SkyTips: October 2013
Blue-Green Giant
Subtle bands of color highlight this Hubble Space Telescope view of Uranus, the
solar system's third-largest planet. The planet puts on its best showing of the
year in early October, although binoculars or a telescope are needed to see it.
[NASA/STScI]
Stargazing Summary
A pair of eye-catching conjunctions highlights the mid-month skies. Venus and
Antares team up low in the southwest at sunset, while Mars and Regulus get
together in the east before dawn. A string of constellations that represent the
Celestial Sea line up low across the south in mid- to late evening: Capricornus,
Aquarius, Pisces, Cetus, and Piscis Austrinus. Eridanus, the river, joins them
by around midnight.
More stargazing information »
More stargazing information »
Radio Program Highlights
If you want to start hearing the StarDate program in your area, you can request
a station to carry our program by emailing the request to stations@stardate.org.
October 1-6: Mapping the Stars. A new space telescope will soon take flight. Its goal is to make the most accurate measurements yet of the distances to a billion stars. Join us for Gaia, plus a gentle appearance by a green giant and much more.
October 7-13: Mars on Earth. A team of geologists is headed for Mars this week. Not the planet itself, but a spot on Earth that's a lot like the Red Planet. Join us for Mars analogs, plus an encounter between the planet and a bright star.
October 14-20: The Autumn Star. Fomalhaut is one of the few bright stars associated with autumn nights — a brilliant beacon that's all on its own. We'll talk about the star and about its unusual planet, plus a peek at the Hunter's Moon.
October 21-27: Moon meanderings. The Moon passes the bright eye of the bull this week. It also passes the brilliant planet Jupiter, the Red Planet Mars, and the heart of the lion. Join us for these and other beautiful encounters in the night sky.
October 28-31: Under Attack. This week marks the anniversaries of two attacks on Planet Earth — one by the Sun, and another from the Planet Mars. Join us for these celestial onslaughts, plus a great view of Mars and much more.
October program schedule »
Hear StarDate every day on more than 300 radio stations nationwide. Find an affiliate »
October 1-6: Mapping the Stars. A new space telescope will soon take flight. Its goal is to make the most accurate measurements yet of the distances to a billion stars. Join us for Gaia, plus a gentle appearance by a green giant and much more.
October 7-13: Mars on Earth. A team of geologists is headed for Mars this week. Not the planet itself, but a spot on Earth that's a lot like the Red Planet. Join us for Mars analogs, plus an encounter between the planet and a bright star.
October 14-20: The Autumn Star. Fomalhaut is one of the few bright stars associated with autumn nights — a brilliant beacon that's all on its own. We'll talk about the star and about its unusual planet, plus a peek at the Hunter's Moon.
October 21-27: Moon meanderings. The Moon passes the bright eye of the bull this week. It also passes the brilliant planet Jupiter, the Red Planet Mars, and the heart of the lion. Join us for these and other beautiful encounters in the night sky.
October 28-31: Under Attack. This week marks the anniversaries of two attacks on Planet Earth — one by the Sun, and another from the Planet Mars. Join us for these celestial onslaughts, plus a great view of Mars and much more.
October program schedule »
Hear StarDate every day on more than 300 radio stations nationwide. Find an affiliate »
Coming up in StarDate Magazine
In our November/December issue, find out how one astronomer is creating a white
dwarf star in a giant machine. And learn about the massive swirling storms on
our solar system's largest planets called 'polar vortices.'
Subscribe today »
Subscribe today »
Come Kick Off our 75th Anniversary in Austin, TX., Oct 19
You're invited to join McDonald Observatory in Austin on Saturday, Oct. 19 to
kick off our 75th anniversary celebrations! Free events include a 6 p.m.
reception and 7 p.m. talk by Dr. Frank Bash at the Blanton Museum's Edgar A.
Smith Building on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. Frank Bash
served as director of McDonald from 1991 to 2003. His talk on "The Frontier and
McDonald Observatory" will discuss how the observatory, founded on the western
frontier in the 1930s, is now probing problems at the frontier of science,
including the mystery of dark energy. Parking is available in the Brazos Garage
adjacent to the museum.
Map and directions »
Please RSVP by Oct. 11 via email to: mcd75@astro.as.utexas.edu
Map and directions »
Please RSVP by Oct. 11 via email to: mcd75@astro.as.utexas.edu
News from the Observatory
Unraveling
a 20-Year Dark Matter Mystery
Astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin believe they have discovered the answer to a 20-year debate over how the mysterious cosmic "dark matter" is distributed in small galaxies. Graduate student John Jardel and his advisor Karl Gebhardt found that the distribution, on average, follows a simple law of decreasing density from the galaxy's center, although the exact distribution often varies from galaxy to galaxy. The findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Revealing Starbirth in the Milky Way with ALMA
Thanks to data detected with the ALMA radio telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, University of Texas at Austin astronomers and others were able to detect a star in formation — a protostar — that appears to be one of the brightest and massive found in our galaxy.
Astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin believe they have discovered the answer to a 20-year debate over how the mysterious cosmic "dark matter" is distributed in small galaxies. Graduate student John Jardel and his advisor Karl Gebhardt found that the distribution, on average, follows a simple law of decreasing density from the galaxy's center, although the exact distribution often varies from galaxy to galaxy. The findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Revealing Starbirth in the Milky Way with ALMA
Thanks to data detected with the ALMA radio telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, University of Texas at Austin astronomers and others were able to detect a star in formation — a protostar — that appears to be one of the brightest and massive found in our galaxy.
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About SkyTips
SkyTips is a monthly email newsletter for visitors to McDonald Observatory and
StarDate Online. Each issue features stargazing highlights, upcoming StarDate
radio program descriptions, and other news. Please feel free to forward this
newsletter to your friends and family.
SkyTips is a publication of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory Education and Outreach Office, 2609 University Ave. A2100, Austin, TX 78712. Reproduction of SkyTips content is permitted with proper credit given to McDonald Observatory.
SkyTips is a publication of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory Education and Outreach Office, 2609 University Ave. A2100, Austin, TX 78712. Reproduction of SkyTips content is permitted with proper credit given to McDonald Observatory.
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