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. ALIEN
SKIES: Do you love gazing at a starry night
sky? Nothing you've ever seen on Earth could prepare you for the
fantastic skies of some "orphan stars" just discovered
by astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory: full
story.
SOLAR WIND: Today's
x-ray image of the sun from Japan's Hinode spacecraft reveals a
large triangular hole in the sun's atmosphere:
A solar wind stream flowing from this "coronal hole"
will soon reach Earth and the impact could trigger a geomagnetic
storm. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on
Oct. 18th and 19th.
October
2007 Aurora Gallery
[September
Gallery] [Aurora Alerts]
BRIGHTENING COMET:
Comet LONEOS (C/2007 F1) is brightening.
"Last night I saw it with the naked eye," reports Martin
McKenna of Maghera, Co. Derry, N. Ireland. It wasn't very bright--"just
6th magnitude"--but definitely there. He made this
sketch peering through his 8-inch telescope. "The comet
sported a beautiful green coma with a blue ion tail."
Tonight, Oct. 17th, is a good night to find Comet LONEOS as it
glides by the 3rd magnitude star Muphrid in the constellation Bootes.
Let Muphrid
be your guide! The time to look is immediately after sundown. LONEOS
is near the horizon and sets not long after darkness falls: sky
map, ephemeris.
Above:
Comet LONEOS on Oct. 16th, a one-minute exposure through a 4-inch
refracting telescope. Credit: Tibor
Horvath of Hegyhatsal, Hungary.
Comet LONEOS is brightening because it is falling toward the sun.
At closest approach on Oct. 29th it will be just outside the
orbit of Mercury. How bright will LONEOS become? Experts estimate
4th magnitude--not a Great Comet but still a nice target for backyard
telescopes. Stay tuned for updates!
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