bsuobservatory

[bsuobservatory]

Wed. 11/20 - We'll be closed tonight due to clouds.

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Wed. 11/20 - We're not sure about tonight's weather yet. We'll try to decide by 3:30 pm if we'll open tonight.

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Wed. 11/13: We expect gorgeous, clear skies tonight! We'll be open, 6 -7 for public night and from 7 - 9 for attendees of Open Lab Night.

Please be aware the elevator which goes to the 5th floor (observatory) is out of order. We will only be accessible by stairs tonight, though you can still take the other elevator to the 4th floor.

[bsuobservatory]

Happy fun fact Friday!

Did you know that the largest canyon system in the solar system is Valles Marineris on Mars? The image shows the Valles Marineris compared to the US coast to coast and the Grand Canyon!

Source: NASA

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Wed. 11/6: We'll be closed tonight - we expect lots of clouds rolling in after sunset. We'll try again next week!

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Today's word of the day is "earthshine" which is when the Earth reflects the Sun's light so that it makes the dark side of the moon glow! Super cool.

Image credit: Abhijit Juvekar

[bsuobservatory]

Dragons fighting in space?

Just kidding. These "dragons" are made up of gas and dust in the emission nebula NGC 6188, which is 4000 lightyears away in the Ara constellation!

Image by: Carlos Taylor

[bsuobservatory]

Happy Halloween, everyone!

2024 October 27

LDN 43: The Cosmic Bat Nebula Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby; Text: Michelle Thaller (NASA’s GSFC)

Explanation: What is the most spook-tacular nebula in the galaxy? One contender is LDN 43, which bears an astonishing resemblance to a vast cosmic bat flying amongst the stars on a dark Halloween night. Located about 1400 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, this molecular cloud is dense enough to block light not only from background stars, but from wisps of gas lit up by the nearby reflection nebula LBN 7. Far from being a harbinger of death, this 12-light year-long filament of gas and dust is actually a stellar nursery. Glowing with eerie light, the bat is lit up from inside by dense gaseous knots that have just formed young stars.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241027.html

[bsuobservatory]

Wed. Oct. 30: We'll be closed tonight due to clouds. We'll try again next week!

[bsuobservatory]

Wed. Oct. 22: We'll be open tonight from 7 - 8 pm. We expect some clouds, but we should still be able to catch some nice glimpses of the sky. Saturn is still the star of the show!

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A personal item was found on the observatory decks the day after our public night. If you lost something, check with the Dean's office in the DMF Science and Math Center!

[bsuobservatory]

Wed. 9/25: We'll be closed tonight due to clouds. We'll try again next Wednesday!

[bsuobservatory]

Happy Monday!

Today's picture of the day was taken by Matthew Dominick from the ISS! The image shows a giant jet lightning, which is a new discovery (only 23 years!) and associated with thunderstorms. While regular lightning travels between the ground and the clouds, giant jet lightning bursts upwards.

[bsuobservatory]

Did you know that there are 5 known dwarf planets in our solar system? Everyone knows Pluto, but there is also Ceres, Haumea, Makemake and Eris.

Info from: https://www.iau.org/public/themes/pluto/#n6

[bsuobservatory]

Many things in space stay the same for a human lifetime, but not the Bat Shadow. Hubble pictures taken 404 days apart show it “flapping” as the shadow changes position. It’s the result of a saddle-shaped disk: https://bit.ly/3Y5qu7W

[bsuobservatory]

Wed. Aug. 21 - We'll be open to the public tonight from 8:30 - 9:30 pm!

[bsuobservatory]

Happy Wednesday! It's time for an astronomy word of the day!

Asterism - an asterism is any prominent star pattern that isn’t a whole constellation, such as the Northern Cross or the Big Dipper (pictured below)

Definition from: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-terms/ Image from: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/a-new-way-to-see-the-big-dipper/