No, we’re not talking about a revolution!  Rather, today Mars reaches what astronomers call “opposition,” which simply means that, at sunset, Mars is on the exact opposite side of the sky as the Sun.  Viewed from outer space, Earth is between Mars and the Sun.

Continue reading “Join the Mars Opposition!”

Galaxy clusters are some of the most massive structures that can be found in the Universe — large groups of galaxies bound together by gravity. This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals one of these clusters, known as MACS J0454.1-0300. Each of the bright spots seen here is a galaxy, and each is home to many millions, or even billions, of stars.

Astronomers have determined the mass of MACS J0454.1-0300 to be around 180 trillion times the mass of the sun. Clusters like this are so massive that their gravity can even change the behavior of space around them, bending the path of light as it travels through them, sometimes amplifying it and acting like a cosmic magnifying glass. Thanks to this effect, it is possible to see objects that are so far away from us that they would otherwise be too faint to be detected.

In this case, several objects appear to be dramatically elongated and are seen as sweeping arcs to the left of this image. These are galaxies located at vast distances behind the cluster — their image has been amplified, but also distorted, as their light passes through MACS J0454.1-0300. This process, known as gravitational lensing, is an extremely valuable tool for astronomers as they peer at very distant objects.

This effect will be put to good use with the start of Hubble’s Frontier Fields program over the next few years, which aims to explore very distant objects located behind lensing clusters, similar to MACS J0454.1-0300, to investigate how stars and galaxies formed and evolved in the early Universe.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Nick Rose

In celebration of the 24th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have captured infrared-light images of a churning region of star birth 6,400 light-years away in the Name A Star Live constellation Orion.

The collection of images reveals a shadowy, dense knot of gas and dust sharply contrasted against a backdrop of brilliant glowing gas in the Monkey Head Nebula (also known as NGC 2174 and Sharpless Sh2-252).

The image demonstrates Hubble’s powerful infrared vision and offers a tantalizing hint of what scientists can expect from the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope.  Observations of NGC 2174 were taken in February, 2014.

Massive newborn stars near the center of the nebula (and toward the right in this image) are blasting away at dust within the nebula. The ultraviolet light emitted by these bright stars helps shape the dust into giant pillars.

This carving action occurs because the nebula is mostly composed of hydrogen gas, which becomes ionized by the ultraviolet radiation. As the dust particles are warmed by the ultraviolet light of the stars, they heat up and begin to glow at infrared wavelengths.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington.

For images and more information about Hubble, visit www.nasa.gov/hubble

History will be made during the overnight hours of March 19/20, 2014 when a bright star will briefly disappear over the skies of parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ontario and Quebec. The star, which is much larger than the Sun, is called “Regulus” and is the brightest star in the Name A Star Live constellation “Leo” (the Lion).  Never before has such a bright star disappeared and reappeared over such a highly populated area.

This rare astronomical event can be viewed – weather permitting – by people within a roughly 68 mile (109 km) wide band stretching from the New York City area northwest into Canada.

Continue reading “Big star to put on big show over the Big Apple”

Here are some beautiful space photos and videos that have been posted on the Internet recently. Enjoy!

Continue reading “Beautiful Space Imagery”

NASA’s Kepler mission announced Wednesday the discovery of 715 new planets. These newly-verified worlds orbit 305 stars, revealing multiple-planet systems much like our own solar system.  Kepler is studying a part of the night sky that includes parts of the constellation Lyra and the Name A Star Live constellation Cygnus (“The Swan,” a.k.a., “The Northern Cross”).

Nearly 95 percent of these planets are smaller than Neptune, which is almost four times the size of Earth. This discovery marks a significant increase in the number of known small-sized planets more akin to Earth than previously identified exoplanets, which are planets outside our solar system.

Continue reading “NASA’s Kepler Mission Discovers 715 New Worlds”

If you have some clear skies this weekend, this is a great time to take a peak at the stars in the night sky.  Since the Moon doesn’t rise until late at night, this is a good time to look at the wonders of the universe!

Jupiter is the brightest ‘star’ you’ll see in the night sky now.  The king of the planets is in the Name A Star Live constellation Gemini this month.  Take a peek through even a low power telescope and you’ll likely see as many as four of Jupiter’s largest moons: They’ll look like little dots near the planet.

Actually, the brightest real star in the night sky is Sirius, which you’ll find near the prominent winter constellation Orion — another Name A Star Live constellation.

If you’re in the continental U.S., southern Europe, China, India … Jupiter will be at, or near, overhead after sunset.

If you’re in Canada, Alaska, northern Europe, or Japan, you’ll see Jupiter roughly half-way up from your southern horizon after sunset this weekend.

If you’re in the Land Down Under, New Zealand, South Africa, etc., you’ll see Jupiter low on your northern horizon after sunset.  The stars and planets will appear ‘upside down’ compared to the image you see above.

Clear skies to you!

An active region of the Sun just rotating into the view of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory gives a profile view of coronal loops over about a two-day period, from Feb. 8-10, 2014. Coronal loops are found around sunspots and in active regions. These structures are associated with the closed magnetic field lines that connect magnetic regions on the solar surface. Many coronal loops last for days or weeks, but most change quite rapidly. This image was taken in extreme ultraviolet light.

Your star name will be on board the Sunjammer solar sail that will provide early warning against the dangers of solar storms heading Earth’s way.

Check out the NASA video of the rotating Sun and these festooning loops!

Image Credit: NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory

One of the ways Name A Star Live makes the symbolic gesture of naming a star real is by offering our customers Virtual Planetarium™ astronomy and space software.  We include this software in our in our Deluxe, Framed and Ultimate Gift Sets, as well as one of our Instant Gift Sets.  The software includes a library of stunning astronomy imagery; information about the sky, the solar system and the latest space events; and space weather reports about sun spots, auroras and more.

With an Internet connection hundreds of images can be updated with live satellite data at the click of a button. The software was developed by Rice University and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

We recently made several very significant upgrades to the software, which we outline below with screenshots from the software.  You can purchase Virtual Planetarium separately.  If you already have Virtual Planetarium, you can easily update your software yourself. Continue reading “Our Astronomy Sofware is Better Than Ever!”