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SLIGHT
CHANCE OF AURORAS:
NOAA forecasters estimate a 15%
chance of geomagnetic activity around the Arctic
Circle today in response to an incoming solar wind
stream. High latitude sky watchers should be alert
for auroras mixed with waxing-full moonlight. Aurora
alerts: text,
voice.
FLAT-LINED:
With none of the sunspots on tthe
Earthside of the sun actively flaring, the sun's
X-ray output has flatlined, as shown in these data
from NOAA's GOES15 satellite:
Solar activity is expected to remain
very low throughout the weekend. NOAA forecasters
estimate no more than a 1% chance of M-class
flares during the next 24 hours. Solar
flare alerts: text,
voice.
COMET-CLUSTER
CLOSE ENCOUNTER: On February 3rd,
Comet Garradd (C/2009 P1) sailed just 0.5 degrees
from globular cluster M92 in Hercules. Italian astronomer
Rolando Ligustri photographed the encounter using
a remotely-controlled 106 mm telescope in New Mexico:
The full-sized
image shows the comet's fan-shaped dust tail,
which roughly traces the comet's orbit, and its
pencil-thin gas tail, which points almost directly
away from the sun due to the action of the solar
wind.
Although the comet is now receding
from the cluster, observers with wide-field telescopes
can frame the pair in a single exposure for several
mornings to come. They are located in the constellation
Hercules, high overhead in northern hemisphere skies
before sunrise. Sky and Telescope offers a sky
map of the comet's path. Observers with computerized
GOTO telescopes can track the comet by plugging
in orbital
elements from the Minor Planet Center.
At the moment, Comet Garradd has an
astronomical magnitude of +6.5, invisible to the
naked eye but an easy target for backyard telescopes.
Forecasters expect it to brighten by a factor of
~2 in the weeks ahead as the comet approaches
Earth for a 1.3 AU close encounter in early
March. This could be a good time to invest in a
Comet
Hunter.
more images: from
Ernesto Guido, Giovanni Sostero & Nick Howes
using a remote-controlled telescope in New Mexico;
from
Paul Mortfield of Sierra Remote Observatories,
California; from
Gregg Ruppel of Ellisville, MO; from
Alan C Tough of Elgin, Moray, Scotland; from
Jean Jacquinot of Aix en Provence, France; from
Gary Meehan of Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico;
from
Michael Kunze of Moers, Germany; from
Dave Eagle of Higham Ferrers, UK;
BE ALERT
FOR MOON HALOES: With the full
Moon less than a week away, now is the time to be
alert for Moon haloes. Last night in Moray, Scotland,
amateur astronomer Alan C. Tough photographed this
specimen:
"I intended to photograph the
Moon beside the Pleiades, but the cold and cloudy
conditions were better suited to capturing this
spectacular halo," says Tough.
Moon halos are formed by ice crystals
in high clouds, which catch moonbeams and bend them
as
shown. The brighter the Moon, the brighter the
Moon halo, so any halos this week should be very
bright indeed. The Moon is full on Feb. 7th. Browse
the links below for more examples of what's in store.
more images: from
Jim Henderson of Kincardine O'Neil, Scotland;
from
Eric Walker of Conon Bridge, Ross-shire, Scotland;
from
Tyler Piskor of Karnes City, Texas;
January
2012 Aurora Gallery
[previous Januaries: 2010,
2009,
2008,
2007, 2005,
2004]
Comet
Lovejoy Gallery
[previous comets: McNaught,
Holmes,
Lulin,
Tuttle,
Ikeya-Zhang]
