Photo by Dan Brandon.

Come enjoy the night sky from right here in Edwardsville! The SIUE Astronomy Viewing Sessions are open to the public on even-dated Tuesdays after sunset at the William C. Shaw Skylab on the north edge of campus.

Winter/Spring 2014

Our first session for the spring semester will be January 28th at 7pm, weather dependent. Please call 618-650-1013 after 6pm on that date to see if we are still on!

The spring semester sessions are being hosted by Dr. Nicole Gugliucci, postdoctoral fellow with the SIUE STEM Center. Please call 618-650-1013 after 6pm on the day of the session to see if we are open, as bad weather and other schedule conflicts may occur. Our start time will be changing with the season, so see calendar below for times we are open.

Spring 2014 Dates and Times!

January 28th, 7pm

February 4th, 7pm

February 18th, 7pm

March 4th, 7pm

March 18th, 8pm

April 8th, 8:30pm

April 22nd, 8:30pm

May 6th, 9pm

Click for directions STEM Ideas | Star Gazing.

TL;DR: A white dwarf supernova was just discovered in the nearby starburst galaxy M82. Details are still coming in, but this will be an excellent chance to study this type of system up-close, plus it may come within visual range of your backyard telescope. And here it is, courtesy of @NickAstronomer

Okay, NOW I’m awake. A longtime source of news about transient phenomena in the sky, the Astronomer’s Telegram, now has a Twitter account which posted this brief by Cao, et al. I’ll quote some important bits:

At UT 2014 Jan 22.305, we obtained a spectrum of PSN_J09554214+6940260 (discoverer: S. J. Fossey) … We classify this as a Type Ia supernova … The best superfit match is SN2002bo at -14d… Panchromatic follow-up is encouraged.

Okay, let’s break this down a bit. First of all, our long-monikered supernova has been given the spectral classification of Type 1a. Generally this means that the spectrum doesn’t show hydrogen but does show ionized silicon early on. What that really means is that the supernova occurred as the result of a white dwarf in a binary system taking on way too much material and blowing itself apart. This is different from a core-collapse supernova, in which a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel and blows itself apart.

Type 1a supernovae have distinguished themselves as standard candles in astronomy. That means the luminosity of these explosions is well known and can be figured out from measuring the light curve, or brightness with time. Get the actual luminosity of the supernova, and you can measure its distance. This makes such supernovae important in the “distance ladder” of astronomy; and they were key in the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe due to dark energy.

via Supernova Alert! | CosmoQuest Blog.

Saturn and the waning crescent Moon rising to the SE at about 4 AM local on January 25th, 2014. Created using Stellarium.

Mark your calendars: the first in a series of interesting occultations of Saturn by the Moon for 2014 starts this weekend.

The year 2014 features 11 occultations of the planet Saturn by the Moon, and there are 23 total for 2014 of every planet except Neptune and Jupiter.

An occultation occurs when one foreground celestial object completely obscures another. Technically, a total solar eclipse is an occultation of the Sun by the Moon, although it’s never referred to as such. The term finds modern usage mainly for the blocking of stars and planets by the Moon. Very occasionally, an asteroid or planet can occult a distant star as well.

And yes, the modern astronomical term “occultation” traces its hoary roots back to the days when astronomy was intertwined with the pseudoscience of astrology.  To this day, the term still makes some folks wonder if astronomers are secretly casting horoscopes. Trust us, you’re still on a solid astronomical footing to use the term “occultation.”

via The Moon Occults Saturn in the Dawn this Weekend.