Hubble captures incredible new panorama...

of the Tarantula Nebula. In a word: Wow.

Just like Stellar Cartography...

in Star Trek: This Astronomy App Totally Justifies the Cost of a Surface Table.  Awesome.

I'm hoping they'll port this to tablets because I really can't justify buying the 40-inch Surface, as cool as it is.

Spring has sprung...

in the northern hemisphere, with day and night being equal length today on the vernal equinox.  Warmer and longer days are ahead.  Oh, the joy!

UPDATE:  There are two inches of snow on the back deck this morning.  Sheesh.  Some spring.

The conjunction of Jupiter and Venus...

in the western night sky this evening, captured at around 8 pm PDT, shows the bright planets seemingly side-by-side (click to enlarge):

 

Their relative orientation will change quickly this week, so keep watching if the weather provides clear skies.

Let's get small...

Credit: The Wall Street Journal.

Mars is at opposition...

this weekend, meaning that the Earth and the red planet are in alignment on the same side of the Sun, and it's also the closet the two planets will approach each other in 2012.  Here's a map view of the solar system showing the positions of all the planets, and a sky map if you want to go out around midnight and locate it in the night sky.  Look toward the south and up, and it'll be the bright red object in Leo.  (Here's a more advanced sky map if you want to track the motion of Mars over the next few months and into late summer.)

NOTE:  Just a little east of Mars, Saturn will be glowing bright yellow in Virgo, very near the hot white-blue star Spica.

Use today judiciously...

since it's an added freebie this leap year.  This extra leap day is typically added to the calendar every four years, making an elderly friend of mine born on this special occasion only 14 years old.  Happy birthday, TF.

Upcoming planetary alignments...

promise to be cold and spellbinding.  Bundle up and head outside in the early evening to observe Jupiter, Venus and Luna in various geometries, both later this weekend and in mid-March.  A telescope isn't needed to enjoy the show, and there are several sky maps at the link to help you identify what's what.  (Here's more information.)

I'll certainly be out and gazing skyward, and hoping it's clear.

The Rosette Nebula...

seems like an appropriate astroimage to share on Valentine's Day (click to enlarge):

Image credit and copyright: Brian Davis, via APOD.

Groundhog Day...

falls on a cross-quarter date, midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.  (May Day and Halloween are two others.)  So regardless of what the the famous Pennsylvania rodent sees, it's still six weeks to the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere.

Breaking news:  The buck-toothed Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow early this morning, signaling six more weeks of winter.  Big surprise.

Luna and Venus...

setting above Porcupine Rim, just moments ago (click to enlarge):

The longest and shortest...

night and day, respectively, occurs today/tomorrow (depending on your time zone), known as the winter solstice.  Although this marks the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere, it also means that daylight hours will begin to gradually lengthen.

And the apocalypse countdown commences.  Enjoy the next 365 days - they're all you've got.

I get up early...

so you don't have to, and here's the fruit of my labor. The predicted fog didn't manifest itself in the 18-degree F early morning, allowing for a good look at the total eclipse of the Moon.

Image details: Canon EOS 30D with 400 mm EF lens on monopod.

RELATED:  Here's another early morning astroimaging project of mine from a couple of years ago.

Watch the dawn eclipse of the Moon...

early this Saturday morning. You'll have to rise at 4:45 am PST if you want to catch the early show, and it will conclude by 6:57 am PST.  Get all the details at the linked article, and there's more information here.

Unfortunately, for eastern Washington, fog is predicted due to a cold, stagnant air mass.  This may frustrate my attempt at observation.

It's big. Really, really big...

How to Picture the Size of the Universe

Don't snicker when you learn...

that there's a mysterious spot on Uranus.

Remarkable first image...

from the most expensive radio telescope in the world.

Heavy metal stars...

produce Earth-like planets.

Sorry to disappoint those who thought this post was about Led Zeppelin.

Kepler's big haul...

One-Third of Sun-Like Stars Have Earth-Like Planets In Habitable Zone

Here's the technical abstract.  So the contribution of the second and third terms of the Drake equation (f_p and n_e) seems to have been initially quantified, making Fermi's paradox more significant.

The first day of autumn...

is upon us, when "the Sun, appearing to travel along the ecliptic, reaches the point where it crosses the equator into the southern celestial hemisphere" according to Ottewell's astronomical calendar.  For the record, that special moment occurred at precisely 2:04 am PDT.