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PHOTOGENIC SUNSPOT: Sunspot 892 hasn't produced any big flares, but that doesn't mean it's a dud. On the contrary, it is quite photogenic. Behold this picture taken yesterday by Gary Palmer of Los Angeles. An explosion may yet occur: The sunspot has a twisted magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class flares. Until then, relax and enjoy the view.
MERCURY RISING: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west into the sunset. That bright pink "star" shining through the twilight is actually a super-cratered shrinking planet with ice at its poles--in other words, Mercury.
Mercury finder chart courtesy of Astronomy magazine.
Now is a good time to see Mercury. The planet is emerging from the glare of the sun for a rare appearance in the evening sky--see the finder chart, above. If you have a backyard telescope, point it at Mercury. Mercury has phases and at the moment it looks like a tiny half-Moon: image.
more images: from Oscar Blanco of La Coruna, Spain; from Dennis Mammana at the Joshua Tree National Park in California;
STRANGE CLOUDS: Another wave of electric-blue noctilucent clouds spread across northern Europe last night. "This is my first sighting of these beautiful clouds," says Alan C. Tough of Elgin, Moray, Scotland. "Well worth the wait!"
Photo credit: Alan C. Tough of Elgin, Scotland
Noctilucent clouds (NLCs) are a mystery. They float through the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere at the very edge of space. Some scientists think the clouds are seeded by space dust and fed by rocket exhaust. Others suspect they're a sign of global warming. Later this year, NASA plans to launch a satellite named AIM to investigate. Want to see them yourself? Look west after sunset for sinuous, blue-glowing ripples in the sky.
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