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NORTHERN LIGHTS:
High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for Northern Lights.
A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field and this
could spark geomagnetic storms around the Arctic Circle: gallery.
SCANDINAVIAN FIREBALL:
A meteoroid of unknown size hit Earth's
atmosphere over Scandinavia on Jan. 17th (1909 UT) and disintegrated
in a thunderous explosion. The fireball was so bright it turned
the nighttime sky blue:
Click
to view the movie
Torben Höjholdt sends the movie from his home in Denmark where
a standard webcam (not the low-light variety) recorded the flash
from his driveway. The fireball itself is not shown; it was on the
other side of the sky.
Jacob Kuiper of the Dutch National Weather Service says the phones
at his offices were ringing off the hook. "The Dutch Coast
Guard has been overwhelmed with eyewitness reports, sometimes 20
phone calls in a few minutes." Observers reporting to the Danish
astronomy web site Astronomibladet
say the fireball's brightness exceeded that of a full Moon; early
evening drivers "could not help noticing it, despite being
blinded by the opposite traffic."
Jan.
17th Fireball Sighting Reports
ICE FLOWERS:
Temperatures across much of the United States have plunged to record-low
levels. It's so cold, ice flowers are sprouting from the ground:
"When I went out to get firewood on the morning of Jan. 16th,
I noticed these little luminous beings of ice scattered all around
our yard," says photographer Chyenne
M. Star of Edgemont, Arkansas. "I have never seen them
before - or anywhere in our area."
Scientists have been studying the ice
flower phenomenon for almost two hundred years. Botanists, physicists,
geologists--all have puzzled over the fragile
ribbons of ice that wrap themselves around the stems of some
plants during winter. Over time, the following consensus has emerged:
Liquid water from deep soil flows up into the stems. Linear cracks
in the stems expose the water to freezing air. Water turns to ice,
and the ice extrudes from the cracks in thin sheets: movie.
"It is one of those gifts in the middle of Winter that really
surprises us," says Star. Could more surprises be in the offing?
The chill continues....
more images: from
Brian Emfinger of Ozark, Arkansas; from
Richard Reinking of Greenfield, Massachusetts;
Comet
Lulin Photo Gallery
[sky
map] [Comet
Hunter Telescope]
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