The Space Stuff thread

A Guy said:

Download picture to view original size

Full Moon From Back Yard - Stacked - Album on Imgur

A Guy

Beautiful detail on that Bill!

See Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) Dash Between Big and Little Dippers.

On Wednesday (Feb. 1) a comet that has not visited the Earth since the last Ice Age and the time of the Neanderthals will make its closest approach to our planet.

Dazzling green comet! First appearance in 50,000 years! Watch it streak across the sky! Based on recent headlines you’d think Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) was the greatest astronomical event of modern times. While it’s not all that, this Oort Cloud refugee is already visible in binoculars and a pretty sight in modest telescopes. Observers with dark, moonless skies may even spot the comet with the naked eye (dimly) as it sails between the the Big and Little Dippers later this month. Thanks to clouds and moonlight I last saw it in late December at 8th magnitude in Corona Borealis.

Current visual magnitude estimates put Comet ZTF at between magnitude 6.5 and 7.0. Expect it to peak around magnitude 5.5 at the end of January into early February. Not to throw shade, but Jose Pablo Navarro, amateur astronomer and administrator of the Facebook group Comet Asteroid Meteor Watch, examined 2,509 visual and CCD observations of the comet from the Minor Planet Center database. His analysis indicates a recent slowdown in the comet's rate of brightening, with a peak brightness closer to 6.0 magnitude. Time will tell.

Related:
Green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be closest to Earth on Feb. 1. Here's how to see it.

elbmek said:

It was a nearly clear sky last night so went out with Binos to see if I could see the comet, nowt. I could see Mars, and it said on Feb 10 the comet would be near Mars, so going to wait.

Skies are clearing, I'm going to try an check tonight.

Meanwhile. . .

35,105 feet could be considered Space:

Boeing delivers last 747, saying goodbye to 'Queen of the Skies'

SEATTLE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Boeing (BA.N) bid farewell to the iconic 747, delivering the final plane to Atlas Air on Tuesday afternoon and marking an end of an era when the first-ever "jumbo jet" ruled the skies.

Thousands of Boeing employees – including some of the so-called "Incredibles" who developed the jet in the 1960s – watched the last delivery of the historic plane, which brought air travel to the masses and represented an indelible slice of Americana.

Sadly. . .

Day of Remembrance Marks 20th Anniversary of Columbia Crew Loss

. . . Columbia launched on Jan. 16, 2003, at 10:39 a.m. EST from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, carrying the seven astronauts. The shuttle’s payload bay contained the first Spacehab Research Double Module. The 16-day mission was dedicated to a mix of life and physical sciences. On Feb. 1, 2003, during a descent for landing at Kennedy at an altitude of 203,000 feet over north central Texas, a breach in the thermal protection system on Columbia’s left wing resulted in the loss of the vehicle and crew.

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of the loss of the crew of Columbia during re-entry of STS-107,” Petro said. “For some, that seems like a lifetime. For others, it may seem like a moment. But for our agency, it’s a time that lives here in the present–shaping our culture, informing our decisions, and helping us forge the way ahead.”

The ceremony also honored the crew members of Apollo 1 and space shuttle Challenger. . .

@elbmek

Took some maps for tonight, first up London:


Then Central PA:

@elbmek,

Went out to look last night and there was just enough high cirrus to obscure all but dubhe in ursa major. Tonight and for the next few days the clouds are coming back and it doesn't look promising.

You're welcome.

I picked London b/c at the time I wasn't sure of your location but Yorkshire shouldn't make that much of a difference, I'll check later and get back to you.