Free Republic 3rd Qtr 2024 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $76,550
94%  
Woo hoo!! And we're now over 94%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless.

Keyword: astronomy

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Catholic View of the Zodiac

    03/01/2017 10:57:33 PM PST · by WillOTerry · 4 replies
    FishEaters ^ | FishEaters
    A new sub-section on the FishEaters website deals with the Zodiac, a Christian way of seeing it. This sub-section consists of a number of pages, including one for each Zodiac sign, so you'll have to visit to read it. But the introduction brings up something really fascinating that St. Paul, the Apostle brings up when referencing a Psalm! Very, VERY interesting!
  • Total Solar Eclipse 2017: When, Where and How to See It (Safely)

    03/01/2017 10:24:23 AM PST · by Red Badger · 57 replies
    SPACE.com ^ | February 27, 2017 05:23pm ET | By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer
    On Aug. 21, 2017, American skywatchers will be treated to a rare and spectacular celestial show — the first total solar eclipse visible from the continental United States in nearly four decades. Next year's "Great American Total Solar Eclipse" will darken skies all the way from Oregon to South Carolina, along a stretch of land about 70 miles (113 kilometers) wide. People who descend upon this "path of totality" for the big event are in for an unforgettable experience, said eclipse expert Jay Pasachoff, an astronomer at Williams College in Massachusetts. "It's a tremendous opportunity," Pasachoff told Space.com. "It's a...
  • A whopping seven Earth-size planets were just found orbiting a nearby star

    02/22/2017 11:21:30 AM PST · by C19fan · 104 replies
    Popular Science ^ | February 22, 2017 | Sarah Fecht
    Planet-hunters are always on the lookout for worlds that look like Earth—rocky planets that are not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to flow on the surface. Now scientists have hit the jackpot, discovering seven Earth-size exoplanets orbiting a single star just 39 light-years away. The star, named TRAPPIST-1, was thought to be home to three exoplanets. But with the help of a variety of observatories—including the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (a.k.a. TRAPPIST, the star's namesake), the Very Large Telescope in Chile, and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope—researchers found four more planets in the system. The...
  • The Gospel In The Stars

    02/17/2017 11:29:06 AM PST · by amessenger4god · 31 replies
    Unsealed World News ^ | 2/17/17 | Gary
    While researching the astronomical alignment next September that may be the sign John saw in Revelation 12, it occurred to me to revisit the possible dates surrounding Christ's first advent and see if there were any other "signs in the sky" around that time.  I've already written extensively on possible dates for Jesus' birth (primarily based on Craig Chester and Rick Larson's research and The Bethlehem Star documentary), so I won't touch on that here, suffice to say that the argument goes Jesus was conceived on the Feast of Trumpets in 3 BC, was born in June of 2 BC,...
  • The Most Persuasive Scientific Reason to Believe?

    What scientific argument for the truth of Christianity do you find the most persuasive? As I contemplated this question, my answer was big bang cosmology. Here’s why. All big bang models include three essential features: (1) constant laws of physics throughout the universe; (2) a dynamic universe, one either expanding or contracting; and (3) a beginning to the universe. Remarkably, the biblical description matches these essential features. Constant Laws of Physics The scientific enterprise depends on a universe governed by constant laws of physics. If measurements today have no bearing on what happened yesterday or will happen tomorrow, no scientific...
  • How You Can Help Discover a New Planet From Your Couch

    02/14/2017 5:49:48 PM PST · by PROCON · 16 replies
    comettv.com ^ | Feb. 14, 2017 | KIERAN DICKSON
    The hunt for potentially habitable planets outside of our solar system is one of the most exciting frontiers of science, and you can become a part of it without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home. This week, MIT and Carnegie Science Institute released a huge dataset containing close to 61,000 measurements of over 1600 stars. These measurements contain data that could potentially identify thousands of new exoplanets, many of which might be Earth-like in their nature. Unfortunately, the MIT and Carnegie Institute team simply doesn’t have the capacity to trawl through all of this information,...
  • Stargazers' delight: Lunar eclipse, comet, and 'Snow Moon' in one incredible night

    02/10/2017 6:00:38 PM PST · by Mozilla · 13 replies
    Fox News ^ | 2/10/17 | Fox News staff
    Stargazers are in for a triple treat: Friday night will feature a type of lunar eclipse, the Full Snow Moon, and even a comet. You’ve likely heard of a “supermoon,” when the full moon appears brighter than usual because it’s closer to Earth. Friday night, something different will happen, in effect. The full moon will be darker. That’s because the Earth’s natural satellite will experience something called a penumbral eclipse. A full lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is right in between the sun and the moon, casting its shadow onto the moon. In a penumbral eclipse, it’s just the...
  • NASA's Asteroid-Hunting Spacecraft Just Got an Amazing Side-Quest

    02/04/2017 4:20:04 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 24 replies
    gizmodo ^ | 02/04/2017 | Rae Paoletta
    For 10 days this month, OSIRIS-REx will investigate whether or not Trojan asteroids exist at certain points in Earth’s orbit called Lagrange points. Though Jupiter has Trojan asteroids, it’s unclear whether or not Earth’s Lagrange points host similar objects. After all, only one Earth Trojan has ever been found. “The Earth orbits around the Sun, and the Earth has a gravitational field and the Sun has a gravitational field,” explained Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS REx’s principal investigator. “Because of that property, there are certain points in space where those two fields balance each other out, called Lagrange points.” OSIRIS-REx will be...
  • Prediction Of Merging Stars May Solve One Of Hubble's Greatest Mysteries

    01/18/2017 9:26:49 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 4 replies
    Forbes ^ | 17 Jan, 2017 | Ethan Siegel
    When you think about our Solar System, with its lone, luminous star dominating both the mass and light of our local corner of the Milky Way, you might think that this is what 'typical' looks like. In some ways, this is true, but a Solar System with multiple stars -- binaries, trinaries or more -- might be even more common. At interstellar distances, many of these binaries are too close together to resolve even with the most powerful of telescopes. Instead, it's only the variations in their light, where the stars more relative to one another, periodically eclipse (passing in...
  • Rare Astrological Event (Dawning of Age of Trumpquarius)

    01/08/2017 8:38:20 AM PST · by PJ-Comix · 27 replies
    Starting January 7th and going through February 6th, 2017, all of the major planets will be moving direct (forward). Ancients saw this as a time of great fortune and a very opportune time. Stephanie “Wave” Forest is the first known astrologer first to publish articles, teach online courses and present slide show lectures on both the occurrence and potential of All Planets in Direct Motion (APDM). Wave states: “Now, here in this moment, from our geo-centric view, our entire solar system, moving together, in the same direction, like a flowing cosmic river, all traveling towards this one direction. From the...
  • Rare Comet Visiting Inner Solar System For The First Time To Be Visible From Earth This January

    01/03/2017 8:35:33 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 46 replies
    Tech Times ^ | 3 January 2017, 5:47 am EST | Allan Adamson
    Seeing Comet C/2016 U1 NEOWISE fly by would be a rare opportunity for skygazers because the celestial body won't likely pass by Earth for the next thousands of years. Unlike short period comets such as Halley's, a comet which passes by our planet every 75 to 80 years, it would take C/2016 U1 NEOWISE far longer time before it gets to visit this region of the solar system again. ... Paul Chodas, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Studies, said that there is a good chance that the object will be visible from Earth using a good pair of...
  • Top 7 Must-See Sky Events for 2017

    01/02/2017 9:13:19 AM PST · by MtnClimber · 17 replies
    National Geographic ^ | 29 Dec, 2016 | Andrew Fazekas
    Among the many eye-catching astronomical shows coming up, 2017 may be best remembered for the much anticipated total eclipse of the sun that will cross the continental United States in August. In addition to that spectacular sight, sky-watchers will have a plethora of treats to look forward to in the coming months. To kick things off, an icy comet will swing by Earth in February, hopefully offering picturesque views. Elusive Mercury and giant Jupiter will both put their best faces forward as they appear their biggest and brightest early in the year. And in December, the annual Geminid meteor shower...
  • Conversations With An Astrophysicist - Fast Radio Bursts

    12/28/2016 6:25:39 PM PST · by Steely Tom · 54 replies
    KnowTheCosmos ^ | 13 February 2015 | Scott Lewis
    Who doesn't love a good mystery story? What happens when that story is 5 milliseconds long and comes from a place millions of light-years away? This episode of _Conversations with an Astrophysicist_ Dr. +Katie Mack and +Scott Lewis dig into the mysterious *Fast Radio Bursts* that have been observed over the past few years. Astronomers are still seeking out the source of what these seemingly random blasts of radio light, but Katie & Scott are on the case to discuss what we know, and hopefully narrow it down a bit.
  • Finding micrometeorites in city gutters

    12/18/2016 3:45:51 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 16 replies
    The Economist ^ | 17 Dec, 2017
    ABOUT 4.6bn years ago, a spinning disc of gas and dust began to coalesce into balls of matter. The largest sphere, at the disc’s centre, collapsed under its own gravity to form the sun. Other clumps of dust, scattered around its periphery, became planets and asteroids. In planets this dust has long since metamorphosed into rock. But in many asteroids it is still more or less intact. As a consequence, when asteroids collide, some of it is liberated—and a small fraction of that material eventually falls to Earth as micrometeorites. This micrometeoritic dust arrives at a rate of around six...
  • Stony meteorites reveal the timing of Jupiter’s migration

    12/14/2016 7:57:55 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 18 replies
    Astronomy Magazine ^ | 13 Dec, 2016 | K.N. Smith
    Home/News/Stony meteorites reveal the timing of Jupiter’s migration 941 Stony meteorites reveal the timing of Jupiter’s migration The gas giant caused iron-vaporizing collisions in the asteroid belt 5 million years ago. By K.N. Smith | Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2016 JUPITER_proccessed_image An artist's rendering of Jupiter WikiMedia Commons/ Ukstillalive The youngest stony meteorites in the solar system may reveal when Jupiter migrated through the asteroid belt. These meteors contain grains of metal that can only be the remnant of high-velocity collisions driven by Jupiter’s gravitational influence. New evidence comes from a rare group of meteorites called CB chondrites. Formed around...
  • Super-Galaxies Don’t Become Cannibals Until Later in Life

    12/02/2016 6:37:26 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 10 replies
    Astronomy Magazine ^ | 1 Dec, 2016 | K.N. Smith
    Before they turn to cannibalism, massive galaxies spend their infancy gobbling up recycled gas from earlier generations of star formation. The Spiderweb Galaxy is actually more of a galaxy-in-progress. One day, it will be an enormous elliptical galaxy at the heart of a galactic cluster, but at the moment – technically, at a moment ten billion years away whose light is only just reaching us on Earth – it’s a group of about a dozen small proto-galaxies, slowly falling together and merging amid a vast halo of cold gas. At the center of that spiderweb of gas and merging galaxies...
  • Record Supermoon and 9 More Can't-Miss Sky Events in November

    11/01/2016 11:51:13 AM PDT · by Heartlander · 15 replies
    National Geographic ^ | November 1, 2016 | Andrew Fazekas
    Record Supermoon and 9 More Can't-Miss Sky Events in November The coming month brings the roaring lion of meteor displays, dazzling planets, and plenty more reasons to look up at the night sky. You’ll even have the chance to catch the most impressive supermoon in nearly seven decades.So dust off those binoculars and mark your November calendar!Moon and Saturn—November 2 About an hour after local sunset, catch the razor-thin crescent moon hanging over Saturn. The cosmic pair will appear less than three degrees apart, or less than the width of your three middle fingers held at arm’s length. Adding to...
  • Massive Cloud on Collision Course with the Milky Way

    10/31/2016 1:22:20 PM PDT · by C19fan · 33 replies
    Space Daily ^ | October 14, 2016 | Staff
    In 1963, an astronomy student named Gail Smith working at an observatory in the Netherlands discovered something odd-a massive cloud of gas orbiting the Milky Way galaxy. Smith's cloud contained enough gas to make 2 million stars the size of our sun, and it was moving through space at 700,000 mph. For the next 40+ years the cloud remained a curiosity, one of a growing number of so-called high velocity clouds circling the Milky Way--interesting but not sensational. Then something changed. In the mid-2000s, radio astronomer Jay Lockman and colleagues took a closer look at Smith's Cloud using the Green...
  • Nasa to reveal 'surprising activity' on Jupiter's moon Europa (but it says it is NOT aliens)

    09/23/2016 9:57:30 AM PDT · by C19fan · 35 replies
    UK Daily Mail ^ | September 23, 2016 | Libby Plummer and Abigail Beall
    Nasa is expected to make an announcement about 'surprising activity' on Jupiter's moon, Europa, on Monday. Many speculated that Nasa could finally be announcing evidence of life beyond Earth. The space agency, however, has poured cold water over these claims, tweeting that the much anticipated announcement will not be related to aliens.
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day

    09/06/2016 11:21:04 AM PDT · by Paradox · 6 replies
    APOD website ^ | 2016 September 6 | Nasa
    Explanation: Follow the handle of the Big Dipper away from the dipper's bowl, until you get to the handle's last bright star. Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west and you might find this stunning pair of interacting galaxies, the 51st entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog. Perhaps the original spiral nebula, the large galaxy with well defined spiral structure is also cataloged as NGC 5194. Its spiral arms and dust lanes clearly sweep in front of its companion galaxy (left), NGC 5195. The pair are about 31 million light-years distant and officially lie within the angular...