Thursday, February 9, 2023
About Palomar Observatory, a world class research center
Palomar Observatory is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and administered by the Caltech Optical Observatories.It is located atop Palomar Mountain in north San Diego County,California.Local businesses and communities are known to install shielded lighting to preserve the Observatory's viewshed.The Observatory was founded by George Ellery Hale (1868-1938),who was basically an early heliophysicist and discovered the Sun's magnetic fields.Hale oversaw the design,funding and construction of the 200 inch Hale Telescope for the rest of his life.Completed and named in his honor posthumously,it was the world's largest telescope for 45 years.He also played a leading role in the establishment of the Yerkes and Mount Wilson Observatories.
Today,there are three active research telescopes at Palomar:the 200 in/5.1 m Hale Telescope;the 48 inch/1.21 m Samuel Oschin Telescope;and the 60 inch/1.5 m telescope.The latter two,plus a robotic camera,constitute the Zwicky Transient Facility,which is dedicated to the search for and sourcing of astronomical optical transients.It is a wide-scale sky optical survey.*
Palomar is a world class center of astronomy and astrophysics research with astronomers and astrophysicists from Caltech and other domestic and international partners.It operates every clear night and is considered an iconic facility for scientific advancement;instrument development;and student training,the Observatory said.*
Besides the three research telescopes,there are three instrumentation projects ongoing:Gattini IR,a near infrared transient survey project;PARVI,a star radial velocity measurement project;and the Next Generation Palomar Spectrograph (NGPS).Besides Caltech,Observatory associates include Yale University;NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech;and the National Optical Observatories of China (NAOC).
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
About the Green Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
The Green Comet is green because its head contains diatomic carbon.This is a form of carbon molecule with two atoms of carbon each.When the comet draws near the Sun,the diatomic carbon gives off a green glow because of a chemical reaction with the solar wind.*
The Green Comet is believed to have originated in the Oort Cloud.The Oort Cloud is a theoretical construct referring to the most distant area of the solar system.It is thought to contain icy celestial bodies such as comets.The Oort Cloud is far beyond Pluto.It is so far away,it is believed to be one quarter to one half the distance to the nearest star,Proxima Centauri.No spacecraft has ever visited the Oort Cloud.Indeed,Voyager I will need another 300 years to reach it.*
The Green Comet will not return for 50,000 years.When it was last visible from Earth,Neanderthals co-existed with Cro-Magnon,or modern humans.
Monday, February 6, 2023
AI is helping us search for intelligent extraterrestrial life - Astronomy magazine - radio astronomy
AI is helping us search for intelligent extraterrestrial life: AI’s ability to identify ‘technosignatures’ missed by classical algorithms is an exciting step forward for radio astronomers.
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
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