| The_Tylers A site for code developers and SETI enthusiasts. |
| Van_Zee,_Liese Assistance professor at Indiana University Bloomington. Specializes in the study of star formation history and evolution of dwarf galaxies. Includes list of publications. |
| Vikrant_Paralkar Discoveries made by Voyager 1 and 2 about the giant planets and their moons. |
| Walter\'s_Extragalactic_Homepage An astronomical picture gallery including observation reports, astronomical articles and astro-links. |
| Weak_Interstellar_Messages_Pass_Us_By Amateur radio project to detect signals from extraterrestrial intelligences. |
| Weasner\'s_Mighty_ETX_Site Resources, discussions and complete information about Meade ETX Astro Telescopes. |
| Whitney\'s_Star_Finder A window on the sky for the casual observer, amateur astronomer, or student. |
| W_J_Kolkert Results from the Kolkert-Observatory, like a description of the 4" instrumented refractor. |
| The_World_Above Information plus thought on astronomy and on new exploration. Little information about stars, planets, and galaxies. |
| World_of_Astronomy Brief history on astronomy and quotes. |
| Yoonho\'s_Amateur_Astronomy 12" LX200 owner, fluorite APO refractor, astro photos. |
| allAfrica_com__Science_and_Biotechnology Aggregates news and reports on worldwide scientific issues from news sources in Africa. [English, French] |
| AlphaGalileo Internet press center for European science, engineering and technology. Provides journalists with access to press releases, event details, an address book of researchers and press officers, and back |
| Ananova_News___Science_and_Discovery Breaking science and discovery stories from around the world. |
| BrightSurf_com Directory of news stories and press releases about scientific events and discoveries include annotated links for additional background material. Updated daily. |
| Buzzle_com__Science_&_Technology Offers daily news and feature stories from news sources plus links to science-related web resources. |
| CORDIS_-_News Daily updates of news and interviews about European Union research, innovation and related activities. Also offers a press release service, the weekly Express briefing and the fortnightly Focus newsle |
| EEVL__OneStep_Industry_News Headline links to a range of engineering, mathematics and computing industry news sources. |
| EurekAlert! Searchable database of science-related press releases from research institutions, universities, government agencies and corporations. Calendar, resources and links. From the American Association for t |
| Europa__Research_Information_Centre Science articles and stories indexed by themes and sub-themes to identify specific research topics. From the European Commission's Research department. |
| Evoscience Features articles covering a range topics, including health, psychology, biology, cosmology, geology, technology, math, computer science, and archaeology. |
| FAST_(French_Advances_in_Science_and_Technology) Twice-weekly review of mainstream French press on topics of science and technology. From the Office for Science and Technology, Embassy of France in the United States. |
| Google_News__SciTech Science and technology news from Google's automatically edited web news filter. |
| Informnauka News articles and features about science-related events and research progress in Russia including science, technology and medicine. From a science news agency in Russia. [English, Russian] |
| LiveScience This site explains the latest research on the planet, from human biology to the animal world and the forces of nature. |
| Natural_Science__What\'s_New Links to stories on major news web sites. |
| Nature__News Daily updates of news and features from Nature, the international scientific journal. Also offers conference news, archives and job search. |
| NewScientist_com__News Science and technology news updated throughout the day from the weekly magazine. |
| Newswise_-_SciNews Search, browse, and download current or archived articles and abstracts in comprehensive database of news releases from top research institutions. Designed for news reporters. |
| PhysOrg__Science_News Breaking science news from around the world. |
| PhysOrg_com Customizable source for current news in physics, technology, space, and earth science topics. Includes a weblog. |
| Quantum_Times Latest quantum physics and nanotechnology news stories. |
| Reuters__Science Frequently updated science news and features with photos. Archives organized by date and subject. |
| Science_News_Daily Daily general science and research news, physics and nanotechnology headlines. |
| Scientific_American__Today\'s_News Daily science and technology news articles provided by the monthly magazine. |
| Techfeeds Aggregates international IT articles and whitepapers. Also offers the option to add profiles to a business directory. |
| Topix_net__Science_/_Technology_News Headline links for news and commentary from diverse international news sources. Includes links to related topic groupings. |
| Yahoo!_News__Science Links to stories from wire services around the world. Includes audio and video clips, slideshows and links to full coverage by topic. |
| BBC_News__Science/Nature Science news, from a UK perspective. [RSS] [RSS] |
| Brightsurf_Science_News News stories and press releases about scientific events and discoveries. [RSS] |
Brought to you by
&
The
Mt. Hood Community College Planetariu Sky Theater
Astronomy
Picture of the Day
© 2008
Bob Duke
When will the International Space
Station (and the lost toolbag) pass over head? Click
here for your local time.
North
Coast Skywatch January 2009
by Bob Duke - As Published Monthly in the Daily Astorian
Join
me every month at Adelaide's Books and Coffee, on Bay Ave. in Ocean Park,
Wa. the first Saturday at 7 p.m. for an evening of astronomy talk and
wonderful slide programs, and even night sky viewing when the weather
cooperates.
Nature's own fireworks pierce the New Year's sky early in January,
the planet Venus reaches a new high and the first stellar signs of spring
loom over the eastern horizon. Darkness comes early in January. When the
skies clear the wonders of winter constellations dazzle all who look to
the heavens.
Quadrantid meteor shower
Set the alarm and check the sky at 4:45 a.m. If it is clear out, get dressed,
wake the neighbors and watch the sky light up with what just may be the
most spectacular meteor show of the year. This meteor shower is not well
known because it doesn't last very long and conditions have to be perfect.
Its radiant, the point in the sky from where the meteors appear to originate,
has to be high in the sky, and the sky has to be dark. On the morning
of January 3, for residents of western North America, conditions will
be perfect.
Vigorous displays of meteors, tiny particles of dust and rock bursting
into incandescent streaks in the sky, occur when earth encounters dense
concentrations of debris left when a comet crosses earth's orbit. Just
like eclipses and other cyclical astronomical events, meteor shower peaks
can be predicted. Astronomers calculate that earth will pass through the
Quadrantid meteor cloud at 13 hours, universal time, January 3. The time
translates to 5 a.m. PST. The first quarter moon will set at midnight,
leaving an inky dark sky, ideal conditions for seeing as many meteors
as possible. Expect to spot as many as 120 over a one hour period, with
smaller numbers in the hours before and after the peak.
Meteor showers are named for the constellation hosting the radiant. Quandrans
Muralis is no longer recognized but the radiant is located just off the
end of the Big Dipper's handle. The glowing path of each meteor may be
traced back to this point in the sky, high in the northeast.
Venus
Venus reaches its greatest distance from the sun on January 14, when it
will appear high in the west-southwest and very bright. A small telescope
will show that it is exhibiting a perfect half phase. On successive nights
it will grow brighter, appear larger in a telescope and exhibit a crescent
phase.
Constellations
As the full moon fades from the evening sky later in the month, dark skies
will host the beautiful constellations of winter in their full glory.
To learn the location of the constellations, let the moon guide you from
night-to-night. Look south at 8 p.m. on January 7. The moon will appear
just above the stars of Taurus the Bull, with the 7 sisters just to its
right. Familiar Orion lies below and left of Taurus. The brightest star
in the sky, Sirius, marks Canis Major, just above the horizon, below Orion.
On January 10 the moon will have moved into the constellation Gemini.
Look east to see the full moon just right of the stars Castor and Pollux,
with bright Procyon in Canis Minor lower to the right. Only the brightest
stars will be visible under the intensity of a brilliant lunar glow. See
these constellations in all their beauty on a moonless night.
A Promise of Spring
As the winter sky marches toward the west, spring lies just below the
horizon. Observers who brave the cold and go out for a look after 10 p.m.
will see the spring constellation Leo above the northeastern horizon.
A waning gibbous moon glides by the constellation from Jan 12 to 14. Saturn
may be found just to the left of the moon on Jan 14.
Bob Duke -
Starstuff Administrator
Welcome to Starstuff
Having authored the Skywatch column for the Oregonian
newspaper for 17 years, I am now pleased to announce it has moved to The
Daily Astorian. I currently write two weekly columns for the Daily A.,
a history archive column "Water Under the Bridge" and a business
column "Making the Dollar."
I have developed this web site over the years to support
the activities and interests of those who love the night sky. You will
find many links here to support your passion.
North
Coast Skywatch Archives
