The Sculptor Galaxy

Enjoy this lovely image, and please click to enjoy it even closer up!

Photo by Emanuele Colognato (copyright 2008, all rights reserved)

M33

Enjoy this photo of the spiral galaxy M33, taken by Charles Lillo in the Everglades. Click for biggination.

Image credit: Charles Lillo (copyright 2008, all rights reserved)

M81 and M82

Two, two, two galaxies in one (image, that is)! Click image for hugification.

Photo by Emanuele Colognato (Copyright 2009, all rights reserved)

Galaxies Galore!

This month's IYA theme is galaxies, and I'm dying to talk with you more about that. However, I'm going to be out of town for the week. So I've prepared a few entries ahead of time to help you appreciate the best part of galaxies - looking at them! Special thanks to the talented photographers who let me use their images. They're all locals, in the South Florida Amateur Astronomical Association with me. See you next week!

100 Hours of Astronomy

Tomorrow marks the beginning of 100 Hours of Astronomy, a worldwide event with millions anticipated to participate in astronomy activities round the clock. You can take part by finding your local events, but if you're from my two largest demographics, I'll save you some time:
1. The greater Santa Barbara area - the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit have teamed up once again to provide loads and loads of fun for people of all ages at a variety of venues. For more info, visit the AU's events link.
2. South Florida - you can find me and other members of the South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association at Fox Observatory in Markham Park.
If there are no events in your area (but I'd be surprised - astronomers are practically taking over the world this weekend!), you can participate remotely by tuning in to live webcasts from science centers around the world or by looking through telescopes with a streaming feed.
So get on board and take part, it's never been easier to get a little more astro-loving in your life. And bring your friends - they may not be as cool as you are, what with your Momstronomer buddy giving you the heads-up.

News Round Up

At the top of this week's news is the safe return of Discovery earlier this evening. In other NASA news, it's not too late to vote for the name of the next Mars rover. After recent naming poll incidents, NASA has been clear that is a "non-binding poll." You can also send your name to Mars aboard that same spacecraft.


Universe Today announced this week its participation in "Live Telescope," which is pretty much what it sounds like. The Northern and Southern Galactic and Warren Rupp Observatory in Central Victoria, Australia, will broadcast a view through their telescope via webcast. At around 9:00 UT (which is nighttime there), they will start webcasting the view through their video eyepiece, and they won't stop until morning. Recent targets include the Jewel Box Cluster, Alpha Centauri, M11 and Alpha Crucis. You can tune in by visiting Universe Today.
And finally, to all the die hards out there (you know who you are!), I wish you a happy Messier Marathon! Too bad it's completely socked in here.

Stephen Colbert + ISS =

Here's a bit of pop culture crashing into space science. As you may recall from an earlier post, NASA encouraged the public to help select a name for the new node on the International Space Station. Well, the public heard, and maybe not in the way NASA anticipated. Stephen Colbert, of the Colbert Report, encouraged his viewers to vote not for the NASA suggested names but for the name "Colbert" as a write-in. And they did. In fact, Colbert got more votes than any other name.
Does that mean that NASA is obligated to follow the vox populi and give Colbert his/its due? Nope. The fine print indicates that the agency will take voter feedback into consideration, but may select a different name. Did you vote?

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Space Module: Colbert - Name NASA's Node 3 After Stephen
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest