Blogs

Looks like there's a nice sunspot group on the Sun -- some nice solar fireworks for the 4th of July! Biggest group I've seen in quite sometime. It is right on the meridian.

In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, DISCOVER and Celestron are hosting an exciting astronomy photo contest. Bad Astronomy blogger Phil Plait will be choosing the top ten photos which will be featured in a special photo gallery for all to see!

Contest ends on June 30, 2009. Prizes include a Celestron Nextstar 8SE.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090607_blackholes

Giant black holes even bigger than thought: study

June 8, 2009
Courtesy Amer­i­can As­tro­nom­i­cal So­ci­e­ty
and World Science staff

As­tro­no­mers have used com­put­er sim­ula­t­ions to cal­cu­late that a black hole at the heart of one the larg­est near­by ga­lax­ies is two to three times heav­i­er than pre­vi­ously thought.

A German boy is the first person in over 50 years to get struck by a meteorite and live to tell the story. Wired.com reports the boy was walking home from school when the meteorite hit his hand, leaving a 3-inch scar. The meteorite then crashed to the ground, creating a foot-wide crater. It should be noted that the meteorite was only pea-sized.

See more on Wired.com

Hi All

I did some preliminary checking....There is an official day for the planetary walkoff.... Here's the info

June 20 (Saturday), 10 am
Solar System Walk. Celebrate the Summer solstice with an easy 1-hour walk through NJBG's scale-model solar system, where you'll learn about our neighbors in space. Wear comfortable shoes. Rain cancels. $3 Donation.

Hours & Admissions

The New Jersey State Botanical Garden is open every day of the year from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Garden closes only in extreme weather conditions, for example, during and immediately after a heavy snowfall.

If clouds don't interfere, the International Spaces Station will be visible on Friday, May 29, 2009, during the telescope night at Riker Hill Art Park in Livingston, NJ.

ISS 08:37:43 pm WNW 08:40:02 46° -3.2 (very bright)

I came across this and thought I had to share with you. Black holes are interesting. Enjoy the movie at the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Un20p1NGuw&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=BF32...

I heard a story about someone breaking a wine glass with his voice, not the typical opera singer story. Check out the video.

Did anyone see the AMAZING image of the Space Shuttle transit of the Sun? It was posted as Picture of the Day on www.astromart.com ? You can most likely still see it...amazing shot.

The Camera That Saved Hubble... Twice: JPL's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2