@Science Friction, did you see this? I'm not sure if we discussed it on here or not, but an asteroid from outside our solar system made a trip around our sun and will never be seen by us again. Here is an artist's rendition:

 

[ATTACH]64721[/ATTACH]

 

ESO Observations Show First Interstellar Asteroid is Like Nothing Seen Before | ESO

 

I was reading about this peculiar object the other day but hadn't discussed it in the thead yet. Thanks for posting.

@Science Friction, did you see this? I'm not sure if we discussed it on here or not, but an asteroid from outside our solar system made a trip around our sun and will never be seen by us again. Here is an artist's rendition:

 

[ATTACH]64721[/ATTACH]

 

ESO Observations Show First Interstellar Asteroid is Like Nothing Seen Before | ESO

 

I was reading about this peculiar object the other day but hadn't discussed it in the thead yet. Thanks for posting.

 

I'm glad I read the story to discover the dimensions of Oumuamua.

 

Uncanny and prescient? - "And on far-off Earth, Dr. Carlisle Perera had as yet told no one how he had wakened from a restless sleep with the message from his subconscious still echoing in his brain: The Ramans do everything in threes.

 

Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke

How far would you travel to view a rare astronomical phenomenon? Many of us drove a few hours to see the Great American Eclipse in August. I can't wait to see another one. I am considering going to Chile in 2019 to check a couple of items off my bucket wish list- I want to view the next total eclipse and I want to see the Southern Cross for the first time(apologies to Stephen Stills).

 

I got to thinking about how far I would travel to see something like a total eclipse of the sun, the Northern Lights, or the Southern Cross. Would you go out of your way to see one of these or some other astronomical spectacle?

When I was first really getting in to astronomy in the late sixties/early seventies there were nine planets and about 33 known moons(23 belonging to Jupiter & Saturn) in the solar system.

 

Now, there are eight planets(Sorry Pluto) , five dwarf planets(more to come soon) , and about 188 known moons. Shows what almost five decades of sky-gazing can reveal.

The Big Dipper over Pyramid Mountain...

 

When did you first learn to identify this group of stars? I was probably about seven years old. I still look up every week and identify the Big Dipper. Although they are familiar to many people around the world, different cultures have associated this asterism with different icons and folklore. Known in the USA as the Big Dipper, the stars are part of a constellation designated by the International Astronomical Union in 1922 as the Great Bear (Ursa Major). The recognized star names of these stars are (left to right) Alkaid, Mizar/Alcor, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda, Merak, and Dubhe. Of course, stars in any given constellation are unlikely to be physically related. But surprisingly, most of the Big Dipper stars do seem to be headed in the same direction as they plough through space, a property they share with other stars spread out over an even larger area across the sky. Their measured common motion suggests that they all belong to a loose, nearby star cluster, thought to be on average only about 75 light-years away and up to 30 light-years across. The cluster is more properly known as the Ursa Major Moving Group. The image below captured the iconic stars recently above Pyramid Mountain in Alberta, Canada. Enjoy!!!

 

Another commonly observed cluster of stars is the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters(or Messier 45 if you are a nerd like me). I'm sure many of you have seen this group of stars. This well-known star cluster is slowly destroying part of a passing cloud of gas and dust. The Pleiades is the brightest open cluster of stars on Earth's sky and can be seen from almost any northerly location with the unaided eye.

 

The passing young dust cloud is thought to be part of Gould's Belt, an unusual ring of young star formation surrounding the Sun in the local Milky Way Galaxy. Over the past 100,000 years, part of Gould's Belt is by chance moving right through the older Pleiades and is causing a strong reaction between stars and dust. Pressure from the stars' light significantly repels the dust in the surrounding blue reflection nebula, with smaller dust particles being repelled more strongly. A short-term result is that parts of the dust cloud have become filamentary and stratified. Observe the image of the Pleiades below.

 

Look really close at the lower left of the pic. I think I see a comet. Do you?

 

I'll list some characteristics(one at a time) of an oddball world and you try to name it.

 

Clue #1: Surface has more than 1600 volcanoes and is hot enough to melt lead.

I'll list some characteristics(one at a time) of an oddball world and you try to name it.

 

Clue #1: Surface has more than 1600 volcanoes and is hot enough to melt lead.

 

Clue #2: 450 mph winds in middle cloud layers , driving clouds around the entire body in just four Earth days.

Clue #2: 450 mph winds in middle cloud layers , driving clouds around the entire body in just four Earth days.

 

Clue #3: It's day is longer than its year --- 243 Earth days to a little more than 227 Earth days.

Clue #3: It's day is longer than its year --- 243 Earth days to a little more than 227 Earth days.

 

Clue#4: Clouds are mostly poisonous H2SO4. Pressure on its surface is about the same as one-half mile beneath the ocean on Earth. That's right, you'd be corroded , crushed, and charred.

Clue#4: Clouds are mostly poisonous H2SO4. Pressure on its surface is about the same as one-half mile beneath the ocean on Earth. That's right, you'd be corroded , crushed, and charred.

 

Clue #5: The sun appears to rise in the west and set in the east on this strange world.

Clue #5: The sun appears to rise in the west and set in the east on this strange world.

 

Clue #6: Galileo was the first to witness the phases of this body. Pythagoras was the first to realize that the brightest "stars" of the morning and evening were one and the same object---THIS object.

Clue #6: Galileo was the first to witness the phases of this body. Pythagoras was the first to realize that the brightest "stars" of the morning and evening were one and the same object---THIS object.

 

Of course!!! It's the brightest celestial object in the night sky, besides our Moon--- "Earth's Twin," VENUS!!!

Another odd place:

 

Clue #1: This place smells like one big jumbo rotten egg. The stink is due to hydrogen sulfide on the surface and in the upper atmosphere.

Another odd place:

 

Clue #1: This place smells like one big jumbo rotten egg. The stink is due to hydrogen sulfide on the surface and in the upper atmosphere.

 

Clue #2: It is located in a plasma cloud that is shaped like a doughnut. It's rotation within this cloud strips away ions(remember those from chemistry class?), which has the effect of creating radiation levels 1,000 times stronger than that which would kill an unprotected human. You'd be dead from radiation poisoning within a day or so here. So don't get any ideas about visiting.

At least, after a day or so you wouldn't have to smell the stink anymore.