Earth | Astronomy Observatory

Solar Flares and the Potential for Problems

Image by NASA Goddard Photo and Video via Flickr

The next time you drop a call on your cell phone or experience problems with your GPS or satellite dish, consider that the culprit just might be solar flares.

In February 2011 Earth’s sun was quite active, launching three solar flares in succession. More of these flares are sure to follow: Scientists note that storms on the sun follows an 11-year cycle and last crested in 2002. This means that a peak is expected to be reached during the years 2012 and 2013.

What does this mean? No one is quite sure; many experts are quick to note that there is no reason to panic, but the potential for widespread disaster is clearly evident:

Power Outages

Solar flares are capable of overloading circuits and causing sporadic power outages. In 1989 Quebec was victim to a nine-hour blackout caused by solar flares.

Communication Interruptions

Electromagnetic storms can knock out satellites and cause communications systems such as pagers and cell phones to be rendered inoperable.

GPS Malfunctions

If satellites are knocked out, GPS receivers will be unable to lock onto signals and will not be functional. This would not only affect the millions of GPS users throughout the United States, but also air traffic.

Domino Effect

Scientists have issued warnings that everything from transportation to government to finance to food and water supplies could be affected as a result of the “domino effect” that could take place if the electric grid were to be compromised.

Fortunately, the Earth is well-protected from these solar storms by its atmosphere and magnetic fields; however, it never hurts to be prepared.

Filed Under: Astronomy, Planets · Tagged With: Earth, Solar Flares

Jupiter and the Spacecraft Galileo’s Legacy

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Without the spacecraft Galileo, we wouldn’t know nearly as much as we do about the planet Jupiter.

Launched in 1989, the unmanned spacecraft was tasked with probing and gathering data regarding Jupiter and its surrounding moons, of which there are 63 confirmed.

Named after famed astronomer Galileo Galilei, who discovered the four largest moons surrounding Jupiter, the spacecraft completed 35 orbits around Jupiter and provided scientists at NASA with a wealth of information.

Although Galileo’s mission was terminated in 2003, data analysis is still underway and new information is still being discovered.

Studying Galileo’s data has given us a much better understanding of Jupiter, the largest and one of the most fascinating of the planets that make up our solar system. Some of the more interesting and notable discoveries attributed to the spacecraft Galileo include the following:

Volcanic activity present on Jupiter’s moon Io is similar to volcanic activity found on our own planet (although there is a lot more of it on Io). This activity is a result of an ocean of magma located below the moon’s surface.
There may be oceans located beneath the layers of ice that make up the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Jupiter is home to violent thunderstorms considerably larger than the ones we experience on Earth.

Galileo’s mission to Jupiter was ended in September of 2003 when scientists deliberately sent the spacecraft hurtling into Jupiter’s atmosphere, destroying it. This was done because Galileo was nearly out of the propellant needed to remain operational, and scientists at NASA were concerned that the spacecraft, if not intentionally destroyed, might accidentally cause damage to Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Filed Under: Astronomy, N.A.S.A · Tagged With: Earth, Jupiter, NASA

Naming A Star

They say there are millions of stars, millions upon billions of stars in the sky. What we see when we look into the sky at night, we see a mere fraction of the activity that is going on in the heavens. The stars are dancing and darting their way through the night. The amazing thing is that these stars can be located. Astronomers can pinpoint exactly where a star is in the sky, They have charts and sky maps and coordinates, and for the most part they can tell you where a star is at any given time. Astronomers have identified clusters of stars, Supernovas, asteroids, millions of bright lights just littering the sky with blinking, twinkling light. The stars seem to be having one big huge disco party in the sky.

It only stands to reason that someone here on the Earth, millions of miles away from those stars came up with the idea to own them. It is a charming concept, and of course, someone is making a profit on it. For a fee, somewhere around $20 you can name a star. You can actually look at a chart and choose your star. You name the star, especially cheesy Valentine’s Day gift, perfect birthday gift for a young scientist. Imagine applying to MIT someday and putting on the application under “miscellaneous”, “by the way, I own a star. It is named for me.” Sounds prestigious. Kids love it, some marketing genius somewhere is sitting back just counting the money. Who is going to be able to prove which star is theirs, who is going to question you when you show it to them. But the bottom line is, how cool is it to own one?

Filed Under: Astronomy, Stars · Tagged With: Astronomy, Earth, Supernova

Are We Truly Poisoning The Atmosphere?

Is the ozone layer disappearing? Are the polar ice caps melting because of global warming? Is the surface of the Earth one day going to be so hot we won’t even be able to walk on it? You would think any of that is possible, but is it probable? Is there really a hole in the ozone layer, and if there is maybe the hole is over China, half way across the world. Maybe we don’t have to worry about pressure cooking our skin, they do.

What we do know is what we hear and learn from scientists and environmentalists. They are telling us that we are destroying our own atmosphere. There are places in this country where you can see the pollution first thing in the morning when you wake up and look out the window. There it is, hanging in the air like a thick umbrella. That cannot be good for anyone.

We have definitely cut down on people smoking in our world, but what about the number of cars that are pouring pollution into our air every day? We have not stopped producing cars, we are mass producing cars. Where just about 40 years ago most houses were one car households, the average household owns three to four cars. That is four times the pollution right there. Factories are literally pouring pollution into our air at an alarming rate.

Yes were are poisoning the atmosphere. Steps are being taken, but the progress is slow. You can get a hybrid car that would not burn as much gas, but the cost of one right now is out of most people’s budget. We need to be more diligent. We might not be here when it gets really bad, but our great great grandchildren will be, and don’t we want to protect them too? Don’t we want to do everything to make their world a safe place to live, instead of the smog chamber it is currently becoming?

Filed Under: Atmosphere, Environment · Tagged With: China, Earth, Ozone layer

Astronomy Fact Sheet: What is a Supernova?

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In the wonderful world of astronomy there is a beautiful event called the supernova. What is this large, bright burst of light? What does it do in the system? How is it named?

Let’s explore a little bit about the supernova and what makes this type of universe phenomena so amazing.

A supernova is a huge explosion that happens out in the universe. It is extremely bright. So bright that it actually outshines the whole solar system that it occurs in. When a star or planet has such a burst of radiation it shines brightly in the universe, as described above then quickly fades away until nothing.

The occurrence of the supernova occurs for one of two reasons. Either there is combination of nuclear fusion that causes the energy to be quickly turned on or in some cases turned off. The energy shines out brightly and quickly the core of the star or planet that showed this type of energy, folds into itself and quickly disappears from the universe.

There hasn’t been an occurrence of a supernova in the Milky Way, the solar system that Earth is in since 1607. However a supernova occurs about every 50 years in other solar systems and universes that surround the Milky Way.

The naming of a supernova is a fairly unique process. When a supernova occurs a notice gets sent out by the International Astronomical Union. In it it contains the name that is being officially assigned to the supernova that occurs. The way the name is made is that it has the year the supernova occurred in and an assigned one or two letter abbreviation. The first supernova to occur during the year is assigned the letter A all the way through Z. Once it reaches the letter Z it starts over with two lower case letters such as aa. There has never been a need to go beyond two letters.

Filed Under: Galaxy, Planets, Stars · Tagged With: Astronomy, Earth, Hubble Space Telescope, International Astronomical Union, Milky Way, Solar System, Star, Supernova

What is Light Pollution?

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Light pollution is excessive light from artificial sources. If such light is obstructive in nature, then this situation is called light pollution. One of the problems in the environment that we are facing is light pollution. When you were driving on a busy highway, did you dilate your eye to get a better view of the road? If you have pondered why this happened, then you are facing a situation called light pollution. This is a case of ineffective outdoor lighting that is hazardous for commuters on the road. Most of the accidents at night happen because people did not see something they should have seen.

When too much artificial light is present in the surroundings, it causes visibility problems. It also causes a waste of energy. Human health undergoes a lot of changes because of altered light sources that are different from natural light sources. Natural light is the best thing for humans to have. It is natural light that provides photo-nutrition for life on Earth. And even human beings need natural light.

Light pollution is a serious issue, with a solution wanting to happen. People have begun to take cognizance of this issue. Light pollution is said to cause disruption to star-light coming to Earth. It also causes poor performance of astronomical observatories. Just like other types of pollution, it causes health problems for human beings.

Light pollution is a result of the industrial growth of the human civilization. You can see light pollution everywhere. Illuminated billboards, glaring motel lights, offices with lit floors, and in many more manifestations. In heavily industrialized areas, light pollution is more significant by its presence.

Light pollution does not do well for energy conservation. It wastes a lot of energy with unwanted illumination. Light pollution can also be intrusive in nature. Many people would have experienced how an artificial light source of another building trespassed into their living or working areas. This annoying condition is called light trespass.

Filed Under: Technology · Tagged With: Earth, Environment, Light, Light pollution, Pollution, Regulation, Street light, Taiwan

The Breakdown on Solar Flares

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In the world of astronomy a lot of words get thrown around. There are many words, terms, and happenings that we are all unfamiliar about. One such term is solar flare. It’s a word that you have heard a million times over but might not actually know what it is. Well, a solar flare is a larger explosion that occurs in the suns atmosphere. This explosion is so powerful it can release up to 6 x 10 joules of energy. When referring to the same type of happenings, but when it happens to a star it’s called a stellar flare.

The interesting thing about solar flares is that they can affect every single layer of the atmosphere. They can, when in the midst of a solar flare, heat plasma can rise to well over ten million degrees. The flares will occur in the regions that are active around the sunspots where the intense magnetic field that can penetrate through the photosphere and get to the solar interior. These flares are given their powered the release of magnetic energy that is stored in the corona. This release can be sudden. There can be a coronal mass injections.

X-Rays and radition that are released by solar flares have a direct effect on the Earth and it’s ionosphere. One of the ways we can see the effects of these solar flares is that they can disrupt long range radio communications. These direct radio emissions at decimetric wavelengths will disturb the radars and other devices operating these frequencies. Flares were first observed by Richard Christopher Carrington and also by Richard Hodgson although these observations were done independent of each other. Solar flares were also observed by observing a variety of other stars. Solar flares are some of the most fascinating occurrences in the solar system and scientists and astronomers will continue to research them for years to come.

Filed Under: Galaxy · Tagged With: Earth, Energy, NASA, Richard Christopher Carrington, Richard Hodgson, Solar flare, Sun, X-ray

The International Year of Astronomy

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Astronomers world wide celebrated the 400th anniversary of the very first observations made using a telescope, by Galileo Galilei, by declaring 2009 to be an International Year of Astronomy. Organized by the International Union of Astronomy (the IUA), this event was intended to educate the citizens of earth about the fantastic cultural contributions that the science of astronomy has made over the last four centuries.

Collaborative committees comprised of professional and amateur astronomers were formed to manage most of the IUA events, called “sidewalk astronomy events,” which took place at planetariums and public Observatories across the globe. Individuals could also contribute privately, assessing for themselves where the need was greatest. However, the most successful element of the IYA was probably the eleven so called, “Cornerstone projects.”

One of these projects, called “Dark Skies Awareness,” was to measure, and to provide education about, light pollution. This project was broken up into three separate programs (GLOBE at night, the Great World Wide Star Count, and How Many Stars) that all did essentially the same thing, though at different times during the year. These programs provided people first hand experience dealing with light pollution through “star hunts” or “star counts.”

A year later, in 2010, it seems clear that all the effort that was expended to create fun and accessible projects has not been wasted. Knowing that the science of astronomy is one of the few sciences that amateurs can make a significant contribution to has inspired some ambitious amateurs to make important advances in astrophotography. Perhaps because of this new interest and these amateur contributions some fantastic new websites about the science of astronomy, such as such as this one, show that the public’s interest has been peaked.

It looks like the International Year of Astronomy was a resounding success.

Filed Under: Galaxy, Observation · Tagged With: Amateur astronomy, Astronomy, Earth, Galileo Galilei, International Year of Astronomy, Light pollution, Observatories, Stars

The Universe Around Us

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As we wake in the morning, we know we have to get up and get moving because the sun has come out. It has signaled us that the day has begun. The sun keeps us warm and guides us through our day. But what happens when the sun’s day is done? We are bathed in the warm glow of the moonlight. Sometimes hidden, sometimes visible, what is all around the moonlight, is our solar system, busily keeping its rhythm within the universe. The science of Astronomy is the study of the stars and planets. This is a fascinating study. Just think, there are millions, maybe even trillions of stars and planets in the sky, just waiting for us to glance up and recognize them.

Our sky becomes the solar system’s playground at night, from the supernovas, stars that are much larger than the sun which run out of fuel and explode in the sky, to the solar flares, the release of magnetic energy that has built up in the atmosphere. At any given time our solar system can be a veritable fireworks display. But there are those times, the times astronomers the world over wait weeks, months, sometimes even years for, when we get to witness amazing occurences in our world, such as solar eclipses,lunar eclipses, planets moving around, even an asteroid or two flying through the air.

As all of these natural occurrences are flying around us, we too, have a responsibility to our solar system. The excessive use of electricity and artificial light has created “light pollution”, which is, according to the McGraw Hill Science Technical Dictionary, “the alteration of the natural quantity of light in the night environment due to the introduction of artificial light.” Astronomers warn us that we need to be careful, so that this carnival of a light show will be visible for generations to come.

Filed Under: Galaxy, Planets, Stars · Tagged With: Dwarf planet, Earth, Energy, International Astronomical Union, Light, Pluto, Solar System, Sun

Space events observed from astronomy observatory

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Since man first roamed the Earth, people looked toward the skies with curiosity. Modern day man has a powerful tool to observe outer space, the astronomy observatory. Several such observatories exist throughout the world, including many in the United States.
From these observatories, events like supernovas, black holes and solar flares are observed and recorded. Scientists can compare what they see with researchers working in observatories across the globe to better understand these space phenomena.
Astronomy observatories are located in the countryside with some of the most powerful observatories located in remote areas because of light pollution. Lights from households and businesses make viewing outer space more difficult so scientists find education about light pollutions important in observatory areas. The observatories are also often built in places with many clear nights each year so that the scientists can work more days out of the year. They’re also often built at higher elevations because the Earth’s atmosphere is thinner and astronomers don’t have to to deal with as much atmospheric turbulence at higher elevations.
Most astronomy observatories include a dome that’s often retractable to protect the powerful viewing microscopes from the elements. Often the portion of the dome that’s retractable is only a small slit. The dome rotates around to allow scientists to focus on any part of the night sky.
Humans have been using observatories for years. The oldest recorded observatory was in use around 150 BC in Greece.
According to experts, a ridge on Antarctica today is the best place for an observatory because of clear weather and the least amount of atmospheric interruption.
In the United States, Hawaii and the Southwestern United States are considered good viewing areas with observatories located in both locations. Observatories are also often located on college campuses for students enrolled in astronomy classes to view space events.

Filed Under: Observation · Tagged With: Antarctica, Astronomy, Earth, Light pollution, NASA, Observatory, Southwestern United States, United States