Disappearing Venus

Next Wednesday, Venus will disappear from the sky! Well, for a short time anyway. Because the Moon will be blocking it from view. At the same time, the Lyrid meteor shower - one of the most active meteor showers of the year - will also be going on. Should be a fun time to be observing the sky. Go here for more information, and clear skies!

World Science Festival 2009 Volunteers

The second annual World Science Festival to be held June 10-14 in New York City is now looking for volunteers. Go here if you are interested.

Pretty picture of the Triangulum Galaxy (M 33)

Available here, courtesy of scientists at NASA's JPL.

Astronaut twitter

If you are interested in what life as an astronaut is like, as well as how preparations for the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission is going, check out the Twitter of Mike Massimino (username is Astro_Mike or @Astro_Mike, or just go here). Enjoy!

Radio bursts from Jupiter (and beyond)

Jupiter is actually an extremely bright radio source, and NASA has a pretty impressive program that lets you build your own radio telescope and observe Jupiter for yourself - and other sources as well I imagine. Go here for more information. Enjoy!

I'm back....

I'm really sorry for the lack of posts over the last 3 weeks, but I recently attended an Astronomy conference and only returned late last week. I'm back, and hope to resume posting on a more regular basis. Thank you very much for your patience.

Vote on the Name of NASA's next Mars Rover

While "Mars Science Laboratory" is a fairly descriptive name for a rover - it is going to be on Mars to do Science with its on-board Laboratory, it is pretty dry and not that exciting. Too come up with a new name, NASA held a nationwide contest for suggestions, and now you can vote for which name you like here starting today until March 29th. This poll is non-binding, much to the chagrin of Stephen Colbert, I'm sure (though I personally kinda like the sound of "Mars Truthiness Rover" but that is just me). Enjoy!

Quadruple Saturn Moon Transit Snapped by Hubble

This February, the Hubble Space Telescope took a picture of four moons of Saturn passing in front of their parent planet which can be seen here and here. Such events are rare, and only happen when the tilt of Saturn's ring plane is nearly "edge on" as seen from Earth. Enjoy!

New NASA movie: "Frozen"

NASA has recently produced a "unique 'spherical' movie" (their words, not mine) showing how the ice and snow cover of the Earth changes over time as imaged by NASA spacecraft. This movie is called "Frozen," 12-minutes long, and meant to view on a six-foot sphere which has been installed in more than 30 locations around the world. For more information about "Frozen," including a list of locations showing the film, go here. Enjoy!

NASA Celebrates Sun-Earth Day With Illuminating Webcast TODAY!

Cut-and-paste directly from their press release:

NASA scientists will reveal new information and images about our sun and its influence on Earth and the solar system for Sun-Earth Day, recognized each year in conjunction with the spring equinox. The highlight of this year's celebration is a webcast for students and teachers around the world, beginning at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT), Friday, March 20.

This year's theme, "Our Sun, Yours to Discover," celebrates the International Year of Astronomy and emphasizes daytime astronomy. During the live, interactive event, participants from around the world and NASA scientists will share new discoveries and visualizations about our sun. Participating students will have the opportunity to demonstrate personally designed sundials, while others will be monitoring the sun and preparing their own space weather forecast.

"Tremendous strides have been made with satellite and ground-based observations of the sun, which have enabled us to monitor the sun to gain a better understanding of the processes that govern its influence on our solar system," said Eric Christian, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Sun-Earth Day is a celebration of the sun and how it affects life on our planet and the space around Earth, known as geospace. For the past nine years, NASA has sponsored and coordinated education and public outreach events for Sun-Earth Day that highlight NASA heliophysics research and discoveries. NASA's goal is to use celestial events to engage the public and students in kindergarten through 12th grade via webcasts, podcasts, space science activities, demonstrations and interactions with space scientists.

"These events also support the spirit of international collaboration," said Lou Mayo, project manager at Goddard for Sun-Earth Day 2009. "We are excited about sharing the latest discoveries about our sun and encourage others to join our quest for a greater understanding of our closest star."

Goddard is producing the Sun-Earth Day webcast. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the Adler Planetarium in Chicago also are participating in the broadcast. NASA Television and the agency's Web site will broadcast the event live. For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: here. For more information about Sun-Earth Day, visit: here. For more information about NASA's Education programs, visit: here.