Author Archives: Allen Versfeld

About Allen Versfeld

Allen is an amateur astronomer, an IT professional, a podcaster, a father of five growing kids, a barely competent chess player, and the owner and publisher of the Urban Astronomer podcast and website. He has formerly served as Director of the Astrophotography and Citizen Science sections of the Astronomical Society of South Africa. You can find his personal social media feed on Mastodon!

Weather forecasts beyond the Solar system

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For the first time, astronomers are able to make weather predictions on distant planets orbiting stars other than our own Sun.  For two worlds whose atmospheres scientists have been studying, the forecast is overcast, with a chance of additional cloud. The planets, GJ 436b, and GJ 1214b, are 36 light years away in the constellation Leo, and 40 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchis, respectively.When astronomers split starlight into its component colours, they can identify the characteristic signatures of … Continue reading →

What is a Blood Moon?

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A few days ago, I was asked on facebook to explain what a Blood Moon was.  I’d heard the term before, but never as an astronomical term so I went online and googled it.  It seems that they are supposed to be incredibly rare events, but that according to the “Blood Moon Prophecy”, there will be a tetrad of them of them in 2014.  This is considered to be a hugely significant thing, and is being used to sell a … Continue reading →

What is the temperature of Space?

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Dear Urban Astronomer So, my good friend and I were talking about the temperature in space. He thinks it must be hot in space, since there is no atmosphere to absorb sunlight. I disagreed. I think that the fact that there is no air in space, means there is nothing to heat up. That’s how temperature on earth works. So, surely it must be cold in space. Can you shed light (excuse the pun) on this debate? Can you answer … Continue reading →

Building a fixed telescope mount

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The last time I wrote about my astrophotography attempts, I came to the conclusion that my biggest problem was the mount. My current rig perches atop a surveyor’s tripod, which is more than adequate for visual work but not as rigid as I’d like for photographic work – it vibrates a little too easily for my taste. Besides, any portable setup is going to require polar alignment every time I want to use it, and to do it properly can … Continue reading →

Carnival of Space #344

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It’s the 344th Carnival of Space!  The scheduled host was unable to put the carnival together last week, so Kimberly Arkand of the Chandra X-ray telescope blog stepped in to save the day.  It’s the usual collection of space science and astronomy news, submitted by writers and bloggers from around the world.  Each week the Carnival is hosted by a new editor, who sifts through the submissions and posts the very best for your benefit. This week’s carnival features the … Continue reading →