Where's Saturn? Is that a UFO--or the ISS? What's the name of that star? Get the answers from mySKY--a fun new astronomy helper from Meade. . CELESTIAL TRIANGLE: Set your alarm. For the next five mornings, just before dawn banishes the night, you can see a fantastic celestial triangle rising in the eastern sky. The corners are Venus, Saturn and the bright star Regulus. This is worth waking up for! Sky maps: Oct. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 BLUE CLOUD ON MARS: The north of Mars is getting cold. It's winter and that brings temperatures as low as -140o C. The most flamboyant sign of the season is a giant icy cloud hanging over the martian north pole--the North Polar Hood: Amateur astronomer Dan Petersen of Racine, Wisconsin, took the picture on Oct. 7th using his 10-inch backyard telescope. The electric blue color of the Hood is a sign that many ice crystals in the cloud are tiny--smaller than the wavelength of light. Sunlight scattered from sub-wavelength particles looks blue; local examples include cigarette smoke, noctilucent clouds and a New England sky. Recent photos hint that the Hood is in motion possibly in response to warm dusty air wafting up from temperate latitudes. To monitor developments, point your telescope at the bright red star--make that red planet--high in the eastern sky at dawn: sky map. more images: from Joel Warren of Amarillo, Texas; from Pete Lawrence of Selsey, West Sussex, UK. COUNT THE STARS: Readers, now is the time to go outside and count the stars: the Great Worldwide Star Count is underway. Organizers hope to map the global spread of light pollution and in the process get people outside to enjoy the heavens. Last night in Iran, amateur astronomer Amir Hossein Abolfath photographed a friend participating in the study: Photo details: Canon EOS 5D, 85mm EF, ISO 800, 11 sec, F/2 The orange glow is "the city lights of distant Tehran," says Abolfath. "This is a great way to learn astronomy and the constellations," he adds. The study began Oct. 1st and ends on Oct. 15th. There's still time to make a contribution, "so do it, and tell your friends!" Great Worldwide Star Count [Activity Guide] [International Dark Sky Association] |