With the Sun more active over the past few months, aurora reports are picking up. There were so many “warnings” for bad solar weather for a while that I thought for certain I’d be able to spot the Northern Lights from my house without much difficulty. But every time I saw a notice of strong or storm levels from the Twitter user I follow (@Aurora_Alerts), it was daylight or cloudy. Like the boy who cried wolf or those annoying car alarms triggered by accident, I had become almost immune to the rumour that an aurora could be lighting up my sky.

Last night I logged onto Twitter and saw another alert, this time for a storm. I hopped over to the NOAA POES website to double check the activity and saw that the aurora oval was extending farther south than it had been any other time I had checked during daylight or cloudy nights. I went to the window to see if it was clear and I could already see a light blue glow ringing the northern horizon.

I took my camera and tripod out and decided to try my first ever photos of the Northern Lights. My camera is nice but not fantastic and I have very limited knowledge of how to use it properly, so I wasn’t expecting much when I set it up. I was prepared for the camera to refuse to take a picture or for all-black images, but instead, I heard the shutter click and pause, holding itself open for up to 10 seconds at a time as it captured photo after photo of the greenish ring and stars in the north. Considering the display was rather quiet despite its southerly extent, I was quite pleased with the results.

I went upstairs and found my daughter still awake. She was excited to see the aurora too, so I took her to the window and gave her a peek. She looked at it and said to me, “I bet it looks better in different places.” It was true. While it was still a pretty display, I’m looking forward to the next one where we can look straight up and see the glow and possibly curtains and columns and whorls dancing in the night.

Sometimes I make observing much harder than it has to be. A couple years ago I upgraded to an 8-inch Dobsonian, and now I feel that if I’m going to take the time to observe, that automatically means I am lugging my large telescope out into the dark. Or, more accurately, I’m having my husband do it for me.

On nights that I try to be more self sufficient, I go back to the 4.5-inch reflector, which is lighter and easy to carry outside on my own except for the fact that the tripod base sometimes gets tangled in my doorway. It doesn’t help that as soon as my cat Perseus hears the door open I have to stomp a jig to keep him from slipping out while I’m maneuvering the scope.

An occasion such as the Venus-Pleiades conjunction reminds me that sometimes it’s okay to keep it simple. Last night I grabbed my binoculars, looped the strap around my neck and sneaked out the door before my cat even knew what was up.

Venus was a radiant beacon high in the west, and for anyone just taking a quick look, they wouldn’t have even noticed the faint smattering of stars just above it. Venus outshines anything in its vicinity, and not until your eyes start to adjust to the dark do you start to notice the Pleiades, and then only because you’re looking for them.

Aim binoculars at Venus and out pops the teensy dipper shape of the star cluster. On the night I looked, Venus was like a brilliant interloper in the usually tranquil sea of the seven sisters. If you go out to view Venus and the Pleiades through binoculars, take the time to catch a couple other great binocular sights before they set. Jupiter, the Orion Nebula, and the Double Cluster in Perseus (not my cat) are all top contenders for viewing through binoculars. And don’t forget the moon!

Winter is a decidedly cloudy season where I live. I check my calendar and planetarium software and write about all kinds of great observing opportunities in winter, but in reality I don’t get to see an awful lot of them myself. The clouds steal much of the winter evenings, and on those evenings when it is clear, it is generally downright cold.

Venus went visiting the solar system in the beginning of the year, stopping by Neptune in January (cloudy) and Uranus in February (cloudy). But in March when Venus and Jupiter made their fair pairing, the skies were ready. I captured a decent photo of the two brightest planets as they mingled in the west (see left). The next night they were lined up perfectly side by side, and I went in to get my telescope ready to see each planet up close. Five minutes later, as I was lugging my 8-inch scope through the doorway, I looked out to see the clouds had once again drawn a curtain across the sky.

But each day gets better in spring, both cloud-wise and temperature-wise. And I’m happy to give up my chances at the Venus/Neptune and Venus/Uranus pairings if it means clear skies for the solar eclipse and Venus transit in May and June. Stay tuned …

Brian McGaffney sent in this great image of Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd’s flyby of M71. It was taken from his own Nutwood Observatory in Ontario, Canada on August 26th at 11pm (EDT). Brian used a 14 inch astrograph (a telescope specifically for use in astrophotography) and an Apogee U16M CCD camera.

“We’re not ending the journey today … We’re completing a chapter of a journey that will never end … Let’s light this fire one more time” – comments uttered by Commander Ferguson just before the final launch of Shuttle Atlantis. The launch was delayed at the 31 second mark due to last minute verification that the launch pad support equipment had been completely retracted adding suspense to a hurried and limited launch schedule. Atlantis will deliver a year’s supply of necessary items to the ISS as equipment will be transported by the Soviets in a much smaller vehicle for about the next five years. On return, Atlantis will be displayed at Kennedy Space Center.

Update: “You are clear to launch Atlantis.” Atlantis is go for launch!

There are close to 750 thousand Earthlings present at the Kennedy Space Center viewing areas to observe this historical launch. (Usually the area is invaded by a mere 150-250 thousand tourists.) Launch Day! As NASA’s Mission Control comments: “Launch chances are always 50/50 due to weather and other potential issues which may occur during countdown. The crew is seated and ready to contribute their part to the Shuttle’s final mission taking Atlantis passed it’s already accrued 115 million miles, on its 33rd flight to the ISS. The next possible launch date, should Atlantis not launch this weekend, is July 16, 2011.”

Read the rest of this post …

Atlantis STS-135 Crew

While firefighters tapped out a grass fire across the road from Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center slated Shuttle Atlantis for its final journey to the ISS. Shuttle Atlantis’s preliminary launch date is set for 11:40 a.m. EDT on July 8, 2011. Atlantis still must pass the Flight Readiness Review scheduled for June 28, 2011 after which the official launch date will be announced.

The Atlantis crew: Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialist Rex Walheim and Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus, call themselves “The Final Four”. Why only four instead of six or seven space travelers for the shuttle’s final journey? In the event of an emergency rendering the Shuttle Atlantis useless as a return vehicle, the crew of four have been retrofitted with a Russian Sokol pressure suit and molded Soyuz seat liner for a safe return aboard a Soyuz capsule.

Atlantis’s goal is to transport the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module along with supplies and space parts to the ISS.

Endeavour lands safely at KSC

Space Shuttle Endeavor arrived safely early this morning from its eventful last journey to the ISS. Mission Control thanked Commander Kelly and the shuttle crew for “122 million miles flown during 25 challenging spaceflights….. Your landing ends a vibrant legacy for this amazing vehicle that will long be remembered. Welcome home, Endeavour. ” Commander Kelly replied to Mission Control in stating: “It’s sad to see her land for the last time, but she really has a great legacy.” Endeavour’s landing was witnessed by Atlantis’s crew in addition to a large crowd at KSC.
Endeavour logged 122.8 million miles on 299 days in space, completing 4,672 Earth orbits and transported 170 crew members.