Astronauts are back from the ISS - but the untold story is scary

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely back on earth. But their experience in docking with the International Space Station was far more scary than the original reports from the media.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is pictured docked to the International Space Station.
One of the four doghouses is visible on the service module. Credit: NASA

Head on over to ARS Technica for the full story of that 'overly exciting' docking maneuver.

Soldiers Delight Star Party - April 19, 2025

Soldiers Delight Star Party - April 19, 2025

Looking for something different to do on a Saturday night? Want to expand your knowledge of Astronomy? Then why not join us on Saturday, April 19, for a discussion about a fascinating problem in modern astrophysics:

"Crisis in Cosmology - aka, The Hubble Tension"

Tonight's lecture is on one of the most intriguing puzzles in modern cosmology: The Hubble Tension. This phenomenon refers to the discrepancy between the rate of expansion of the universe as measured by different methods. On one hand, we have measurements from the early universe, such as those from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), and on the other, we have measurements from the local universe, such as those using Cepheid variables and Type Ia supernovae. Despite the precision of these methods, they yield different values for the Hubble constant, leading to a tension that challenges our understanding of the cosmos. Today, we will delve into the methods used to measure the Hubble constant, explore the possible reasons for this discrepancy, and discuss the implications for our understanding of the universe.

All programs rain or shine. Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.

All ages welcome

Note:  Starting this month, and through September, events will be held 8:30 - 10:30 EDT

Activity: TBD

You can find out about special local events by contacting us at https://www.westminsterastro.org/

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025

Time: 8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Eastern

Location: Soldiers Delight Environmental Area

5100 Deer Park Rd.

Owings Mills, MD 21117

Is that Saturn?

On Sunday, March 23, a rare celestial event will temporarily cause Saturn’s rings to seemingly vanish from view. Known as a ring plane crossing, it is the result of the planet’s tilt and orbital mechanics. Because they are incredibly thin compared to their vast width, they become nearly invisible when viewed from the side. So, for a few days before and after the 23rd, Saturn would appear to look like Jupiter.

Simulation from Stellarium

However, you would need a telescope and really excellent sky conditions to see this event, since Saturn is so close to the sun. The rings should reappear soon and will be getting wider as the years march on, fully opening again in 2032.

Total Lunar Eclipse of March 14, 2025

The eclipse was wonderful, even though the weather didn't fully cooperate. The events from the start of the eclipse occurred in clear skies but clouds quickly obscured the sky soon after the start of totality until a few minutes after mid-eclipse (and then continued thereafter). I was able to capture the first half of the eclipse and a single image at the midpoint. You can view a video of the event on my YouTube page.

And here are two images of the moon near mid-eclipse. The first one is the full frame view where you can see some of the stars of the constellations Leo and Virgo that were captured in the dark sky.

Total Eclipse of the Moon - March 14, 2025 2:41 AM EDT
William Optics GT102 with Canon 50D sensor
ISO 400 - 8sec exposure

The second is a close-up of just the fully eclipsed moon.

Lunar Eclipse tonight - SD Star Party this Saturday

Total Lunar Eclipse

Tonight, will be the first total lunar eclipse in over 2 years. Well, 'tonight' is figuratively correct, the actual start of the total phase won't occur until 2:26 AM Friday morning EDT. In the diagram below times are UT; convert to EDT by subtracting 4 hours.

Timeline of the Total Eclipse
Sky and Telescope

The partial phase (when the moon enters the earth's shadow called the Umbra) begins at 1:09AM where the moon will be due south, about 50 degrees high in the sky. Mid-totality occurs at 2:59 AM. At the end of the partial phase, at 4:48 AM, the moon will have moved across the sky and will be about 30 degrees high in the WSW. This is a most favorable condition for a total lunar eclipse.

Get those cameras out - I will.

You can read more about the eclipse at Sky and Telescope.

Soldiers Delight Star Party

Soldiers Delight Star Party - March 15, 2025

"Astronomical Phenomena: Eclipses, meteor showers, and other spectacular events in the night sky"

Astronomical phenomena such as eclipses, meteor showers, and other spectacular events in the night sky captivate our imagination and offer a glimpse into the vastness of the universe. Eclipses, whether solar or lunar, occur when the Earth, moon, and sun align, casting shadows and creating breathtaking visual displays. Meteor showers, like the Perseids or Geminids, result from Earth passing through the debris left by comets, producing streaks of light as meteoroids burn up in the atmosphere. Other phenomena, such as auroras, are caused by solar particles interacting with Earth's magnetic field, painting the sky with vibrant colors. These events not only provide stunning visuals but also deepen our understanding of celestial mechanics and the dynamic nature of our cosmos.

All programs rain or shine. Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.

Activity: Dark Sky Wheel

You can find out about special local events by contacting us at https://www.westminsterastro.org/

Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025

Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time

Location: Soldiers Delight Environmental Area

5100 Deer Park Rd.

Owings Mills, MD 21117

Commercial Landers on the Moon

Firefly's Success

In a first for a commercial company, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander made a fully successful landing on the surface of the Moon. The landing occurred in the Mare Crisium on the lunar nearside early on the morning of Sunday, March 2nd at 3:34 a.m. EST / 8:34 UT.

Blue Ghost sees its shadow, on the surface of the Moon
Firefly Aerospace

Firefly's Blue Ghost lander witnessed lunar sunrise —
the start of a new day on the Moon and two weeks of activities
NASA

Read the complete story at Sky and Telescope

Intuitive Machines not so successful 

Athena landed in the lunar south pole region but fell on its side. After its batteries quickly depleted, the mission ended. 

This photo of the lunar surface was taken from the Athena lander on approach.
Intuitive Machines

Athena entered lunar orbit on March 3rd and initiated an initial descent orbit insertion (DOI) burn on March 6th at 5:33 a.m. EST / 10:33 UT, snapping images as it went. It touched down in the Mon Mouton region at 12:30 p.m. EST / 17:30 UT. However, early indications showed that the Nova-C lander was "not in the correct attitude," said Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, in a press conference Thursday afternoon. Indeed, a later image from the spacecraft confirmed it had landed on its side, similar to the fate of the company's first attempt, a year ago.

Athena managed to send back pictures confirming its position and activate a few experiments before going silent.

Athena took a picture from the surface of the Moon that showed the lander on its side.
Intuitive Machines

Full story at Sky and Telescope

Jupiter with moon shadows

It's been a long time since I have attempted any planetary photography since I'm generally a DSO (Deep Space Object) imager.  So, while setting up for another run at the IC 417 nebula I slewed the telescope to Jupiter just for the fun of it while I was waiting for the sky to get darker.

Even though I didn't have the planetary camera attached, the mono ASI2600 at the f/10 full FL of the EdgeHD11 did bring out some detail. I noticed the location of two of Jupiter's moons and the shadows they were casting on the planet so I ran a full 5000 frame video capture using SharpCap.

Jupiter - March 4, 2025
EdgeHD11/ASI2600mm f/10
2500 frames stacked in Autostakkert and Processed in Registax

The resultant stacked and processed image (at 50% best frame setting) was quite remarkable. It showed the red spot, numerous cloud belts and the shadows of both Europa and Ganymede. Not in color, I might add, as this was through the mono camera using just the luminance filter.

Maybe I'll get back to some planetary imaging later this Spring before the planets move out of my view. For now, it's back to DSOs.

Recording breaking Ghost-like Particle Discovered

Astronomers have used a giant, underwater telescope to detect the most energetic neutrino ever observed. So, what is a neutrino?

A neutrino is a tiny, neutral subatomic particle with a very small mass, much less than that of an electron. It comes in three types: electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos, and tau neutrinos. Neutrinos interact very weakly with other matter, allowing them to pass through most objects almost undetected. They are produced in various nuclear reactions, such as those in the sun, during supernovae, and in nuclear reactors. Despite their elusive nature, neutrinos are essential for understanding fundamental processes in the universe.

This artist's impression shows part of the KM3NET neutrino detector,
being built deep in the Mediterranean Sea.
It's not to scale — the detector units are just 30 cm across,
and they'll be spread across cubic kilometers under the sea.

On February 13, 2023, the Astroparticle Research with Cosmics in the Abyss (ARCA) picked up a single muon that triggered more than a third of the site’s intricate sensors. The inbound trajectory of the muon, coupled with its extremely high energy, led KM3NeT researchers to conclude that the muon was the result of a 220 peta electrovolt (PeV) neutrino striking the Earth's atmosphere from space.

See the complete article at SkyandTelescope

Venus Shines Bright

The planet Venus will be the brightest object in evening sky on Valentine's Day. Kinda neat since in Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, sex, beauty and fertility. How fitting.

Venus’s greatest evening elongation in 2025 from the Northern Hemisphere
as viewed through a powerful telescope. The planets are exaggerated 600 times in size.
Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2025 Astronomical Calendar.

Venus reaches its greatest brilliancy for 2025 on February 14, where it is the evening star. You can't miss Venus! It outshines all other objects in our sky, except for the sun and moon. Look for it in the western sky just after sunset. In fact, it is so bright that you could probably see it before the sun sets if you know just where to look. And with small telescopes, it is visible in the daytime.

Check out EarthSky for more details about Venus, why it is so bright and why it appears sometime in the east and sometimes in the west but never all night long.

Soldier's Delight Star Party - this Saturday - Feb 15, 2025 - 6:30pm

Soldiers Delight Star Party - February 15, 2025

I am back from the frozen north of Norway, in search of the Northern Lights. Turns out it wasn't actually frozen at all! I'll explain during the session this coming Saturday. 

So come on out and join us for an exciting discussion of Gravity, Black Holes and what's up in the winter sky.

"Gravity and Black Holes"

Tonight, we delve into one of the most intriguing and enigmatic phenomena in the universe: black holes and the force of gravity that governs them. Black holes, with their immense gravitational pull, challenge our understanding of physics and the very fabric of space-time. These cosmic giants, formed from the remnants of massive stars, possess gravitational fields so strong that not even light can escape their grasp. Our discussion will explore the formation of black holes, the role of gravity in their behavior, and the profound implications they have for our understanding of the universe. Join me as we journey into the depths of these mysterious entities and uncover the secrets they hold about the nature of gravity and the cosmos.

All programs rain or shine. Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.

Activity: Gravity Simulator: Explore Black Holes and Gravity

You can find out about special local events by contacting us at https://www.westminsterastro.org/

Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025

Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Eastern

Location: Soldiers Delight Environmental Area

5100 Deer Park Rd.

Owings Mills, MD 21117

Comet G3 may be disintegrating

As reported on EarthSky, new reports suggest that bright comet ATLAS G3 – which has been wowing observers this past week (at least in the southern hemisphere and the lower US) – may be disintegrating.

Comets are known to undergo an “outburst,” or rapid increase in brightness, before starting to disintegrate. And observers reported on the evening of January 19 that Comet ATLAS had suddenly become much brighter. 

The images below show the nucleus dimming and loosing definition.

Astrophotographer Lionel Majzik captured these images of comet ATLAS G3 from Rio Hurtado, Chile, between January 18 and 20. 

For the complete story see EarthSky.