Carnival of Space #118 @ Cumbrian Sky

This week's Carnival of Space issue #118 has moved back across the pond to Kendal UK.  Hosted at Cumbrian Sky, this week's carnival is full of great articles.  Stu has contributed articles to past carnivals but I was surprised to discover that this is his first time as host.  Go Stu!

What's up @ Gordon's Park Manitoulin

Bookmark this article if you want to know what's up at Gordon's Park.



Check out the following:

• Clear Sky Chart for your astronomy and observing weather forecast and a link to the Camp website - for more see Weather forecasts for Stargazers
• Heavens Above for observing forecasts and charts covering the International Space Station, Satellites, Planets, Comets, and Iridium flares as seen from the camp
• Google Maps for a look at the camp

Petition: designate David Dunlap Observatory lands a National Historic Site

Image from Wikipedia

Byron Wilfert, the Member of Parliament representing Richmond Hill, is sponsoring a petition "Protect the David Dunlap Observatory Lands" to get the David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) lands designated as a National Historic Site. This is the beginning of a process that will hopefully lead to designation of the lands. The lands contain more than the Observatory and are also of historical and environmental interest.

There are no particular restrictions on who can sign the petition such as age or location; however, the more people from Richmond Hill and Canada sign the better.

Click here for the petition itself

• Summary of DDO petition at the MP's site
  
• The MP's site welcome page

The petition is hosted by petitiononline.com.

Privacy note: All of the information you provide will be public except for your email address which can be set as (1) private - the default, (2) available to the Petition Author, and (3) public. I'd recommend either option (2) or (1). At a minimum you must provide your name and email to sign the petition. All other information is optional.

While I didn't provide comments or a phone number, I did give my address as my city and I made my email address available to the petition author.

A confirmation notification will be sent to the email address you provide.

For more information on the DDO and conservation efforts:

• Wikipedia
• Mang's Bat Page articles on the DDO
• Richmond Hill Naturalists
• Save the DDO FaceBook Group
• Save the DDO!
• Observatory Park
  

Carnival of Space 117 @ Simostronomy

A new Carnival of Space #117 is up over at Simostronomy. Lot's of great articles including remembering the X-15 the first reusable space ship, texting aliens, Analemmas and the Equation of Time, and just what alien life might be like are some of the topics covered.

Antipodean Astronomical Weather Forecasts and more

Astronomers in North America have been fortunate to have Clear Sky Charts for weather forecasts available.  While astronomers elsewhere may have felt they've been left out there are a couple of services for them too.

Check out Ian Musgrave's at Astroblog's report about two clear sky like services called Skippy Sky and 7 timer (pronounced tri-timer) that provide weather forecasts for astronomers down under and beyond.

• Skippy Sky provides visual representations of forecasts based on large regions including Austrailia, New Zealand, Europe, North America, the Canary Islands, and Cerro Tololo (Chile). 
• 7timer provides parameterized Astroweather Panels or Apanels for many locations around the globe by name or by latitude and longitude.  Unlike Clear Sky Charts these are generated on the fly.

Both are based on a global numerical weather model known as GFS or Global Forescast System run by the  NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration) NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) program.  Incidentally, GFS data drives a number of weather forecasting services like Accuweather and The Weather Channel among others.

Clear Sky Charts use the more granular data available from Environment Canada and can provide data for more specific locations in the geography where they overlap.

Carnival of Space #116 @ Habitation Intention

The Carnival is back with a new issue and a new host.  Habitation Intention is all about envisioning humans living in space.  Welcome HI and checkout the latest issue of the Carnival.

What's up @ the Ontario Science Center

Bookmark this article if you want to know what's up at the Ontario Science Centre.




Check out the OSC Calendar and some Astronomy Events at the OSC:

• International Year of Astronomy Events including free star parties
• Solar Observing (monthly event)

Check out the following:

• Clear Sky Chart for your astronomy and observing weather forecast and a link to the Camp website - for more see Weather forecasts for Stargazers
• Heavens Above for observing forecasts and charts covering the International Space Station, Satellites, Planets, Comets, and Iridium flares as seen from the camp
• Google Maps for a look at the camp

Carnival of Space #115 @ New Frontier News

Carnival returns in this issue hosted by New Frontier News.  NFN is a new space blog and a Canadian one at that- check it out!

Strange Planetary Alignment and all I got was a T-shirt.

This summer, a good friend of mine took his familiy on a vacatation through the south west. Along the way they stopped in at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. They returned with some great memories and a few gifts including this wonderful Pluto T-shirt.

It shows the outer planets in white with the dwarf planets Ceres, Pluto, and Eris in blue.

But wait! What do my eyes behold. A strange planetary alignment. Is it just artistic license or could it be a harbinger of 2012? Are the very discoverers of Pluto in on some grand doomsday conspiracy?

On closer inspection, something else seemed wrong too. But what could it be?

A quick check of the JPL Orbit simulator for Eris shows us a different picture.

Not only is there no planetary alignment in 2012, but Pluto and Eris are inclined along very different axes.

Artistic license or conspiracy aside, I still love the shirt. It's a pitty they don't seem to be available online.

Related Articles

• The Last Planet?
• Orbits: Intro to NASA's Orbit Simulator - solar system small body tour
• Orbits: Comet/Asteroid/Meteor Close Encounters, Near Misses and Impacts
• Strange Orbits: Quasi-satellites, Horseshoes, Corkscrews and Earth Stalkers - Earths Other Moons II
• Nostradamus 2012: Not fit for the KYBO
  

Iceteroids!

There's a messy new bunch of kids in the solar system. Half comet and half asteroid they orbit in the main asteroid belt and leave a dusty gassy wake.

First discovered in 1996, the big question was if this was a comet that had been man handled around enough to fall into a very circular looking low inclination orbit? Or was this an icy asteroid that had formed in place. Now it turns we have the answer and there may be as many as 100 of these active thingamys.

Henry Hsieh who has been leading the investigative charge is calling them Main Belt Comets (MBCs). It's all very descriptive, but I prefer the catchier Iceteroids!

For more information see:

• Half Comet-Half Asteroid a Fluke? Nope | Universe Today
• Henry Hsieh's web page on MBC's
  

Perhaps they can name one of these after Pig-Pen :)

Click on the image above to check out the orbit of the 1st Iceteroid.

Related Articles

• Orbits: Intro to NASA's Orbit Simulator - solar system small body tour
• Orbits: Comet/Asteroid/Meteor Close Encounters, Near Misses and Impacts
• Strange Orbits: Quasi-satellites, Horseshoes, Corkscrews and Earth Stalkers - Earths Other Moons II
• Pet Rocks? Naming things in Space

Carnival of Space #114 @ Cheap Astronomy

Another week and another Carnival of Space.  Read the latest edition here hosted at Cheap Astronomy.