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Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Don't miss the half-lit first quarter moon rise tonight: Here's what to look for
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The half-lit disk of the first quarter moon will grace the night sky on Monday (June 2), presenting a wealth of lunar features to explore before Earth's natural satellite sets below the horizon in the early morning hours. The moon hits its first quarter phase at 11:41 p.m. EDT on June 2 (0341 GMT on June 3) for viewers in New York, who will find its semi-shadowed disk high above the southwestern horizon immediately after sunset, according to stargazing website At this time, the moon is positioned at a 90-degree angle away from the sun in the sky, having travelled a quarter of the way around our planet since its new moon phase on May 26. Viewing the moon through a pair of 10x50 binoculars will reveal a myriad of craters and broken terrain features peppering the line separating the dayside and night side of the lunar surface, known as the terminator. The magnifying power of a 6-inch telescope (or greater) will grant an even closer view of the moon's more prominent features, such as the Albategnius walled plain, located close to the terminator just below the lunar equator. Countless shadowed craters line the terminator all the way down to the moon's southern pole, while the 54-mile-wide (87 km) Aristotles Crater and smaller Eudoxus Crater form a tempting target on the border of Mare Frigoris to the north. The dark expanses of Mare Serenitatis (Latin for Sea of Serenity) and Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) can also be seen scarring the moon's surface, easily visible to the naked eye. The 'lunar seas' formed billions of years ago when masses of molten lava flooded impact basins excavated by devastating asteroid strikes. TOP TELESCOPE PICK: Want to see the shadowed craters and lunar seas for yourself? The Celestron NexStar 4SE is ideal for beginners wanting quality, reliable and quick views of celestial objects. For a more in-depth look at our Celestron NexStar 4SE review. Mare Tranquillitatis' southern shore was the site of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing, where astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin took humanity's first steps on another world as pilot Michael Collins looked on from lunar orbit in July 1969. Mars can be found to the moon's lower right after sunset on June 2, with the bright star Regulus of the constellation Leo positioned directly between the two solar system bodies. The following week will see the waxing gibbous moon grow ever larger ahead of its full 'Strawberry Moon' phase on June 11, named for the brief U.S. strawberry-picking season with which it happens to coincide. Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Venus is at its farthest from the sun on June 1: Here's how to see the bright 'morning star' this weekend
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Venus reaches its point of greatest western elongation on June 1, at which time the dazzling 'morning star' will be at its most distant point from the sun in Earth's sky during its pre-dawn apparition. The rocky planet will hit the orbital milestone at 00.00 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT) on June 1, while Venus is below the horizon for skywatchers in the U.S, according to stargazing website At this time, Venus will be separated from the sun by a gulf of 46 degrees along the line of the ecliptic, which is the apparent path taken by the sun and planets as they journey through the constellations crowding the night sky. The best time to spot Venus for stargazers in the U.S. is during the pre-dawn hours on May 31 and June 1, when the planet will appear as a bright, magnitude -4.3 morning star rising over the eastern horizon, easily visible to the naked eye (remember, the brightest objects in the sky have lower or negative magnitudes). You'll need a telescope with an aperture of at least 60mm (2.4") to see the planet's disk, which appears half lit at this point in the Venutian orbit, according to telescope-maker Celestron. Venus has been a regular fixture in the morning sky following its inferior conjunction on March 22, when it passed between Earth and the sun, marking an end to its evening appearances. Its tight orbit around the sun ensures that Venus never strays far from the horizon, at least in comparison to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, whose distant orbits allow them to be seen throughout the night when conditions allow. TOP TELESCOPE PICK: Want to see the planets of our solar system for yourself? The Celestron NexStar 4SE is ideal for beginners wanting quality, reliable and quick views of celestial objects. For a more in-depth look at our Celestron NexStar 4SE review. While June 1 may mark the point of greatest separation between the sun and Venus during its morning apparition, it won't be the highest that the planet will rise above the eastern horizon over the coming months. This is because a planet's altitude in the sky is dependent in part on the inclination of the ecliptic relative to the horizon, which shifts throughout the year due to Earth's wobbling orbit. Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Noctilucent cloud season 2025 is upon us! Here's how to spot elusive 'night-shining' clouds
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Noctilucent cloud season is upon us! Here's what you need to know about when to catch the spectral phenomenon as we move into the prime viewing season of the summer months. Astronomers and clouds are natural enemies, owing largely to the latter's habit of obscuring the sky beyond with dense veils of condensed water vapor. One exception to this rule is the appearance of noctilucent clouds — delicate wisps of icy particles that appear to glow a spectral blue in the sun's reflected light in the post-sunset and predawn hours. These rare clouds form roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) above Earth in the mesosphere, a cold layer of the atmosphere located about 43 miles (70 km) above where ordinary clouds form. The best time to see noctilucent clouds is on clear nights between late May and mid-August, about 90 to 120 minutes after sunset or before sunrise. Sightings are most common during June and July. Skywatchers are most likely to spot noctilucent clouds at northern latitudes during high summer in the northern hemisphere. Around this time, the sun never dips far below the horizon, leaving it well placed to illuminate the high-altitude icy particles as night settles in. Noctilucent clouds most commonly appear between 45 and 80 degrees north of the equator — a range that includes some of the most northernmost U.S. states including North Dakota, Montana and Washington. In recent decades, this captivating phenomenon has been showing up at lower latitudes than ever before. The reasons for this shift have been attributed to a mix of sources, ranging from climate change to the increased cadence of rocket launches, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich. Noctilucent clouds form when warm, moisture-rich air rises high into the atmosphere during the summer months, according to the stargazing site As the air ascends into the thinning atmosphere, it gradually expands and cools, until it's cold enough for ice crystals to form around tiny dust particles drifting at high altitudes. Some of these dust particles may be the remnants of the countless tiny meteors that collide with Earth's atmosphere on a daily basis, while others were born of volcanic eruptions or pollution before getting carried high into the atmosphere. The lofty altitude of noctilucent clouds allows them to reflect the sun's light after it has set below the horizon, granting them an almost ethereal brightness against the darkening sky. Their icy composition also gives them a relatively high albedo compared to ordinary clouds, which means they reflect a greater ratio of incoming light. Editor's Note: If you snap an image of noctilucent clouds and want to share it with readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Watch the moon and bright star Spica meet in a celestial dance on May 9
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The bright star Spica will appear to dance around Earth's moon on the night of May 9. Here's how to catch the celestial pair at play ahead of next week's full 'Flower Moon'. Stargazers should look for the moon and Spica hanging above the eastern horizon on May 9 after sunset. The waxing gibbous moon will shine brightly, with just a thin crescent of shadow along its edge. Look to its lower left after 10 p.m. local time — once astronomical twilight fades, the bright star Spica will become easier to spot. The duo will be visible to the naked eye and close enough to share the same field of view in a pair of binoculars. TOP TELESCOPE PICK: Want to explore the solar system ahead of the full 'Flower Moon'? The Celestron NexStar 4SE is ideal for beginners wanting quality, reliable and quick views of celestial objects. For a more in-depth look at our Celestron NexStar 4SE review. Throughout the night, Spica will appear to move around the moon, and will have traveled from the lower left of its dance partner to its right shoulder by the time the pair sets below the horizon on the morning of April 10. Whilst the cosmic pairing may appear close in the night sky on April 9, they are incredibly remote from one another. Spica is, after all, the most luminous star in the zodiacal constellation Virgo, and sits some 250 light-years from Earth. The moon, on the other hand, is a mere 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away on average, which is equivalent to 0.0000000406 light-years. Though Spica may appear as a single point of light to the unaided eye, it is formed of a pair of gravitationally bound stars that orbit one another once every four days, according to NASA. While you're out skywatching on May 9, look high in the southern sky near midnight to spot Arcturus — one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere — shining to the upper left of the moon. Meanwhile, Mars will glow low near the horizon. The moon reaches its full moon phase on May 12. This particular full moon is also known as the 'Flower Moon' to some since it tends to appear in May just as North American and European flowers come into bloom. If you're interested in capturing images of the Flower Moon or simply upgrading your astronomy gear, then be sure to check out our guides for the best binocular deals and the best telescope deals. Our guides on the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can also help you immortalise your stargazing sessions. Editor's Note: If you snap a photo of the duo and would like to share it with readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Twinkling star reveals the secrets of turbulent plasma in our cosmic neighborhood
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Daniel Reardon is a Postdoctoral researcher at Swinburne University of Technology, studying pulsars and gravitational waves. With the most powerful radio telescope in the southern hemisphere, we have observed a twinkling star and discovered an abundance of mysterious plasma structures in our cosmic neighborhood. The plasma structures we see are variations in density or turbulence, akin to interstellar cyclones stirred up by energetic events in the galaxy. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, also describes the first measurements of plasma layers within an interstellar shock wave that surrounds a pulsar. We now realize our local interstellar medium is filled with these structures and our findings also include a rare phenomenon that will challenge theories of pulsar shock waves. Our observations honed in on the nearby fast-spinning pulsar, J0437-4715, which is 512 light-years away from Earth. A pulsar is a neutron star, a super-dense stellar remnant that produces beams of radio waves and an energetic "wind" of particles. The pulsar and its wind move with supersonic speed through the interstellar medium – the stuff (gas, dust and plasma) between the stars. This creates a bow shock: a shock wave of heated gas that glows red. The interstellar plasma is turbulent and scatters pulsar radio waves slightly away from a direct, straight line path. The scattered waves create a pattern of bright and dim patches that drifts over our radio telescopes as Earth, the pulsar and plasma all move through space. From our vantage point, this causes the pulsar to twinkle, or "scintillate." The effect is similar to how turbulence in Earth's atmosphere makes stars twinkle in the night sky. Pulsar scintillation gives us unique information about plasma structures that are too small and faint to be detected in any other way. To the naked eye, the twinkling of a star might appear random. But for pulsars at least, there are hidden patterns. With the right techniques, we can uncover ordered shapes from the interference pattern, called scintillation arcs. They detail the locations and velocities of compact structures in the interstellar plasma. Studying scintillation arcs is like performing a CT scan of the interstellar medium – each arc reveals a thin layer of plasma. Usually, scintillation arc studies uncover just one, or at most a handful of these arcs, giving a view of only the most extreme (densest or most turbulent) plasma structures in our galaxy. Our scintillation arc study broke new ground by unveiling an unprecedented 25 scintillation arcs, the most plasma structures observed for any pulsar to date. The sensitivity of our study was only possible because of the close proximity of the pulsar (it's our nearest millisecond pulsar neighbor) and the large collecting area of the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. Of the 25 scintillation arcs we found, 21 revealed structures in the interstellar medium. This was surprising because the pulsar – like our own solar system – is located in a relatively quiet region of our galaxy called the Local Bubble. About 14 million years ago, this part of our galaxy was lit up by stellar explosions that swept up material in the interstellar medium and inflated a hot void. Today, this bubble is still expanding and now extends up to 1,000 light-years from us. Our new scintillation arc discoveries reveal that the Local Bubble is not as empty as previously thought. It is filled with compact plasma structures that could only be sustained if the bubble has cooled, at least in some areas, from millions of degrees down to a mild 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit (10,000 degrees Celsius). As the animation below shows, the pulsar is surrounded by its bow shock, which glows red with light from energized hydrogen atoms. While most pulsars are thought to produce bow shocks, only a handful have ever been observed because they are faint objects. Until now, none had been studied using scintillation. We traced the remaining four scintillation arcs to plasma structures inside the pulsar bow shock, marking the first time astronomers have peered inside one of these shock waves. This gave us a CT-like view of the different layers of plasma. Using these arcs together with an optical image we constructed a new three-dimensional model of the shock, which appears to be tilted slightly away from us because of the motion of the pulsar through space. The scintillation arcs also gave us the velocities of the plasma layers. Far from being as expected, we discovered that one inner plasma structure is moving towards the shock front against the flow of the shocked material in the opposite direction. While such back flows can appear in simulations, they are rare. This finding will drive new models for this bow shock. With new and more sensitive radio telescopes being built around the world, we can expect to see scintillation from more pulsar bow shocks and other events in the interstellar medium. This will uncover more about the energetic processes in our galaxy that create these otherwise invisible plasma structures. The scintillation of this pulsar neighbor revealed unexpected plasma structures inside our Local Bubble and allowed us to map and measure the speed of plasma within a bow shock. It's amazing what a twinkling little star can do.
