Monthly Archives: July 2023

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Advancing Astronomy and Astrophysics Discoveries

The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on modern astronomy and astrophysics has been nothing short of transformative. As the volume of data generated by telescopes and other observational instruments continues to grow exponentially, AI has emerged as a powerful tool for processing and analyzing this information, leading to new discoveries and a deeper understanding of the universe.

One of the key ways AI is revolutionizing astronomy and astrophysics is through the use of machine learning algorithms. These algorithms are designed to learn from data, making them particularly well-suited for tasks such as pattern recognition and classification. In the context of astronomy, this means that AI can be used to automatically identify and classify celestial objects, such as stars, galaxies, and supernovae, based on their observed properties.

This capability has proven invaluable in the era of large-scale astronomical surveys, which can generate terabytes of data per night. For example, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), one of the most ambitious and influential surveys in the history of astronomy, has produced a wealth of data on millions of celestial objects. By applying machine learning techniques to this data, researchers have been able to identify rare and unusual objects, such as quasars and gravitational lenses, that would have been difficult or impossible to find using traditional methods.

AI has also played a crucial role in the detection and analysis of gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of spacetime caused by the acceleration of massive objects, such as merging black holes or neutron stars. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and its European counterpart, Virgo, have made groundbreaking observations of these elusive phenomena, thanks in large part to the use of AI algorithms for filtering out noise and identifying the telltale signatures of gravitational waves in the detector data.

Another area where AI is making a significant impact is in the search for exoplanets, planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. The Kepler Space Telescope, which was launched in 2009, has discovered thousands of exoplanet candidates by monitoring the brightness of stars and looking for periodic dips in their light curves caused by transiting planets. AI algorithms have been instrumental in sifting through the vast amounts of data generated by Kepler, helping to confirm the existence of many new exoplanets and even uncovering some that were initially missed by human analysts.

The potential applications of AI in astronomy and astrophysics extend far beyond these examples. For instance, AI could be used to optimize the design and operation of telescopes, enabling them to observe more efficiently and capture higher-quality data. AI could also be employed to simulate complex astrophysical phenomena, such as the formation of galaxies or the behavior of matter under extreme conditions, providing insights that would be difficult or impossible to obtain through observation alone.

Despite the many benefits of AI, there are also potential challenges and risks associated with its use in astronomy and astrophysics. One concern is that the reliance on AI could lead to a loss of human expertise, as researchers become more focused on developing and fine-tuning algorithms rather than on understanding the underlying science. Additionally, there is the risk of bias and error in AI algorithms, which could lead to incorrect or misleading results if not properly addressed.

In conclusion, AI has already had a profound impact on modern astronomy and astrophysics, enabling researchers to make new discoveries and gain deeper insights into the universe. As AI technology continues to advance, it is likely to play an even more significant role in shaping the future of these fields. However, it is essential for researchers to remain vigilant about the potential risks and challenges associated with AI, ensuring that it is used responsibly and in a way that complements, rather than supplants, human expertise.

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The Impact of AI on Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics - Fagen wasanni

The Moon and the Pleiades (M45, up and to the left of the Moon) rise in this shot taken from Portopalo di Capo Passero in Sicily. Credit: Gianni Tumino

Hi folks, tune in every week of 2023 for the best in astronomy from Astronomy Editor Dave Eicher, brought to you by Celestron. Daves weekly video series will cover all the latest sky events, scientific results, overviews of cosmic mysteries, and more!

This week, weve got a great conjunction between the Moon and one of the most famous deep-sky objects the Pleiades (M45). The name is thought to derive from the Greek plein, meaning to sail: Every year when the cluster first became visible, rising in the pre-dawn sky, it marked the beginning of Mediterranean sailing season.

The Pleiades is also known colloquially as the Seven Sisters for the appearance of its brightest naked-eye stars. But the cluster has by some counts over 1,000 members, most of them hot blue young stars. They happen to be passing through an unrelated dust cloud, forming a reflection nebula. Its the closest Messier object, less than 500 light-years distant. Observations from NASAs Kepler space telescope showed that the clustersseven brightest members are variable stars.

For more on observing the Pleiades and other great targets, see Astronomys series of 101 Must-See Cosmic Objects.

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The Moon buzzes the Pleiades: This Week in Astronomy with Dave ... - Astronomy Magazine

The author found this uncataloged dark nebula while perusing the Aladin Sky Atlas. It is surrounded by numerous other fascinating dark dust structures, all silhouetted by the emission nebula IC 1318 in Cygnus. The dark nebula crossing the left side is part of LDN 889. Credit: Rodney Pommier

Astroimaging involves a profound irony. While the goal of photography is to capture light, the majority of what astrophotographers capture in their images is utter darkness. Oh sure, the intended subject will be a star cluster, nebula, or galaxy. But that doesnt change the fact that most of a typical image will consist of dark background sky. Ultimately, astrophotographers produce beautiful images of well, mostly nothing.

However, the sky offers ample opportunities to capture beautiful images of regions of darkness that actually are something: dark nebulae. This class of celestial object receives scant attention from astroimagers, who predominantly target objects that emit or reflect light.

That is regrettable, because dark nebulae are some of the most important structures in the universe and, therefore, worthy imaging subjects for amateur astronomers. If we take a little time to learn about them, youll soon see why.

Astronomers study molecular clouds because they are star-forming regions. New stars are born within them when condensing regions of H2 reach sufficient density to trigger nuclear fusion. But this process of condensation only begins at extremely low temperatures, generally 10 kelvins or less. (Remember that 0 kelvin is absolute zero.) Condensing gas always heats up, however, and if the temperature rises above 4 kelvins, it will begin to expand, halting star formation. Fortunately, dust particles are efficient radiators of heat, so they keep the temperature low and allow condensation to continue.

Ultraviolet light (UV) from newborn stars stimulates the remaining hydrogen in the cloud to emit light at the hydrogen-alpha (H) wavelength of 656.28 nanometers, creating a glowing emission nebula. UV also provides the energy needed to change carbon monoxide and nitrogen on the surface of dust particles into a smorgasbord of more complex organic molecules, including formaldehyde, glycine, and polycyclic aromatic molecules. Once formed, the complex organic molecules circulate within the dust cloud. Indeed, radio observations find dark nebulae harbor about 70 different organic compounds, some of which may be the building blocks of life. Knowing this, who wouldnt want to image dark nebulae?

Dark nebulae abound in the sky, but to be visible to us, they must be silhouetted against backgrounds of either dense star fields or glowing nebulae. Accordingly, we find them along the bright band of the Milky Way, which betrays their otherwise hidden locations.

Astronomers have cataloged thousands of dark nebulae. Some even have nicknames. Pioneer astrophotographer Edward Emerson Barnard made a catalog of 369 dark nebulae found within his wide-field Milky Way images; probably the most famous is Barnard 33 (B33), the Horsehead Nebula in Orion. Astronomer Beverly T. Lynds made an extensive catalog of 1,802 dark nebulae between declinations 90 and 33. Lynds Dark Nebula 881 (LDN 881), in Cygnus, which I nicknamed the Dementor Nebula in the August 2019 issue, is a beautiful example. Both catalogs are available in books and online. Adventurous imagers can also peruse images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, available online within the Aladin Sky Atlas (http://aladin.cds.unistra.fr/), and hunt for uncataloged dark nebulae.

You can image dark nebulae with equipment ranging from a DSLR and 50mm lens for wide-field views of the Great Rift in the summer Milky Way to a cooled CCD or CMOS camera attached to a telescope to capture high-resolution images of intricate wisps of dust silhouetted against emission nebulae. When imaging, I divide targets into two categories based on their background: starry fields or H emission nebulosity. I acquire and process images within each category differently.

For this category, I stretch and process the image as I would for any deep-sky object, but avoid using gradient-removal tools. They can mistake dark nebulae for gradients and remove them from the image. Next, I locate the dust clouds. While their positions may be obvious in wide-field shots of the Milky Way, they are often subtle in my images. Areas where background stars are noticeably fewer or absent are clues to their locations. If I scroll the information tool of my image-processing software over suspected dark cloud regions, I can see they have different brightness values than areas I know are true background sky. The key to making a striking image is to accentuate those subtle differences so the dust clouds dont appear to be just another region of background sky.

An effective way to accomplish that is to use the High Pass Filter in Photoshop. Duplicate the image in the Layers palette as a new layer on top. With the top layer highlighted, open the High Pass Filter (Filter > Other > High Pass). The top image will then appear gray. As you slide the filters radius selector from left to right, progressively larger-scale structures within the gray High Pass Filter image will become accentuated, including subtle dust clouds. Smaller dust clouds will be accentuated with smaller radii, while larger dust clouds are more apparent with larger radii. Select the scale for the dust clouds that you wish to start with in your image, then click OK.

We want this image to be starless for subsequent steps. Go to Select > Color Range, select Highlights in the drop-down menu, then click OK to select the brighter stars. Expand the selection with Select > Modify > Expand and enter a value of 6 to 8 pixels, or whatever is needed to include stars halos. Then go to Edit > Cut to remove those stars.

Change the blending mode in the Layers Palette to Overlay and the dust clouds associated with the scale you selected will magically become more apparent in the underlying original image. This action may make other features look worse, so be selective about which accentuated features within the High Pass Filter image you apply to the image. Add a Hide All mask to the High Pass Filter layer, select the Brush Tool, set it to white, and paint over the dust clouds you wish to accentuate. When done painting, blur the edges of the mask with a

Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) of several pixels, then flatten the image.

Multiple iterations of this process with the High Pass Filter set to different radii that accentuate dark structures of different scales can bring out a wealth of detail in dust clouds. Some clouds may be slightly darker than background sky and others may be slightly brighter, but it is those differences that reveal their presence as obscuring dark nebulae.

For this category, I acquire H, red (R), green (G), and blue (B) exposures to construct an HRGB image in which I colorize the H data to be red. While there are many often complicated ways to combine H and RGB data, the following technique is simple, fast, and gives good results.

Combine the exposures into separate H and RGB images. Stretch the RGB image as you would for any deep-sky object. However, only gently stretch the H image. While it is tempting to make it bright to show all the nebulosity and dust you captured, doing so will only give it a displeasing salmon color. Keeping the H image dim will give it deep red hues in the final result. Align the H and RGB images.

Copy the H image and paste it as a new layer atop the RGB image. This will automatically convert the grayscale H image to RGB mode and allow you to colorize it later. In the Layers palette, label this layer as H luminance and the layer beneath as RGB. Then remove stars from the H layer using the steps described above. Because stars in the H image are smaller than RGB stars, the former will have a raccoon eyes look in the final image if left in.

Next, we need to provide red color support for the gray H luminance image. Duplicate the H luminance layer as a new layer beneath the original and label it H red. Highlight it in the Layers Palette, then go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. In the window that opens, check the colorize box. Slide the hue selector to 0 or 360 (either signifies pure red), set saturation to 100, and change lightness to 50. You now have a deep red version of your H data. Add a Levels adjustment to this layer and move the black point slider to the right until it is just under the left edge of the histogram. That will clip the red hue out of any background sky and dark nebulae while also enriching the red color in the nebulosity. Highlight the H luminance layer in the Layers palette and change the blending mode to Luminosity to put the red color into your H nebulosity data.

Now the magic can begin. Highlight the H red layer in the Layers palette and change the blending mode to Lighten. This compares the brightness values of every pixel between two layers and selects the brighter of the two to display in the final image. This action also blends your brightest red H nebulosity data with your brightest RGB data, giving you the best of both images. Next, fine-tune the result. Highlight the H luminance layer in the Layers palette again. By moving the opacity slider, you can control how much of the final image comes from red H data and how much comes from RGB data. Somewhere around 50 percent usually gives a great look, but adjust it to your taste. When youre satisfied, flatten the image.

Its fine to keep your H nebulosity pure red, but if you want to add some blue that represents Hydrogen-beta (H) emission at 486.1 nanometers, go to Image > Adjust > Selective Color and select Reds in the drop-down menu. Reducing yellow by moving its slider to the left is equivalent to adding blue. Adjust until you get the customary bubblegum color of H plus H emission nebulosity.

Dark nebulae provide dramatic contrast between light and dark features. They often reveal the finest detail discernible in their wispy contours, while providing depth of field because they are clearly in front of background objects. Layers or billowing clouds of dark dust can even add a three-dimensional texture to the image.

So, I encourage you to acquire and process images of dark nebulae and add them to your portfolio. But be careful. When over to the dark side of astrophotography you have crossed, difficult to go back it may be. The results are sure to be fantastic images that will captivate you and your friends.

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Capturing the light in dark nebulae | Astronomy.com - Astronomy Magazine

The early-summer Milky Way stretches across the sky above Skull Rock at Joshua Tree National Park. Credit: NPS/Hannah Schwalbe

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Milky Way is at its best in the summer months. During the winter and spring, the parts of the Milky Way that are visible are subdued, sparse affairs, little more than a vague mist of faint stars breathed on the window of the sky, running down through Perseus and Auriga and falling to the left of Orion. But when summer comes, as dust sheets are whipped off barbecue grills and Bermuda shorts are taken out of their hibernation drawers, the Milky Way is one of the star attractions in the sky.

Summer is when the glittering star clouds of Cygnus are at their highest, a haze that hangs overhead in the brief, darkest part of a balmy summer night. Framing them, the stars of the Summer Triangle Deneb, Vega, and Altair blaze through the night like finely cut jewels. And sweeping along the length of the Milky Way with binoculars or a small telescope reveals a bewildering number of knots and froths of stars and a sparkling treasure chest of nebulae and clusters.

Everyone knows that, right?

Kind of.

Frustratingly, for observers living at mid-northern latitudes (like me, writing this in the UK), a lot of the good stuff is so low in our sky that it is hard to see through all the haze and murk there. Celestial objects our southern friends see high in the sky are often hidden behind trees, buildings, and hills on our skyline. Consequently, many mid-northern observers dont even try for famous objects such as the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae, or star clusters such as M4 and M22. And two of the most famous and striking constellations in the sky Sagittarius and Scorpius are hard to see too, for the same reasons. This is why many observers dont even bother trying to look farther down the Milky Way than the star cluster M11 in Scutum: They think its just not worth it.

But theyre wrong.

For mid-northern observers willing to put in a bit of effort, these famous objects, which theyve never seen and maybe havent even tried to see, can be observed, photographed, and enjoyed. You just have to be in or rather, get yourself to the right place at the right time: somewhere with a low, flat southern horizon, late at night during the end of June and through July.

Yes, your targets will be low in the sky and challenging, but rewarding to finally see with your own eyes which is, after all, one of the most fundamental rewards and appeals of amateur astronomy.

To see these elusive summer objects, you need an observing location with the most advantageous view. Perhaps your favorite spot is just fine, but many people might need to find an alternative site. Unless you know your local area well and already have somewhere in mind, this will mean doing some research, either by driving around until you find somewhere suitable or, if thats not possible, spending some time virtually exploring on Google Maps .

Either way youll be looking for somewhere with a flat and low southern horizon, without tall trees, buildings, or hills to block your view of the sky in that direction.

You will need to be properly dark adapted to see these summer showpieces at their best because they are faint and diffuse, so find somewhere with as little light pollution as possible. Any streetlights, security lights, or illuminated advertisements in their direction will wash nebulae and clusters from the sky. Passing traffic is just as much an enemy as static lights, so find somewhere away from the roads, where you wont be dazzled every few minutes by the retina-scorching headlights of a passing car or truck.

Dark adaptation

You might think that dark adaption is not important when it comes to viewing the Milky Way in summer because the sky is so much brighter than the autumn or winter sky. But thats not the case. Even the lightest balmy summer night, when only the brightest stars, planets, and constellations fight through the twilight, is much darker than daylight. So, the Milky Way will definitely stand out more clearly if you take the time to let your eyes adapt to the low light levels. Get as far away from artificial lights as possible and try to avoid looking at your phone, too, as even a brief glimpse at a dimmed screen is bright enough to ruin your dark adaption.

All these objects will be at their best around midnight through July and into early August, but you will need to do just a little more research before setting off on your summer Milky Way safari. Find a night when theres no bright Moon in their part of the sky, which will wash them from view. The best observing windows this year are between July 10th and 24th.

Some of these objects are visible to the naked eye but others need binoculars or a small telescope to see them. Dont worry, well give you all the information you need to best view each one.

Using binoculars

Although the summer Milky Way can look very attractive to the naked eye, it is much better seen through binoculars. In this case, dont worry too much about knowing what youre looking at or about trying to identify everything you see using a star atlas or a planetarium app on your phone. For a while, at least, just be happy to be a sightseer!

Slowly sweep your binoculars down and across the Milky Way and enjoy all the stars that drift through their field of view. In some places theyll be as thick as diamond dust or pollen grains; in others, they will be packed less densely and youll sense the voids between them. Beautiful knots, chains, and streamers of stars will pass before your eyes as you pan down the Milky Way, and occasionally a star cluster or misty nebula will appear too. Take your time. Dont rush. Just enjoy drinking in the view.

Here are 12 celestial objects for you to track down on your summer Milky Way safari. Youll likely recognize the names of many of them and will have seen gorgeous photos, either taken by amateur astronomers like yourself or by the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, but some will be new to you. That doesnt matter. Just enjoy looking for and finding this delightful dozen and seeing them for yourself.

This 5th-magnitude globular cluster is only 10,000 light-years away, making it one of the closest globular clusters we know of. Almost a hundred light-years across, its half a million stars can be seen with the naked eye as a smudge with the same apparent diameter as the Full Moon. A pair of binoculars show it as a smoky ball, while even a small telescope will be powerful enough to resolve the stars that surround its bright central core.

Of the many globular clusters in Sagittarius, M28 is a popular target. At 18,000 light-years away, this buzzing beehive of stars has a magnitude of 6.8, which means it is too faint to see with the naked eye. But look at it through a telescope and youll be able to see its bright core and fainter surrounding halo.

This huge, distant cloud of glowing gas isnt named after a ferocious carnivorous plant; instead, it gets its name from the way that its brightest section is split into three very distinct areas, or lobes, by dark dust lanes. With a magnitude of 6.3, M8 can be seen easily through binoculars, while a small telescope will reveal tantalizing hints of detail and structure on nights of clear air and good seeing. Larger-aperture instruments really add depth to the nebula, showing it comprises an emission nebula, a reflection nebula, and those dust lanes too. But dont expect to see the famously vibrant reds and cool blues of this 5,200-light-years-distant cloud through your telescope; they only show up on long-exposure photos.

More than 4,000 light-years away and some 100 light-years wide, the Lagoon Nebula is one of the most famous deep-sky objects in the whole sky. With a magnitude around 6, it is visible to the naked eye at the darkest time of the night as a misty patch and is much more obvious in binoculars as an extended nebulous area. But when seen through a telescope, the Lagoon really comes to life and some dedicated deep-sky observers think it is as beautiful as the Orion Nebula (M42). The Lagoon Nebula is split into two unequal sections by a prominent dark dust lane. To one side of the dust lane, youll see a glittering cluster of stars superimposed in front of a pale gas cloud, while to the other, youll see a large area of much brighter misty nebulosity with many fascinating subtle streamers, whirls, and swirls. Although the nebula is a lovely orange-pink color in long-exposure photos, your eye will only see vague hints of those hues and the nebula will appear as a misty grey patch through your eyepiece.

M21 is a loose open cluster, containing only 57 or so stars, spread out across 20 light-years. With a magnitude of about 6, it is technically a naked-eye object, but in reality youll need a pair of binoculars or a small telescope to pick it out from the bright summer sky. The cluster is very young, only 4.6 million years old, and is nearby, too some 3,900 light-years away.

Visually, this globular star cluster is a quite subdued object. At magnitude 7.6, it is well below the threshold of naked-eye visibility and appears as just a fuzzy star in a pair of binoculars. Through a telescope the view doesnt really improve much, with the cluster resembling a smooth, hazy patch without a noticeably bright core. What makes this 300-light-year-wide ball of stars interesting is that it is not actually part of the Milky Way. Measurements show it lies more than 86,000 light-years from us and belongs to the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy, making it the first extragalactic globular cluster discovered.

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken thousands of images since it launched, but few have captured the imaginations and hearts of astronomers and the public alike like The Pillars Of Creation. A trio of ragged columns of gas and dust surrounded by glittering stars, the famous pillars are actually only one small part of the Eagle Nebula, a 15-light-year-wide cloud of gas and dust that lies 7,000 light-years from our solar system. Youll need a large telescope to see the pillars for yourself because they are so small and faint, but the nebula surrounding them shines with a magnitude of 6, making it a naked-eye object. Although past studies indicated these structures had been blown away a supernova thousands of years ago and the light from their destruction simply hadnt reached us yet, more recent followup with newer instruments shows they are, fortunately, here to stay for tens of thousands of years. However, nearby starlight is evaporating the pillars, and they wont stick around forever.

Observers like myself who live at mid-northern latitudes are jealous of their southern counterparts because we can never see the beautiful Magellanic Clouds, the stunning Omega Centauri cluster, or Alpha Centauri, because they never rise above our horizon. But even worse, the brightest part of the Milky Way, the combined glow of millions of old stars in its center, never climbs very high in our sky. Photos taken from the Southern Hemisphere torture and torment us daily in books and magazines. We stare longingly at its airbrushed froth of yellow suns, cut across by lacy lanes of dark dust, and imagine what it must be like to see it high in the sky. But we only see it either through or just above the tops of trees, dimmed and muddied by the haze and murk that linger near the horizon. And the farther north you live, the less of the center you can see, because the southern horizon cuts it off.

But if you can find somewhere with a clearer view south, perhaps on a south-facing coast looking out to sea or high on a hill looking across open countryside, the core of the Milky Way is a beautiful sight to the naked eye: a glowing, smoky patch of light the size of your outstretched hand, dappled with light and dark. Through binoculars it is a sublime sight, scattered with gemstone stars and nebulae that look like smudges of chalk dust. If you hear a promising weather forecast, try to get to somewhere that will let you see it. It will be worth the trip.

How to photograph the summer Milky Way

Having seen spectacular images of the summer Milky Way in books and magazines and online, youll want to take your own. But the most jaw-dropping of those images werent taken with phones. Although the cameras that now come with smartphones are incredible and can be set to take long exposures, if you want to take detailed portraits of the Milky Way showing its magnificent star clouds and smoky dust lanes, youll need a more advanced camera. This should preferably be a DSLR on a motorized mount that allows you to take long exposures by tracking the stars as they move across the sky. Single long exposures can reveal a lot of detail, but if you really want to capture the magnificence of the Milky Way, youll need to take multiple exposures and layer or stack them together to make a single, ultra-long-exposure image.

One of the most striking objects in the summer Milky Way is a pattern of eight stars known as the Teapot. Its not a constellation but an asterism, a distinctive pattern or shape of stars that forms part of a constellation. The Teapot is part of Sagittarius, just as the Big Dipper is part of Ursa Major and the Sickle is part of Leo. The Teapot is always low in the sky from mid-northern latitudes, but it genuinely does look like an old-fashioned teapot. If youre blessed with clear skies (and a good imagination), you can even picture the Milky Way as steam rising up from its spout.

To the right of the tilted Teapot of Sagittarius is a graceful curve of stars representing a heavenly scorpion. The brightest of these stars is orange-red Antares, the Rival of Mars, an enormous red supergiant star that dwarfs our own Sun and is even larger than mighty Betelgeuse. First-magnitude Antares is the brightest star in that part of the sky but only the 15th brightest star in the sky as a whole. Long-exposure photos show Antares is surrounded by and embedded in a cloud of dust and gas, which is buffeted by the fierce solar winds gusting from the star.

This globular cluster, which can be found just to the right of ruddy Antares, is one of the closest globulars to us, just 7,200 light-years away. It can be seen with the naked eye at a magnitude of 5.6 and looks like a round smudge through binoculars. Seen through a telescope, which can resolve stars around its edges, M4 is a very pretty cluster. Its a favorite with many summer observers, but looking at it I always feel rather cheated: If there wasnt a cloud of dust lying between it and us it would be a much more striking naked-eye sight in our sky and a finer telescopic object.

Much higher in the sky than M4, globular cluster M107 has a magnitude of 7.9, which means youll only see it through binoculars or a telescope. 21,000 light-years away, this loose globular cluster has a diameter of around 80 light-years and contains around 50,000 stars. In comparison, the great Omega Centauri cluster, much farther south in the sky, has a diameter of 150 light-years and contains an estimated 10 million stars.

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Now is the best time to see the Summer Milky Way | Astronomy.com - Astronomy Magazine

L.L. Bean has just added a third shift at its factory in Brunswick, Maine, in an attempt to keep up with demand for its iconic boot.

Orders have quadrupled in the past few years as the boots have become more popular among a younger, more urban crowd.

The company says it saw the trend coming and tried to prepare, but orders outpaced projections. They expect to sell 450,000 pairs of boots in 2014.

People hoping to have the boots in time for Christmas are likely going to be disappointed. The bootsare back ordered through February and even March.

"I've been told it's a good problem to have but I"m disappointed that customers not getting what they want as quickly as they want," said Senior Manufacturing Manager Royce Haines.

Customers like, Mary Clifford, tried to order boots on line, but they were back ordered until January.

"I was very surprised this is what they are known for and at Christmas time you can't get them when you need them," said Clifford.

People who do have boots are trying to capitalize on the shortage and are selling them on Ebay at a much higher cost.

L.L. Bean says it has hired dozens of new boot makers, but it takes up to six months to train someone to make a boot.

The company has also spent a million dollars on new equipment to try and keep pace with demand.

Some customers are having luck at the retail stores. They have a separate inventory, and while sizes are limited, those stores have boots on the shelves.

Link:

July Astronomy: What's in the North Texas sky this month? - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Holland America Lines special 2024 Solar Eclipse cruises aboard Koningsdam and Zaandam will offer travelers more than just a unique viewing opportunity for the total eclipse.

The cruise line will now include insightful guidance and immersive programming from astronomy experts onboard. This will make the cruises truly unforgettable for everyone, with deeply enriching lectures and activities for all guests.

Aboard Koningsdam and Zaandam, both of which have special voyages planned to bring cruise guests right into the best possible viewing locations for the April 8 eclipse, astronomy experts will add even more enrichment to the sailings with special lectures, activities, and insights.

University of California San DiegoProfessor of Astronomy and AstrophysicsAdam Burgasserwill be aboard the Pinnacle-class Koningsdam, offering detailed lectures prior to the eclipse and helping guests make their own eclipse viewers for optical safety.

During the event which should last approximately 4 minutes and 28 seconds at its peak Burgasser will provide commentary and viewing assistance.

Were positioning our ships in the perfect location for guests to see the eclipse, saidBill Prince, vice president of entertainment forHolland America Line. For many, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so being able to receive the guidance of a renowned physicist likeDr. Burgasseris an exciting opportunity for our guests. Were known for creating immersive programming, and this will be an unforgettable live event.

Koningsdam will be sailing a 22-night Solar Eclipse Cruise that will depart San Diego on April 5. The ship will call on Cabo San Lucas the day before the eclipse, and will be positioned offshore for unimpeded viewing on April 8.

Other ports of call include Puerto Vallarta and several top Hawaiian destinations, before the ship reaches Vancouver, Canada on April 27, in preparation for the Alaska sailing season.

This first total solar eclipse inNorth Americain seven years is something astronomers amateur and professional are all excited to observe, and theres no better or unique place to observe it than at sea off the coast ofMexico, said Burgasser.

I look forward to joiningHolland America Lineguests aboard Koningsdam to witness this phenomenon and help them better understand the science and history behind it.

Zaandam will be sailing a 14-night Solar Eclipse & Mexican Riviera cruise for the event, departing from San Diego on March 30 and calling on several Mexican ports of call along the way before being in Puerto Vallarta on the day of the eclipse. After the stunning astronomical event, the cruise will continue to Loreto, La Paz, and Cabo San Lucas before returning to San Diego on April 18.

On board, guest presenter Jim McParlandwill lend his expertise to the eclipse experience, offering lectures and demonstrations as Zaandam is positioned for total viewing.

The total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, is a highly anticipated astronomical event. Because of its location, cruise lines can make the most of the eclipse by offering spectacular viewing opportunities in the path of totality a thin region where the visual eclipse will be most spectacular and most prolonged. Totality is when the moon completely obscures the sun and the brilliant solar corona is visible.

The maximum width of the totality band will be 123 miles (198 kilometers) wide, covering just one-fortieth of a percent of the earths surface.

Because ships can remain at sea and away from any obstructing features like skylines, mountain ranges, and pollution, eclipse viewing from the deck of a cruise ship promises to be spectacular.

Furthermore, depending on local conditions, cruise ships may even be able to reposition themselves in case of poor weather or cloud cover so guests onboard dont miss prime viewing opportunities.

This particular total eclipse will be the first to have totality visible in Canada since 1979, the first in Mexico since 1991, and the first in the US since 2017. The next eclipse will occur on October 2, 2024, but that event will be entirely over the Pacific Ocean and well away from established cruise travel regions.

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Holland America Line Adds Astronomy Experts to Eclipse Cruises - Cruise Hive

Over the past eight years, I have been asked to submit astronomical evidence for court cases all over Australia.

Normally when we think of evidence in court, we think of eyewitnesses,DNAor police reports. Often, this evidence requires an expert to explain it to be able to communicate the findings and data to the members of the court to make an informed decision. These experts are typically in medicine, engineering, psychology, or other fields.

Expert astronomers usually are not what one pictures in court, but that is exactly what I do.

The first time I was asked by police to do it came as a bit of a surprise. I had never thought about applying astronomy to the courtroom. Once the first group knew I can do it, more and more requests came in, from colleagues in the same police force or division, or investigators having seen my evidence elsewhere.

Related: Who Owns the Moon? Law & Outer Space Treaties

Now, I'm asked to submit evidence for roughly 12 cases per week. Usually this requires submitting astatement of evidenceto the court. But sometimes I am asked to attend court and explain what the evidence means.

When I'm needed as an expert in court, it tends to be for matters of consequence. My evidence is either critical to a part of the case, or the case itself is fairly major and all the details are being checked and verified.

But what exactly am I providing evidence for?

Most court evidence from an astronomer involves calculating the positions and lighting from an astronomical body the sun or moon. Luckily, thetools we useto calculate the positions of celestial bodies are very accurate, and can be calculated hundreds to thousands of years into the past or future.

An obvious example is when someone claims the sun was in their eyes, causing a glare, and they get into a car accident. Someone needs to say where the sun was, its position, and how it aligned with the street and direction of travel. At certain times and in certain directions, the sun may indeed hinder someone's vision.

There is also the situation where someone sees something, but it happened around sunrise or sunset. An expert is needed to say what the lighting level was as there are very clear definitions based on the sun's position below the horizon, and how much you can see. For instance, what if the event occurred five minutes after sunset? The light level depends on the time of year, the location and other factors. It is not a clear-cut case of daytime versus nighttime.

The moon can feature in court evidence as well. Especially in dark locations away from city lights, an astronomer can provide evidence on how much light the Moon provided on a given night.

There are also historical cases or times when people note the view or phase of the moon as a way of defining when something happened. The full moon has a precise definition, but the day before or after may appear to look like a full moon, despite it not technically being full.

Of course, like any part of science, there are limits to what I can say. If someone was looking through a window how refractive was the window? Were there clouds blocking the moon or sun? It is up to other experts, and other parts of the legal system to sort out these factors.

Just like many fields, space technology is changing, and so too is its impact on law and crime. Satellites are being used more and more in cases to help track things as they happen. For example,the space technology company Maxaroperates some of the highest-resolution commercial satellites to image Earth. For a small cost, people can task these satellites to look at certain areas and/or times.

Lately, we have seen the impact of satellites on Russia's war in Ukraine, and how they have been instrumental in looking at troop movements, and even evidence of some of the alleged war crimes.

Satellite images have been used for a range of criminal investigations, such aspeople smugglingorillegal mines.

They are also being used in Australia for criminal matters. This is yet another situation where an expert is needed to explain the satellite imagery and what it may mean, or even help access it altogether.

Working as an expert witness has given me hope, because I see the extent to which the justice system will sometimes go to get all the details right like taking into account the phase of the moon or the position of the sun. It is also the perfect example of the importance of experts in our society.

In science, we are actively encouraging people to go to sources of accurate and trustworthy information, especially in an era of rife misinformation.

Through experts, fields like space and astronomy can impact people's lives directly even in the court room.

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Where was the sun? Here's why astronomers are more useful in ... - Space.com

A supermassive black hole started feasting on surrounding matter resulting in one of the most dramatic "switching on" events ever seen.

Transients are astronomical events or objects that change in brightness over short periods of time, and the one powered by this greedy black hole J221951 is one of the brightest transients ever recorded. The position of the black hole corresponds with the center of a previously observed galaxy, just where a supermassive black hole would be expected to sit. However, astronomers still aren't sure exactly what is causing the transient event witnessed in J221951.

"Our understanding of the different things that supermassive black holes can do has greatly expanded in recent years, with discoveries of stars being torn apart and accreting black holes with hugely variable luminosities," team member and University of Belfast astronomer Matt Nicholl, said in a statement. "J221951 is one of the most extreme examples yet of a black hole taking us by surprise."

Related: Star survives spaghettification by black hole

The nature of what the supermassive black hole located around 10 billion light-years away is consuming is currently unknown, but it is possible that J221951 represents a star that has ventured too close to the black hole being violently ripped apart by tidal forces arising from its immense gravity in a process called spaghettification.

This occurrence, called a tidal disruption event (TDE), would see some of the stellar material from the destroyed star fall to the surface of the black hole while other matter is funneled to the poles of the black hole before being blasted out at near light-speeds, generating intense electromagnetic radiation.

The spaghettification of an unfortunate star isn't the only possible mechanism that could be causing the black hole in question to give rise to this bright transient event, however. Another possibility is that J221951 is the result of the nucleus at the heart of a galaxy switching from a dormant to an active state.

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are bright areas at the heart of galaxies that blast out enough light to drown out the combined light of every star in the rest of that galaxy. They are also powered by supermassive black holes.

"Continued monitoring of J221951 to work out the total energy release might allow us to work out whether this is a tidal disruption of a star by a fast-spinning black hole or a new kind of AGN switch on," Nicholl added.

Kilonovas are a type of transient event that occurs during the merger of two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole, which releases bright bursts of electromagnetic radiation. Kilonovas initially have a blue coloration, then fade to red over a period of several days. The transient J221951 also appeared blue, but it didn't change to red or fade rapidly as a kilonova would. The nature of this transient was determined by follow-ups with space-based facilities like the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories like the Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile.

"The key discovery was when the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum from Hubble ruled out a galactic origin. This shows how important it is to maintain a space-based UV spectrograph capability for the future," team member and Mullard Space Science Laboratory at University College London researcher Paul Kuin said.

With a source located 10 billion light-years away, the team realized that J221951 must be one of the brightest events ever seen. They will now work to better understand its cause.

"In the future, we will be able to obtain important clues that help distinguish between the tidal disruption event and active galactic nuclei scenarios," Oates said. "For instance, if J221951 is associated with an AGN turning on, we may expect it to stop fading and to increase again in brightness, while if J221951 is a tidal disruption event, we would expect it to continue to fade.

"We will need to continue to monitor J221951 over the next few months to years to capture its late-time behavior."

The team presented their findings on Tuesday, July 4, at the National Astronomy Meeting 2023 in Cardiff, U.K.

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Hungry black hole 'switches on' as astronomers watch in surprise - Space.com

Nancy Grace Roman (16 May 1925 25 December 2018) not only laid the groundwork for our understanding of how galaxies grow but also founded NASAs space astronomy programme, becoming the mother of Hubble.

Romans love of the stars was evident from an early age, and she set up an astronomy club for her friends when she was just 10.

However, when she told her guidance counsellor she wanted to be a professional astronomer, she was asked, "What lady would take mathematics instead of Latin?"

Ignoring this discouragement, she went on to attain her degree from Swarthmore University before moving to the University of Chicagos Yerkes Observatory for her PhD.

Here she studied the motions of stars which formed in the same cluster as the Plough, but which had drifted apart over time.

Later, Roman expanded this research to all Sun-like stars visible to the naked eye and soon noticed that where stars orbited in the Milky Way was connected to their metallicity.

Metals (meaning anything heavier than helium in astronomy) are only formed inside stars, so if a star contains a lot of metal it must have been born after several generations of previous stars had already produced them.

Younger metal-rich stars tended to move in circular orbits near our Galaxys centre, while older metal-poor stars were further out.

This connection was the first clue towards understanding how the Milky Way grows over time, providing the foundation for modern studies of galactic evolution.

Her work also developed a method of gauging stellar metallicities by comparing their brightness at blue and ultraviolet wavelengths, which is still used today.

Despite these landmark discoveries, Yerkes Observatory refused to grant a woman a permanent position, so in 1954 Roman moved on to the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC to work in the emerging field of radio astronomy.

Here, she mapped out the Milky Way in new wavelengths, became head of microwave spectroscopy and consulted on the Vanguard satellite programme.

With radio astronomy still in its infancy, the instrumentation was inadequate for Romans needs, and she didnt want to retrain as an electronics engineer to build her own.

So in 1959 she moved on to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, as the head of observational astronomy, just one year after the agency had been established.

This new role effectively brought an end to her research, but with it Roman became the first woman to hold an executive office at NASA, giving her overall responsibility for the growing agencys space-based observatories.

Initially many ground-based astronomers were stubbornly opposed to using remote satellites, but Roman worked tirelessly to convince them of the benefits of observing above Earths atmosphere.

Believing the best way for the US to glean these benefits was for NASA to oversee all major space observatories, Roman was initially the sole voice in deciding which projects would get funded.

Though many of her colleagues advocated for NASA to build a large space telescope, she dismissed the plans as premature, instead electing to fund a series of smaller satellite observatories.

Only in 1968, after a decade of success proved NASAs capability, did Roman return to the idea of a bigger mission, though it took another three years of feasibility studies and funding before she could finally establish the Large Telescope Steering Group.

It would take dozens of institutions 20 years to complete the project, but the telescope launched in 1990, renamed the Hubble Space Telescope.

Although Roman was heavily involved in overseeing the mammoth projects early years, she retired from NASA in 1979 as chief of astronomy, returning occasionally as a consultant.

She continued outreach work as part of her own lifelong mission to champion the inclusion of women in astronomy.

Her vision and many legacies, both scientific and cultural, continue to shape astronomy to this day.

While she may not currently be a household name, Roman will soon be much better-known, as an infrared telescope named in her honour is set to launch in 2027.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will have a 2.4m mirror the same size as that of the Hubble Space Telescope but its Wide Field Instrument will have a field of view 100 times that of Hubbles infrared camera.

It will use this huge view to create a 3D map of galaxies, galaxy clusters and distant supernovae to measure how matter is distributed throughout the Universe.

These observations will compliment those by ESAs Euclid mission in the quest to trace dark energy, the mysterious force that appears to be accelerating the expansion of the Universe.

The telescope will even be able to map out otherwise invisible dark matter using a method called microlensing.

When light from a distant galaxy passes another massive object, its path is bent slightly, becoming stretched and distorted.

These distortions can then be analysed to reveal how matter is distributed throughout the cosmos.

Lensing also happens when a planet passes in front of its host star, and the telescope will monitor 100 million stars in the hopes of spotting a stars brightness fluctuating as an exoplanet passes in front.

Most excitingly, this technique should be able to reveal small rocky worlds in habitable orbits, similar to our own Earth.

This article originally appeared in the July 2023 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

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Life of astronomer Nancy Grace Roman (16 May 1925 25 ... - Sky at Night Magazine

If you're looking for a great pair of binoculars for astronomy, Amazon has got you covered. With impressive 80mm objective lenses and powerful 20x magnification, these SkyMaster binoculars from Celestron are now 55% off in the Prime Day deals, making them just $90.86.

These binoculars are ideal for stargazing, as their large aperture enables exceptional light-gathering capability, resulting in brighter and more detailed celestial views. With their high magnification, you can easily observe the moon's craters, the moons of Jupiter and even some deep-sky objects like star clusters and nebulas. Additionally, their wide field of view allows you to take in the wonders of the night sky and explore constellations with ease. We regularly recommend Celestron's binoculars in our buying guides check out best binoculars, binocular deals, best compact binoculars and best night vision binoculars.

An objective lens cap, rain guard, carrying case, neck strap and lens cloth are all included it also has a tripod adapter, which is particularly useful for extended periods of viewing. We wouldn't necessarily recommend these if you're a total beginner as they have such high magnification which can be tricky to get used to if you're new to the hobby, but if you're looking for your 'next' set of binos or you want to get into astronomy and already have a tripod to keep everything stable, we think they'd be great, especially now that they're such a low price.

But they're also good beyond astronomy, the Celestron Skymaster 20x80 binoculars are also fantastic for terrestrial viewing. They provide stunning clarity and sharpness, making them perfect for wildlife observation, birdwatching and scenic landscape viewing.

Don't forget, if you want to make the most of Amazon Prime Day 2023, check out our Amazon Prime Day hub for a roundup of the best discounts and deals on telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more.

Key Specs:Large multi-coated 80mm objective lenses to let ample light in with 20x magnification for stunning celestial viewing. They're also waterproof, have Bak4 prisms and a comfortable 18mm eye relief, making them good for anyone who wears glasses. They weigh 75oz (2.126kg).

Consensus:For astronomy lovers, we can't recommend these enough, especially for the low price.

Buy if:You're a keen astronomer and want a pair of binos with high magnification for those long nights of stargazing.

Don't buy if:You're a beginner or you want a more 'general' day-to-day pair of binos.

Alternative models: For an even cheaper pair of binos that are more suited to general use (camping trips, sporting events etc) check out the Celestron Outland X 10x42. They're not as beefy and powerful as the SkyMaster, but if that's not what you're looking for, the Outland pair are also on offer for just under $50 for Prime Day. Or if you want even more magnification, the Celestron SkyMaster 25x100 are also 50% off, now sitting at around $250.

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These Celestron SkyMaster binoculars are less than half price in the ... - Space.com