StarDate
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Official account for StarDate, the public education & outreach arm of McDonald Observatory, a research unit of @UTAustin. New podcasts & print issues regularly!
Austin, Texas, USA
Joined June 2008
StarDate Radio produces short, daily podcasts covering all things astronomy. Subscribe to get them the day they’re posted, or wait a day and listen for free! As always, StarDate appreciates your support!.
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Mars is close to the right or upper right of the Moon in early evening. It looks like a fairly bright star, but it’s so low in the sky that you need a clear horizon to spot it. The star Spica, which is about twice as bright as Mars, is to the upper left of the Moon.
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A fetching star cluster comes into view on summer evenings. Messier 11 is more than 6,000 light-years away, in Scutum, the shield. Its brightest stars make the shape of the letter V, resembling a flight of ducks, so M11 is also known as the Wild Duck cluster.
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A recently discovered planet is vanishing — evaporating under the heat of its star - We’ll have details!.We’ll also talk about a system with four giant planets that we can actually see!.All this and much more, this week — on StarDate!.
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RT @mcdonaldobs: 🍎 📓 🔭 Welcome back, Longhorns!. There is nothing like the start of another school year. We hope everyone is excited to….
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The Moon is “new” tonight as it crosses between Earth and the Sun. It will return to view, as a thin crescent, on Sunday evening, quite low in the west at sunset.
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RT @mcdonaldobs: 🍎 ✨There are SIX Star Parties left in August - That's 6 more opportunities for educators to attend for FREE!!. https://t.c….
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RT @mcdonaldobs: ✨ Let's learn about star clusters! ✨. We're hosting an all-ages livestream on Wednesday, all about star clusters!. We'll t….
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RT @mcdonaldobs: If you're visiting @mcdonaldobs this week, please make note that our fantastic Gift Shop will be closed this Thursday, Aug….
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The planet Mercury will stand close to the Moon during the dawn twilight tomorrow. It looks like a fairly bright star, to the lower right of the Moon. The brighter planets Venus and Jupiter align well to their upper right.
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Venus, Jupiter, and the twins of Gemini congregate around the Moon before dawn. Venus, the Morning Star, is close to the lower right of the Moon. Jupiter is farther to the upper right, and Gemini’s twins are to the upper left of the Moon.
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Recent discoveries have revealed two giant cosmic “neighbors” — a family of stars, and a cloud of gas and dust — We'll talk about that, plus bright neighbors for the Moon and more, this week — on StarDate!.
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Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is climbing into view in the southeast at dawn. It's the brightest star of Canis Major, the big dog, so it’s known as the Dog Star. In ancient times, its first dawn showing ushered in the Dog Days of summer!
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The Moon will be at last (or third) quarter tonight as it lines up at a right angle to the Sun in Earth’s sky. After that it will enter the “waning crescent” phase, growing thinner by the day as it loops toward the Sun. [ 8 Moon phases or shapes, shown with emojis, via NASA ]
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In 1764, Charles Messier was a star-cluster-discovering machine. He found five globular clusters in Ophiuchus. He cataloged them as Messier 9, 10, 12, 14, and 19. They are scattered across the large constellation, and are visible through binoculars. [M12; ESA/Hubble & NASA]
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Barnard 68 is one of the darkest objects in our part of the galaxy. It’s a small cloud that absorbs the light of the stars behind it, so it looks like a “hole” in the Milky Way. It’s in Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, which is in the southern sky at nightfall.
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The planet Saturn appears quite close to the Moon tonight. It looks like a bright star to the lower left of the Moon as they climb into good view, by about 11 p.m. A small telescope will reveal Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, which looks like a tiny star close to the planet.
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The constellation Ophiuchus is packed with cosmic wonders, including some ancient star clusters, the birthplaces of future stars, and a “shiny” planet. Join us for the serpent bearer and so much more, this week — on StarDate!.
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The Perseid meteor shower will be at its best the next couple of nights. Unfortunately, the gibbous Moon will be in the sky during the best hours for meteor watching. That will spoil the view of all but the brightest meteors.
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