The 365 Days of Astronomy Travelers in the Night Eps. 861 & 862: Big Bear Observatory & New Planet 9 Search
Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org
From August 2025.
Today's 2 topics:
- Big Bear Solar Observatory is a unique facility operated by the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Its 1.6 meter Goode Solar Telescope is located on the north side of Big Bear Lake at an elevation of 6,760 feet above sea level in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. Being surrounded by cold water at high altitude provides the site with exceptional atmospheric stability and thus the possibility of extremely high quality solar images. It is hard to predict the value of basic research, however, work like this will eventually enable scientists to better understand how solar flares and other activity in the Sun's atmosphere effect astronauts, communications systems, auroras, radio blackouts, geomagnetic storms, satellites, power grids, and more on our home planet.
- Recently, using data from the Japanese infrared telescope AKARI, Dr. Amos Y.A. Chen and his collaborators published a paper in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia which predicts the approximate positions of two massive Planet 9 candidates. To arrive at their conclusions this team carefully searched the AKARI observations for objects which over the course of months change their positions relative to distant stars and galaxies. Further observations are required to determine if either of these move like a Planet 9 or if instead they are some other type of distant astronomical object.
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