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SPACE STATION FLYBYS:
Sky watchers in Europe and North America
are in for a treat. For the next few days, the International Space
Station will be orbiting over the two continents, appearing brightly
in the morning and evening sky. Check the Simple
Satellite Tracker to find out when to look.
images: from
Alan Dyer of Alberta, Canada; from
Adrian New of San Antonio, Texas; from
Jim Tegerdine of Marysville, Washington
RAINBOWS AT NIGHT:
"Last night I went outside hoping to
photograph some noctilucent
clouds. Instead, I was treated to a very rare phenomenon--a
rainbow at night," says Martin
McKenna of Maghera, Northern Ireland. "It was visible to
the naked eye with colors as obvious as any daytime 'bow."
click
to view more images
Usually, rainbows appear when sunlight hits falling rain. There's
no sunlight after dark, but in this case none was needed: "The
full Moon was very bright and it illuminated a frontal system bringing
in heavy showers, producing the best moonbows I've ever seen. They
sported supernumeray
arcs and even secondary
bows. Taking pictures in the rain was difficult but I managed
to get many images. A few passing cars obliged me with some nice
trails."
more images: from
Mike Sessions at Mauna Kea, Hawaii; from
Jay Maxwell at Haleakala, Maui; from
John C McConnell of Maghaberry Northern Ireland; from
Conor McDonald of Co.Derry, Northern Ireland; from
Michael McElhatton of Durham County, England
DIGGING MARS: (3D
glasses required) NASA's Phoenix lander is hard at work digging
in the icy soil of arctic Mars, and here is one of the trenches:
Spaceweather reader Stuart Atkinson
of Kendal, England, created the anaglyph by combining left- and
right-eye images from Phoenix's stereo camera. "I love this
view," he says. "It shows so much detail: Phoenix's scoop
hovering above the ground; the shadow of the camera mast on the
scoop and the ground beneath it; the ragged edge of the trench,
with small rocks and stones tumbling into it; scratches and scrapes
on the trench floor made by the sharp edge of the scoop. It's just
like being there."
At the moment, Phoenix is drilling into a layer of ice at the bottom
of the trench using a motorized rasp located on the back of the
scoop. The purpose is to create a pile of "shaved ice"
that the scoop can pick up and dump into one of Phoenix's ovens
for analysis. Mission scientists want to know if martian ice contains
nutrients and minerals that might support microbial life. Stay tuned
for updates.
UPDATED: 2008
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