Update: The activity has been cancelled due to bad weather. Astrotour are offering the chance to see comet Pan-STARRS through a telescope for free. You just have to turn up at Mirador de las Brujas on Saturday 16th at 7pm, but be sure to bring warm clothes (it’s over 4,000 ft) and something to eat. Hot drinks are probably a good idea too. It’s also a good idea to bring…
Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) was discovered in June 2011. At that time it was a long way from the sun and very faint. Now it’s closer to the sun than the Earth, and it’s bright enough to see with the naked eye. This week you can see comet Panstarrs (C/2011 L4) near the horizon in the west, about 40 minutes after sunset. It’s close to the moon, so the…
Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland on February 19, 1473. From the ancient Greeks, everyone in Europe believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe. The great work of Copernicus De revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), published in 1543, showed that the sun was at the center. You can see evidence of this yourself with binoculars or a small telescope. Both…
Asteroid 2012 DA 14 from Daniel López on Vimeo. Daniel Lopez of the IAC filmed Asteroid 2012 DA 14 from 21:00 to 22:46 UT on 15/02/2013 from the Observatorio del Teide. Strong wind gusts of 55km / h make the image shake. Credit Daniel Lopez: Cielo de Canarias Asteroid 2012 DA 14 from Daniel López on Vimeo. Daniel López del IAC hico un seguimiento del asteroide 2012 DA 14 desde…
As you’ve probably heard, asteroid DA14 is going to pass very close to the Earth tonight. No, there is no chance that it will hit, which is good because it’s about 40 m in diameter. But at its closest it will be just 28,000 km away, closer than the highest satellites (although still well above the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s going to part our hair….
The Daily Telegraph travel section have a rather good article about La Palma, and they mention my book, A Breathtaking Window on the Universe, right at the end. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/sunandsea/9867981/La-Palma-guide-the-forgotten-Canary-Island.html