We are pleased to announce that the Earthrise Institute and the Comet Hale-Bopp discovery site have been listed as an official site of the New Mexico Space Trail, a joint project between (among other entities) the New Mexico Museum of Space History, the New Mexico Humanities Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. This update reflects the fact that Comet 2P/Encke is now visible from the southern hemisphere. This comet's 2010 return was very unfavorable for the northern hemisphere and thus it is not a formal "Countdown" comet; we have posted an update to the "Countdown" entry for the comet's 2007 return that discusses the present one.
August 12, 2010
The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to reach its maximum on Thursday night/Friday morning, August 12-13. The predicted time of maximum is around 0:00 Universal Time August 13 (6:00 P.M. August 12 MDT), and the shower may produce up to 60-100 meteors per hour as viewed from dark rural sites. The moon is three days past its new phase and thus will not interfere with this year's shower.
August 8, 2010
Comet 478 has now been added to the "Countdown to 500 Comets" program, and our comet update page has been updated accordingly.
August 6, 2010
Comet 477 has now been added to the "Countdown to 500 Comets" program, and our comet update page has been updated accordingly.
July 24, 2010
We congratulate Earthrise Board of Advisors member George Whitesides and his wife Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides on the birth of their son, George Alexander Montalvo Whitesides, on July 13, 2010.
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program.
July 16, 2010
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. This update reflects the fact that we have a new red print comet, Comet 10P/Tempel 2.
We congratulate the team of the Rosetta mission for its successful encounter with the asteroid (21) Lutetia last weekend.
July 9, 2010
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program.
A total solar eclipse will be visible on this coming Sunday, July 11. The path of totality is primarily over open waters of the southern Pacific Ocean; it does pass over a few of the southern Cook Islands and some atolls of the Tuamotu Archipelago (passing just south of Tahiti), and then directly over Rapa Nui (better known as Easter Island) before passing over portions of very southern Chile and southwestern Argentina at sunset. Interestingly, Comet McNaught C/2009 R1 will be located 10 degrees directly east of the sun during totality and may be bright enough to be detected.
We wish success to the team of the Rosetta mission during its encounter with the main-belt asteroid (21) Lutetia on Saturday, July 10.
Comet Hale-Bopp C/1995 O1 was imaged in the infrared by the Herschel Space Observatory on this past June 10, and these images are featured on the Herschel Image of the Day. At the time these images were taken Comet Hale-Bopp was located 29.95 AU from the sun (slightly less than Neptune's average distance), the largest heliocentric distance at which a comet has ever been observed.
June 27, 2010
The "In Our Skies" e-book available through our Earthrise Store now has columns up through the end of the second quarter of 2010. Among the columns from the past three months are: "Universe Machine" (April 16), "A Timely Look at the Sun" (April 30), "Journeys, Continuing" (May 28), and "Hayabusa's Odyssey" (June 18).
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. Comet McNaught C/2009 R1 has now moved over into the evening sky but is close to the sun and difficult to observe.
June 25, 2010
There is a partial lunar eclipse tomorrow, June 26. Mid-eclipse is at 11:38 UT (5:38 AM MDT), when 54% of the moon's diameter will be immersed in the Earth's umbra. The eclipse will be visible from the western half of North and South America, eastern Asia, and all of Australia and the Pacific Ocean region.
June 18, 2010
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. Comet McNaught C/2009 R1 has now brightened to the point where it is visible to the unaided eye, however it is starting to become more difficult to observe as it sinks closer to the northeastern horizon during twilight.
June 12, 2010
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. Comet McNaught C/2009 R1 is now at the threshold of naked-eye visibility.
June 7, 2010
Under contract with the New Mexico Museum of Space History, the Earthrise Institute will be conducting astronomy-themed programs and activities as part of the Museum's New Mexico Space Academy Summer Science Camps that begin this week. The Science Camps are for students of all school grades, and run on a weekly basis through early August. A Camp schedule and a registration form are available here.
June 5, 2010
Due to financial and other considerations, Earthrise Institute President Alan Hale has purchased the Earthrise dark-sky site from the Institute. As a result of this, we are no longer offering the naming of the site as a sponsorship opportunity, although several other sponsorship opportunities remain.
The site remains excellent for astronomical observations, and over the coming months the Earthrise Board and team members will continue with planning and development of the site as we work to fulfill our overall mission. Stay tuned!
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. Comet McNaught C/2009 R1 is now approaching naked-eye visibility in the morning sky.
May 29, 2010
The Earthrise Institute's new telephone number -- +1 (575) 687-2559 -- that is listed on our home page is now operational.
We congratulate Tyler Hale, son of Earthrise Institute President Alan Hale, on the occasion of his graduation from Cloudcroft High School.
May 23, 2010
Comet 476 has now been added to the "Countdown to 500 Comets" program, and our comet update page has been updated accordingly.
May 20, 2010
We congratulate Mieczyslaw Paradowski of Lublin, Poland, for being the newest recipient of our comet observing award, given to those who successfully observe ten or more comets in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. (We are still seeking a sponsor for this award.)
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. This update reflects the fact that we have a new red print comet, Comet McNaught C/2009 R1, which continues to show encouraging signs that it might reach naked-eye visibility during June.
May 9, 2010
We congratulate Jakub Cerny of Senohraby, Czech Republic, for being the newest recipient of our comet observing award, given to those who successfully observe ten or more comets in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. (We are still seeking a sponsor for this award.)
We have posted a new update to our comet update page in our "Countdown to 500 Comets" program. Comet McNaught C/2009 R1 continues to brighten nicely, and so far the prospects of a bright display in June continue to look good.
We have now begun a "What's New" archive page for the 2010 entries.