Observations
Observations made at the Tinyblue Observatory are recorded here.
Author Archives: David Trowbridge
My Prediction for SN2011FE
Measurements of the brightness of supernova SN2011FE are plotted on the AAVSO website. My data points (Observer TDW) appear with boxes. By extending the curve through next week (when I won’t be able to make any new observations), I predict … Continue reading
Posted in supernovas, variable stars
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Supernova continues to brighten
The supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) has now been designated “SN2011FE” (formerly “PTF11kly” which was even more difficult to remember). It continues to brighten. Comparing my measurements over the past two nights, it has brightened half a magnitude, from … Continue reading
Posted in supernovas, variable stars
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Supernova in Pinwheel Galaxy
Last Tuesday, August 23rd, a new supernova was discovered by researchers connected to the University of California, Berkeley. Designated SN2011FE, the supernova was observed exceptionally early in its process of explosion. Scientists predict that SN2011FE will grow in brightness over the … Continue reading
Posted in supernovas, variable stars
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Asteroid Vesta
Vesta is one of the brightest asteroids, easily visible in a pair of binoculars. On July 16, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft went into orbit around Vesta and began sending close-up images. Last night, I searched for Vesta, which was low in … Continue reading
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Star Party, July 5, 2011
South Whidbey teacher, Heather Dubendorf has brought her students up to the observatory on several occasions. Tonight she brought her husband, son and daughter. We were joined by our friend Josephine and her two grandchildren. We had a good view … Continue reading
Posted in visitors
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Identifying Pluto
I had never seen Pluto before, so in the back of my mind, I have had the inclination to try it sometime. Then I saw an article in the July issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, where Tony Flanders writes, … Continue reading
Posted in planets (and dwarf planets)
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Star occultation by asteroid Iris
On April 29, 2011, a star of magnitude 10.3 in the constellation Cancer was predicted to be occulted by 253 km (157 mi) diameter asteroid known as “(7) Iris”. The eclipse path did not include the Tinyblue Observatory, but due … Continue reading
Exoplanet HD189733b
In an attempt to find out whether it was possible at the Tinyblue Observatory to detect extra-solar planets (exoplanets), I started with one of the easiest ones, a star in the constellation of Vulpecula designated HD189733. In 2005, French astronomers … Continue reading
Star occultation by asteroid Anahita
Around midnight on October 26, 2008, a 51km asteroid known as (270) Anahita occulted a 10.5 magnitude star in the constellation Gemini for observers along a path across western Canada and Northwest USA, blocking starlight for a little over 10 … Continue reading
Andromeda Galaxy
Light from the Andromeda Galaxy reaches us after traveling for 2.5 million years. This Galaxy is a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way, but larger. It contains roughly a trillion stars or about three times as many as in the … Continue reading
Posted in galaxies
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