Spyke

Show Lemmy: Astronomy Buddy–what's worth pointing a telescope at tonight

I wanted a simple dashboard for my TRMNL display in my entryway that told me whether it was worth taking my telescope out that night, which I ended up extending into a web + iOS app if anyone else finds it useful.

All the apps talk to my own endpoint that consumes AstronomyAPI (current celestial body positions in our solar system), 7Timer! (cloud cover, seeing, transparency), and Open-Meteo (air quality), compares to your current location/elevation/equipment, and determines both a verdict on whether it's worth stargazing tonight and what to look at if you do go out. All the logic/strings to display are contained in my API so I can adjust if needed without re-deploying the separate front ends.

Hope someone else finds it handy!

https://astronomy-buddy.com/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
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astronomy·Astronomybykalkulat

A Newly Discovered ‘Einstein’s Cross’ Reveals the Existence of a Giant Dark Matter Halo

A paper on HerS-3:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/adf204

"Detailed 1 mm spectroscopy and imaging with NOEMA and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array resolve the individual images and show that each of the five images display a series of molecular lines that have similar central velocities, unambiguously confirming that they have identical redshifts."

A Newly Discovered ‘Einstein’s Cross’ Reveals the Existence of a Giant Dark Matter Halohttps://www.wired.com/story/a-newly-discovered-einsteins-cross-reveals-the-existence-of-a-giant-dark-matter-halo/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
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astronomy·AstronomybyDr. Moose

Astronomers crack 1,000-year-old Betelgeuse mystery with 1st-ever sighting of secret companion

After a long wait, astronomers have finally seen the stellar companion of the famous star Betelgeuse. This companion star orbits Betelgeuse in an incredibly tight orbit, which could explain one of Betelgeuse's longstanding mysteries. The star is doomed, however, and the team behind this discovery predicts that Betelgeuse will cannibalize it in a few thousand years.

The fact that Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the sky over Earth, visible with the naked eye, has made it one of the most well-known celestial bodies. And ever since the first astronomers began inspecting this fixture in the night sky, they have been baffled by the fact that its brightness varies over periods of six years.

This mystery is now solved.

Astronomers crack 1,000-year-old Betelgeuse mystery with 1st-ever sighting of secret companionhttps://www.space.com/astronomy/astronomers-crack-1-000-year-old-betelgeuse-mystery-with-1st-ever-sighting-of-secret-companion-photo-videoOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
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astronomy·AstronomybyFluffgar

New Phobia Just Dropped... "Dropped" D:

Screenshot of social media post. Reads, "Everyone was saying that the May geomag activity had no impact on the satellites. Of course we knew this was wrong. Over one hundred sats re-entered during this period and now a paper is showing that thousands of Starlinks had to move. Holy fuck. Imagine if those thousands had to re-enter. This. Is. Insane. We. Must. Stop. Launching. Shit. NOW. https://spaceweather.com"

View original on sh.itjust.works
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astronomy·AstronomybySlippiHUD

Falling Object?

I have no photos or videos, but I was on Topsail Island on vacation on June 4th around 11pm, where I saw a decently bright moving object erupt with a huge v-shaped tail for atleast 30 seconds. The tail was a faint green color. It fell from the eastern sky into the northeastern sky.

Google has been particularly unhelpful. Was wondering if you fine folks had any idea. I'm assuming space debris. But I cant find any other reports of anyone seeing it.

View original on lemmy.world
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astronomy·AstronomybyBalthazar

A New Search for Ripples in Space From the Beginning of Time

The Simons Observatory, a group of microwave telescopes in the high desert of Chile, is starting to gather data to attempt to prove or disprove the theory of inflation.

Un-paywalled article from the NY Times.

A New Search for Ripples in Space From the Beginning of Timehttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/03/science/cosmic-inflation-microwave-background-simons-observatory.html?u2g=i&unlocked_article_code=1.xE0.PAaU.HkEYriFSk234&smid=url-shareOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
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astronomy·AstronomybyBalthazar

Alarmed by Climate Change, Astronomers Train Their Sights on Earth (NY Times)

A growing number of researchers in the field are using their expertise to fight the climate crisis.

The article spotlights several astronomers who are attempting to fight climate change, sometimes through changing careers.

NYT gift link, should be un-paywalled.

Alarmed by Climate Change, Astronomers Train Their Sights on Earth (NY Times)https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/14/science/astronomy-climate-change.html?unlocked_article_code=1.r00.Xtd3.W_fdO0rJ5d9G&smid=url-shareOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
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