TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Jupiter will be at opposition in the September night sky Three stars rule our high S sky tonight, while three planets are at their best during September. The stars, Vega, Deneb and Altair, form our Summer Triangle which topples westwards overnight until Altair sets in the W before dawn.The planets are Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus. Jupiter, indeed, is marginally closer and brighter at opposition in Pisces on the 21st than it has been for 47 years. It is then 592m km away and conspicuous at mag -2.9 as it climbs from our E horizon at nightfall to pass about 35ﾂｰ high in the S at 01:00 BST. Jupiter shows a large 50 arcsec disc through a telescope, while binoculars reveal its four main moons. Look for it near the Harvest Moon on the 22nd and 23rd.Jupiter also appears close to the distant planet Uranus which is another easy binocular object of mag 5.7. As both creep westwards, Uranus shifts from 1.8ﾂｰ due W (right) of Jupiter tonight to lie 0.8ﾂｰ (less than two Moon-breadths) NNW of Jupiter on the 19th and 1.4ﾂｰ NE of Jupiter by the month's end. Uranus is 2,856m km wide at opposition, its blue-green disc only 4 arcsec wide. Mercury begins its best morning apparition of the year as it emerges from the Sun's glare late next week. From the 13th to the month's end, it rises more than 80 minutes before the Sun, stands between 7ﾂｰ and 10ﾂｰ high in the E 30 minutes before sunrise, and brightens from mag 1.1 to -1.1. Check our next Starwatch for more details.It is hard to be excited about the other naked-eye planets this month. True, Venus is brilliant at mag -4.4 but it stands a mere 6ﾂｰ high in the SW at sunset on the 1st and will soon be lost as it sinks even lower. Mars and Saturn, and Virgo's star Spica, are not far away but already swamped by the evening twilight, at least as seen from our N latitudes.MeteorsSatellitesAlan Pickupguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Female snails growing penises FEMALE marine snails off the Perth coast are growing male sex organs on their heads after exposure to the chemical TBT, according to researchers. news.com.au |
Today's mystery bird for you to identify This sexually dimorphic African species is the only one of its genus that "should" be found in this locationMystery Bird photographed at Nyumba ya Mungu reservoir, near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]Image: Dan Logen, 14 January 2010. [larger view].Nikon D300, 600 mm lens ISO 500, f/6.3, 1/320 sec.Hint: This sexually dimorphic African species is the only one of its genus that "should" be found in this location. Daily Mystery Bird Rules: 1. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification, keeping in mind that more than one field mark is often necessary to distinguish between species. IDs without any supporting information are not valid and may be deleted by the moderators. 2. Expert and intermediate level birders: do NOT try to be the first to blurt out the mystery bird's ID. Instead, please provide helpful hints, such as descriptions, literary references, puns, personal anecdotes, and other forms of discussion and assistance for beginning birders and for those following on their iPhones without naming the species. Expert and intermediate birders are free to name the bird species 24 or more hours after it was first published.3. Each mystery bird is usually accompanied by a question or two. These questions can be useful for identifying the pictured species, but may instead be used to illustrate an interesting aspect of avian biology, behaviour or evolution, or may be intended to generate conversation on other topics, such as conservation. 4. Each bird species will be demystified 48 hours after publication. If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and appreciative audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Video: Coach Singletary demonstrates that losers need more than God's help | GrrlScientist Edward Current has some advice for Mike Singletary to improve his American football team's crappy recordIt turns out, the NFL's most God-glorifying Christian is a huge loser! To win, Mike Singletary is gonna need more than wood for Jeebuz, according to Edward Current. Mr Current has some advice for Mike Singletary to improve his American football team's crappy record. GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Male bonding: Penguins 'flirt' with homosexuality King penguins do not form long-term homosexual pairs despite same-sex "flirting", one of the first evidence-based studies shows. news.bbc.co.uk |