By Tony Hoffman

Astronomy Picture of the Day (aka APOD), made by Concentric Sky in cooperation with NASA, takes the gorgeous imagery of the the popular NASA Web site Astronomy Picture of the Day and brings it to your iPad or iPhone device (I reviewed it on the iPad). As you might guess, each day a new picture showing some astronomical highlight (along with a written description) is available for you to view, download, or e-mail, and you can access random past images (or the image from a particular date) as well.

The APOD site was launched in 1995 and is managed by astronomers Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell. According to the app, the APOD archive contains the largest repository of annotated astronomical images on the Internet (one for each day since the site was launched. But while the APOD archive on the Web sites provides an index with titles as well as dates for each image, this app only includes the image dates. The site also lets you search on particular topics ("comet," ormore specifically"Comet PanStarrs," for example), but this app has no search feature. It's therefore best for people who want to access the current image, or enjoy looking at a random potpourri of space photos. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's a shame that the app doesn't offer the searchability of the service, which would make it vastly more useful.

APOD, the App When you open the app, it takes you to the current day's image, with date and image title visible at the top of the screen. An About this Image button at the screen's bottom right corner calls up the caption and credits, the same info you'd see on the APOD site. Next to it is a button titled About APOD, which gives you information about Astronomy Picture of the Day, as well as explaining that the app is a collaboration between the APOD project and Concentric Sky.

To the screen's bottom left is a Back arrow, which will take you to the previous day's image. If you're not on the current day's image, you'll also see a Forward arrow. At the bottom of the screen is a button titled Jump to Image. Clicking on it calls up a counter that lets you choose month, day, and year to select an image by date. Without titles, though, choosing an image by date is like Forrest Gump's mom's box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get. A Random button on top of the counter will take you to an image for a random date, the Today button will take you to the current image, and Cancel removes the counter from the screen.

Although you must be online to download pictures, the app will cache recently viewed images. At the lower right corner of the screen is a Share button, which lets you save an image to your iPad's photo album, or e-mail it (it opens up a message with the image pasted in, and a link to the APOD site), or clear your image cache.

Your Daily Space Image Concentric Sky's free Astronomy Picture of the Day app is best for people who want quick, one-stop access to the day's APOD, or to randomly peruse astronomical images. Its lack of image titles or a Search feature precludes it from being useful to people interested in researching specific topics. The APOD site itself is a better tool for that audience, as its archive provides an index of image titles and adds a Search feature. There are several competing apps, most of them paid, out there, toobut we haven't reviewed any of them yet. Stay tuned. In the meanwhile, if you just want to look at current or random images on your iPad or iPhone, Astronomy Picture of the Day gives you easy access to some great pictures.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day (for iPad)

Saanich scientists celebrate participation in creation of astronomy #39;s most powerful telescope
http://www.ctvvancouverisland.ca http://www.facebook.com/ctvvi SAANICH -- Scientists in Saanich are celebrating the inauguration of the world #39;s largest, most...

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Saanich scientists celebrate participation in creation of astronomy's most powerful telescope - Video

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The parabolic antennas of the Alma radio telescope on an Andean plateau in northern Chile on March 12, 2013.

Its not often you get to see a telescope dance, but thats exactly what happened in the thin, dry air of Chiles Atacama Desert on March 12. Thats when astronomys newest, biggest, most powerful stargazing machine was formally dedicated, after more than a year of preliminary operations. As the speeches from various political and scientific dignitaries came to a close, the Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array, or ALMA a set of 57 radio dishes perched on the Chajnantor Plateau, some 16,600 ft. (5,060 m) above sea level began to swivel and sway, in perfect, choreographed unison, as music filled a tent packed with scientific VIPs.

OK, maybe it was a little over the top, but ALMAs creators, including scientists and engineers from Europe, North America, Asia and Chile had the right to make a fuss. The $1.3-billion array is a technological tour-de-force that will produce images ten times sharper than the Hubble; study galaxies from the dawn of time; tease out the secrets of solar systems as they form; and more. Within a decade, says Leslie Sage, Senior Editor for Physical Sciences at the journal Nature, ALMA will have revolutionized astronomy more than the Hubble ever has.

Actually, that revolution has already begun. Even as ALMAs dishes were performing their coming-out ballet, astronomers were announcing that during its earlier, shakedown runs, the telescope had discovered surprising numbers of so-called starburst galaxies, where new suns are being born at a prodigious rate, just a billion years after the Big Bang which is a billion years earlier than anyone had expected.

(MORE: Telescope to Hunt for Missing 96% of Universe)

Last year, a team of observers used the array to detect the presence of unseen planets orbiting the star Fomalhaut, inferring the existence of the worldsby their effects on a ring of dust. These first results are spectacular, says Pierre Cox, ALMAs incoming director, and they were done with a limited number of antennasin the case of the planets, with just 15 of what will ultimately be 66 dishes, working in concert.

Thats one big reason the new telescope is so powerful: by combining the signals from all those dishes, ALMA can simulate a single dish as much as 10 miles (16 km) across. That makes ALMAs images preternaturally sharp. The powerful detectors at the heart of each dish, meanwhile, cooled to within a few degrees above absolute zero (-460F, or -273C) can sense the ping of incoming electromagnetic radiation with unprecedented sensitivity.

In this case, the radiation in question isnt ordinary visible light, but rather a form of light that lies in between the infrared and the microwave parts of the spectrum. Some astronomical phenomena, like the rings of cool dust that eventually turn into planets, naturally glow brightest in the millimeter-submillimeter part of the spectrum. Others, such as distant galaxies, start off with a smaller wavelength but their emissions are then stretched into the millimeter-submillimeter region as they cross a universe thats constantly expanding.

(MORE: Name Your Own Exoplanetfor $4.99)

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Astronomy 's Newest, Biggest Stargazer

The Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club will hold a public star party Wednesday evening to view Comet Pan-STARRS, a newly discovered comet that recently made its closest approach to the sun.

Astronomers discovered the comet in June 2011 by using the Pan-STARRS telescope located near the summit of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The comet has been wowing observers in the Northern Hemisphere now that is has zipped into the inner solar system. It passed closest to Earth on March 5.

The star gazing party starts at 6:45 p.m. at the track behind Mark Morris High School. Entry is from 17th Avenue off Ocean Beach Highway. Club members will share telescopes, but non-members are encouraged to bring star-gazing equipment such as telescopes and binoculars.

Jupiter and the moon also will be highlighted.

In case of cloudy, weather the club will hold a program called Deadly Meteors and Comets in the Learning Center inside the school next to the cafeteria.

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Astronomy club to hold star party for Pan-STARRS comet

Newswise Today the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a cooperative agreement to the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Observatory Corporation to explore a potential partnership between the organizations.

The award is a milestone for the TMT project, initiating a broad dialog between TMT, the NSF and the United States' astronomical community. The partnership-planning award also paves the way for the NSF to confer with TMT's international partners.

"The NSF award is a key development in our vision for TMT," said Henry Yang, Chancellor of the University of California - Santa Barbara, and Chair of the TMT Collaborative Board. "The full promise of this revolutionary telescope will be realizable with the engagement of the national astronomical community."

The NSF award allocates $250,000 per year for five years to partnership-planning activities that include scientific workshops and participation by U.S. scientists in the TMT Science Advisory Committee and the TMT Collaborative Board. The five-year program of engagement and planning will deliver a plan that addresses science, education and public outreach, instrumentation, and operation of the facility from the perspective of the U.S. astronomy community. This plan will be developed and refined in a series of joint meetings bringing together all U.S. and international stakeholders.

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, AZ will play an important role in carrying out the activities of the cooperative agreement. NOAO will establish a U.S. TMT liaison activity within its System Community Development group and NOAO astronomer Todd Boroson has been selected as the U.S. TMT Liaison Scientist.

"With this award by the NSF, an important process has begun of engaging the astronomical community in the ongoing design and development of TMT," said Boroson. "Astronomers nationwide have a great opportunity to offer their expertise in advancing the TMT project."

The TMT partnership plans to initiate construction in 2014. At present, the NSF does not commit to helping fund the construction costs of TMT; however TMT planning allows the entry of the NSF later in the construction period. TMTs development plan calls for it to provide valuable research opportunities and discoveries for 50 years.

As the partnership planning moves ahead as a result of the NSF award, international partner organizations and their governments will soon be able to consult more closely on TMT's development.

"We are delighted by the dialog the NSF partnership-planning award enables. This elevates the dialog to the national and international levels," said Ed Stone, David Morrisroe Professor of Physics at Caltech, and Vice-Chair of the TMT Collaborative Board.

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Engaging the U.S. Astronomy Community - NSF Awards Partnership-Planning Grant to TMT

Public release date: 18-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Gordon K. Squires squires@tmt.org 626-216-4257 California Institute of Technology

Today the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a cooperative agreement to the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Observatory Corporation to explore a potential partnership between the organizations.

The award is a milestone for the TMT project, initiating a broad dialog between TMT, the NSF and the United States' astronomical community. The partnership-planning award also paves the way for the NSF to confer with TMT's international partners.

"The NSF award is a key development in our vision for TMT," said Henry Yang, Chancellor of the University of California - Santa Barbara, and Chair of the TMT Collaborative Board. "The full promise of this revolutionary telescope will be realizable with the engagement of the national astronomical community."

The NSF award allocates $250,000 per year for five years to partnership-planning activities that include scientific workshops and participation by U.S. scientists in the TMT Science Advisory Committee and the TMT Collaborative Board. The five-year program of engagement and planning will deliver a plan that addresses science, education and public outreach, instrumentation, and operation of the facility from the perspective of the U.S. astronomy community. This plan will be developed and refined in a series of joint meetings bringing together all U.S. and international stakeholders.

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, AZ will play an important role in carrying out the activities of the cooperative agreement. NOAO will establish a U.S. TMT liaison activity within its System Community Development group and NOAO astronomer Todd Boroson has been selected as the U.S. TMT Liaison Scientist.

"With this award by the NSF, an important process has begun of engaging the astronomical community in the ongoing design and development of TMT," said Boroson. "Astronomers nationwide have a great opportunity to offer their expertise in advancing the TMT project."

The TMT partnership plans to initiate construction in 2014. At present, the NSF does not commit to helping fund the construction costs of TMT; however TMT planning allows the entry of the NSF later in the construction period. The long lifespan of a major telescope endeavor such as TMT ensures that any partners will have ample opportunities to contribute during various phases of the project. TMT's development plan calls for it to provide valuable research opportunities and discoveries for 50 years.

As the partnership planning moves ahead as a result of the NSF award, international partner organizations and their governments will soon be able to consult more closely on TMT's development.

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Engaging the US astronomy community -- NSF awards partnership-planning grant to TMT

NASA / Chris Gunn

A full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope was on display from March 8-10 at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas.

By Megan GannonSpace.com

With their eyes turned up at the Texas night sky, NASA and 526 space fans in Austin have set a new Guinness World Record for the largest outdoor astronomy lesson.

Guinness World Records

About 529 people attended the South by Southwest festival (SXSW) presentation on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and astronomy on March 10, 2013, setting a new Guinness World Record.

The huge group gathered on the lawn of the Long Center for the Performing Arts at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival on March 10 to learn about how astronomers use light and color to understand cosmic objects, from the moon to distantgalaxies.

"Astronomy awakens the natural curiosity and awe in all of us," Frank Summers, an astrophysicist from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, said in a statement. "Many people think that astronomy and physics is only complicated math equations. They don't recognize how natural it is and how much they already know."

Summers and Dan McCallister, an education specialist at STScI, used colored filter glasses to show how light can be broken down into its different wavelengths. They explained how certain wavelengths are selected for specific studies of an astronomical object. In the background of the lesson was a full-scale model of NASA's next giant space observatory, theJames Webb Space Telescope, which is the size of a tennis court and as tall as a four-story building. The real space observatory is slated to launch in 2018.

Guinness World Records

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Things are looking up: Record astronomy lesson

With their eyes turned up at the Texas night sky, NASA and 526 space fans have set a new Guinness World Record for the largest outdoor astronomy lesson in Austin.

The huge group gathered on the lawn of the Long Center for the Performing Arts at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival on March 10 to learn about how astronomers use light and color to understand cosmic objects, from the moon to distantgalaxies.

"Astronomy awakens the natural curiosity and awe in all of us," Frank Summers, an astrophysicist from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, said in a statement. "Many people think that astronomy and physics is only complicated math equations. They don't recognize how natural it is and how much they already know."

Summers and Dan McCallister, an education specialist at STScI, used colored filter glasses to show how light can be broken down into its different wavelengths. They explained how certain wavelengths are selected for specific studies of an astronomical object. In the background of the lesson was a full-scale model of NASA's next giant space observatory, theJames Webb Space Telescope, which is the size of a tennis court and as tall as a four-story building. The real space observatory is slated to launch in 2018.

Sunday's event was organized by NASA, STScI and Northrop Grumman, which are all involved in the Webb Telescope mission. It was intended to highlight how amazing space telescope pictures help answer big questions about the universe.

"Astronomy tries to answer the questions that everyone wonders about like, 'how did we get here?'" Alberto Conti, an astrophysicist and Webb Telescope innovation scientist at STScI, who was also at SXSW, added in a statement. "Astronomy showcases the physical laws of nature. It shows all of the processes. You can learn a lot about physics and nature by studying it."

The record for the largest astronomy lesson was previously held by Mexico, which hosted a similar event including 458 participants, organized by Juarez Competitiva, on Oct. 14, 2011.

Follow SPACE.com on Twitter@Spacedotcom. We're also onFacebook andGoogle+. Original article on SPACE.com.

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NASA Helps Break Guinness World Record for Biggest Astronomy Lesson

Reading (Astronomy / Copernicus) March 11th 2013
ReadingAstronomy Copernicus March 11th 2013. Leon Wooldridge178 videos. SubscribeSubscribedUnsubscribe 145. Like ... Mister Lies False AstronomyOfficial Videoby Nick Torres 1355344 views middot; 605. Watch Later Space FansSXSWby tdarnell 1692 views middot; 014. Watch Later Messier 27 Fly Troughby jp Metsavainio 48701 views middot; 011. Watch Later Bubble Nebulaby jp Metsavainio 18783 views middot; 105. Watch Later Nicolaus Copernicus 540th Birthday Google Doodle HD1080pby qguillerdoodle 3279 ...

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Guinness World Record Attempt for Largest Astronomy Lesson
This is the first half, the rest is continued here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmqQJ07uaho.

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Guinness World Record Attempt for Largest Astronomy Lesson - Video

Guinness World Record Attempt for Largest Astronomy Lesson (con #39;t)
Sorry for the dropout earlier. I restarted from the beginning of the lesson.

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Guinness World Record Attempt for Largest Astronomy Lesson (con't) - Video

Newswise Looking up through hundreds of colored filters and spectral glasses, 526 people shattered the record for the Largest Astronomy Lesson. Under the Texas night sky, students were instructed on the lawn of the Long Center for the Performing Arts at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin on Sunday, March 10, 2013.

In the spirit of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition outreach at SXSW, NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), and Northrop Grumman organized the record-breaking event which was arbitrated by the Guinness World Records organization. In breaking this record, instructors aimed to shine light on the importance of astronomy with the full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope as their backdrop.

During the lesson, Frank Summers, an astrophysicist, and Dan McCallister, an education specialist, both from STScI, Baltimore, Md., demonstrated how astronomers use light and color to uncover the secrets of the cosmos. The lesson, prepared by STScI's Office of Public Outreach, explained how astronomers use light and color to gain information about objects nearby like the Moon and asteroids to young galaxies that are billions and billions of light-years away, and the importance of observing in wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum (the full range of light waves possible).

"Astronomy awakens the natural curiosity and awe in all of us," said Summers. "Many people think that astronomy and physics are only complicated math equations. They don't recognize how natural it is and how much they already know."

Participants used glasses that break light up into the different colors of the rainbow, as well as colored filter glasses to see first hand how light can be broken down into its different wavelengths. The instructors showed how looking at a particular color can be a combination of different wavelengths of light. They also showed how different filters are used to select certain colors for specific studies of an astronomical object.

Working with the crowd, experts like Alberto Conti, astrophysicist and Webb telescope innovation scientist at STScI, explained how astronomy is more than just pretty pictures. "Astronomy tries to answer the questions that everyone wonders about like, 'How did we get here?' Astronomy showcases the physical laws of nature," said Conti. "It shows all of the processes. You can learn a lot about physics and nature by studying it."

Previously, the record for the Largest Astronomy Lesson was held in Mexico with the record of 458 participants, organized by Juarez Competitiva, set on Oct. 14, 2011.

Guinness World Records (GWR) is the global authority on record-breaking achievements. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Record book has become one of the biggest-selling copyright titles of all time, selling 120 million copies to date in 22 languages and in more than 100 countries. GWR is also available on a number of platforms including GWR global television, digital media, and online record processing services.

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md., is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., (AURA) in Washington, D.C. STScI conducts science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope and is the science and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope.

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NASA Helps Make Guinness World Record for Largest Astronomy Lesson at SXSW

Eyes on the sky at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.

STPHANE GUISARD/ESO

The car toils upwards along the sinuous road, its engine tuned for the thin air. The clumps of cactus and grass along the road soon give way to bone-dry lifelessness. By the time the car reaches 4,000 metres above sea level, Pierre Cox has a bit of a headache. By the time it reaches the 5,000-metre-high Chajnantor plateau one of the highest, driest places on Earth, and one of the best for astronomy the altitude is affecting his bladder. Cox, the incoming director of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, is about to glimpse the giant telescope dishes he will soon be responsible for. But first he must find a toilet.

Cox slides out of the car and staggers into ALMA's glass and steel operations centre. The current director, Thijs de Graauw, a trim 71-year-old Dutchman, follows Cox inside and sits down. For him, journeys like this occur weekly if not daily but he knows that they are no joke. First-timers get a mandatory medical screening before being allowed up to the plateau, and regular shift workers pad around the building with tubes in their noses and oxygen tanks on their backs. Everyone okay? De Graauw asks the group of astronomers who have accompanied Cox to ALMA on this December day. No victims yet?

Cox re-emerges from the toilet, puts on wraparound sunglasses and, slightly dizzy, heads outside with the group. Scattered across the surrounding plain of brown volcanic soil are dozens of huge white radio antennas, looking as out of place as the stone statues on Easter Island. High on this cold and lonely plateau, they are gathering photons from the cold and lonely parts of the Universe the dimly glowing clouds of dust and gas where stars are born. Their signals are then combined into images that have a resolution better than that of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The stillness of the tableau breaks as the dishes begin to tilt and swivel in unison. My goodness, says Cox, hushed by the sight of so much metal moving so quickly and quietly.

But the choreography is not quite uniform. Clustered tightly in the middle of the array are 12 dishes, each 7 metres across, and four 12-metre dishes, from Japan. Spaced farther out are 25 dishes, each 12 metres across and fitted together like pie slices, from the United States. And scattered among those are the first of 25 dishes from Europe, each 12 metres across top-of-the-line carbon-fibre devices pivoting on silky-smooth gearing.

The last of those European antennas will not be installed until the end of 2013, when ALMA will finally reach its full complement of 66 dishes. Rather than wait until then, however, the project held a formal inauguration ceremony on 13 March to celebrate the collaboration that made it all possible. A total of 19 countries have contributed to ALMA, through three primary partners: the European Southern Observatory (ESO); the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan; and the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, Virginia, funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF).

Geoff Brumfiel talks to Eric Hand about his 5,000-metre ascent to ALMA.

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Radio astronomy : The patchwork array

An introductory astronomy class for kids ages 12-14 will be held at Henderson Community College next month.

The class will be held at 6-8 p.m. on April 2 and April 4 in room 310 of the Sullivan Technology Building. The deadline to register for the class is Friday.

Students will learn the basics of astronomy, including the earth, the moon, the solar system, the galaxy and the universe. Special attention will be given to objects viewable in the night sky through the use of naked-eye observation, binoculars and student-built telescopes.

Each student will receive a Galileoscope telescope that includes all the necessary pieces to build their own telescopes. Students will discuss and demonstrate proper telescope use, sun safety and alternate uses for their telescope.

After successfully building their telescopes, students will be invited to a star party at HCC, where they will have the opportunity to view objects through the lens of their telescope, as well as a more powerful telescope provided by the college.

The cost for the class is $45, which includes the price of the telescope and four hours of instruction. For more information, or to register, please contact Jo Ann Brock at 270-831-9658.

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HCC offering astronomy class for kids

SANTIAGO, Chile Chileans say their country has the world's best night skies, and many astronomers agree with them a number of Earth's premier telescopes have been built here. To celebrate the opening of a new observatory called ALMA, scientists have put together an exhibition to bring astronomy to the people of Chile during their morning commute.

Between Monday (March 11) and the end of the month, subway riders in Chile's capital can attend the show, called "Radio Astronomy: A New Window on the Universe" ("Radioastronomia: Una Nueva Ventana Al Universo"), located in a hall at the Baquedano station of the Santiago Metro.

The exhibition houses a film, illuminated photographs and interactive exhibits about radio astronomy, focusing on the new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) opening in Chile's Atacama Desert.

To celebrate opening day of the exhibition, scientists, officials and educators gathered Monday for speeches, snacks and a special musical performance by local musician Constanza Biagini. Dressed in a galaxy-themed costume with a radio antenna fascinator, Biagini sang a piece inspired by the sounds of radio astronomy. Her largely improvised vocals wove in and out of an eerie, evocative pastiche of musical instruments and sounds collected by radio observatories, and she performed against a backdrop of celestial imagery and cartoon radio waves. [8 Cool Facts About the ALMA Telescope]

"The noises are done by NRAO radio telescopes and I try to make similar noises with the different registers of my voice," Biagini said via a translator. "I am always thinking of creating sounds similar to the noises from the radio telescopes."

Today's ceremony was part of a weeklong series of events planned around the official opening of ALMA, a $1.3 billion radio observatory made of 66 connected antennas that can image some of the most distant, ancient galaxies and spot baby planets in the process of forming. The project is jointly funded by science agencies in North America, Europe and East Asia, and built with the cooperation of the Chilean government.

Tomorrow (March 13), Chile's president, along with other officials and astronomers, will attend an inauguration ceremony for the telescope at its site high in the Atacama desert.

But for those unable to see ALMA radio telescopein person, the subway exhibition is the next best thing.

The show aims to reach people who aren't tapped into the amazing science happening in their country's backyard. Though many Chileans are proud of their country's status as host to some of the world's best telescopes, too many don't know what these instruments actually do, Chilean scientists said.

"Many Chilean people don't understand too much about astronomy," said Sergio Cabezon, a public outreach officer at the Chilean office of the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and Associated Universities Inc., who oversaw planning of the exhibition. "That's probably the fault of the observatories. We need to give them more spaces like this to understand what astronomy is."

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Subway Astronomy : Chilean Exhibition Celebrates New Telescope

Newly Discovered Asteroid 2013 ET - Approaching Earth | Astronomy Space Science Video
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Astronomy Cast 293: Earthquakes
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Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS photographed with a 200mm telephoto lens over Bridgetown, Western Australia on March 3. Credit: Jim Gifford

Have you ever been out on a beautiful, starry night and wondered what it was you were seeing? Maybe you are walking your date home on an amazing, clear night and want to impress the heck out of her by comparing her eyes to the stars in Orions Belt; or her movements are as graceful as the swans in Cygnus. The Distant Suns app will help you locate these features in the night sky to back your romantic gestures with pure science. The people at Distant Suns have been working hard to improve the features in this already cool app. The latest and greatest addition is the ability to track Comet PANSTARRS more easily. One of my favorite features of this app is the overlaying of the local landscape with the current features in the night sky. This really allows you to have a reference point for your stargazing in the future should you find yourself without your cell phone.

For the rest of this week until Sunday only, the Distant Suns App is available for half price. If that is still too rich for your blood, try to win one of 6 free copies that Universe Today and Distant Suns is offering to give away this week. With the days getting longer and the nights getting warmer, this is a really cool way to learn about the features of the night sky without the benefit of a telescope.

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says Enter the Giveaway) before Monday, March 11, 2013. Well send you a confirmation email, so youll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

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We all know that pictures are worth a thousand words, but does that maxim also apply to the world of astronomy?

A team based at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., has been trying to find out the answer with a years-long review of the lure of cosmic photos. The project, known as "Aesthetics & Astronomy," consists of astronomy outreach coordinators, science writers and astrophysicists, as well as education professors who specialize in aesthetics.

Since 2008, the group has been conducting experiments to determine how much the images produced by orbiting space telescopes, faraway Mars rovers and other interplanetary spacecraft are understood by professional scientists and the public alike.

Aesthetics & Astronomy was born 10 years ago in the backyard of a home in Ohio. Lisa and Jeffrey Smith, the team's two education professionals (and currently professors at the University of Otago, New Zealand) found themselves talking to Jeffrey's nephew about astronomy and reality. Were the vibrant colors and swirling shapes in popular astronomy images real? After all, weren't the images constructed by scientists from data, and weren't the colors in the pictures assigned arbitrarily by astrophysicists? [Amazing Space Photos by Chandra and Hubble Telescopes]

They soon realized that the astronomical community could best serve the public if astronomers explained how each color was chosen and why it was assigned a particular wavelength of light.

In Cambridge, the Smiths teamed with Megan Watzke, a science writer associated with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and Kimberly Kowal, the visualization and media production coordinator for the Chandra team. Collaborating with Chandra astrophysicists Jay Bookbinder and Randall Smith, the growing team devised questions that could gauge the effectiveness of astronomical images.

For instance, what happens to the understanding of an image if the colors are altered, or if the scale is changed? What about captions do they help, and if so, what kinds of captions are the most helpful? Do astrophysicists and the public approach the images differently, and if so, what is that difference? What are some of the public's misconceptions about astronomy and astronomical images?

"Even after many years of working in science communication, I was surprised to hear in a focus group that someone felt 'tricked' when they learned that the colors in these astronomical images are applied," Kowal told SPACE.com in an email interview. "That is, if you were able to zoom across the galaxy in a spacecraft, stars and nebulae would not appear as the images show because of the way the human eye works." [How Chandra Observatory X-Rays the Sky (Video)]

"As a result, we at the Chandra X-ray Center have tried to be more proactive in our communications and more transparent in what we do with our images," Kowal said.

The team's first experiment was carried out in 2008. It consisted of both online questionnaires and in-person meetings; in all, 8,000 people completed the questionnaire.

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Spellbinding Cosmic Beauty: Why Astronomy Images Matter

By KAYLA SAMOY Published March 6, 2013 at 2:07am Updated March 6, 2013 at 2:07am

Paper timelines fan out across the floor, filled with pictures of the universe and human culture. Theyre all supposed to show moments between the Big Bang and now in chronological order, but all of them vary.

Around these pieces of paper stand groups of Tibetan monks debating and defending the timelines theyve arranged. To an outsider who doesnt speak Tibetan, the energy in the room would be overwhelming. The monks are shouting and shoving, but if you look closely, you can see the smiles on their faces and hear the laughter amidst the arguing.

Chris Impey, UA astronomy professor and deputy head of the department of astronomy, had set aside a half hour for this timeline building exercise. But an hour and a half later, lunch time had come and gone, and the monks were still debating.

For a teacher, the mother lode is just when you can be irrelevant, Impey said. When you can set up a learning and teaching situation, and then you dont need to be there, it all just happens.

This is one exercise Impey used in January while with the Science for Monks program in India. The program gives Western educators the chance to teach science workshops in the Tibetan monastic community in India.

I came in with a clean slate, but I learned a lot, Impey said. It changed me because they view the world differently, and its an interesting way to be.

Impey has taught cosmology with the program every year since 2008. Through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, he is in the process of publishing a book that details his experiences called Humble Before The Void: Teaching Cosmology to Buddhist Monks.

Impey says he hopes readers take away a real sense of who the monks are. Most of them have been exiled and living like orphans for most of their lives. Despite that, theyre lighthearted and fun. Theres a lot of laughing in the classroom, he said.

We had a lot of outbursts of laughter and jokes, said Tenzin Sonam, an education graduate student who accompanied Impey as a translator.

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UA astronomy professor participates in Science for Monks program in India