Question for Tom on Astronomy Day

[AKpilot]

Hi Tom or fellow Stargazers,

Any passes of the ISS or Iridium Flares in the next day or two?

AKpilot

We're all here, because we're not all there!

[rocketman]

Here is the website to check... http://www.heavens-above.com/main.aspx?lat=19.5415&lng=-154.9032&loc=Hilo&alt=74&tz=UCT10

[TomK]

There's not too much happening. There are some ISS passes coming up in a few days but all in the morning - there were some a few days ago in the evening but I didn't post anything as the weather was so poor. As for Iridium flares, there's one particularly spectacular flare coming up in a few days (about 250 times brighter than Venus at its brightest) but again in the early morning. Unfortunately, Iridium flares will shortly become a thing of the past as the old fleet of satellites is replaced with new ones.

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks this weekend although it's not one of the better displays. Expect around 10-20 meteors per hour at peak.

[AKpilot]

I know Tom! I am so sad regarding the Iridiums!

My Mom and Dad live in Creede, Colorado at 9,000 feet. Their neighbor is Astronaut Mike Foale. This past Fall the Hubby and I, my parents and the Foales all went out with Gluehwein and blankets and watched the Perseids. While doing so, Mr. Foale and I spotted an Iridium. Of course to the Foale family this was old news; they had seen plenty of passes. My Husband and Parents had never seen one. I giggled as they marveled at it's brightness!

Thanks for the update..........keep looking up!

AKpilot

We're all here, because we're not all there!

[TomK]

Thanks, AKpilot! For Astronomy Day (it's tomorrow, Saturday, April 21st), NASA released this video of the Lagoon Nebula. The first part of the video includes actual images of the nebula taken by the Hubble. When it starts rotating it's CGI. On the other hand, the data used to create the CGI part of the video are real and were collected by both the Hubble and ground-based observatories including those on Mauna Kea, so we know the 3-D picture and that's what NASA is representing in the video.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/201...ar-nursery

PS. Youtube link to the video: https://youtu.be/T8X-QIePGKM

[AKpilot]

Yeah, I know it's the 21st, but I figured I'd give everyone a heads start!

AKpilot

We're all here, because we're not all there!

[TomK]

Well, a day late, but something nice to celebrate for astronomy day - Megan Ansdell, a former PhD student at Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy and who grew up in Hawaii, won the "2017 IAU prize on the best PhD thesis in Planetary Science", which is a worldwide competition. The award provides money for flights, accommodation and fees so she can present her thesis at the International Astronomy Union assembly in Vienna later this year.

In addition, kids on Molokai have been awarded telescope time on Mauna Kea under the MaunaKea Scholars program to carry out their own research.

http://www.mauinews.com/news/community-n...-maunakea/