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. MOON & MARS: When the sun sets tonight, go straight outside and look east. The Moon and Mars are having a beautiful close encounter, less than two degrees apart. The silver Moon beside campfire-red Mars is a sight you won't want to miss: sky map. HUBBLE TRANSIT: One of the spots on this photo of the sun is not a sunspot. It's the Hubble Space Telescope. Can you find it? Photo details: Canon 5D, 4" Takahashi FSQ-106 refractor, f/20, 1/6000s Celebrated astrophotographer Thierry Legault took the picture on Dec. 8, 2007, from Jacksonville, Florida. Legault is well-known for another, earlier photo of the International Space Station (ISS) and space shuttle Atlantis crossing the sun in 2006. Unlike the crisp silhouette of the ISS, however, Hubble's shadow is barely a speck. The key difference is scale: ISS masses almost half a million kilograms with solar arrays nearly as wide as a football field. Hubble weighs in at only 11,000 kg packed into a volume not much larger than a Greyhound bus. How do you catch such a small object in a split-second transit of the sun? Legault reveals his secrets here. BLUE MOON ALERT: This is an alert for Central and South Americans. Colombia's Galeras volcano is spewing ash miles high into the atmosphere, and this could set the stage for a beautiful "Blue Moon." (continued below) Above: The Galeras volcano, photographed Jan. 17, 2008, by spaceweather reader Alberto Quijano Vodniza using a Canon 20D. Fine volcanic ash floating in the air has been known to act as a color-filter, transforming ordinary moonlight from silver to blue. It is often said that Blue Moons are mythical or absurd, but they are real, and one may appear over your part of the world this weekend. If you see a Blue Moon, take its picture and submit same to spaceweather.com. Comet 17P/Holmes Photo Gallery [World Map of Comet Sightings] [sky map] [ephemeris] [3D orbit] [comet binoculars] |