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Another Tip for Finding the North Star (Also Called Polaris)
2008-03-15 08:00:00
Today’s post is not a regular HomeboyAstronomy.Com article. Instead I proudly present a great tip from Aaron Scott. I received this email from Aaron and instead of keeping it as a secret between me and Aaron, I would like to share Aaron’s tip for finding the North Star , also called Polaris . Check out my article ...

And The Winner of February 2008 Free Give-Away Contest is..
2008-03-14 13:09:00
Finally I managed to convert and edit the movie clip of HomeboyAstronomy.Com February free give-away contest! I am sorry the contest winner is announced late. I have been sick for almost two weeks and during that time I was not able to draw the winner and record this video. I hope in the future I ...
More About: Contest , Free , Winner , Give , February 2008

Another Set of Interesting Articles in the Archives of HomeboyAstronomy.Com
2008-03-12 12:08:00
Megan wrote a nice comment that encouraged me to write another collection of interesting articles in the archives of HomeboyAstronomy.Com. Megan came to this blog from Digg.Com where my article The Top Ten Hubble Images of All Time has received almost 1400 diggs so far. It has been absolutely great to see how people have ...
More About: Interesting , Articles , Archives

Seven Great Articles From The Archieves of HomeboyAstronomy.Com
2008-03-11 22:22:00
Today one of my older articles received more than 1.200 diggs in Digg.Com. The article I wrote was The Top Ten Hubble Images of All Time - The very Best of Hubble Images. It stayed in the front page of Digg.Com for the whole day and right now it seems to be in the Science ...
More About: Articles , Great

There Can Be an Earth-Like Planet in Alpha Centauri
2008-03-10 17:47:00
Finally I feel better! I have been sick for the last 8 days and today it is the first time I feel better. I have had some kind of a stomach virus and I have enjoyed some pretty good pain in my stomach every damn day. Today I woke up and thought “oh dear, not ...
More About: Earth , Planet , Alpha

Vostok 1 and Voskhod - The First Space Crafts Bringing a Man to the Orbit o
2008-03-07 07:25:00
I have been ill during the last few days and therefore there has been a break with blogging. I feel much better now and it’s just great to be back for blogging. Stomach diseases are so annoying.. Have you ever wondered that what kinds of vehicles were used to bring the first humans to the orbit ...
More About: Space , Equipment , Crafts , Orbit , Vostok

February 2008 Poll Results - 78% Believe There Is Life Outside the Earth
2008-03-03 15:17:00
In February we asked “Do You Believe in Extraterrestrial Intelligence?”. It is time to look at the results of this poll, but first please check out the results of our January’s poll results. In January we asked “What Equipment You Use When Observing The Sky?”. Now the results of February’s poll. It is clear that majority of the readers of HomeboyAstronomy.Com believe that there is life outside of our planet. According to the poll, 78% of the readers believe there are other forms of life somewhere in the universe. “Yes, we are not alone” got 32 votes out of 41. It is no wonder that people think like this. The universe is so huge that many people believe we cannot be a unique form of life. Anyhow, if this question was asked in a non-science website, the result would probably be much different. Anyhow, the result was pretty much like I expected. Even though most readers think that there is life outside the Earth , 20% of the votes were giv...
More About: Life , Results , Poll , February 2008

Olber’s Paradox - Why the Sky is Dark at Nights?
2008-03-01 08:00:00
Olber’s paradox asks “why the sky is dark at nights?”. Olber’s paradix is described by German astronomer Heinrich Olbers (1758-1840). Heinrich Olbers released a research paper on this problem in 1826, but we know that also Kepler been thinking about this problem already in 1610. Olbers thought that if the universe was infinitely large and old, the universe would be filled by stars and the light of the stars would reach all the places in the universe. The basic idea is “where ever you look, you should see a star at some distance from you”. By this each direction provides the surface of a star. Now, Olber assumed that the sky would shine as right on day time as on night time, because the surface brightness of a star is not depending on distance. One solution to this paradox is that the light is absorbed by the nebulae between the stars. During the time it would happen so that these elementary particles would start reflecting light as well. Another s...
More About: Dark , Paradox , Nights

The First HomeboyAstronomy.Com Weekly Newsletter Sent!
2008-02-28 22:57:00
Just a moment ago I received my own copy of the first HomeboyAstronomy.Com newsletter! It took us some time to figure our how the newsletter service works, but now we are done. This first newsletter launched our new service, a weekly newsletter. It is our pleasure to provide you weekly newsletter from HomboyAstronomy.Com including featured articles, book and DVD reviews as well as technical gear reviews. In these few first newsletters we focus in learning how this all works. Please, be patient with our newsletter service. If you have anything to say or you want to provide your feedback, please send them directly to marko.pyhajarvi@gmail.com. You’re feedback is absolutely welcome! Your feedback hels us to develop the service into better and better level. Please notice that February is soon over and it is time to draw the winner of February’s value pack. We will perform the drawing on weekend and we will record it on video. The video will then be published in this blog and...
More About: Newsletter , Weekly

The Twin Paradox - Why Space Traveler’s Aging Slows Down in the Twin
2008-02-27 09:21:00
What makes astronomy a wonderful hobby, is that it provides an endless amount of new and interesting things to wonder. One of the classic riddles in astronomy is the Twin Paradox . Why space traveler’s aging slows down in this paradox related to theory of relativity? Read more to know how Homeboy would utilize the twin paradox. Let us imagine that twins, Ann and Betty, are both astronauts. Ann travels to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun, and comes back. Ann’s speed during her trip to Alpha Centauri is 90% of the speed of light. Betty stays at home on Earth while Ann visits Alpha Centauri. When Ann comes back in 9.8 years, she has got only 4.3 years older. Due to time dilation time goes slower in Ann’s space craft than on Earth. Ann has got 5.5 years younger. This is peculiar, but not a paradox. In her space craft, Ann can see Betty getting further and then closer. If only the relative speed is taken into account, time dilation should work also other way r...
More About: Space , Aging

Astronomy Basics - What is a White Dwarf?
2008-02-25 22:51:00
Astronomy and telecommunications have one common thing, the great amount of abbreviations and strange concepts. Few years ago I worked for Ericsson, and the very first things I came across with were those strange abbreviations, such as SS7, M-MGw, EDGE and ATM. When I began interested in astronomy I noticed that the amount of things to study and understand in astronomy is enough for the rest of my life. Few days ago I received a long feedback from one of the readers of HomeboyAstronomy. I noticed that I should write more about the basics of astronomy, and therefore today I decided to write about one interesting phenomenon in the space, white dwarfs. Now, what is the white dwarf? Let’s find out. When a star that has a small size comes to its end, it blows its outer parts to the space. By this planetary nebulae are born. If the remaining object has a mass smaller than 1.4 times the mass of the Sun, it will become a very small and dense object, a white dwarf. Because the white dw...
More About: Astronomy , White , Basics , Dwarf

The Most Awesome Space Weather Storm of All Time
2008-02-24 22:58:00
I work in a company that produces environment measurement and weather forecasting devices. I recently read a book of space weather, written by Heikki Nevanlinna. There was an interesting story of the most awesome space weather storm of all time. This post is an outline of that interesting phenomenon. Back in September 2nd in 1859 the Earth was shaken by the strongest space weather storm for the last 150 years. The awesome northern lights were seen even in tropic, which is extremely rare. This magnificent phenomenon caused that communication systems of that time were down for hours. It has been estimated that a similar phenomenon would cause remarkable damages to the electricity and communication networks of today. [Space Weather , Nevanlinna -2006] According to Nevanlinna, Richard Carrington (1826-1875) was observing the spots of the Sun in September 1st in 1859. He recognized a giant spot in the Sun, and exactly at 11:15 am GMT he saw a strong light in his projected picture of the S...
More About: Time , Awesome , Storm

Russian Satellite Falling Uncontrolled - Landing Location Impossible to Pre
2008-02-23 22:49:00
Only few days ago we followed how US Navy destroyed American falling and malfunctioning spy satellite USA 193 by shooting a tactic missile. Now there is another satellite falling uncontrolled. This time it is a Russian malfunctioning satellite, called Kosmos 2430 rkt. The Russian space debris is going to enter the atmosphere already in few days. The falling Russian satellite was photographed in last Tuesday night in Finland, reports Avaruus.Fi, a Finnish astronomy magazine. The falling satellite Kosmos 2430 rkt was captured by a camera of Finnish fireball research group. In the picture one can see about 60 degrees arc, which has maximum brightness of -1 magnitudes, which is comparable to the brightness of Sirius. The falling satellite was captured by another Finnish camera as well. Based on the data from these two different sources, the altitude of the satellite was estimated to be only 207 kilometers. Finnish astronomers started to find out what is going on. Soon they found out tha...
More About: Satellite , Location , Impossible , Landing

HomeboyAstronomy.Com Receiving Positive Feedback From Readers!
2008-02-22 22:48:00
HomeboyAstronomy.Com was created in order to serve amateur astronomers and those interested in astronomy. I have been writing this blog now for 6 months and I have received a number of emails saying much kind words about this blog. Just few days ago I received a very positive feedback from Frankie, an Englishwoman running a guest house (www.RivendellGuesthouse.fi) in Finland. My total moon eclipse article was very helpful for Frankie and therefore she decided to write me email. I am very glad to receive such an encouraging email. Receiving this kind of feedback really motivates me to write daily articles. Thank you Frankie and thank you all the others who have provided feedback for Homeboy’s Astronomy Blog! It is my pleasure to serve You with my humble blog! Below is the email from Frankie. I asked Frankie if I could publish her email and I got her permission. Hello Marko My name is Frankie Holman; I am an Englishwoman with a B&B Guesthouse in Kaskö, plus a new interest i...
More About: Readers , Feedback , Positive

Total Lunar Eclipse Photos from Around the World - Total Lunar Eclipse 2008
2008-02-21 12:56:00
Last night we were provided a beautiful phenomenon, a total lunar eclipse, here in northern hemisphere. I was not able to see it here in Finland due to clouds, but many friends and HomeboyAstronomy readers have reported successful observations. As I was not able to see it, I have no images of the total lunar eclipse this year. Therefore I decided to provide links to observations around the world. Many people have written about the total lunar eclipse in their blogs and news sites. Tim from TimsAstroBlog wrote about his observation. Tim has a very nice series of photos of the total lunar eclipse. Check Tim’s blog and read how he managed to observe and shoot pictures of the total lunar eclipse. Aravind also reported successful observation of the total lunar eclipse. Aravind wrote how he managed to stay up and shoot few pictures of the lunar eclipse. Check Aravind’s blog to see his beautiful photos of the lunar eclipse. Vern has done a very nice video of the Eclipse. Check ...
More About: Photos , World , Around the world , The World , Total

Spy Satellite Destroyed - US Navy to Shot Down the Malfunctioning Satellite
2008-02-21 11:59:00
Few days ago HomeboyAstronomy wrote how Pentagon is going to shoot down malfunctioning spy satellite. Pentagon decided to shoot the spy satellite down with a tactic missile because it contains very toxic fuel, hydrazine. According to US Navy , the spy satellite was successfully destroyed at 5:30 am. EET above the Pacific ocean. The idea of destroying the toxic satellite with a tactic missile is to prevent the accidents caused by the falling satellite. US Navy used a special system, called Aegis, which is developed for the defense of ballistic missiles. Small pieces of the satellite, caused by the explosion, are expected to fall into atmosphere during the next few days. USA 193 satellite was launched in December 2006, but it never worked well. By the end of January 2008 United States announced that the satellite is going to fall in few months. Even though the risks caused by the explosion were expected minimal, United States wanted to wait until the space shuttle Atlantis has landed ...
More About: Satellite , Shot

Full Lunar Eclipse in Northern Hemisphere in February 21st. in 2008 (Helsin
2008-02-20 09:56:00
Few days ago I wrote about the night sky and planets in February 2008. In that post I said few words about the full lunar eclipse that can be watched early tomorrow. Full lunar eclipse is a phenomenon in which the Moon is covered by the shadow of the planet Earth. In full lunar ...
More About: Eclipse , Northern , Lunar

HomeboyAstronomy.Com Gives Away Great Skiing Items Every Month!
2008-02-18 11:18:00
It is my pleasure to present our newest cool things, the weekly newsletter and monthly free give-away campaigns! We are now going to send out weekly newsletters to all those who subscribe to our email newsletter. The newsletters will contain links to the latest posts in HomeboyAstronomy.Com, news from the world of astronomy, featured astronomy ...
More About: Great , Items , Skiing , Month

Pentagon is Going to Shoot Down a Malfunctioning Spy-Satellite
2008-02-15 09:53:00
American defense ministry Pentagon announced that they are going to destroy a falling spy-satellite with a tactical missile. Pentagon released this news yesterday and it has been confirmed by the president George W. Bush. The reason for destroying the satellite is that it is carrying chemicals that are dangerous to humans. By shooting a ...
More About: Satellite , Shoot

Night Sky and Planets in February 2008 - Tips for Observing Night Sky and P
2008-02-13 22:55:00
February is an interesting skywatching month. In February nights are becoming shorter in northern hemisphere, and for example in southern Finland nights are 13 hours long in the beginning of February, while in the end of February they are only less than 12 hours long. In January the nights for observing the sky were much ...
More About: Planets , Tips , Tricks , Night , February 2008

Finding Orion in Southern Hemisphere - Tips for Locating Orion from Sidney
2008-02-12 09:00:00
Are you watching the night sky from Australia, Chile, South Africa or other countries in southern hemisphere? If ye, you probably find the pictures of HomeboyAstronomy tips weird. The reason is that the sky looks different from your location compared to our location here in north. It looks like your sky, or our sky, is ...
More About: Tips , Southern , Sidney , Orion

Shortly About the Biggest Moons of Jupiter and Their Discovery - Io, Europa
2008-02-11 09:00:00
The giant planet Jupiter has a number of moon orbiting from which four are the biggest ones, namely Io, Europa , Ganymedes and Callisto. Jupiter’s moons are very interesting because they all have differences. This article provides a short introduction to the moons of Jupiter and the history of their discovery. The smallest moon of Jupiter is ...
More About: Discovery

The Death of the Sun - The End of Life on Planet Earth
2008-02-10 09:00:00
One day the Sun will die. One day the Sun will “eat” planet Earth and life on Earth will stop. Is that scary? Oh yes it is, but do not worry. The sun will shine the next five billion years before it becomes the “Death Star”. Nothing lasts forever, not even the sun. During the next ...
More About: Life , Planet , Planet Earth

Do The Stars Move? - An Easy Method to Notice How the Stars Move on Night S
2008-02-09 22:55:00
As we know, stars do not move. Stars are like our sun. They are stationary and do not move, but planets and moons do move. They orbit stars. Anyhow, why it looks like that stars move? As you watch the sky in early night, it looks different than later at night. Stars change their position ...
More About: Tricks , Night , Move , Notice

Planet Saturn in Early February Observed From Northern Hemisphere
2008-02-08 22:51:00
Planet Saturn is a very interesting object to observe, may be because of its awesome disks. Right now in February, Saturn can be seen in northern hemisphere, just like it was seen also in January. Planet Saturn starts climbing from between East and North-East direction. Saturn comes visible at about 6:30 pm. here in Helsinki ...
More About: Planet , Tricks , Early , Northern

Skywatching Tip - Observing Other Things Than Planets, Moon, Sun and Deep S
2008-02-07 22:30:00
Observing planets and deep space is probably the most common way of skywatching. Even though they are fascinating objects and the deep space has enough to observe for the rest of our lives, there are also other things in the sky to observe. Satellites, rockets and space debris can also be observed from the Earth. Have ...
More About: Moon , Planets , Deep , Things

January 2008 Poll Results - 35% of Our Readers Use a Telescope for Skywatch
2008-02-06 11:41:00
During January we asked “What Equipment You Use When Observing The Sky?”, and the results are now here. It is interesting to see that most of those who replied use a telescope. 11/31votes were given to telescope, which is 35% of all votes. 8/31 votes were given to binoculars, which means that 26% of those ...
More About: Telescope , Readers , Results , Poll

A Useful Skywatching Tip - Using a Black Tube for Observing the Night Sky
2008-02-05 13:30:00
Not all amateur astronomers have binoculars or a telescope. Some folks might be interested in watching by the naked eye, some might not have money enough to purchase a telescope, some might be looking for the right instruments for him/herself. Whatever the reason is, the fact is that not everybody owns a telescope or binoculars. ...
More About: Tube , Tricks , Black , Night

How Big The Distances Are in the Universe? - About the Distances in the Uni
2008-02-04 09:00:00
We all know that the distances are big in the universe, but do we really know HOW big they are? We mentioned something about the scales of the Universe few days ago when we discussed about the possibility of an asteroid slamming into our planet. It is hard to get a picture of the scales when ...
More About: The Universe , Distances

Black Hole Video - Stephen Hawking Talking About Black Holes and His Theory
2008-02-03 09:00:00
Some months ago newspapers reported that the Heaviest Black Hole Has Been Found, and a bit later the Heaviest Small Black Hole Has Been Found. After that I noticed that many people read those posts, so I figured it out that it I should provide something more on black holes. While I ...
More About: Video , Stephen Hawking , Theory , Talking