Online Astronomy

I'm sure most of you have heard about SETI@home a downloadable screen saver that using your computer to decode radio signals for a search for extraterrestrial live... more at http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/sah_about.php

Today, I found something more hands on and in the realm of actual astronomy! You might have heard of it..Galaxy Zoo. At Galaxy Zoo you can register and get training on classifying galaxies for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I found it a load of fun and something I will do on cloudy nights. I was classifying galaxies about 10 minutes after registering. So far I have done over 700!
Check it out.
http://galaxyzoo.org/

According to their website:
Galaxy Zoo was launched in 2007. Twenty-four hours after it's launch the site was receiving 70,000 classifications per hour. This rate mystified the Galaxy Zoo team. Thanks to amateur efforts many papers have be published and they have been successful at getting time on research telescopes to follow up on data collected through the site.

Milky Way

Milky Way
Originally uploaded by MPR Photography (Matthew2000tx)

Milky Way and beginning of the Perseids Meteor shower over McDonald Observatory.

ISS and Shuttle

ISS Pass over McDonald Visitor Center, originally uploaded by MPR Photography (Matthew2000tx).

Earlier tonight I was at Woodlawn Lake in San Antonio. At about 9:12 PM CST. I watched the ISS and Shuttle appear out of the northwest horizon. It was really a nice pass. I've seen but the ISS and Shuttle together before but this time they were viewable at the same time.

I was at the park with my wife and sister-in-law. We were there to walk around and talk. I took my Jeep, which at this point of the summer has to top off. While walking I saw a man in a white shirt looking in my Jeep. At first I thought he was up to no good, but then I kept seeing him look up at the sky. So I asked if he was looking for the ISS. He stated yes and eventually we were standing there together looking up. And we weren't disappointed.

The Photo chosen for this entry was actually taken last week while visiting McDonald Observatory.

Impact! Jupiter

Recently while at the McDonald Observatory my wife and I got a chance to view the impact site on Jupiter using the Bash visitor's center's LX200. I've read some reports that say the impact spot is growing. I'm planning on trying to take a look tonight in my Lightbridge (16") or my 10" Dob.

The impact spot is very small so it will require steady sky and high magnification. I encourage you to get your scopes out and look up.

Some info and videos on the impact that happen on Jupiter.



Following is a dumb video:

Stupid People's Company

Some one needs to set these people straight

McDonald Obsevatory Video (Not my video)

This is a scheduled blog post... as this posts we are driving back to San Antonio after spending a week in the Davis Mountain area and volunteering at the McDonald Observatory.

This isn't my video... but it will give you an idea of what we saw.

McDonald Observatory - Outreach and Research

Friday:

We started off the day with going to Balmorhea State Park and when snorkeling in the natural spring pool. It was really fun we saw many different types of fish and a turtle. Later we drove back to Alpine to take a nap.
At around 8:30pm we set up our 16” Dobsonian at the visitor’s center at McDonald Observatory. I kept the my scope on the Ring Nebula all during the public star party. Tina ran an old orange tube C8 SCT and she kept on Saturn most of the time and eventually switched to Jupiter. Tina and I were each paired with a UT research student. There was around 400 people in attendance. At around 11:30 PM the star party was over and Tina’s partner, Jose, was talking about going to the 36” Telescope to do some observations on Jupiter. He did some calling around the mountain and found out that wasn’t going to be possible. Then my partner, Greg, was telling us about his research project a pulsating white dwarf star GD66. Greg is a research assistant using the 82 inch Otto Struve Telescope to collect data on the star.

Since the 36” was unavailable he invited Tina and I to go meet the lead astronomer on the research project and “hang out” at the 82 inch Otto Struve Telescope. We drove up around 11:50 pm and went into the 86” observatory. We walked in the control room and met the researchers and a few people that were there also just hanging out. I met Jimi Lowery, owner of the largest privately owned telescope a 48” reflector. I met many people about 10 and I can’t remember all their names but a few knew people from San Angelo that I knew from when I got started in Astronomy. We literally got to see the raw data collection being done and analyzed. The particle count was up so they were required to shut down observations and so they dome was closed. We were allowed to go into the dome telescope area and walk up the inside service ways to look at the scope. Later that night we walked out the outside catwalk of the observatory. It was really dark outside however you could see some far off light glow from El Paso and Ft. Davis. I asked the astronomers and they did seem very concerned about the encroaching light pollution.

About 1 am after playing around the 86” we got clearance to visit the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) 11.1 x 9.8 meter telescope. We walked right into the control room with the research partners we paired up with. We got a first hand look at the scope. They have to shut down sooner than the other telescopes because the HET doesn’t have a cover for the mirror like the 107” and the 86”. So we were allowed to go right up to the HET inside the dome. (On a tour you see if through a glass window.) They even moved the scope around for us. We spoke about an hour about the telescope and about the research being done that night. They were analyzing and collecting data for exo-planetary search. We left about 2:30am and drove the hour drive back to Alpine with an experience of a life time. We were literally standing on the forefront for Astronomical research.



Other Photos:


My Telescope with 107" and 86" in background:


Visitor Center Observatory with Milkyway:


ISS Pass Over Visitor Center at McDonald Observatory


Iridium Flare over Hobby-Eberly Telescope. Jupiter in Tree.


Line at telescope:


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