| | September 11
The Hypatia Catalog | | | |
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Artist's concept of some of the different types of exoplanets - planets orbiting distant suns - discovered so far. Image via NASA. | | | Good morning!
What is the Hypatia Catalog?
| | | So far, astronomers have found some 3,778 confirmed exoplanets, plus 2,737 possible worlds awaiting confirmation. And that's why they need the Hypatia Catalog. It uses "big data" - extremely large data sets - hopefully to reveal patterns, trends, and associations that might lead to finding distant worlds harboring life. Read more. | | | Next few evenings … Moon, Venus, Jupiter | | From approximately July 7 to September 7, Mars - brightest since 2003 - outshone Jupiter. Now, Jupiter has reclaimed its rank as 3rd-brightest night sky object, after Venus and the moon. Watch for these 3 brightest worlds, clustered together, this week. See chart below and read more. | | | | | What is a parsec? | | Why do professional astronomers speak of distances in the universe not in terms of light-years, but in terms of parsecs, a distance of 3.26 light-years? Explanation here.
 Illustration of the shift in perspective that happens as an observer moves between the 2 locations. Image via Las Cumbres Observatory. | | | | | |
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|  | | Next few evenings … Moon, Venus, Jupiter | | The moon, Venus and Jupiter rank as the 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-brightest night sky objects. You can't miss 'em in the west after sunset this week. Read more. | | | | | |
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 | | Rainbow over Penang Island, Malaysia | Joey Zahari Mawi caught this amazing cloud and rainbow last Saturday - September 8, 2018 - before the sunset. Thanks, Joey! | | |
