Objects In The Sky.

On Sunday evening, as I was talking with that handsome man in Ireland, discussing current events as we usually do, I happened to gaze out of my large living room window. Even though the remains of another magnificent spring sunset still lingered in form of a red line above the horizon in the northwest, the southwest which I was facing, appeared by now dark.

That is when I saw it. It took me a few seconds to piece together the visual information received at that very moment with the one I read online a few days ago. Still, eventually I knew exactly what I was looking at. It was a sight like I have never witnessed before.

A majestic bright object, resembling the biggest star that I have ever seen, was moving across the dark sky. Without a sound, effortlessly and with a constant speed, it was crossing the southwest horizon as the largest object in the jet black heavens. If I did not know better, I could have sworn I was witnessing a UFO sighting.
However, I was seeing the International Space Station (ISS), definitely an 'identified flying object' and a man made one as well. Additionally, right after the moon, the largest orbiter of our Earth. I was holding my breath as it moved in a easterly direction, feeling very fortunate to have gazed out of my windows at the exactly right moment, to watch something that is rare and to me - extremely enticing.

Those of you who have read my many posts in the past know well that I am infinitely fascinated by the evening sky. There is nothing more captivating than watching the dark blanket above us, covered with zillions light specks of varied size and intensity. Knowing they are all part of distant and not so distant galaxies intrigues me. There is no other time, when the space seems more infinite and vast, then under the dark veil of the night.
I fall asleep under the shine of stars, as I watch them in my roof top window. If I gaze at that small part of heavens for a short while, I can witness shooting stars and orbiting satellites. But I have never seen the Space Station until now.

Such a sighting is indeed rare and requires specific conditions to be in place. As stated by the wikipedia: "The station must be above the observer's horizon, and it must pass within about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) of the observation site (the closer the better). It must be dark enough at the observer's location for stars to be visible, and the station must be in sunlight rather than in the Earth's shadow."

Operated as a joint project between the five participant space agencies, the ISS serves as a research laboratory that has a microgravity environment in which crews conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy and meteorology. The ISS is operated by Expedition crews; as of 18 March 2010, the crew of Expedition 23 is aboard.

My sighting of the Space Station the other night is the closest that I have come to observe something out of the ordinary in the skies. Except for one summer afternoon last year, when white, semi transparent globe moved high above me in an organized fashion; constant speed and direction. I gazed at it for a long time trying to solve its origins; perhaps it was a balloon or something else that can easily be explained. But perhaps not. Eventually, the fascination lies in the unexplained.

What about you, have any of you ever seen something infinitely intriguing, either identified or unidentified in the skies?

A Celestial Event.

With todays celebration of Epiphany (from Koine Greek ἐπιφάνεια, meaning "appearance", "manifestation"), the Christmas is officially concluding. This day commemorates the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the child Jesus.
In my culture, the 6th of January is called The day of the Three Kings and I recall that it meant the absolute end to the joyful Holiday time and a return to the routines of daily life.

All of us are familiar with the story of The Three Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar), carrying gifts (gold, frankincense, and myrrh) and following the Bethlehem Star, which finally lead The Kings to the infant.
I am intrigued by this tale. The spiritual me rejoices in this event; the scientific me likes to look back in history, searching for facts that would depict it in the heavens, those two thousand years ago.

Was there really a star, or a glowing, moving object in the skies around the birth of Christ?

I am not the only one asking this question. For centuries, the answers have been proposed by theologians, historians, astronomers and laymen.
The primary reference for the Star of Bethlehem is in the Gospel of Matthew, which was probably written around 80 A.D or slightly later. In modern times, astronomers have offered various explanations for the star. A nova, a planet, a comet, an occultation, and a conjunction have all been suggested.
In 1614, German astronomer Johannes Kepler determined that a series of three conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn occurred in the year 7 B.C; the nights sky of that event can be seen here.
Halley's Comet was visible in 12 B.C and another object, possibly a comet or nova, was seen by Chinese and Korean stargazers in about 5 B.C. A recent hypothesis states that the star of Bethlehem was a supernova or hypernova occurring in the nearby Andromeda Galaxy.

Of course, to those of faith, the Star Of Bethlehem is a magical event, that needs no explanation nor have to be supported by any facts. The magi seem to have been the only ones who saw the star— this further supports the notion that the star of Bethlehem was a supernatural manifestation from God rather than a common star, which would have been visible to all.

After searching for the facts myself, I eventually realized that facts matter very little in this subject. What matters is what we believe. Sometimes a belief is the ultimate proof.
After all; "There where science ends, faith begins."

Stardust.

Ever so often I post beautiful images from an intriguing book, entitled Astronomy, 365 Days. This work contains 365 photographs, all linked to our universe. One for each day of the year. I received it as a gift and considering that this year is the International Year Of Astronomy, I find it fitting to share some of the most stunning images with you.

For the 20th of August, the image couldn't be more appropriate and appealing to the painter in me. Entitled "Elements Of The Swan Nebula", also called Omega Nebula, it depicts clouds and dust, the very elements from which new stars are born. The colours each represents known chemical components; red indicates emission from sulfur, green from hydrogen and blue from oxygen.
A talented painter could have not created a more formidable masterpiece...

Apollo 11.

I guess I am one of many out there that will dedicate a post the Apollo 11 mission today. Forty years ago, the world sat mesmerized in front of the TV sets, watching with fascination as a man took the first steps across the lunar surface. That famous sentence; "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind", was uttered by Neil Armstrong, as he performed the first moon walk ever.

This moon landing was part of the Apollo Program, more precisely Apollo 11. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr.

On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.

I am completely in awe of this achievement. I think this mostly due to the fact that it was an incredible operation performed with detailed precision, with absolutely moderate technology. So many steps and all of them had to work, yet with very primitive instruments, at least seen through the eyes of modern technology. In fact, the Apollo rocket is considered so successful, that a new spacecraft is being developed by NASA, based on this technology. Called Orion, it is under development and is destined for a new moon landing within the next 20 years, most likely with the goal to colonize the Moon.
This means that the Space Shuttles Program (Space Transportation System (STS)) is about to retire. The reusable spacecrafts have proven far less economical than originally assumed and will hereby fly on their last mission next year.

Stars In Motion.

I do not know if anyone recalls, that one of the lovely Christmas gifts I received this past year from the Irishman was a book filled with stunning pictures of the stars and other celestial objects. Entitled "Astronomy, 365 Days", it depicts a year with images from the endless universe.
I like to look through it once in a while and often get intrigued by the photographs of our earth and the skies above. Considering that this year is the "International Year Of Astronomy", I like to continue to share with you some of the images that move me.

For the 8th of July, the image in my book depicts the most famous constellation in night sky; Crux, the Southern Cross. Taken with a tripod positioned camera where the shutter is left open, the image created is a stunning one, depicting stars in motion. A true cosmic art, painted with natural colours on a canvas of black velvet, the night sky.

Junk In Space.

Last week, on the 10th of February, there was collision between two satellites. Apparently, this was the first major, unintentional collision in space involving a Russian satellite, which was no longer functional and a US owned, data communication satellite in full service at the time of the crash. This encounter, which happened over Siberia, produced debris, that could potentially pose danger to other objects that are in orbit around the Earth.

Interestingly, while looking for more information about satellites and man-made objects in space, I stumbled upon a very fascinating article and was very surprised about the content. As seen on the picture, there are thousands of man made objects orbiting the Earth, some of them loose debris and junk. Few of the more unusual articles floating around are a camera, a glove and some numerous wrenches and screwdrivers, all lost by astronauts during space walks. Al the space junk put together would produce a weight of about 11 million pounds here on Earth. Amazing!

Overall, NASA is apparently tracking more than 500 pieces of debris, as the floating garbage might pose a threat to the International Space Station or complicate the shuttle launch.