PERSEID METEORS: Keep an eye on the sky. Earth is entering a broad stream of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, the source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Although the shower does not peak until Tuesday, August 12th, don't be surprised to see a number of "early Perseids" making their appearance in the nights ahead: full story. GREEN SNOW: Normally, the South Pole is snow white, but on August 4th, the landscape around 90o S turned vivid green: Photo details: Canon Rebel XTi, 15s-30s, 800-1600 ISO, 10 mm Sigma lens, f4.0. What happened? A plasma bullet struck Earth's inner magnetic field, sparking bright Southern Lights. In the deep Antarctic night, everything turned the color of aurora australis. "These auroras illuminated the ice surface enough to see the sastrugi I was tripping over while I took the pictures," reports J. Dana Hrubes, caretaker of the South Pole Telescope and science leader of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. "We are enjoying the last full month of aurora watching at the geographic south pole as the sun will be making its return after 6 months on September 21st. In at least one of the photos you can see the South Pole Telescope; it is blurry because it was scanning the sky during the exposure. The bright 'star' is Jupiter." More auroras are possible on August 10th when an incoming solar wind stream is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. High latitude sky watchers, be alert for green snow. DO-IT-YOURSELF SOLAR ECLIPSE: Last Friday, at an "eclipse camp" in Weizixia, China, dozens of photographers waited expectantly for the Moon to cover the sun. Would clouds get in the way? Would the cameras work properly? Tension was high. Photographer SY Lok couldn't wait any longer! He held up his hand and created his own eclipse: Not bad. His do-it-yourself eclipse revealed a lovely circular halo created by ice crystals floating in cirrus clouds overhead. Even in mid-summer, in the Gobi desert no less, these ice halos can be seen because the air ten kilometers high is always cold enough for water to freeze. Lok lowered his hand and, soon, the Moon took its place. "The camp was filled with cheers and laughter," says Lok, "as the sun's true halo emerged." Browse the gallery for the real thing: Solar Eclipse Photo Gallery [interactive eclipse map] |