July Astronomy Events: New Moon July 8, 2013

July's new moon will occur on July 8, 2013 at approximately 07:14 UTC.  This is your best chance this month to view those faint galaxies or star clusters with your telescope. 

During a new moon, the moon is in between the earth and the sun and it will not be visible from earth.  It is a perfect time for viewing, because there is no moonlight to interfere.

IRIS Launch June 27, 2013 - Did You Watch?

NASA's IRIS rocket made its launch yesterday and is now in orbit.  It will continue to monitor the sun's photosphere and corona and collect data.  Did you watch the launch?  We want to here what you thought!! Post below!

Photo Courtesy of: NASA

Reserve the Date! International Observe the Moon Night, October 12, 2013

The 2013 International Observe the Moon Night will be on October 12, 2013.  Planetariums, libraries, local astronomy groups are gathering on this night to showcase and spotlight some of the great things about our moon.  Check out their website below for events and locations in your area!

International Observe the Moon Night:
http://observethemoonnight.org/

IRIS Spacecraft Launch Scheduled for June 27, 2013

NASA's newest solar observatory IRIS is scheduled to launch June 27, 2013.  IRIS, which stands for Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph will use its telescope to observe the region of the sun between the surface and the corona, or the sun's outer atmosphere.

The launch will start from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California where a modified L-1011 airliner will carry the IRIS spacecraft attached to a Pegasus rocket.  The Pegasus rocket has been used to launch 18 successful missions for NASA.

The IRIS spacecraft joins the Solar Dynamics Observatory and Hinode missions to study how the sun's solar atmosphere affects the earth.

Source: NASA
Photo courtesy of: NASA

Win with Astronomy.com's 2013 Summer Sweepstakes!

Astronomy.com is currently promoting its 2013 Summer Sweepstakes with the Grand Prize winner getting a super cool Celestron SkyProdigyTM 6 Computerized Telescope!  Check out the other great prizes below:

Grand prize: Celestron SkyProdigyTM 6 Computerized Telescope
1st prize: Celestron AstroMasterTM 70AZ Telescope
2nd prize: Celestron AstroMaster 15 x 70 Binoculars
3rd prize: Celestron FirstScope with accessory kit
4th prize: One year subscription to Astronomy magazine

Check out their website for more details!  Sweepstakes ends September 17, 2013.

In the Sky Tonight - Asteroid 1 Ceres

Take your last chance tonight to see asteroid 1 Ceres, a magnitude 8.8 object in the night sky!  You'll need a telescope to spot this near the Constellation Cancer.  It will pass 1 degree south of the star Chi Cancri in the northwest horizon.  The best time to catch the asteroid with your telescope will be near the end of twilight tonight.

Source: Astronomy.com
Photo Source: Wikipedia.com