Babe Among The Stars: My Top Ten Yawns of the Cosmos
Created | Updated Jun 29, 2014
Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth - Ptolemy
My Top Ten Yawns of the Cosmos
Following on from last month's request for suggestions, here's my top ten yawns of the cosmos:
Brown dwarfs (failed stars).
Dark matter and dark energy.
Elliptical galaxies.
The Eridanus Supervoid.
Astrology.
Comets. Not all comets, I mean the comets which turn out to be damp squibs like Comet ISON.
Meteor showers which have a very low turnout – or don't show up at all.
Weather.
The above ten have been padded out and sent to Peer Review for hopeful inclusion in the Edited Guide. Comments are welcome.
Name That Planet
The IAU (International Astronomical Union) are now accepting nominations to name extrasolar planets. If you wish to call one 'Bob' after your uncle, then you'll need to read these instructions carefully.
July 2014 Diary Dates
- 01: Dwarf planet Ceres and asteroid Vesta are within a degree of each other (in Virgo)
- 02: Venus and Aldebaran are within 4°
- 03: Earth is at aphelion (greatest distance from the Sun) - 152 million km or 94.5 million miles
- 04: Anniversary of the birth of Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921); her work helped determine the size of the Universe
- 05: Mars and the Moon are within 0.2°
- 07: Saturn and the Moon are within half a degree
- 08: Asteroid 2013 AG69 closest pass to Earth (0.007 AU or 2.7 lunar distance)
- 12: Mars is 1.4° north of Spica
- 12: Full Moon (the Buck Moon, the Hay Moon, the Crane Moon or the Summer Moon)
- 13: The Moon is at perigee (closest to Earth)
- 15: The Moon is 5° north of Neptune
- 17: Asteroid 2011 PU1 closest pass to Earth (0.02 AU or 7.9 lunar distance)
- 18: The Moon is 1.4° north of Uranus
- 24: The Moon is 4° south of Venus
- 26: New Moon
- 27: The Moon is at apogee (furthest from Earth)
- 29: Mercury and Pollux (beta Geminorum) are within 6°
- 30: Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower peak
Chat about your celestial observances at the H2G2 Astronomy Society. Comment on anything in this edition of Babe Among the Stars by starting a new conversation below.
