Astronomy

Hey everybody, I know it's a little late, but I wasn't really sure how the weather was going to be until a little while ago. I'd like to invite you all to join me in looking at the sky tonight. What's on the menu:

• The full moon is going to steal the show tonight, of course. I may spend some time gawking at it.

• globular clusters: I've been having a hell of a time catching M3, but I'm going to try again tonight. I'm also going to attempt M53. I'm kind of hoping that coma berineces will be able to point me to my targets. I may also attempt M67 in Cancer.

• galaxies: probably not tonight with the full moon. I know it's doable, but I have a hard enough time with them as it is.

I'll share my findings later!

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/35633863

The European Space Agency (ESA) released the first batch of images and data for its Euclid space telescope. The images focus on Euclid’s three deep field areas, patches of sky the telescope will observe dozens of times to peer deep into the cosmos. Though the new release only contains Euclid’s first look into these areas, it has already provided astronomers with a treasure trove of data on galaxies and other cosmic phenomena.

Channel was here: https://www.youtube.com/hubblespacetelescope

Wayback machine snapshot: https://web.archive.org/web/20250000000000*/https://www.youtube.com/hubblespacetelescope

Related article: https://spacenews.com/hubble-budget-cuts-could-impact-science-and-mission-operations/

Looks like some content may be re-released on https://www.youtube.com/@spacetelescopevision

Seems like it wouldn't have cost much to keep the original channel up, though.

NASA's Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) successfully demonstrated its ability to remove regolith, or lunar dust and dirt, from its various surfaces on the moon during Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1, which concluded on March 16.

Lunar dust is extremely abrasive and electrostatic, which means it clings to anything that carries a charge. It can damage everything from spacesuits and hardware to human lungs, making lunar dust one of the most challenging features of living and working on the lunar surface.

Looking like the clouds are finally going to break tonight. The moon's quickly heading towards the new moon, and we've got Virgo rising. I'm excited to get out and check some targets off my list.

It'd be nice if I could get out in time to hit Canis Major and Puppis, but I think CM might be too far west for me to have a clear view, and Puppis too deep into the southern sky to hit anything meaningful.

Tonight’s itenerary is basically a copy-paste from last time, because last Saturday fell apart on me at the last minute.

Going to hit the Leo triplet again Going to hit Bode’s Galaxy again M94 -M48 -M44 -M67 M3 if it’s high enough Gamma Leo Zeta Ursa Majoris Depending on if transparency is good, I might hit the owl nebula and Cigar Galaxy. Probably off itenerary:

Everything in Canis Major and Orion :(

I’m considering M84, M86, and M87 if they’re high enough, but given relatively low altitude, I'm not too hopeful.

Anyone else getting their scopes out? What are you going to look at?