Three galaxies

A beautyfull picture of three galaxies close toghether in Leo. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110803.html

Astronomy for everyone

You don’t need an expensive telescope to enjoy astronomy. There is a lot to see and view with the naked aye or with a good pair of binoculars. This is how Corné and I also started, just looking up at the sky and curious to learn more about it.

Before you go out to look at the stars, take a little time to prepare. You will need to find a dark place, as far away from artificial lights as possible or at least shielded from direct light. Before you set out, have a good look at the star chart or planisphere so you have an idea of what you can see. For special phenomena, like eclipses and meteor showers etc. there are sky guides available or you can look at the internet. Your eyes will need about 20 minutes to fully adapt to the darkness and, as the pupil opens, more detail and fainter objects will become

Meteor showers

This time of year there are several meteor showers that we can see.  From half July till half or the end of August we can see the Pisces Australids (between 21:30 and 5:00 hour), the S. Delta Aquarids (between 22:00 and 5:00 hour) and the Alpha Capricornids (between 20:00 and 4:00 hour). But what are meteor showers?

A meteor, or “shooting star”, is a particle of rock or dust that enters the Earth’s atmosphere and causes a streak of light when it burns up. In general meteors appear in the upper atmosphere, at an altitude of between 80 to 120 kilometres and disappear between 60 and 80 kilometres high. If the object is big enough, some of it will reach the surface and is then called a meteorite. Most meteors entering the atmosphere are sporadic, particles travelling through space in isolation. But several times a year, the Earth passes through streams of particles left behind by comets

great picture

Another great picture from NASA

The Milky Way

On a clear, moonless night away from the city lights, you can see a pale white band stretching across the sky. This hazy band of light is our own inside view of the city of stars that form the galaxy we are part of, the Milky Way Galaxy.

There are many myths involving the formation of the Milky Way, but the best known is probably the Greek myth of Hercules. In Greek mythology, Hercules was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. It was said that when Zeus’ wife, while suckling Hercules, found out that his mother was a mortal woman, she pulled her breast away and her milk flowed among the stars.

But what is the Milky Way really?It is a spiral shaped galaxy, a vast collection of stars, gas and dust of which the solar system with our Sun and its system of planets, is a part. We are located about halfway