AM 1240 KLYQ » astronomy

See the Night Sky at UM's Blue Mountain Observatory this Summer

Steve Fullerton — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:27:49 +0000

The University of Montana is opening up the Blue Mountain Observatory again this summer for public observing nights.

In a news release, UM's Department of Physics and Astronomy noted that the telescope will be pointed toward planets, nebulae, star clusters and galaxies during the eight free viewing nights

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Astronomer Wins UM Award for 'Teaching Across the Curriculum'

Steve Fullerton — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:35:51 +0000

If you've been to the Blue Mountain Observatory recently, you might've met Nate McCrady, a University of Montana assistant astronomy professor.

According to a UM news release, McCrady has won the first University of Montana College of Arts and Sciences Award for Teaching Across the Cucciculum

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Scientists Use New Satellite to 'Fine Tune' Age of the Universe

Steve Fullerton — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:04:28 +0000

The Planck space observatory was launched in 2009, and already has allowed astronomers and physicists a better view of the universe.

The European Space Agency has been deciphering the data of the cosmic microwave background to examine the leftover signs of what is called "The Big Bang," which is the prevailing theory on how the universe was formed

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A Comet Passes By and We Might Be Able to See It from Montana

Steve Fullerton — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:02:04 +0000

As I write this, clouds are rolling in over the Bitterroot Mountains and I can only guess if we'll have clear skies at sunset March 12 and March 13.

Those are the two best times to catch a glimpse of a comet that has been visible from the southern hemisphere of planet (Australia, for instance

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Scientists Say Life Is Possible on Jupiter's Europa Moon

Mike Adams — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:00:24 +0000

Scientists believe that the key to discovering extraterrestrial life could lie deep in the festering, underground oceans of Jupiter’s ice-covered moon Europa. New research suggests that if the salt water ocean beneath the surface of the frigid moon ever makes it's way to the surface, creating an intergalactic petri dish capable of producing a life-promoting environment.

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Best Video So Far of the Passing Asteroid DA14

Steve Fullerton — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:41:34 +0000

The asteroid 2012 DA14 sped by Earth Friday, about 12:30 p.m. Mountain Time.

It was hard to see, but Daniel Lopez's telescope caught it as zipped through the starfield. It is featured at one of my favorite websites - Astronomy Picture of the Day

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This Giant Asteroid Is Barely Going to Miss Earth on Friday

Chris Chaberski — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:33:42 +0000

Seventeen-thousand miles might not sound particularly close at first listen, but when it comes to a gigantic rock the size of half a football field, it's a bit scarier.

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Fierce Space Storms Predicted to Cause Worldwide Hysteria … and Disrupt Social Networks

Mike Adams — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 18:03:05 +0000

The technological world could soon be brought to its knees by a series of pseudo-apocalyptic space storms that are predicted to sever the heads of the world’s communication centers, satellites, and public transportation systems.

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Dinosaur Footprints Excavated From NASA's Backyard

Mike Adams — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:00:57 +0000

The coolest thing we've ever found behind the house was a cigar box with our dad's stash in it, so this NASA find is pretty exciting.

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Star 1000x Larger Than the Sun Set to Collide With Interstellar Wall and Oh God What is an Interstellar Wall?!

Mike Adams — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:00:04 +0000

Not only is the famed Betelgeuse star set to burn out the remainder of its astronomical life, but it is also on an immediate crash course with a ginormous interstellar wall. Thanks science, we were just saying earlier how we never wanted to sleep ever again!

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Wanna See Something Cool? And Slightly Scary?

Steve Fullerton — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:31:21 +0000

Time for one of our regular visits to the world of science.

At the center of our Milky Way galaxy, there is a black hole. The gravity force at a black hole is so great that light can not escape

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Dark Bitterroot Nights Good for Stargazing

Steve Fullerton — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 18:00:42 +0000

Depending on who you read on the Internet, we either have a chance to see a meteor shower Friday morning, January 4, or we missed it Thursday morning, January 3.

It is the Quadrantids meteor shower, which have a top rate of 100 meteors per hour

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Geminid Meteor Shower Is Peaking Right Now

Steve Fullerton — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:48:01 +0000

Thursday morning, Russ Lawrence was taking out the garbage and saw two meteorites in the clear, early morning Montana sky. That's a pretty good meteor shower average for a short time outside...especially in the winter

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The Final Manned Trip To the Moon Started Today – 40 Years Ago!

Steve Fullerton — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 08:10:00 +0000

Yes, it was 40 years ago that a Saturn 5 rocket lifted Apollo 17 into orbit from Florida in the final visit to the moon by a human for 40 years.

The mission sent the craft to a rocky area of the moon and on board was the only professional geologist ever to visit that unexplored landscape - Harrison Schmitt

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Wanna See Something Cool? Relative Sizes of Earth, Sun and More

Steve Fullerton — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:10:27 +0000

I run across these things every so often. The sun is huge, compared to our little planet.

But the Discovery Channel has a nice little(?) comparison that shows some real size. It's a little hard to wrap your mind around, but it deserves a look

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Blue Mountain Observatory to Host Free Public Viewing Nights

brooke — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 20:25:24 +0000

It's a great opportunity!

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Scientists Discover New Planet That's Even Smaller Than Earth [VIDEO]

Shauna Wright — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:16:00 +0000

Since 1995, scientists have confirmed the existence of more than 700 so-called exoplanets, but most of them have been massive. Now, though, they’ve found a new one — and it’s even smaller than Earth.

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Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson's 'Most Astounding Fact'

Mithun Divakaran — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:15:27 +0000

The internet’s favorite astrophysicist, Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, was asked by a reader of TIME magazine what the most astounding fact he could share was. Tyson’s profound answer has now been made even more breathtaking thanks to a fan-made video.

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