The Total Perspective Vortex

This video from the American Museum of Natural History shows the known universe, starting in the Himalayas, and moving out through the horizon of the known universe! It really is a great perspective on how humble our planet is...

Some feed readers may need to click through to view the video.

For those Hitchhiker's Guide fans out there, the title needs no explanation. If you haven't read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, however, the wikipedia page can explain it.

Clear skies!

Top 10 Space News Stories of the 2000's

As this first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, Ian O'Neill over at Discovery News has published a list of the top ten space news stories of this decade. Looking back on this list, I realize we've done quite a bit since 2000. It shows a more optimistic side of the space industry in these times of canceled funding and ending programs (the shuttle). Some of these top ten stories are the Huygens probe to Titan, finding water on the Moon and Mars, and evidence of dark matter. Can't wait to see what comes up in the 2010's!

Top 10 Space Stories of the Decade

Clear skies!

Astronomy Calendar, Dec. 2009

The following is a list of celestial events occuring in the month of December 2009.

• Dec 7 - Earliest sunset of 2009 for mid latitudes.
• Dec 14 - Geminid meteor shower peaks (100 meteors per hour) at 05:00 UTC. Check out my article on Universe Today for tips on viewing the Geminid meteor shower.
  
• Dec 21 - Double Galilean shadow transit (Callisto and Io) begins at 01:34 UTC. The winter solstice also occurs today.
• Dec 22 - Ursid meteor shower peak (only 10 meteors per hour).
• Dec 29 - Moon-M45 conjunction occurs at 01:00 UTC.
• Dec 31 - Moon-M35 conjunction occurs at 06:00 UTC. Also, a partial lunar eclipse will be visible in the Eastern Hemisphere from 18:52 to 19:54 UTC.

Clear skies!