Gliese 581 Goldilocks Planets May Not Be There!

In 2007, astronomers observing Gilese 581 found four planets of which 2 were in the "Goldilocks" zone.  In 2010 two more planets were added to the toll with planet 581g having the best odds of all of having life. 

However Paul Robertson, the leader of  a new research team, said,  his team found that the measurements used to detect planets could be affected by things like sunspots, leading false indications of  planets.

Robertson, using different spectrum,  have watched indications for some planets fade completely away while others brighten significantly.

Read the complete article HERE

Predawn Excitement for November!

Carole just sent in an article from National Geographic - Star Struck - with some fun stuff to look for in November. 

From the NG article:

• On Friday, November 1, and for the rest of the month, the much-talked-about comet ISON will be visible in the predawn sky. At the beginning of the month ISON shines at about 9th magnitude making it visible as a faint fuzzy speck in binoculars. Expectations are that it will continue to brighten, possibly reaching naked-eye visibility by the end of the month when it reaches its closest approach with the sun on November 28.
• Joining ISON just a few binocular fields to its far lower left is another icy interloper, the comet 2P/Encke, which will also be visible a couple hours before local sunrise. Flying through the constellation Leo, the Lion, Encke shines at about 7th magnitude, making it the brightest comet in our skies for now. For sky-watchers this means that Encke is an easy target to see with binoculars and small telescopes. The two comets appear about 20 degrees apart—equal to the width of two side-by-side fists at arm’s length.

Please check out the complete National Geographic article for the complete lowdown. 

Demonstration of Water Droplets Orbit a Knitting Needle on the ISS

In this YouTube video we watch as astronaut Don Pettit performs a demonstration of the physics of electrical charges and spheres using of all things, knitting needles. The demonstration is instantly fascinating as Pettit releases small droplets along the length of the needle. You can instantly see the correlation to orbital mechanics even though Pettit takes great pains to caution that theses are static fields in operation and that objects orbiting a body in space are gravitational. Still, Pettit never fails to amaze and fascinate. Check this video out.