NEVER  NEVER LOOK AT OR NEAR THE SUN
THROUGH BINOCULARS or TELESCOPES !

PERMANENT BLINDNESS WILL RESULT EVEN
JUST QUICKLY LOOK AT THE SUN.

NEVER means DO NOT TRY!

Click here for enlarge image that it shows Sun Spots (Ref Number Spots :- 1105) is growing rapidly, but does not yet pose a treat for a strong solar flares but yesterday at 16:00 / 4pm the Sun Spot active region 1103 (Ref Number) near northwestern limb of the Sun exploded. – click here for a movie.

How to observe the Sun – See Derekscope Archive :-
Friday 30th April 2010.

Splashes of Green in the daylight!
A high-speed solar wiind stream is buffeting Earth’s magnetic field, energizing bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. “There was quite a heavy outburst on Friday 27th August 2010,” reports Bernt Olsen from Kvaløya, Norway. “Even though the arctic nights still are bright, we could still see splashes of green in the sky.”

See more Aurora Photo Gallery – August 2010.

(Credit: NASA)

NASA and ATK Successfully Test Five-Segment Solid Rocket Motor
Smoke and fire billow as the DM-2 motor roars into a successful test in Brigham City, Utah, on Aug. 31, 2010. (Credit: NASA)
With a loud roar and mighty column of flame, NASA and ATK Aerospace Systems successfully completed a two-minute, full-scale test of the largest and most powerful solid rocket motor designed for flight. The motor is potentially transferable to future heavy-lift launch vehicle designs.

Click here for an enlarge above image and watch video.

I want to sharing with you an amazing image of Jupiter that was captured by the telescope of world-famous astrophotographer Anthony Wesley, Australia – Click here for an enlarge image – crystal-clear transparency!

“On a scale of 1 to 10, the seeing was a 12 and now I know what it must be like to see the giant planet from space.” said Anthony.

More information about Anthony Wesley – See Derekscope’s Archive :-  Sunday 6th June 2010.

Wednesday 1st
Moon less than one degree from the Seven Sister (Messier 45 – Pleiades Cluster) @ 01:00 / 1am.
Last Quarter Moon @ 18:00 / 6pm.
Venus and Mars low in the west with Saturn @ 20:00 / 8pm.

Friday 3rd  -  14:00 / 2pm
Mercury inferior conjunction.

Wednesday 8th
The Moon is at Perigee (223,294 miles) @ 05:00 / 5am.
New Moon @ 11:00 / 11am.

Sunday 12th  -  03:00 / 3am
Mercury stationary.

Wednesday 15th  -  06:00 / 6am
First Quarter Moon.

Sunday 19th  -  02:00 / 2am
Jupiter and Uranus less than one degree apart.

Monday 20th  -  01:00 / 1am
Moon and Neptune seven degree apart.

Tuesday 21st
Jupiter at opposition and closest since the year of 1999 @ 00:00 / 12am (Midnight).
Uranus at opposition @ 17:00 / 5pm.

Wednesday 22nd  -  23:00 / 11pm
Full Moon 6 degrees above Jupiter and Uranus.

Thursday 23rd
Autumnal Equinox @ 04:00 / 4am.
Full Moon @ 10:00 / 10am.

Monday 27th  -  23:00 / 11pm
Moon less than 4 degree from Pleiades (M45 – Seven Sisters).

International Space Centre (ISS)
See the manned International Space Station  in evening skies from 26th August to 9th September 2010.

Dairy Dates for August 2010

Tuesday 3rd – 06:00 / 6am
Last Quarter Moon

Thursday 5th
Moon less than 5 degrees from Pleiades (Seven Sister / Messier 45) @ 02:00 / 2am.
Mars is 3 degrees from Saturn and 5 degrees from Venus in the west @ 21:00 / 9pm.

Saturday 7th  - 21:00 / 9pm
Saturn and Venus 2 degrees apart.

Tuesday 10th  - 19:00 / 7pm
The NEW MOON is at Perigee (223,924 miles).

Thursday 12th – 01:00 / 1am
Perseid Meteor Shower Peak – No Moon.

Friday 16th – 19:00 / 7pm
First Quater Moon

Friday 20th
Mercury stationery @ 03:00 / 3am.
Neptune at Opposition @ 11:00 / 11am.

Saturday 21st – 01:00 / 1am
Moon 6 degrees above Jupiter and Uranus.

Tuesday 24th – 11:00 / 11am
Neptune and FULL MOON 5 degree apart.

Wednesday 25th – 07:00 / 7am
The Moon is at Apogee (250,063 miles).

Friday 27th – 01:00 / 1am
Moon 6 degrees Jupiter and Uranus.

Tuesday 31st – 01:00 / 1am
Jupiter and Uranus less than 2 degrees apart.

International Space Centre (ISS)
See the manned International Space Station  in evening skies from 26th August to 9th September 2010.

Observing the Galilean Moons
Spots the giant gas planet, Jupiter’s four largest moons – The Galilean Moons.

See above the image (left to right) - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto  - were first seen in 1610 by the Italian Galileo Galilei, known as the Galilean moons, after his name.

See the bright-orange  ”Neo-Clouds” where it was reflected by the sunsets below the horizon, it was captured by myself on Tuesday 27th July 2010 at 21:00 / 9pm.  This example in meanings of nebula in the Universe – the word nebula is Latin for `cloud`.

And see the dark shadow clouds – against sun light from below the horizon and bright-orange  ”Neo-Clouds”. This happens in the Universe, the cloud of gas and dust that is not bright (illuminated) and can be seen only in against stars and bright nebula beyond.

See for an example.

What is Space?
Space is the name to give the region beyond our planet, Earth which may stretch forever. Space is made of nothing at all! – but it has lots of things in it, such as planets and stars!  That contents are called the Universe.

How was the Universe made?
Many scientists believe that the Universe is the result of  explosion called the Big Bang that what happened back to 14 billion years ago.

What was the Big Bang?
The Big Bang was an explosion of all the matter in the Universe that squashed into a tiny area at more than 10 billion ‘C.  The matter exploded so quickly that within a hundredth of second that how the Universe was as big as the Sun! It carried growing.

Is the Universe still getting bigger?
Yes, Scientists have discovered that matter and groups of stars are still moving further away from each other – however they are now moving much more slowly than just after the Big Bang.

Click here for enlarge image.

Messier 11 – The Wild Duck Cluster (M11)
It is an Open Cluster, readily seen with binoculars and is a magnificent object with high magnifications by a small telescope that possible to see the V-Shape.

M11 is one of the richest and most compact of the known open clusters, containing about 2900 stars. Its age has been estimated to about 220 million years. Its name derives from the brighter stars forming a triangle which could represent a flying flock of ducks in the constellation of Scutum (The Shield).

Scutum is a small constellation that lies in a rich area of the Milky Way between Aquila (The Eagle) and Sagittarius (The Archer). This constellation is visible from JUne to September and the best seen the highest in the sky at 23:00 / 11pm (BST) from July to August.

See the SkyMap for M11 – The Wild Duck Cluster.