March stargazing

At any given moment, an undetected meteorite could crash through the atmosphere and fall harmlessly into the sea.  Or flatten your house.  Like Chelyabinsk, or something like it.  That's some scary shit, but it's no reason to invent God.

Many things we just have to push out of our conscious minds.  Like thinking about how tiny, how infinitesimally small, how insignificant we are in comparison to the rest of the universe.  That is a reason to invent God: so we don't feel so insignificant.  But it's no reason to KEEP believing.

SkyTips: April 2014

Glowing Civilizations? NASA's WISE spacecraft mapped hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies at infrared wavelengths, including many in this view of the constellation Cygnus. One team of astronomers is combing through the WISE catalog in search of the heat signature of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. [NASA/JPL/Caltech/UCLA] Stargazing Summary April’s warm nights are especially bountiful this year. Mars is at opposition, shining brightly all night, and American skywatchers are perfectly placed for a lunar eclipse at mid-month. Leo springs high across the sky on April evenings, while Virgo follows a couple of hours behind the lion. The highlights of winter, Orion and Canis Major, get ready to exit the evening sky in the west. 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. April 1-April 6: Alien Life. One of the goals of modern science is to find life on other worlds. We’ll talk about some efforts along those lines — along with some interest in visiting other star systems. Join us for this and much more. April 7-April 13: Brilliant Mars. The Red Planet is at its colorful best this week, and we’ll tell you why. We’ll also talk about plans to take a close look at the early morning weather on Mars, and at the hazards of exploring the planet. Join us for this and more. April 14-20: Moon Meanderings. It’s a great week for watching the Moon. It begins with a total lunar eclipse while the Moon is close to the planet Mars, and continues with encounters with Saturn and the heart of the scorpion. Join us for the Moon and more. April 21-27: Headin' for the Fair. The 1964 World's Fair was all about the future — and especially the future of humanity in the stars. Join us for details on this look to the future, plus some neighbor planets in our own solar system and beyond. April 28-May 4: Distant Planets. Most of the planets discovered in other star systems are quite close to their parent stars. But there’s a lot to learn from planets that are farther out as well. Join us for details on a long-term project that’s looking for these distant planets. April program schedule » Hear StarDate every day on more than 300 radio stations nationwide. Find an affiliate » Coming Up in StarDate Magazine McDonald Observatory’s 75th anniversary is coming up May 5, and we’ll look back at the observatory’s origins. And Leila Belkora returns to StarDate with a feature on how scientists are searching for signs of exploding stars on Earth and the Moon. Subscribe today News from the Observatory Regents Authorize $50 Million for UT Austin Share in Giant Magellan Telescope On March 7, The University of Texas System Board of Regents authorized UT Austin to spend $50 million to participate in building the Giant Magellan Telescope project, which will be the world’s largest telescope when it’s completed in 2020. The project will give students, researchers and faculty the opportunity to make groundbreaking discoveries in astronomy. Celebrate Our 75th Anniversary We’ve got several 75th Anniversary events happening coming up this month in different parts of the state. On April 2, McDonald astronomer Karl Gebhardt will talk “Black Holes, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy Through the Eyes of Texas” in Laredo. April 10, University of Texas astronomer J. Craig Wheeler will talk “Cosmic Catastrophes: Supernovae Through Space and Time” in Fort Worth. And on April 26, we’ll welcome all to the Observatory for a Texas-sized Open House. Get the details on these events at our website.Details » 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. Oh my universe!!