A Collection of Peculiarly-Worded Astronomy Articles

Over 2011 and early 2012, I have been keeping track of peculiarly worded astronomy articles, some of which are oxymorons, puns, and other funnily-worded phrases. [Below, for reference, is the article title, the publishing date, and the website on which it was taken | Dates are most current, first]. All of these have a corresponding article, they are not imagined - the authors did have a great imagination!

[Articles will keep on being added if they fit the bill!]

Shedding Light on the Moon's Dark Side (February 29, 2012) Earth Sky

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Sheep in Wolf-Rayet's Clothing: New Image of Planetary Nebula Hen 3-1333 (February 20, 2012) Science Daily

El Gordo: A "Fat" Distant Galaxy Cluster (January 10, 2012) ESO 

Young Star Rebels Against its Parent's Cloud (December 15, 2011) Hubble European Space Agency

Sh2-239: Celestial Impasto (December 8, 2011) APOD

As sure as eggs are eggs (October 4, 2011) Supernova Condensate

Feast Your Eyes on the Fried Egg Nebula -- ESO's VLT spots a rare treat (September 28, 2011) ESO

Astronomers Crack the Fried Egg Nebula (September 27, 2011) Science Daily

Frankenstein's Moon: Astronomers Vindicate Account of Masterwork (September 26, 2011) Texas State University 

How Single Stars Lost their Companions (September 15, 2011) Royal Astronomical Society

Neutron Star Bites off More Than it Can Chew (June 28, 2011) ESA

Pandora's Cluster: A Galactic Crash Investigation (June 23, 2011) Hubble European Space Agency

Astronomers Discover that Galaxies are Either Asleep or Awake (June 22, 2011) Yale University News

Baby Stars Born to "Napping" Parents (June 15, 2011) Cardiff University

Feuding Helium Dwarfs Stars Exposed by Eclipse (May 26, 2011) Warwick University

Supernova Sonata! (May 26, 2011) APOD

Caught in the Act: Herschel Detects Gigantic Storms Sweeping Entire Galaxies Clean (May 9, 2011) Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), via AlphaGalileo.

February 6, 2012: Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon

Such divinities have abundantly been pangyrized to us these past, invigorating days. The Moon and the planets have put on quite a spectacular show and I am proud to present their fruits. You may visit our Moon and Planet page for more pictures. "The moon this afternoon [February 6, 2012] is at its prime! It will be full tomorrow, and the results are simply spectacular! Below are pictures of the moon right before 6 pm EST on this date with the planets bringing in the rear of the photoshoot."  Quote from Moon and Planets Page, linked above.

Each of these pictures were taken on February 6, 2012 before 6 pm EST. The moon had just risen before 4:45 pm EST and have passed the treeline. You can see the moon and planets below. [The planet shots were taken before 6:15 pm EST].

Copyright 2012 by Matthew Winter

Venus

Jupiter

Jupiter and Venus lost in the sunset.

What blessings the moon and planets are!

Moon Halos: Heavenly Circlets

Because the full moon is just less than one week away, the moon is in prime condition: ripe for halos to result! What is a lunar halo? A halo, by definition, is an optical phenomena occurring when ice crystals (or cirrus clouds) refract light around an especially bright object, hence making a 'halo' around it. Usually before a full moon, the moon is positioned just in a way to the sun that a halo could be produced, although most common are produced as the result of cirrus clouds in the upper atmosphere.

The ween before the full moon is the best time to spot moon halos (if weather conditions are superb), becasue the moon rises at a reasonable time, meaning, by the time the moon has reached the zenith, it's now 6-9 pm, which means right before the full moon. There is a menagerie of pictures below courtesy of Spaceweather.com. Enjoy the views, and make sure you look for the moon halos!

 

 

The above photograph was taken from Moray, Scotland by amateur astronomer Alan C. Tough. "I intended to photograph the Moon beside the Pleiades, but the cold and cloudy conditions were better suited to capturing this spectacular halo!"

 The above picture was taken by Jim Henderson: at Kincardine O'Neil north of River Dee, Aboyne Aberdeenshire, Scotland. "Frosty evening over Royal Deeside in Scotland and strong moon halo from half moon looking west of south with Orion Belt to left and convenient aeroplane heading northwards probably landing at Aberdeen Airport some 25 miles to East. ..."

"The moon can produce interesting optical effects when conditions are right. The most common of which are moon rings, moon bows, which are similar to rainbows, moon dogs and moon pillars. A rainbow is produced when sunlight is refracted through water droplets - A similar effect is produced when moon light refracts through ice crystals. Below are a few photographs and examples about this interesting phenomena. Thanks to everyone that helped me put together this simple explanation of moon light effects" [from Special Moon Effects. Read more at this link - it's pretty interesting!]

First Quarter Moon Specialties: January 31, 2012

The moon is rather beautiful during the day, as it is rising about after 1 pm EST. Below is a galleria of pictures (from the greater Washington DC area) of the moon, which celebrate it being at first quarter today (January 31, 2012). Tonight, the moon will be encased in the night sky, with the planets, and you too can view them! The moon will be full on February 7, 2012, with planetary conjunctions swiftly approaching.

According to numbers placed below pictures, captions are as follows: 1) First Quarter Moon, taken on 1/31/12 at 1:37 pm EST. 2) The moon with an old cherry tree, taken 1/31/12 at 1:38 pm EST. 3) Moon with forest behind it, taken 1/31/12 at 1:38 pm EST. 4) The moon incarcerated between cherry-tree branches, taken 1/31/12 at 1:39 pm EST. 5) The moon is really at the zenith around 4:30 pm EST (same date as others). It is situated at the top of the picture, and the open sky and trees truly show its height! 6) Moon with cedar tree, taken 1/31/12 at 4:33 pm EST.

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Astronomical Events Calendar

Jupiter in November Evenings

Jupiter is high in the sky this November month, even though it is dimming after being at opposition this past October 29. In the next few days, Jupiter will be near some of the greatest astronomical objects to see, and it works excellently for being a guide - after all, Jupiter is shining near magnitude -2.5! (The Galilean moons are still shining strong, so watch them as you might. They're very interesting and so beautiful to look at them closely.)

November 6, 2011

Jupiter will be almost in Pisces on November 6, with the waxing gibbous moon right under the circlet. But, you won't be able to see any stars with the moon so close - it blocks out seeing stars, which is rather too bad becasue the circlet of Pisces is very dramatic. In supposition, if the moon wasn't that bright, can I still see Pisces? You'd have a very hard time with it. The bright star in Pisces is magnitude 4, which means visible, but hardly. November is a good time to view Pisces though, and this is where it will be located:

Right Ascension: 1 hour
Declination: 15 degrees
Visible between latitudes 90 and -65 degrees
Best seen in November (at 9:00 PM) 

Uranus, right beneath the moon tonight (on 11-6), is another treasure so many astronomers forsake to acknowledge. Because it is so dim (just around 5.5 magnitude, very dim) astronomers and stargazes don't view it, mainly becasue of its brightness, but also becasue the trouble involved of finding it. But, if you do, you will be rewarded with this, the presence of its moons (named after Shakespeare's characters nonetheless!) and the beautiful aqua color accompanied with rings galore: 

Near-infrared view of the ice giant planet Uranus, its rings and some of its moons; Credit: ESO

November 7, 2011

Tonight, Jupiter will be by the moon as the moon continues its promenade around the evening sky. Jupiter is still shining brightly and still can be observed while the moon travels next to it. The moons of Jupiter are still visible, as well. This will be the night to view craters and other features on the moon, becasue soon, the moon will be full, which releasing a hurting glare on your eyes when viewing it. Now, at waxing gibbous, the moon isn't bright enough to damage your eyes, making it perfect for viewing the terrain.

November 8, 2011

Tonight at around eleven pm, Jupiter and the Moon will conjunct for you, as the image above tries to display. This conjunction should be quite beautiful, with the moon and Jupiter together. Earthsky.com points out something peculiar: "However, there’s another subtle motion. The moon is actually moving eastward toward Jupiter, even as the two luminaries drift westward throughout the night. That will become obvious by tomorrow, when you see a fuller waxing gibbous moon and Jupiter tomorrow night." The Picture below is for November 9, 2011.

Jupiter - king of planets, named accordingly...