Neptune comes into view in the southeast at dusk, its blue-gray disk is best seen around midnight in Aquarius.
Articles by Clair Wood
MAINE SKIES
You might be able to spot five planets in the Maine skies in July
Mercury makes it above the western horizon during the final week of July just to the upper left of Venus.
MAINE SKIES
There’s a new brightest supernova that’s been spotted
Located 3.8 billion light years from Earth, Supernova ASASSN-15th at its peak was 50 times brighter than all the stars in our Milky Way galaxy combined.
MAINE SKIES
Studying Mars has proven a challenging ordeal
Maine Skies: Space exploration has left dozens of functioning and dead spacecraft and associated debris wandering about the solar system, and nowhere is it more evident than at Mars.
MAINE SKIES
New galaxy formed near the dawn of the universe spotted
A team of astronomers from Yale University and the University of California have used the Hubble Space Telescope to shatter the cosmic distance record by spotting a galaxy 13.4 billion light years away. Galaxy GN-z11 formed only 400 million years after the Big Bang, so researchers are seeing what was …
MAINE SKIES
Hunt for possible ninth planet in solar system is on
Some skeptics are awaiting telescopic evidence.
MAINE SKIES
Faintest galaxy ever seen discovered
Maine Skies: Astronomers in Chile have discovered the faintest galaxy ever seen in the early universe.
MAINE SKIES
Precession: Pole star shifts, celestial age
All the planetary action favors early risers this month as Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Saturn are all in the late night and predawn sky.
MAINE SKIES
What makes birds fly south like they do?
Ducks and geese flying south in the fall are a familiar sight to Mainers. Many species of birds migrate vast distances each year. The record holder appears to be the Arctic tern, which spends one summer in the Arctic and then migrates halfway around the world to spend another summer …
MAINE SKIES
Which galaxy is the brightest?
Astronomers estimate there are more than 100 billion galaxies in the universe. One has to be the brightest, and the current frontrunner is a galaxy 12.5 billion light years from Earth that is as bright as 300 trillion stars. It was discovered by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. At the …
MAINE SKIES
Blue moon expected in July
How far into the universe have astronomers been able to see? The distance record holder is a galaxy named EGS-zs8-1 that is 13.1 billion light years from Earth. Since the universe is thought to be 13.8 billion years old, this means the galaxy was formed shortly after the Big Bang …
MAINE SKIES
How lights at the 1933 World’s Fair were turned on by a light from 1893
What do astronomers mean when they say they are looking back into time? Let’s first look at an example here on Earth. Suppose you took a picture in a room filled with people on your cell phone. You then get in your car and drive 100 miles home at a …
MAINE SKIES
The curious case of the sun in two places
How can the sun be in two places at once? On April 19, the sun enters the sign of Aries astronomically and one day later enters the astrological sign of Taurus but still, in reality, is in Aries. How can this be? The answer lies with precession and apparent shifting …
MAINE SKIES
NASA spacecraft approaches Pluto at last
When NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft left on its mission to Pluto in January 2006, the latter was still listed as the ninth planet of the solar system. As the spacecraft begins its approach to Pluto nine years later, its target has been downgraded to a dwarf-planet or plutoid in the …
Maine Skies
Maine Skies: Burning questions about stars
Here’s a common question: How many stars can you see with the naked eye on a clear night? Every eye is a bit different but under ideal conditions the most frequent number given is 2,000 to 2,500, all of which belong to our Milky Way galaxy. With powerful binoculars this …
MAINE SKIES
What’s in store for Maine stargazers in November: Jupiter rises in the East
Pioneer 6 is considered ‘extant,’ or still operable, making it the oldest operating probe in the history of space exploration. It was launched on Dec. 16, 1965 into a circular orbit about the sun at a distance of 0.8 A.U (A.U. = 93 million miles). Its mission was to analyze …
MAINE SKIES
Communicating with Voyager 1, farthest man-made object from Earth, takes over 33 hours
Voyager 1 was launched on Sept. 5, 1977, and, in the more than 36 years that have passed, has achieved a number of remarkable landmarks. In 1979, it visited Jupiter and sent back pictures of both the planet and its major moons. In 1980, it passed by Saturn and gave …
MAINE SKIES
How many stars can we see?
On a clear dark night in Maine with no interference from the moon, the sky appears dotted with millions of stars. One reader was curious: Just how many stars can we see? There is no true answer to this question as each person’s eyes are different even if sky conditions …
MAINE SKIES
Gravitational disturbances, ‘wobble’ of Earth’s axis can cause the sun to be in two places at once
By Clair Wood on May 29, 2013, at 11:33 a.m.
How can the sun be in two places at the same time? On the solstice the sun enters the astrological sign of Cancer but less than half a day later enters the astronomical sign of Gemini. What does this mean? The answer lies with precession, a circular motion or “wobble” …
MAINE SKIES
New supernova could give clues into the universe’s expansion
By Clair Wood on April 26, 2013, at 11:05 a.m.
Supernova are the result of the catastrophic explosion of a giant star. The energy emitted is beyond belief, outshining the output of 10 billion stars. There are several types of supernova but one, Type 1a, is of particular interest to astronomers in that they emit an essentially constant level of …
Rock Church plans second expansion in 5 years to accommodate growth
Abandoned boat nearly hits breakwater after breaking loose in Rockland Harbor
Master of horror fiction Stephen King scared to death of Trump presidency
Underdog in Maine’s 1st District follows campaign trail blazed by LePage, Trump
Authorities capture suspect in mass shooting at Washington state mall
No one should be denied the right to be at a loved one’s side at the end of life
Debate prep 2016
What students want when it comes to fighting addiction: Someone to listen
This is an election cycle when voters want an alternative, but third parties get little attention
Questions that Clinton and Trump should be asked
Marlins’ ace pitcher Jose Fernandez killed in Miami boating accident
Golf legend Arnold Palmer dies at 87
Allain powers undefeated Hermon girls past Caribou
Joy riders and just plain terrible ‘autoists’ fueled mayhem on Queen City streets
Highlights