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In the Sky This Week – October 6, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  6 Oct 2020

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This entry is part 168 of 248 in the series In the Sky This Week

World Space WeekWorld Space Week runs from Oct. 4-10 – this year’s theme is “Satellites Improve Life.” World Space Week is an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition. The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World Space Week will be held each year from October 4-10. These dates commemorate two events:

  • October 4, 1957: Launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, and the dawn of the space age.
  • October 10, 1967: The signing of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

World Space Week consists of space education and outreach events held by space agencies, aerospace companies, schools, planetaria, museums, and astronomy clubs around the world in a common timeframe. These synchronized space events attract greater public and media attention. Register new events, and search for events near you here: https://www.worldspaceweek.org/events/

Venus appears in the eastern predawn sky, having moved towards the eastern horizon, far from its close conjunction with Regulus last week; the Moon forms a temporary asterism with the stars Pollux and Procyon on the morning of Oct. 11th

Venus appears in the eastern predawn sky; the Moon forms a temporary asterism with the stars Pollux and Procyon on the morning of Oct. 11th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The Moon appears near the star Regulus in the constellation Leo, and forms a temporary asterism with Venus in the predawn sky on Oct. 13th; Venus appeared near Regulus for a couple days last week.

Eastern predawn sky The Moon appears near Regulus, and forms a temporary asterism with Venus in the predawn sky on Oct. 13th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

Saturn and Jupiter appear in the southern sky after sunset – simply great targets for observing!

Southern sky after sunset Saturn and Jupiter appear in the southern sky after sunset all week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

Mars appears high in the southwestern predawn sky this week; the Moon appears in the southern sky on Oct. 7th, and moves eastward with each morning.

southwestern predawn sky Mars appears high in the southwestern predawn sky this week; the Moon appears in the southern sky on Oct. 7th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

 

The Moon is a waning gibbous – rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise.

The third quarter Moon occurs on Sat. Oct. 10th – rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise.

After Oct. 10th, the Moon will be a waning crescent – visible low to the east before sunrise.

Moon The Moon from 2020-10-06 – 2020-10-12. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

If you click on the Moon image above, or click this link, you will go to NASA’s Moon Phase and Libration, 2020 page – it will show you what the Moon looks like right now. If you click the image on that page, you will download a high-rez TIF image annotated with the names of prominent features – helpful for logging your observations!

Moon Interesting shadows on this annotated close-up of 2 sections of the Moon on Oct. 12th. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

Moon News

As we propel forward to the ? Moon, ? Mars, & beyond the ? stars, we'll need advanced 3D printing construction systems to help us build livable & workable spaces off-world. @NASA_Technology is teaming up with a commercial partner to do just that: https://t.co/fLvtAqEIXw pic.twitter.com/fKTPV0Ac7r

— NASA (@NASA) October 1, 2020

The Sun has been spotless for 10 days now; coronal holes continue to remain open at both poles – one rotating out of view, the other forming in the southern hemisphere. The region with a lot of coronal loop activity from last week remains active, and is rotating out of view.

The Sun seen in 193 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) October 5, 2020:

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2020/10/05/20201005_1024_0193.mp4

WOW! Lots of prominence activity over the last several days! You may have to watch the video below several times before you see them all!

The Sun seen in 304 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) October 5, 2020:

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2020/10/05/20201005_1024_0304.mp4
Videos courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.
You can view the Sun in near real-time, in multiple frequencies here: SDO-The Sun Now.
You can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.

Solar Activity on Facebook – Run by Volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador Pamela Shivak

The SOLARACTIVITY PICTURE OF THE DAY for Tuesday, October 6th, 2020 goes out to Mike Wenz for this fantastic prominence.
Mike commented: “Prominence activity on Oct. 3. Image taken with a 152mm refractor, Daystar Quark H-alpha filter and a QHY5III290M camera.”

Solar Corona

Solar wind speed is 352.0 km/sec (↓↓), with a density of 8.3 protons/cm3 (↑) at 1410 UT.

Near real-time animation of the corona and solar wind from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):

SOHO LASCO C2 Latest Image Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun’s limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech-SOHO

Sun News

This #SunDay, read about the newly-released data from @ESASolarOrbiter, including measurements of high-energy particles, magnetic fields, and plasma waves in the inner solar system. ??? https://t.co/RZmS75swEz pic.twitter.com/bazRNDSHvm

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) October 4, 2020

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 3, this year: 2084, all time: 23,932(+13)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 2037  (last updated  June 2, 2020)
Total Minor Planets
discovered: 995,378  (+30)

Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Velocity (km/s)
Diameter (m)
2020 RR2
2020-Oct-06
16.3 LD
4.1
28
2020 RK2
2020-Oct-07
10 LD
6.7
50
2019 SB6
2020-Oct-07
11.9 LD
7.6
16
2020 SR6
2020-Oct-08
7.1 LD
5.3
26
2020 SX3
2020-Oct-08
4.4 LD
10.9
53
2020 RO1
2020-Oct-09
17.4 LD
3.2
30
2018 GD2
2020-Oct-13
16.4 LD
6.7
5
2020 RM6
2020-Oct-15
13 LD
7.7
38
2017 UH5
2020-Oct-20
8.9 LD
5.9
18
2020 SG3
2020-Oct-20
19.5 LD
5.3
34
2018 VG
2020-Oct-21
15.1 LD
6.7
12
2017 TK6
2020-Oct-24
17.3 LD
12.4
41
2008 GM2
2020-Oct-25
17.7 LD
3.6
8
2020 QD5
2020-Oct-26
10.1 LD
8.6
80
2020 OK5
2020-Oct-29
6.4 LD
1.3
28
2018 VP1
2020-Nov-02
1.1 LD
9.7
2
2020 HF4
2020-Nov-03
16.2 LD
2.9
11
2010 JL88
2020-Nov-05
10.5 LD
15.7
16
2019 XS
2020-Nov-07
15.4 LD
9.4
51
2018 VS4
2020-Nov-09
14.9 LD
10.1
25
2020 ST1
2020-Nov-14
19.1 LD
8.1
162
2019 VL5
2020-Nov-15
8.5 LD
8.2
23
2017 WJ16
2020-Nov-23
5 LD
4.8
49
2018 RQ4
2020-Nov-26
8.1 LD
7.4
15
2020 KZ2
2020-Nov-28
5.7 LD
3.9
10
153201
2020-Nov-29
11.2 LD
25.1
490
2020 SO
2020-Dec-01
0.1 LD
3.9
8
2019 XH2
2020-Dec-02
16.1 LD
6.4
6

Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Red highlighted entries are asteroids that either pass very close, or very large with high relative velocities to the Earth. Table from SpaceWeather.com

Asteroid News:

These are the orbits of the Near-Earth astroids that we discovered in just the past two weeks! Earth's neighborhood can be pretty crowded.
Plot made with CSS Orbit View (https://t.co/ZJlnCndKvm)
None of these objects pose an impact risk with Earth.@AsteroidWatch @UArizonaLPL pic.twitter.com/uSfva6Mkp0

— Catalina Sky Survey (@catalina_sky) October 5, 2020

On October 5, 2020, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 7 fireballs. 
6 sporadics, 1 Southern Taurid)

Orbits In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point–Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). Credit: SpaceWeather.com

Fireball News:

ANOTHER HUGE SUPERBOLIDE ON OCT. 1st, THIS TIME OVER BRASIL. It seems that the #Taurids roar again!
Here our #SPMN290920 event of previous night over #Catalonia:https://t.co/qoencHQAxY@amsmeteors @FireballsSky @RedSpmn @sjb_astro @AsteroidDay @asteroidanalyst @deepbluedot https://t.co/tVOC0ALXri

— Dr. Josep M. Trigo ?️#PlanetaryDefense #DART HERA (@Josep_Trigo) October 1, 2020

Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system:

Inner Solar System Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, 2020-10-06. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Close-up of the positions of Earth, Mars and the Mars 2020 rover on Oct. 6th – Mars is having a “close encounter” today (62 million km) with Earth. It won’t pass this close again until Sept. 2035!

Mars 2020 Rover Position of the Mars 2020 Rover, 2020-10-06. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Position of the planets in the middle solar system – the orbit of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is highlighted.

Middle Solar System Position of the planets in the middle solar system, 2020-10-06. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Position of the planets, some dwarf planets and some transneptunian objects in the outer solar system – the orbit of transneptunian object (TNO) Arrokoth is highlighted.

Outer Solar System Position of the planets and some transneptunian objects in the outer solar system, 2020-10-06. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

The orbit of TNO Arrokoth seen from an oblique angle:

Outer Solar System Side -view of the planets and some transneptunian objects in the outer solar system, 2020-10-06. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

The "reverse vacuum" TAGSAM on @OSIRISREx was invented by our engineer who used a plastic cup, air compressor, and gravel driveway to conduct the first test. The system will be used to collect a sample from asteroid Bennu. #ToBennuAndBack

Watch a behind-the-scenes lab test:

— Lockheed Martin (@LockheedMartin) October 6, 2020

International Space Station

This is SO COOL!

Have you ever seen a rocket launch — from space? If you search for a dot in this video, you'll find out it's a rocket, the Russian Progress MS-10 bringing supplies to the International Space Station in November 2018 [read more: https://t.co/4aWECA9iud] pic.twitter.com/SotRDyZYtJ

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) October 5, 2020

Mars HiRISE: AI used to find tiny craters on Mars

Check out my writing debut for @EarthSky science: @NASAJPL scientists use AI to find tiny craters on Mars. Photos: NASA-JPL (1) MRO CTX black speck (2) confirmed as crater cluster by HiRISE. https://t.co/PWJy8vLjgG #mars #nasa #jpl #ArtificialIntelligence pic.twitter.com/907qXG0MxM

— Amy Oliver (@nerdyastronomer) October 5, 2020

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: MRO detected by 60cm radio dish antenna

#NASA MRO detected. Audible in the 60cm dish. Mars is presently 62.1 million km away. pic.twitter.com/2kynzORC9e

— Scott Tilley (@coastal8049) October 4, 2020

Climate: I have a grandchild; I want to Earth to be a safe and healthy place for her to live in.

What causes sea level to rise? ?

NASA Climate Kids’ latest video explains two main causes of our changing sea level!

Learn more here > https://t.co/AhovLVdWs1 pic.twitter.com/V3lyjSsicd

— NASA Space Place (@NASAspaceplace) October 5, 2020

Climate change is reshaping Earth's coastlines, and the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission, scheduled for launch Nov. 10, will precisely measure sea level rise to benefit humanity.

Here are five things to know about this historic U.S.-European effort: https://t.co/QwKzo2uQOT pic.twitter.com/QDi0LneqVL

— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) October 2, 2020

See a list of current NASA missions here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/?type=current

Exoplanet
ex·o·plan·et /ˈeksōˌplanət/, noun: a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun.

All Exoplanets 4284
Confirmed Planets with Kepler Light Curves for Stellar Host 2412
Confirmed Planets Discovered by Kepler 2392
Kepler Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 2368
Confirmed Planets with K2 Light Curves for Stellar Host 443
Confirmed Planets Discovered by K2 422
K2 Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 889
Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS 74
TESS Project Candidates Integrated into Archive (2020-10-05 13:00:02) 2316  (+59)
Current date TESS Project Candidates at ExoFOP 2321  (+63)
TESS Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 1409  (+52)

Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
* Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS refers to the number planets that have been published in the refereed astronomical literature.
* TESS Project Candidates refers to the total number of transit-like events that appear to be astrophysical in origin, including false positives as identified by the TESS Project.
* TESS Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed refers to the number of TESS Project Candidates that have not yet been dispositioned as a Confirmed Planet or False Positive.

Great to hear that the Elan Valley is applying to be an IDA Dark Sky Place. Had fab time stargazing there in 2011. http://t.co/vnZVId595s

— Will Gater (@willgater) December 8, 2013

Added to EarthSky's Best Places to Stargaze…Westcliffe, Coloradohttps://t.co/NaCAXPlDB8

Certified by IDA as a Dark Sky Community… pic.twitter.com/EOFyQwoDIt

— EarthSky (@earthskyscience) March 27, 2017

Hubble: Beautiful Universe

#HubbleClassic Billowing clouds of super-hot gas form "wings" around a massive, young star in this star-forming region named Sharpless 2-106. A ring of dust and gas orbiting the star acts like a belt, cinching the expanding nebula into an hourglass shape: https://t.co/dXj1VesZdA pic.twitter.com/KDQs8UjMJI

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) October 6, 2020

Tour of the Local Stellar Neighborhood

Continuing with my visual tour of nearby stars and their systems, we travel to the Luyten 145-141 (LP 145-141) system, about 15 light years distant.

Luyten 145-141 Luyten 145-141 (LP 145-141) is about 15 light years from Sol; the plane (green) is aligned with the orientation of the plane of the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Luyten 145-141

LP 145-141 (also LAWD 37) is a white dwarf located 15 light years from the Solar System. According to a 2009 paper, it is the fourth closest known white dwarf to the Sun (after Sirius B, Procyon B, and van Maanen’s star.)

LP 145-141 is known at least from 1917, when its proper motion was published by R. T. A. Innes and H. E. Wood in Volume 37 of Circular of the Union Observatory. The corresponding designation is UO 37. (Note: this designation is not unique for this star, that is all other stars, listed in the table in the Volume 37 of this Circular, also could be called by this name)

LP 145-141 may be a member of the Wolf 219 moving group, which has seven possible members. These stars share a similar motion through space, which may indicate a common origin. This group has an estimated space velocity of 160 km/s and is following a highly eccentric orbit through the Milky Way galaxy.

White dwarfs are no longer generating energy at their cores through nuclear fusion, and instead are steadily radiating away their remaining heat. LP 145-141 has a DQ spectral classification, indicating that it is a rare type of white dwarf which displays evidence of atomic or molecular carbon in its spectrum.

LP 145-141 has only 75% of the Sun’s mass, but it is the remnant of a massive main-sequence star that had an estimated 4.4 solar masses. While it was on the main sequence, it probably was a spectral class B star (in the range B4-B9). Most of the star’s original mass was shed after it passed into the asymptotic giant branch stage, just prior to becoming a white dwarf.

A survey with the Hubble Space Telescope revealed no visible orbiting companions, at least down to the limit of detection.

Its proximity, mass and temperature have led to it being considered a good candidate to look for Jupiter-like planets. Its relatively large mass and high temperature mean that the system is relatively short-lived and hence of more recent origin. – Wikipedia

Artist’s Rendering of a Jupiter-like Exoplanet Orbiting LP 145-141

Luyten 145-141 Artistic rendering of an exoplanet orbiting Luyten 145-141. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

 

Stay safe, be well, and look up!


Apps used for this post:

NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission simulator – free for the PC /MAC. I maintain the unofficial NASA Eyes Facebook page.
Universe Sandbox: a space simulator that merges real-time gravity, climate, collision, and material interactions to reveal the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Includes VR support.
SpaceEngine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for Windows. Steam version with VR support available.
Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. It’s a great tool for planning observing sessions. A web-based version of Stellarium is also available.


Section header image credits:
The Sky – Stellarium / Bob Trembley
Observing Target – Turn Left at Orion / M. Skirvin
The Moon – NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Sun – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Asteroids – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Fireballs – Credited to YouTube
Comets – Comet P/Halley, March 8, 1986, W. Liller
The Solar System – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Spacecraft News – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Exoplanets – Space Engine / Bob Trembley
Light Pollution – NASA’s Black Marble
The Universe – Universe Today

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More Posts in this Series:
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78  |  What Do We Lose When We Sacrifice Science?

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69  |  To err is human… to admit it, is science

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167  |  In the Sky This Week – September 29, 2020

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169  |  In the Sky This Week – October 13, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  13 Oct 2020

170  |  In the Sky This Week – October 20, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  20 Oct 2020

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