Hunting for Ceres in the Pipe Nebula

Ceres is the largest asteroid in the solar system, and is usually bright enough to be visible with telescopes and even binoculars (at around a magnitude of 7). However, unlike the brighter planets, it is not so bright to be able to be distinguishable from the stars that may surround it. Normally to do that would require taking multiple exposures of the field to see which one of the dot moves¹, or at the very least, looking at charts giving its position in relation to other stars. However in the month of July, due to its special position, identifying became a lot easier.

In July, Ceres passed in front of Barnard 78 (or the Pipe Nebula), a nebula in the Ophiuchus constellation made up of dark dust and gas. This opportune position allows the nebula to block out background stars which may be confused for the asteroid. Since Ceres is in our solar system, it isn't blocked out, allowing it to be made out easily.

When I observed Ceres on July 20 with my 15x70 binoculars, it took me just a few minutes to identify which dot was Ceres. If you have binoculars or a telescope, definitely try and go outside to see this asteroid. This special position won't last for long!

When hunting for the asteroid, using a chart from a computer is immensely helpful. I used charts from the iPhone/iPad app SkyVoyager and the July issue of Astronomy magazine.

Footnotes

1: Since the Earth rotates, stars rise in the east, move across the sky, and set in the west, just like the Sun. Asteroids (and also planets) also move in their orbits, so in addition to rising and setting, they move across the sky not following the other stars [this is why the name planet comes from the Greek work “wanderer”]. When taking multiple exposures and aligning the stars in the pictures, the one that moves is the asteroid, since it is not following the movement of the stars.

A Planet with a Tail

An artist's interpretation of how extrasolar planet HD 209458b may look.
Image: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScL)

A giant gas extrasolar planet, HD 209458b, has recently been confirmed to possess a tail, resembling something like that of a comet. The planet is similar to Jupiter, but unlike Jupiter it orbits very close to its star, completing an orbit every 3.5 days¹.

The planet, about 153 light-years from Earth, has been heavily studied since its initial discovery because it was one of the first discoveries of an extrasolar planet transiting its star. This is a special case where the orbit of the planet allows it to eclipse its star, as seen from the Earth. The rare position essentially allows astronomers to study the atmosphere of the planet, finding out what chemicals make it up (the process is detailed for a similar case here). Astronomers studying HD 209458b discovered that the planet’s atmosphere contains heavy elements including carbon and silicon. Since the atmosphere is exposed to the scorching heat of the star due to their close proximity, the heavy elements can escape.

Eventually, these materials come together to form a large flow of gas coming out from the planet. On the Earth, astronomers have detected the gas to be coming towards us at 22,000 miles per hour. When the stellar wind from the star picks up the gas, the tail, resembling one of a comet’s, is formed. Still, despite the large outflow of gas, the planet is not likely to completely “evaporate” anytime soon. It is estimated that it will take a trillion years for that to happen.

The recent finding is important in that it further helps us realize how our star is not unique in harboring planets, as the numerous other discoveries of extrasolar planets have proved. However, perhaps more importantly, it shows the intense variety of what can be found in the universe.

Footnotes

1: Extrasolar planets are planets that are found outside of our solar system, orbiting other planets. Recently, there has been an explosion in the discovery of extrasolar planets, and the number of total extrasolar planets discovered so far is currently a little over 450.

Reading List

Some of what I have been reading this week, both online and offline:

• Felix Baumgartner is planning on skydiving from the edge of space, at 120,000 feet above the ground. Aside from setting a new record, the jump could help develop and perfect technologies for escape systems on space vehicles, like the Space Shuttle, or future commercial space transport. [Read at SPACE.com] 
• A picture of the July 11 solar eclipse visible during sunset from the Andes mountains. The eclipse was viewable in southern areas of South America and the Pacific Ocean. [See and read about the picture at APOD] 
• In addition to the book Endless Universe, I’ve also started to read Einstein’s Telescope. The author, Evalyn Gates, discusses the presence of dark matter and dark energy. It is an interesting read so far since Gates presents the difficult topic with a good amount of explanation and also humor.

Adventures with Binoculars: Using a Tripod

After initially getting my binoculars, I was very excited to be able to get out quickly and start observing. However, after a few short observing sessions, holding the binoculars in my unstable hands, I started to notice that my views were getting shaky. I have a pair of 15x70 binoculars (meaning they have a 70 mm or 7 cm aperture, which is the size of the objective). This is great because it captures a lot of light and can more easily reveal darker objects. But, that huge aperture also comes with the downside of a fairly large size and weight. As I talked about in my review, they can be usable handheld for short periods of time, but detailed observations lasting longer than about a minute or two can’t be done.

So the time came to start using a tripod. Luckily, the Celestron Skymaster 15x70 binoculars that I have came with a tripod adapter. When researching to buy a pair of binoculars, I did find that most other similar binoculars (in size and price) also come with a tripod adapter. This tripod adapter (pictured) allows an easy attachment of the binoculars to a standard tripod, often used for photography. The whole assembly, with the tripod and the binoculars, can be done in just a few minutes, still allowing that short setup time characteristic of binoculars.

And the tripod has made such a big difference for my observations. Before I used to go outside for casual observing, just to sit down and try to quickly view and identify as many objects in the night sky as possible. Now, most of my observations are much more detailed. I can try to focus on more trickier targets and let myself absorb all the small details that casual observing did not allow. This small change has made a huge difference in my observing habits with binoculars, and it is absolutely necessary to do more detailed observations with powerful binoculars.

Adventures with Binoculars is a new series of posts I'm starting which documents my observations and experiences with my binoculars. For a review of the binoculars I am using, see this earlier post.

Rosetta's Closeup with Asteroid Lutetia

Asteroid Lutetia, captured by Rosetta
Image: ESA

ESA’s Rosetta mission successfully completed a flyby of asteroid Lutetia on July 10, capturing spectacular images of a remnant from the solar system’s creation. The spacecraft came as close as 3162 km, at a velocity of 15 km/s. At that velocity, the flyby did not last long (about a minute), but the craft was prepared with a variety of sensors to capture data before, during, and after the short flyby. Rosetta hunted for evidence of the presence of an atmosphere and magnetic effects, while studying the composition and density of the rocky body. The spacecraft even tried to capture and analyze grains of dust from the asteroid that may have been kicked into space around the asteroid. The results from these studies will be revealed at a later time.

Probably the most breathtaking of the rich information the Rosetta spacecraft captured from its flyby are the magnificent images of the rocky body. The craters and the surface of the asteroid are revealed in a stunning amount of detail, never before available to us. The images were especially breathtaking for me since I worked on researching asteroids for my high school senior project. Looking at just a tiny dot moving across a computer screen, I could never help but wonder what that tiny dot really is. What does it actually look like and what is it made of? Now looking at any asteroid, at what on Earth would appear as just a small dot indistinguishable from the hundreds of stars on an image, take on a definite and unique shape never ceases to blow me away.

Asteroid Lutetia with Saturn
Image: ESA

My favorite image from Rosetta is the image of asteroid Lutetia captured alongside Saturn. It nicely frames one of the largest bodies in the solar system with one of the smallest.

The Rosetta mission itself was launched in 2004, and is headed towards comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with that encounter scheduled for 2014. It will orbit the comet and deploy a lander, studying its composition which will help us eventually understand more about comets and the early solar system. In fact, Rosetta’s name originates from that of the Rosetta Stone, since it is designed to unlock secrets about the solar system before the existence of planets, much like how the Rosetta Stone unlocked secrets about Egyptian hieroglyphics. Asteroid Lutetia is the second asteroid that the spacecraft has flown by on its way to the comet.

Additional images of Lutetia captured by Rosetta are included below. (Images: ESA)

 

 

P.S. This is my blog’s 100th post. Wow.

The Pale Blue Dot

The Pale Blue Dot
Image: NASA

In 1990, after having completed its primary mission, Voyager 1 received instructions to turn its cameras back around to Earth. NASA had received a request from the famous astronomer Carl Sagan to photograph the Earth from 6 billion kilometers away, as the spacecraft was leaving the Solar System. In the resulting picture (above), Earth appeared to be just a tiny dot hanging in a beam of light in the middle of space, a "pale blue dot."

Carl Sagan's reflections about the picture are especially thought provoking and humbling. His words never fail to make me appreciate the value of humanity and our home planet.

From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Carl Sagan later wrote The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space*. Inspired by the photograph, Carl Sagan talked about the human future in space. Recently director Michael Marantz has constructed a wonderful short film based on an excerpt from the book. You can watch it below. (It looks great full screen in HD!)





Update: I found another great video on YouTube. This one is based on the based on the reflection written above.

*The book is available on Amazon, and is a great read. Please note that purchases made on Amazon.com through Amazon links on this blog help support this blog. A small portion of your purchase will automatically be donated towards this blog. You will not be charged extra for your purchase.