| Ultimi arrivi - Asteroids and Comets |
Comets-Comet_SWAN-2.jpgComet SWAN59 visiteCaption NASA originale:"Near its closest approach to planet Earth, comet SWAN (C/2006 M4) brightened unexpectedly earlier this week, becoming visible to naked-eye observers under dark night skies. Telescopic observers also noticed dramatic changes in the comet's colorful coma and tail, seen in this view recorded on October 25th, 2006.
To make the picture, images totaling eight minutes in exposure time were stacked and centered on the comet as it moved relatively quickly against the background star field. The picture covers about 1° of the sky.
Northern Hemisphere observers should still find the comet an easy binocular target in the early evening, even though moonlight will increase the overall sky brightness in the next few days.
Look toward the North-Western horizon and the Constellation Hercules".Ott 31, 2006
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Comets-Comet_SWAN-0.jpgComet SWAN89 visiteDa "NASA - Picture of the Day", del 19 Ottobre 2006:" This cosmic portrait recorded October 9th features the lovely blue-green coma of Comet SWAN posing with spiral galaxy NGC 5005 in the northern constellation Canes Venatici. At the time the comet (center) was in the close foreground, a mere 9 LM (Light-Minutes) from planet Earth, with the galaxy a more substantial 60 million LY (Light-Years) distant. Not actually related to a bird, Comet SWAN (C/2006 M4) was so named as it was first spotted in image data from the SWAN (Solar Wind ANisotropies) camera aboard the Sun-staring SOHO spacecraft. Having rounded the Sun, this comet is headed for interstellar space, but first it will make its closest approach to Earth on October 24. With binoculars, northern hemisphere observers can now spot the comet above the northwestern horizon, near the handle of the Big Dipper in the early evening sky". Ott 19, 2006
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Comets-Comet_SWAN-3.jpgComet "SWAN"60 visiteDa "NASA - Picture of the Day" del 4 Ottobre 2006:"A newly discovered comet has brightened enough to be visible this week with binoculars. The picturesque comet is already becoming a favored target for northern sky imagers. Pictured above just last week, Comet SWAN showed a bright blue-green coma and an impressive tail. Comet C/2006 M4 (SWAN) was discovered in June in public images from the Solar Wind Anisotropies (SWAN) instrument of NASA and ESA's Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft. Comet SWAN, near magnitude six, will be visible with binoculars in the North-Eastern sky not far from the Big Dipper over the next few days before dawn. The comet is expected to reach its peak brightness this week. Passing its closest to the Sun two days ago, Comet SWAN and will be at its closest to the Earth toward the end of this month. Comet SWAN's unusual orbit appears to be hyperbolic, meaning that it will likely go off into interstellar space, never to return".Ott 04, 2006
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Eris.jpgAnother "Dwarf Planet" with satellite: 136199-Eris and Dysnomia56 visiteDa "NASA - Picture of the Day" del 18 Settembre 2006:"Is Pluto the largest Dwarf Planet? No! Currently, the largest known dwarf planet is 136199-Eris, renamed last week from 2003 UB313. Eris is just slightly larger than Pluto, but orbits as far as twice Pluto's distance from the Sun. Eris is shown above in an image taken by a 10-meter Keck Telescope from Hawaii, USA.
Like Pluto, Eris has a moon, which has been officially named by the International Astronomical Union as (136199) Eris I (Dysnomia). Dysnomia is visible above just to the right of Eris. Dwarf Planets Pluto and Eris are Trans-Neptunian Objects that orbit in the Kuiper belt of objects past Neptune. Eris was discovered in 2003, and is likely composed of frozen water-ice and methane. Since Pluto's recent demotion by the IAU from planet to dwarf planet status, Pluto has recently also been given a new numeric designation: 134340-Pluto.
Currently, the only other officially designated Dwarf Planet is 1-Ceres".Set 18, 2006
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![Comets-Halley-Giotto-86hc145[1].jpg](albums/userpics/10008/small_Comets-Halley-Giotto-86hc145%5B1%5D.jpg "Nome del file=Comets-Halley-Giotto-86hc145[1].jpg
Dimensione del file=634KiB
Dimensioni=1756x1788
Aggiunta il=Set 17, 2006")
Comets-Halley-Giotto-86hc145[1].jpgThe "Halley Comet", from Giotto57 visitenessun commentoSet 17, 2006
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LLM-Itokawa.jpg25143-Itokawa58 visiteA Japanese spacecraft has provided one of the best arguments yet in favor of a conception of asteroids which was pioneered by PSI (Planet Science Institute) scientists Don Davis and Clark Chapman in the late 70's. The evidence comes in startling closeup pictures of the tiny asteroid 25143-Itokawa, photographed by the Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft during a two-month encounter in late 2005. The asteroid illustrates the concept of a "Rubble-Pile" asteroid, which is composed of a mixture of boulders and dust gravitationally bound together.
The scientific results, recently highlighted in the journal Science, show that, unlike other asteroids recently imaged by spacecraft, which are mostly rounded and potato-like, dotted by craters, and with a few scattered boulders on the surface, Itokawa appears to be composed of massive splinter-like boulders protruding from a matrix of smaller fragments.
The largest boulders sticking out of the body appear to be some tens of meters across.
The Hayabusa science team includes PSI scientists Paul Abell and Bob Gaskell, and PSI affiliate scientists Hirdy Miyamoto and Faith Vilas.Set 16, 2006
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0-The Solar System.jpgA "New" Solar System (according to IAU)? No, thanks...153 visite"Plutone non è degno di essere considerato un Pianeta": questa, con un pizzico di polemica (da parte nostra) ed in estrema sintesi, la decisione della IAU la quale, dovendo scegliere se portare (o non) da 9 a 12 il numero dei Membri Maggiori del Sistema Solare, ha " elegantemente" pensato e deliberato di ridurli ad 8!
Questa decisione, a parere di Lunar Explorer Italia, costituisce un futile, inutile e villano "sgarbo postumo" nei confronti del grande Astronomo Americano Clyde Tombaugh (lo scopritore di Plutone) e quindi abbiamo deciso, in quanto Gruppo di Ricercatori Indipendenti, di non riconoscere la "IAU Resolution n. 6-A" e pertanto continueremo a considerare il nostro Sistema Solare inclusivo di Plutone (anzi: del Pianeta "Doppio" Plutone-Caronte).
Clyde Tombaugh nacque nel 1906 da una famiglia di agricoltori dell'Illinois. da ragazzo sviluppò un forte interesse per l'osservazione del cielo, incoraggiato sia dal padre che dallo zio. Il primo telescopio con il quale osservò le stelle apparteneva a suo zio. Clyde era insoddisfatto del primo telescopio che aveva comprato in un negozio, così decise di costruirne uno lui stesso. Il padre di Clyde si trovò un secondo lavoro per pagare i materiali necessari. Il telescopio che Clyde costruì nel 1925 fu solo il primo di oltre trenta telescopi che costruì nel corso della sua vita.
Nel 1928 Clyde finì di costruire un telescopio riflettore da 23 cm, molto preciso. La montatura fu costruita con un albero a gomiti, preso da un'automobile Buick del 1910, e da parti di scarto di una macchina agricola! Tuttavia non fu con questo che Clyde compì le osservazioni che gli valsero un'offerta di lavoro dal Lowell Observatory. Clyde fece disegni molto dettagliati delle proprie osservazioni al telescopio di Marte e Giove. Inviò i suoi disegni agli astronomi del Lowell Observatory, chiedendo commenti e suggerimenti. Invece ricevette un'offerta per andare a lavorare all'osservatorio come astronomo praticante. Clyde accettò il lavoro e cominciò a dedicarsi alla ricerca del famoso "Pianeta X" di Percival Lowell, un pianeta ancora sconosciuto che avrebbe dovuto trovarsi oltre Nettuno. Il lavoro di Clyde Tombaugh consisteva nel fotografare un pezzettino di cielo per volta, poi esaminarlo attentamente e confrontare le diverse fotografie per identificarvi eventuali oggetti non identificati in movimento, che avrebbero potuto essere pianeti. Clyde Tombaugh fotografò oltre il 65% del cielo e trascorse migliaia di ore esaminando le immagini. Dopo dieci mesi di durissimo lavoro, spesso lavorando anche la notte in una cupola non riscaldata, Clyde Tombaugh scoprì il pianeta Plutone. Clyde Tombaugh morì all'età di novant'anni, il 17 gennaio 1997.
Ago 28, 2006
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Asteroids-Asteroid_2002JF56-PIA09230-00.jpgUnknown Asteroid57 visiteUn'immagine non particolarmente suggestiva, ma comunque importante, molto importante: ci arriva dalla Sonda New Horizons che sta calibrando le proprie fotocamere, in attesa (una LUNGA attesa...) di giungere nello Spazio di Plutone e quindi nella Fascia di Kuiper, tra il 2015 ed il 2020...Lug 14, 2006
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Comets-Schwassmann_Wachmann_1-10.jpgComet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3: the whole "crumbling" Comet (4)62 visitenessun commentoMag 13, 2006
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Comets-Schwassmann_Wachmann_1-09.jpgComet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3: the whole "crumbling" Comet (3)58 visitenessun commentoMag 13, 2006
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Comets-Schwassmann_Wachmann_1-08.jpgComet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3: the whole "crumbling" Comet (2)57 visitenessun commentoMag 13, 2006
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Comets-Schwassmann_Wachmann_1-07.jpgComet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3: the whole "crumbling" Comet (1)55 visiteThis false-color mosaic of crumbling Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 spans about 6° (about 12 full moons) along the Comet's orbit. Recorded on May 4-6, 2006, by an infrared camera on board the Spitzer Space Telescope, the picture captures about 45 of the 60 or more alphabetically cataloged large Comet Fragments. The brightest fragment at the upper right of the track is Fragment "C" (frame 1). Bright Fragment "B" is below and left of center (frame 2). Looking for clues to how the Comet broke up, Spitzer's infrared view also captures the trail of dust left over as the Comet deteriorated during previous passes. Emission from the dust particles warmed by sunlight appears to fill the space along the cometary orbit. The fragments are near their closest approach in the coming days, about 10 MKM away, and none pose any danger to our fair Planet.Mag 13, 2006
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