- 18 August 2016
Cassiopeia is named after the Queen in Greek mythology who was very vain, arrogant and boastful. This constellation can be located in the first quadrant of the Northern hemisphere and is located specifically between latitudes of +90° and -20°. Cassiopeia was first catalogued in the 2nd century by, Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer.
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- 15 August 2016
There are plenty of strange objects orbiting around in our universe. But the discovery of Niko (a trans-Neptunian object TNO) has even the most brilliant minds stumped.
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- 12 August 2016
You probably already know we have a galaxy and it’s called the Milky Way. But did you know there are around 170 billion other galaxies in the observable universe? Let’s explore some of the different types of galaxies to discover what they’re all about.
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- 12 August 2016
Carina is derived from the Latin language and means “the keel (of a ship).” This constellation was once a part of a larger one called, Arvo Navis, which contained the constellations of Puppis (“the stern”) and Vela (“the sails”) before they were divided into their own constellations. Carina can be located in the second quadrant of the Southern hemisphere and is located specifically between latitudes of +20° and -90°.
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- 11 August 2016
Alpha Ursae Majoris has a traditional name, Dubhe, which is derived from Arabic (Dubb) meaning ‘the bear’. This star can be found in the constellation of Ursa Major and is located on the top tip of the Big Dipper’s bowl. It has four times the mass of the Sun and 16 times its diameter. It is also considered a spectroscopic binary.
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- 9 August 2016
We may be fond of gazing up at Mercury in the night sky, without much thought as to how this great planet came to be. But according to researchers, Mercury hasn’t had any volcanic activity for about 3.5 billion years, which plays a major role in its geological makeup.
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- 5 August 2016
Did you know Mars has two moons? Did you know they are not anything like our moon? Let’s take a trip around Phobos and Deimos to learn all about these “rocky bodies.”
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- 5 August 2016
Alpha Phoenicis is also called Ankaa which is derived from Arabic meaning ‘the phoenix’ and also sometimes as Nair al-Zaurak meaning ‘the bright star of the skiff’. It is the 85th brightest star in the night sky shining with 80 times the luminosity of the Sun. Petrus Plancius, a Dutch astronomer, was the first to catalogue this star in the 16th century.
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- 3 August 2016
Capricornus means “the goat” in Latin. It can be found in the fourth quadrant of the Southern hemisphere and is located specifically between latitudes of +60° and -90°. Like all the Zodiac signs, Capricorn was first catalogued in the 2nd century by Ptolemy, who was a Greek astronomer.
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- 1 August 2016
What’s up this August? The night sky offers a spectacular show all month long, so mark your calendar for these upcoming celestial events.
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