AURORA ALERT:
Did you sleep through the northern lights? Next time get a
wake-up call: Spaceweather
PHONE.
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NEW SUNSPOT:
For the second time this week, a new sunspot is emerging on the
sun. It is located at high latitudes in the sun's northern hemisphere
and its magnetic polarity
identifies it as a member of new Solar Cycle 24. The spot is growing
rapidly and may soon provide a nice target for backyard solar
telescopes.
BIGGEST FULL MOON
OF THE YEAR: The biggest full Moon of the
year is coming this weekend. It's a "perigee Moon" as
much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser Moons we'll see later
in 2009. Science@NASA has the full
story.
Last night on the Kolyskia peninsula in Russia, a blast of moonlight
pierced the clouds and produced a 22o ice
halo:
Aleksandr Chernucho took the picture using his Nikon
D700. Readers, take note of the exposure time (10s) and ISO
setting (500). You might be photographing halos of your own this
weekend. Bright full Moons make lovely atmospheric
optics.
more images: from
Peter Paul Hattinga Verschure of Deventer, The Netherlands;
from
Tamas Ladanyi of Zsambek, Hungary; from
Phillip Chee of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; from
Martin Mc Kenna of Maghera, Co. Derry, N. Ireland; from
Jonathon Stone of Auburn, Alabama;
APPROACHING COMET:
Comet Lulin (C/2007 N3), discovered in 2007
by a Strait-bridging
team of astronomers from Taiwan and China, is swinging around the
sun and approaching Earth. Astronomer Karzaman
Ahmad sends this picture taken Jan. 7th from the Langkawi National
Observatory in Malaysia:
"I used the observatory's 20-inch telescope for an exposure
of 24 minutes," he says. "The image shows the comet's
bright tail and an anti-tail."
Right now, Comet Lulin is gliding through the constellation Libra
in the southeastern sky before dawn: sky
map. It glows like an 8th magnitude star, so a mid-sized backyard
telescope is required to see it. Visibility will improve in February
as the Earth-comet distance shrinks. At closest approach (0.41 AU)
on February 24th, the comet should brighten to about 5th magnitude--dimly
visible to the unaided eye and an easy target for binoculars: ephemeris.
Surprises are possible. The hyperbolic orbit
of Comet Lulin suggests this could be the comet's first visit
to the inner solar system. How it will react to increasing sunlight
is anyone's guess. Stay tuned for updates in the weeks ahead.
BONUS: Chinese astronomer
Quanzhi Ye co-discovered
the comet and he is continuing to monitor it. "This
photo taken on Jan. 5th comes from the same telescope at the
Lulin Observatory in Taiwan used to find the comet in the first
place," says Ye. "I was only 19 years old at the time
of the discovery. I hope that my experience might inspire other
young people to pursue the same starry dreams as myself."
Jan.
2009 Aurora Gallery
[Previous Januaries: 2008,
2007, 2005,
2004, 2001]
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