explosion From Neutron Star Merger Observed – Gravity[…]
On 3 October of 2017, in what the prestigious Royal Swedish Academy described simply as “a discovery that shook the world”, three Americans were awarded that year’s Nobel Prize in Physics “for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves”, waves famously predicted by Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity 105[…]
As the country and the world struggles to cope with the Corona Virus, it is instructive to contemplate the words of the late Carl Sagan as he shared his thoughts on the state of the world in 1994. The world was different then in some ways but, in many respects, it remains the same today.[…]
Since this is a fluid situation (the planned launch of the next round of Starlink satellites on April 15th has been postponed), we will be publishing new stories as the situation evolves. We recently published an update to our original story reporting on the effects and aftermath of SpaceX’s first-round launch of 60 Starlink Satellites[…]
In June of last year, we published a story on the launch of a brand-new SpaceX mission, Starlink, an ostensible name really that has nothing to do with linking to the stars (whatever that means) rather, it would be more like eclipsing them. This is an update to that story and the news isn’t good[…]
This year’s Vernal Equinox occurred on Thursday, March 19 amid beautiful evening and morning skies. The sun, as it appears to move along the Ecliptic, crossed the Celestial Equator at 11:49 PM EDT on the 19th. Of note, this will be the earliest spring in over 100 years. According to the Farmers Almanac For much[…]
On this cold, clear night when the stellar jewels are alight above, take the time, if just for a moment, to gaze upwards, to make that visceral connection with that from whence we all came. Regardless of your religious persuasion, if any, we are all connected at the deepest level to those stars; that grand[…]
In this un-narrated video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change takes us on a quick tour of the sky tonight starting at sunset, taking a look at the New Moon with Venus and Mercury at sunset, then jumping to Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus (yes, Uranus). Following all that, we keep moving east to the[…]
In this video, Dr. James Daly takes us on a tour of the early Autumn Sky, discussing the October Full Moon otherwise known as The Hunter’s Moon. These colloquial names for the full moon describe certain activities where the brilliant moon, high in the sky, would extend visibility and assist in the activity associated with[…]
Dr. Daly presents the science and, specifically, the Astronomy behind the event, the seasons and how they change. It should be pointed out that on this date and the Vernal Equinox (the beginning of Spring) the sun rises due East and sets due West. Dr. Daly presents the science and, specifically, the Astronomy behind the[…]
In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change presents this year’s Full Harvest Moon, Friday, September 13, 2019 set against the late Sumer and early Autumn Sky. Dr. Daly discusses the origin, legend and lore behind the naming of each month’s full moon and why they are significant. With the full moon rising[…]
In this video, Dr. James Daly celebrates and discusses the Centenary of the first of many confirmations of Einstein’s Theory of Gravity, his General Theory of Relativity. On 29 May, 1919, observations were made of stars in the vicinity of the totally-eclipsed sun, a rare event that provided the conditions necessary for such an experiment[…]
Without narration and with select ambient music, we explore the Labor Day weekend sky beginning tonight, August 31 through September 2nd, 2019. The holiday weekend sky features a waxing crescent moon with Venus setting 15 minutes after the sun on Labor Day with Jupiter and Saturn still well placed to the south in Scorpio and[…]
How does the sun and other stars shine? In this, the first of a multi-part series, Dr. James Daly of Astronomy For Change (https://astronomyforchange.org) teaches us and illustrates how stars, incredibly dynamic and self-regulating, shine and evolve. With this video, we start with the sun as a model and an up-close and personal laboratory to[…]
This is a short, narration free video featuring the beautiful (and peaceful) pre-dawn sky of today, August 27, 2019. Tomorrow’s sky is similar Please like, subscribe and share. Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of all articles in this blog can be found here.
In this video, Dr. James Daly of Astronomy for Change discusses the science behind the deadly wildfires sweeping much of Brazil, Bolivia and other countries in Latin America and how important it is for us to quickly extinguish those fires and prevent them in the future. Dr. Daly also discusses sensible, sustainable energy solutions and,[…]
In our latest video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy for Change discusses the recent interest in colonizing Mars through ‘Terraforming’. Elon Musk is pushing the idea of rapidly warming the surface of the Red Planet using clean Nuclear Fusion ‘bombs’ and thus rapidly increasing the planet’s average surface temperature. Through a thoughtful choice of the[…]
Does Asteroid Apophis, first discovered in 2004, now Pose a Threat to Earth? In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy for Change discusses this and related topics with the renewed interest in these and other Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that could pose an existential threat to the planet, to life and civilization as we[…]
In this video, Dr. Jm Daly discusses recent developments regarding the attempted construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on the large Island of Hawaii, Mauna Kea. It is the opinion of Astronomy For Change that the TMT should be built on Site A, Mauna Kea. Dr. Daly makes a case for construction of TMT[…]
In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change discusses remaining viewing options for the Perseid Meteor Shower and the mid-to-late August Sky, highlighting those constellations and objects of interest that are receding from view with the close of the season. The constellations discussed include Bootes, The Herdsman, Canes Venatici, The Hunting Dogs, Hercules[…]
Dr. James Daly of Astronomy for Change presents a public lecture on the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative that, if successful, will see the launch of humanities first interstellar mission. Thousands of nano-class, gram-mass scale robotic craft will be launched via a high-power, phased-array microwave laser to 20% the speed of light towards the nearest star system[…]
Dr. James Daly of Astronomy for Change discusses the Full Moon for August, the Full Sturgeon Moon, Full Moon naming conventions, two beautiful new objects for binoculars or telescope (M-11, M-24), the Perseid Meteor Shower and the coming Autumnal Equinox. Please like, subscribe and share. Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of all[…]
In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change discusses the early August Night Sky with some of the jewels of the Summer Sky, some of the prominent constellations, the Milky Way, the major planets visible (Jupiter & Saturn), the phases of the moon for August 10 – 13 along with the Perseid Meteor[…]
The object discussed in this article, Terzan5, was featured as the Astronomy Picture of the Day, APOD for 21 September, 2016 Astronomy Picture of the Day In a few articles I’ve touched upon a poorly understood class of objects known as Globular Clusters. These objects and the stars in them are galactic relics, timeposts that[…]
In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change revisits the Perseid Meteor Shower and takes a look at the stunning view looking south for Friday, August 9, 2019. We present new objects to view with binoculars or an amateur telescope, discuss the phase of the moon for August 8 and 9 and take[…]
In this video, we take a quick look at the early August sky at twilight and move on, later into the night, taking a look at the major planets (Jupiter and Saturn, in Scorpio and Sagittarius, respectively), a quick look at the early Autumn constellations, rising much later into the night. We then take an[…]
Dr. James Daly discusses Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and Newton’s Laws within the context of a recent study published by UCLA’s Dr. Andrea Ghez of the Supermassive Black Hole at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The study can be found here: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2019/07/24/science.aav8137 https://phys.org/news/2019-07-einstein-relativity-theory.html Please like, share and subscribe. This subscription is[…]
The Sky Tonight for July 28, 2019 presented by Dr. James Daly of Astronomy for Change. In this edition of the series, we take a look at the early morning sky, the slim, waning crescent moon, and the morning planets Venus and Mercury. We take a brief look at the stars and constellations of autumn[…]
Opinion by Dr. James Daly The late Carl Sagan, in his 1995 book “The Demon-Haunted World, Science as a Candle In the Dark” warns of exactly what is happening today and how reliance on science, reason, thought and collaboration is the antidote to a society that has, quite literally, gone mad. Are we citizens of[…]
Related articles linked at the foot of this page Opinion by Dr. James Daly The late Carl Sagan, in his 1995 book “The Demon-Haunted World, Science as a Candle In the Dark” warns of exactly what is happening today and how reliance on science, reason, thought and collaboration is the antidote to a society that[…]
The latest edition of The Sky Tonight with Dr. James Daly of Astronomy for Change. In this video we continue our exploration of the summer sky and constellations, the summer Milky Way and notable objects of interest specific to the season. We zoom in on the Summer Triangle, the Constellations Lyra and Hercules while discussing[…]
The Sky Tonight for July 16 through July 21, 2019 presented by Dr. James Daly of Astronomy For Change. Topics include the continued discussion of the various constellations of the day and the season, the major planets visible, the ecliptic, the moon, Apollo 11 along with a brief discussion of stellar evolution. Ambient background music:[…]
The Sky Tonight for the week beginning July 14, 2019. We look at the phase of the moon, some of the prominent summer constellations and planets as well as discuss some interesting aspects of two of the season’s prominent stars. During the video we discuss the star Antares and that it is a highly evolved[…]
Looking up at the shimmering sapphire set low in the western sky towards midnight, Arcturus, we are reminded that another summer is here, that spring is gone and that Father Time continues his cadence, marking the years; it is a reminder that everything is changing and growing; it is solace in an insane world and[…]
During his years working in the Swiss Patent Office, Albert Einstein often imagined what it would be like to ride on beam of light. This thought experiment would come to play a key role in the development of his Special Theory of Relativity, one of the four great works produced during his 1905 Annus Mirabilis.[…]
What does it mean, Albert Einstein asked in 1905, to say that a train arrives someplace — in Paris, say — at 7 o’clock? It should be noted that last week, 30 June, 2019, is the 114th anniversary of Einstein’s publication of “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies“, his Special Theory of Relativity. What is[…]
The Old Astronomer To His Pupil By Sarah Williams Reach me down my Tycho Brahé, – I would know him when we meet, When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet; He may know the law of all things, yet be ignorant of how We are working to completion, working on from[…]
We continue our video initiative with this latest installment of “The Sky Tonight” for the week beginning 8 July, 2019. We take a look at what planets are visible with a quick tour of the summer sky over the coming week; we’ll revisit this often over the coming weeks, taking a more in-depth look at[…]
The cover image for the feature video (also above) was produced from Dr. Daly’s composite image of the totally eclipsed sun as observed during his eclipse expedition to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, 11 July 1991. We hosted a live event via YouTube today, 2 July, 2019 presenting the Great Latin American Eclipse of 2019. Decribing[…]
This Tuesday, July 2nd, observers in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay will be witness to one of nature’s most awesome spectacles, a Total Eclipse of the Sun. A total eclipse of the sun occurs when the moon, at “New” Phase, perfectly covers the disk of the sun. Since the moon is 400x smaller than the sun,[…]
Well, I did it! Using the college’s 0.63m flagship instrument, I, along with colleagues, visually observed the second most distant globular cluster associated with our Milky Way galaxy! I’m fascinated with relics as they have a story to tell, a deep story of something very old, of a long-gone epoch, a bridge, if you will,[…]
Ever since it was discovered that the rotational dynamics of spiral galaxies were inconsistent with the observed mass of those galaxies, it has been postulated that missing mass or dark matter was responsible. With fellow staff-member Kent Ford, astronomer Vera Rubin announced at a 1975 meeting of the American Astronomical Society the discovery that most stars in spiral galaxies orbit at roughly[…]
As the last vestiges of the winter sky are low in the west at twilight, we look forward to the late spring and early summer sky. With Lyra the celestial harp ascending the northeastern sky towards midnight along with Cygnus and the rich summer Milky Way following close behind, we’re certain that spring is here[…]
The beauty of the night sky has inspired generation after generation from the dawn of recorded history and now, that vista, the essence of that inspiration, is under direct threat! Many famous poets, authors, scientists and philosophers have written about the stars, the universe and the night sky above and, sadly, what is absent in[…]
Every year on the 29th of May, the anniversary of the famous 1919 Total Solar Eclipse, we celebrate Einstein’s Triumph, the experiment that provided incontrovertible evidence for the veracity of his theory on Gravity, the General Theory of Relativity. Up until the turn of the 20th century, the natural universe was governed by Newton’s Laws;[…]
On 4 December, 2017 Dr. James Daly of Astronomy For Change hosted a public event discussing the landmark discovery and optical counterpart observation of the merger of two Neutron Stars. The discovery was made on 17 August, 2017 using the US-Based LIGO Gravity Wave Telescope Array and the Virgo gravitational wave observatory located near Pisa,[…]
This video is the first in a short series on this topic. Many studies of late have been published regarding this enigmatic phenomenon known as “Dark Matter“. The term is a misnomer since the expression suggests that there is some “matter”, some quantifiable, measurable quantity, heretofore unobserved. This is not the case; the term was[…]
In an unprecedented observation of a class of objects that have been the center of much attention since they were first postulated by Karl Schwarzchild in 1916 using Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, a world-wide collaboration of astronomers will release tomorrow, the first ever images of 2 super-massive black holes, Sagittarius-A at the center of[…]
It is rare that so many solar system objects are all located so closely in a singular view. This week, moving along the ecliptic towards full moon on the 26th, the the August moon, Sturgeon Moon, the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon the moon will be favorably positioned near 3 of the solar[…]
The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century will take place this Friday, July 27. This eclipse is also significant as it takes place during a “Blue” moon, or a full moon that occurs more than once during a calendar month. A lunar eclipse occurs only during the full moon phase as the moon[…]
As the last vestiges of the winter sky are low in the west at twilight, we look forward to the late spring and early summer sky. With Lyra the celestial harp ascending the northeastern sky towards midnight along with Cygnus and the rich summer Milky Way following close behind, we’re certain that spring is here[…]
As pictured in this Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 21, in a brilliantly successful launch, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 into a highly elliptical, High Earth Orbit. Contrary to many news reports, TESS is not a telescope, nor does it have any telescopes onboard. It[…]
Tomorrow, 24 April, 2018, marks the 28th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope’s service to mankind. Twenty Eight years ago on this date in 1990, the intrepid telescope rocketed into history aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. To celebrate this momentous occasion, NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute have released the beautiful image and “Fly Through”[…]
With the first topic of discussion posted, Astronomy for Change launches our new Community Forum and Discussion Board. The first topic of discussion is How Successful will TESS be? Jump right in and let us know what you think of NASA’s new mission of discovery and exploration or introduce a topic of your own.
The sky tonight for April 17, 2018 without narration. A version of this video will follow with full narration by Dr. James Daly of Astronomy For Change. This is the first video in our weekly tour of the night sky. Each installment will be seasonal and timely, designed to take our guests on a quick[…]
Looking up at the shimmering sapphire ascending the northeast sky at twilight, Arcturus, reminds us that the seasons are changing, that spring is emerging from what seemed to be an intolerably long winter; it is a reminder that everything is changing and growing; it is solace in an uncertain world and allows one, at least[…]
In Albert Einstein‘s 1915 General Theory of Relativity, his theory on Gravity and a brand new way of looking at the universe, it was predicted that the space in the vicinity of a massive object would be warped and thus, the appearance of anything whose light would pass through this region of space would be[…]
UPDATE: On April 18th at 6:51 PM, EDT, SpaceX is set to launch the small counterpart and addition to the intrepid Kepler Space Telescope now operating with limited control propellant and hence, limited time during the newly designated K2 mission. Having its original mission cut short due to general failure of a second of the[…]
On February 21st, in a heretofore unprecedented accomplishment, an amateur astronomer has recorded the “First Light” of a dying star over 80 million light years distant. As described in the Nature article, the first point of contact for the supernova’s photons after traveling 80 million years, a point in the distant past 15 million years[…]
Did you ever wonder why each of the seasons feature a unique and distinctive procession of stars and constellations? The year is divided into four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We begin the astronomical year on the Vernal Equinox, the astronomical beginning of Spring and the date the sun, moving eastward along the Ecliptic,[…]
During these cold, clear winter nights in the Northern Hemisphere, the sky is adorned with a veritable treasure trove of jewels, ranging widely in brilliance, splendor and color. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, the winter sky has one of the highest densities of bright stars for any given region of the sky. Even a casual[…]
“All I Ask Is A Tall Ship And A Star To Steer Her By” Those poetic words spoken by 19-20th century English poet John Masefield suggest that all that the men who “go down to the sea” need is a star to steer their tall ship by. What’s to be said of this love of[…]
Astronomy is an area where the Greeks displayed a remarkable talent. Observational astronomy, the main focal point where astronomy took an unprecedented leap in Greece, attempted to construct a model of the universe that could account for the observations made by Greek scholars. They explored all imaginable alternatives, and carefully accounted for several different solutions of[…]
Saturn is a source of intense radio emissions and, starting in 2002, scientists at NASA have been monitoring that emission using instrumentation onboard the Cassini spacecraft. As a result, NASA was able to convert and translate the radio signals into sound in an effort to better understand the underlying phenomenon. This discovery is just one[…]
Tonight, January 23, 2018, the planet Uranus is uniquely placed in the constellation Pisces within 6 degrees almost due north of the waxing crescent moon. Although the planet’s brightness or magnitude is at the threshold for naked-eye observation, a modest pair of binoculars is necessary to reveal the planet as a greenish-blue “star” and a[…]
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. there was this star that, by all known theories of stellar evolution (the study of how stars are born, live and die), should have died. Many stories in the media lately have described this star as the “Zombie” star since, contrary to what should have[…]
Did you know that while you are watching the solar eclipse, scientists from NASA are recording data related to radiation from the ground? On August 21, 2017, during the solar eclipse, the over a 70-mile wide path that crosses the country from Oregon to South Carolina will be recorded from the ground. During the total[…]
As an effort to promote astronomy and science around the world, we will be having a live stream for those interested in seeing the eclipse. Nasa will be covering the eclipse on the air and in the ground with docents of scientist participating in the endeavor. he first total solar eclipse in the continental United States[…]
A lot of us live astronomy and most importantly, love to look up at the sky and feel immersed in its vast beauty. Many are taken back by the difficulty to capture stars with their mobile 📱phones, but it is possible to capture that special moment between you and the stars. So how do we go[…]