An hour before Sunset, actually (you need to click on the image and get an enlarged version to see Venus clearly).

Now, as regular readers of this blog know, I’m obsessed with seeing Venus in the daytime.

While I’ve been quite good at catching Venus by eye, getting images has been much harder, and using my old Olympus Mu 300, the best images I could get were around 15 minutes before Sunset. This image is taken an hour before Sunset using my newish Canon IXUS 9015, ISO 100, 1/400 second shutter speed and F 18.6 with superfine resolution. There has been no post processing except for cropping and typing the Venus caption in.

I used the Moon to locate Venus, and a corner of the house and pergola to shut out the Sun and frame the Moon Venus combination.

As I’ve noted before, it always seems easier to locate Venus (or Jupiter) if there is a handy foreground object nearby. This is possibly due to the contrast making the eye “floaters” less obvious and making Venus more obvious. Using a wall/roof combination really helped to make Venus obvious, and also framed the image, making them easier to find while hunting in the full scale image.

Your next good opportunity to see Venus in the daylight is on January 30th, when the Moon is 45 degrees from the Sun, magnitude -4.5 and only 2 degrees (roughly two fingerwiths) above the 15% illuminated crescent Moon. Look for the thin crescent Moon, and Venus should be visible as a bright dot just above it. It’s best to look in the afternoon when the Sun is low and the sky is less bright. Make sure the Sun is hidden behind something solid like a building or a wall when you are looking for Venus, not trees or your hand. Exposing your eyes directly to the glare of the Sun can be very dangerous and you could potetially lose your sight.

If you can’t wait for 30th January, locate Venus around half an hour before Sunset, and find a conveniet marker (a tree, a teephone pole or something like that) close by to Venus from a fixed postion in your yard. Note the relative position of Venus and features on the marker. Next day, go to your viewing position about 5 minutes after Sunset and note Venus’s location. The next day, look 5 minutes before Sunset and note the location. And so on until you can see Venus well before Sunset. Do remember to be very careful not to look directly at the Sun when doing all of this. Chose your viewing location so that the Sun will be hidden well behind some solid object at all of your projected viewing times.

Good Luck Venus hunting! ]]> http://www.futulab.com/2009/01/04/venus-in-the-daylight-on-new-years-eve/feed/ http://www.futulab.com/2009/01/04/the-moon-and-venus-on-new-years-eve/ http://www.futulab.com/2009/01/04/the-moon-and-venus-on-new-years-eve/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:25:49 +0000 Jason Kelly http://www.futulab.com/2009/01/04/the-moon-and-venus-on-new-years-eve/ This beautiful image of the Moon and Venus on New Years eve comes from Tony Travaglia of Otago, New Zealand. As usual, click on the image to see a larger version (with nice Earth shine). Lets hope 2009 will be a good year for all astrophotographers!

2009 is almost upon us, but 2008 has one last beautiful astronomical view for us. The thin crescent Moon will be near Venus, with Mercury and Jupiter close by each other. This will be a very attractive start to the New Years Eve festivities.

So have fun everybody, stay safe, and if you are up late enough you can look at Saturn rising in the early morning sky. See you all in 2009.

2009 is almost upon us, but 2008 has one last beautiful astronomical view for us. The thin crescent Moon will be near Venus, with Mercury and Jupiter close by each other. This will be a very attractive start to the New Years Eve festivities.

So have fun everybody, stay safe, and if you are up late enough you can look at Saturn rising in the early morning sky. See you all in 2009.

A couple of days ago MiddleOne asked if you could draw 3D pictures. I thought it was possible from my experience with anaglyphs, and we experimented with various coloured textas, but with only minor successs.

Around 5:30 this morning SmallestOne kicked me out of bed, and I started thinking (or maybe I was already dreaming) about anaglyphs. I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I tried experimenting. First you need the right colour textas. Our stereo glasses have red for the left eye, and cyan for the right eye. You need a red colour that will be invisible through the left eye, and dark through the right eye, and a blue/green that is invisible through the right eye and dark in the left eye.

It was pretty easy to find a light red text that fitted the bill (our previous attempts had used too dark a red). Finding a blue-green that worked was much harder, and I had to settle for a pale green/blue that sort of worked.

Once you have your colours, then how do you match them up to give depth? I started with simple squares. Blue-green lines to the left of the red lines make the boxes appeare below the picture plane, blue-green to the right makes the boxes appear above the picture plane. The wider the lines apart, the greater the feeling of depth. by grading the line spacing, you can give a feeling of volume to the surface.

You also have to choose your viewing postion, straight up and down at about a meter away works best.

The planet with craters and rings above is the result. Viewing with red/cyan glasses about a meter away gives a nice 3D effect for the cratered body of the planet. The rings are a little wobbly though, but still, this was a hand drawn image using only red and blue-green textas. A little practise (and a better shade of blue-green), and you can draw stunning 3D images without fancy computer graphics programs.

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) has been launched by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under the theme, “The Universe, yours to discover”. Thousands of IYA2009 events are described on the national websites, as well as on astronomy2009.org, and a few of the global projects are listed here.

The official IYA2009 Opening Ceremony will take place in Paris on 15 and 16 January 2009, and the press is invited to attend. It will feature keynote speakers, including Nobel Laureates, and live video feeds to scientists working in remote locations. Many nations are holding their own Opening Ceremonies in January and February, showing their dedication to the Year. But events will begin before then. Don’t be surprised to see telescopes on the streets on New Year’s Day. The IYA2009 Solar Physics Group have been busy planning a grand worldwide campaign, with over 30 countries involved at more than 150 venues, which will see amateur stargazers set up their telescopes on pavements as well as in science centres, letting passers-by observe the Sun using special safety equipment.

The Cosmic Diary is an example of a global activity occurring during 2009, with the release of its official website on New Year’s Day. The project concerns the daily lives of full-time astronomers. More than 50 bloggers, professionals from over 35 countries and employed by organisations such as ESO, NASA, ESA and JAXA have already begun producing content, writing about their lives, the work they conduct and the challenges they face. The public can see what being an astronomer is really like, and how ground-breaking research is conducted. Another project, 365 Days of Astronomy, will publish one podcast per day over the entire year. The episodes will be written, recorded and produced by people around the world.

100 Hours of Astronomy, another IYA2009 Cornerstone Project, is a worldwide event taking place from 2-5 April 2009, with a wide range of public outreach activities including live webcasts, observing events and more. One of the key goals of 100 Hours of Astronomy is to have as many people as possible look through a telescope, just as Galileo did for the first time 400 years ago.

The From Earth to the Universe (FETTU) Cornerstone Project is an exhibition arranged by IYA2009 that will bring large-scale astronomical images to a wide public audience in non-traditional venues such as public parks and gardens, art museums, shopping malls and metro stations. Over 30 countries around the world are currently in the development phase of FETTU projects, many with multiple locations. Some 15 countries plan to begin FETTU exhibitions within the first month of 2009, ranging in size from 25 to over 100 images on display. FETTU will be introduced to the global community at the Opening Ceremony at UNESCO headquarters in January 2009.

The World at Night is an IYA2009 Special Project that is producing and bringing to the public a collection of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s landmarks with the sky in the background. The World at Night is preparing more than 30 exhibitions and educational events around the world.

One of IYA2009’s aims is to raise awareness of light pollution, and how the beauty of the night sky is progressively being drowned out, particularly over urban areas. The project Dark Skies Awareness is tackling these issues head-on in a practical, inclusive manner. One way in which it is doing this is by holding star-counting events, where the public are encouraged to see how many stars in a particular area of the sky are actually visible from their location. When compared with data from truly dark sites, the results are often very surprising! The “How Many Stars” event will run from January 2009.

A list of event highlights is available on the official IYA2009 website, www.astronomy2009.org/highlights. From there it is also possible to contact the National Nodes, responsible for organising local events in the many participating countries.

During 2009, the sky will provide some exciting events, including the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, occurring on 22 July 2009 and lasting 6 minutes 39 seconds over a narrow corridor through countries including India, Bangladesh and China. A strong shower of Leonid meteors is also expected in mid-November 2009, with forecasters predicting upwards of an incredible 500 shooting stars per hour. In mid-October in the northern hemisphere, Jupiter will be placed at dusk, a perfect time to show public the giant planet and its moons. These are an impressive sight through even a small amateur telescope.

IYA2009 seeks to involve the public at large in its activities, and to this end amateur astronomers have been called upon to help organise and run events. Known for their enthusiasm, this army of helpers is growing every day, preparing to promote astronomy in a stunning variety of ways. In fact, so many thousands of people across the globe are already involved, they have formed the world’s largest ever astronomy network.

Catherine Cesarsky, IAU President, says: “135 countries have committed themselves to the Year, all pulling together toward the common aim of making astronomy accessible to the public. IYA2009 will reinforce the links between science education and science careers, stimulating a long-term increase in student enrolment in the fields of science and technology and an appreciation for lifelong learning.”

With such a range of activities planned, now is the ideal time to learn more about the cosmos and our place within it. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 promises to make the Universe yours to discover, beginning on 1 January 2009.

Notes for editors

IYA2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s first astronomical observation through a telescope. It is nothing short of a worldwide celebration, promoting astronomy and its contribution to society and culture, with events at regional, national, and global levels.

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together almost 10 000 distinguished astronomers from all nations of the world. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world’s largest professional body for astronomers.

IYA2009 welcome video: A special welcome video for IYA2009 is available. Hosted by Catherine Cesarsky, President of the International Astronomical Union, it is approximately five minutes in length and available in English, French and Spanish. The video is available for download from www.astronomy2009.org.

Additional information:

IYA2009 website: www.astronomy2009.org

IYA2009 Opening Events: www.astronomy2009.org/events

Opening Ceremony Media accreditation: www.astronomy2009.org/opening

UNESCO IYA2009 website: www.unesco.org/iya2009

Opening Ceremony website: http://www.astronomy2009.org/opening

Dawn of IYA2009 (Solar Physics Group) website: www.solarastronomy2009.org

Cosmic Diary website (active 1 January 2009): www.cosmicdiary.org

365 Days of Astronomy: http://365daysofastronomy.org

100 Hours of Astronomy: www.100hoursofastronomy.org

From Earth To The Universe: www.fromearthtotheuniverse.org

Dark Skies Awareness: www.darkskiesawareness.org

The World at Night: www.twanight.org

International Astronomical Union website: www.iau.org

IYA2009 welcome video: www.astronomy2009.org/resources/multimedia/videos/

For more information:

IAU IYA2009 Coordinator

Pedro Russo

ESO ePOD

Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2

D-85748 Garching bei München

Germany

Tel: +49 89 320 06 195

Cell: +351 96285 4775 / +49 17661100211

Fax: +49 89 320 23 62

E-mail: prusso@eso.org

Further contacts

Yolanda Berenguer

UNESCO Focal Point for the International Year of Astronomy 2009

UNESCO HQ, Paris

Tel: +33-1-45684171

E-mail: y.berenguer@unesco.org

Dr. Karel A. van der Hucht

General Secretary, International Astronomical Union

IAU Secretariat, Paris, France

Tel: +33-1-43-25-83-58

E-mail: K.A.van.der.Hucht@sron.nl

IAU Press Officer

Lars Lindberg Christensen

ESO ePOD, Garching, Germany

Tel: +49 89 3200 6761

Cellular: +49-173-3872-621

E-mail: lars@eso.org

The new picture is an alternate view of a dusty stellar nursery located 13,700 light-years away in the southern constellation Centaurus. Spitzer released its original version of the image in 2004. That image combined information from four different wavelengths of infrared light, but the new image uses only two.

The typical human eye perceives three different colors of visible light — red, green, and blue — with cones on the retina. All the colors we see are made up of some combination of these three colors. Every color of light has a different wavelength, and many wavelengths fall outside the visible spectrum. Infrared light is basically wavelengths of light that vibrate at colors below the red part of the spectrum, colors we can’t see.

Spitzer’s two imaging cameras effectively see a total of seven different wavelengths, or channels, of infrared light. That would be the equivalent of the eye being sensitive to seven colors instead of just three. The challenge for Spitzer imaging scientists is to present all these different channels using colors that we can see. When astronomers select which channels to include in their false-color composites, each wavelength is assigned a different visible-light color. Therefore, the same observations can be used to make very different images.

Spitzer’s two shortest wavelengths, 3.6 microns and 4.5 microns, were mapped as cyan and red respectively for the new image. At 4.5 microns, hot hydrogen gas glows very brightly, much like a neon light glowing in visible light. The two-channel image therefore emphasizes hot hydrogen gas, which shows up as the red regions, in addition to the more than 2,200 stars and organic molecules visible in both the two-channel and four-channel images.

As well as enabling exciting new science discoveries, two-channel images like this one are particularly interesting to scientists who wish to understand how Spitzer will perform after its liquid helium coolant runs out in 2009. At this time the telescope will become too warm to observe at longer wavelengths, but will continue to operate in these channels.

Object name: RCW 49 Object type: Star Formation Position (J2000): RA: 10h 24m 14.60s Dec: -57° 46′ 58.00″ Instrument: IRAC Wavelength: 3.6 Micron (Cyan), 4.5 Micron (Red)

Watch Larger Version of this Video

In Part 2 of our year-end wrap up, host Blair Butler takes a look at the best floppies of 2008, including Echo, Jonah Hex, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ex Machina, The Killer and Pax Romana. And that’s not all! You’ll also get taste of Criminal, The Sword, Secret Six, and the always-shocking Walking Dead. But it’s All-Star Superman that really captures our heart this time around. Enjoy!

(Oh, and join us on Facebook and MySpace, and rant in our Forums.)

The Wall Street Journal was a lengthy writeup on The Race for a New Game Machine: Creating the Chips Inside the Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3. The book, written by two former IBM employees involved with the creation of the Cell processor, chronicles the chip designs for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It turns out that IBM, Sony, and Toshiba spent 400-million dollars and five years in designing Cell. Meanwhile, Microsoft benefited from all the research and development. The Wall Street Journal’s Jonathan V. Last writes:

That’s pretty crazy. It appears that Sony’s ambitious plans for the PlayStation 3 combined with a surprising amount of trust in a Western partner caused it to take its eyes off the ball. Meanwhile, Microsoft cleverly — and apparently legally — seized an opportunity to get a fancy new chip with other people’s R&D money. I’m absolutely fascinated by how this book humanizes three very large companies. Based off of theWSJ report, I feel sad for Sony for being hustled and admire Microsoft’s gumption. Then there’s IBM, which comes off as the dirty, two-timing slut. At least, that’s the characterization that comes up in my head.

How do you guys feel about these revelations? Source

Brendan wanted to see the effects of vibration on a disc array, so the best idea he came up with for improvised vibration was yelling at it. I’m glad I’m not kidding. What resulted (besides an incredibly hilarious video) was a sharp spike the number of I/O operations that take over 5ms to complete. Lesson learned: electronics won’t listen to you.

Source

Funny or Die found itself quite a niche during the election season with a plethora of targets with which to satire politically. Tons of celebs drop by to participate in their professional big-budget virals, putting them in place to be the Channel 101 of 2008. (And perhaps ‘09.)

However, they do more than just hide the heartworm pill of Hollywood politics in the bacon of comedy. In this recently posted masterpiece, Rebecca Romijn reprises her role from the X-Men films as Mystique, torturing her husband Jerry O’Connell with inappropriate shapeshifts.

Jerry O’Connell rubbing the feet of comedian Jerry Minor = Worth the price of admission.

The Japanese spent 45-million dollars installing biometric systems in their airports back in 2007 for immigration purposes.

A South Korean bar hostess, who initially got deported back in ‘07 for being in Japan illegally, entered the country again with a fake passport and a piece of tape stuck to her finger tip.

The tape made it impossible to read her fingerprints.

Japanese officials admit that many others probably are doing the same trick to enter the country without proper documentation.

Come on Japan! You guys can make toilets that analyze people’s urine sugar, but your multimillion-dollar biometric-scanner can be fooled by a flimsy piece of tape? Really?!?

Source