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Host: Fraser Cain
Guests: Thad Szabo, Scott Lewis, Ian O'Neill, Alan Boyle, Nancy Atkinson, David Dickinson, Jason Major, Matthew Francis, Nicole Gugliucci

LINKS:
(Check out the comments for some more excellent discussion!)
+Alan Boyle on Virgin Galactic: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/nbc-ai...
+Nancy Atkinson on the hybrid solar eclipse: http://www.universetoday.com/106045/h...
+Jason Major on baby supermassive black holes http://www.universetoday.com/106187/e...
+Ian O'Neill on quasars (BLACK HOLES DON'T SUCK) http://news.discovery.com/space/astro...
+Alan Boyle on Chelyabinsk http://www.nbcnews.com/science/russia...
Security cam of Chelyabinsk: http://www.universetoday.com/106226/n...
+Matthew Francis on LUX: http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/1...
+Nancy Atkinson on the sun (not literally) http://www.universetoday.com/106278/s...
+Scott Lewis on Frontier Fields: http://www.knowthecosmos.com/astronom...
+Matthew Francis on Earth-density exoplanet: http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/1...
+David Dickinson on GOCE: http://o.canada.com/technology/space/...
Kepler Orrery: http://www.universetoday.com/106168/h...
Fireball FAQs: http://www.amsmeteors.org/fireballs/f...

Hosts: Fraser Cain and Scott Lewis
Astronomers: Gary Gonella, Roy Salisbury, Steven Coates, Tom Nathe, Stuart Foreman

Topics: Andromeda Galaxy, Venus and Altair, simulations of smashing spiral galaxies, Comet ISON's current fluffy state after passing the sun thanks to Phil Plait, Pac-Man Nebula, NGC 253, IC 59 - Gamma Cass Nebula in Casseopeia, NGC 7000 North America Nebula, Hydrogen alpha filtering, the Bubble Nebula, Scientific images vs. pretty images, Caldwell 9 - the Cave Nebula,

Hosts: Fraser Cain and Scott Lewis
Astronomers: David Dickinson, Gary Gonella, Mark Behrendt, Roy Salisbury, Tom Nathe, Stuart Foreman

Be sure to pick up our Phases of the Moon app - free today on iOS, always free on Android! Get your lunar geography on the go!

Also, this is the last VSP until the new year!

Topics: The moon, the Bubble Nebula, Caroline(Herschel)'s Rose open cluster, then back to the moon to see Sinus Iridium - the landing site for the Chinese Chang'e lander, the Eastern Veil Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, back to the moon for dark spots and pics of the Chinese Yutu rover. Half of the Double Cluster, then the full cluster. The Cocoon Nebula, the Barnard Dark Nebula, then back to the Moon for the Sea of Tranquility. The Pac Man Nebula, the Cave Nebula.


We hold the Virtual Star Party every Sunday night as a live Google+ Hangout on Air. We begin the show when it gets dark on the West Coast. If you want to get a notification, make sure you circle the Virtual Star Party on Google+. You can watch on our YouTube channel or here on Universe Today.

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/107232/v...

We enjoy the light from the Sun during the day, and then the comforting glow of the Moon at night.

But the light coming from the Moon is an illusion.

As you know, you're actually seeing the reflected light from the Sun, bouncing off the Moon which acts like a mirror.

A really terrible mirror.

When astronauts walked on the surface, they reported that it was dark grey, the color of pavement.

Because of its dark color and bumpy surface, it only reflects about 12% of the light that hits it.

Additionally, the amount of light we get from the Moon depends on the point of its orbit.

During its first and last quarters, the Moon is half illuminated, but it's only 8% as bright when it's full.

Just imagine the surface when its only partly illuminated.

With the Sun at a steep angle, the mountains cast long shadows.

This makes the lunar surface much darker than when it's directly illuminated.

During the full Moon, it's so bright that it obscures fainter objects in the night sky.

Many astronomers put their telescopes away during this phase, and wait for it to go away.

When the Moon is highly illuminated, it reflects so much light we can even see it during the day.

The brightness of the daytime sky completely washes out the light from the stars, but the Moon is even brighter, and so we can can see it in the sky during the day.

The Moon follows an elliptical orbit around the Earth, changing its distance and brightness quite a bit.

When it is at its closest point, and it's full, this is known as a supermoon.

This Moon can be 20% brighter than normal.

You've probably experienced how the Moon can cast shadows. In fact, there are three objects in the sky that can cast shadows.

The Sun, of course, the Moon... and Venus.

Venus is the next brightest object in the sky, after the Moon. It reflects 65% of the sunlight that hits it.

Every few months, Venus reaches its brightest time - that's when you can see your shadow.

On a night with no Moon, head far away from city lights.

Let your eyes adjust and watch as your hand casts a shadow on a white piece of paper, illuminated only by Venus.

One last thought on reflected light.

We talked about how bad a mirror the Moon is, reflecting only 12% of the light that hits it. That's nothing.

Saturn's moon Enceladus, on the other hand, reflects about 99% of the light that falls on it. If astronauts ever get the chance to walk on the surface of Enceladus, it'll feel like freshly fallen snow.

Host: Fraser Cain
Guests: David Dickinson, Amy Shira Teitel, Scott Lewis, Brian Koberlein, and special guest Ruth McAvinia from the ESA

Ruth:
Wake up, Rosetta! http://www.facebook.com/rosettamission

David:
AAS-Gamma Ray Gravitational Lens
AAS-Death by Black Hole
Antares Launch
Remote Deployment of Cubesats
Venus at Inferior Conjunction

Scott:
Learning tools for visually impaired:
More information on the 3-D Hubble images can be found here
Here's the press release for the iBook being released
Frontier Fields

Brian:
New Triple Star System

Amy:
ISS Life extension

Fraser:
Space Ship 2′s first Supersonic Flight

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/107975/w...

We record the Weekly Space Hangout every Friday at 12:00 pm Pacific / 3:00 pm Eastern. You can watch us live on Google+, Universe Today, or the Universe Today YouTube page.

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/107975/w...