Autumn is here, and it's a wonderful time for stargazing. Find out what's up from Spaceweather PHONE.
MORE MERCURY: A new batch of photos has just been added to the Transit of Mercury Photo Gallery: browse.
LEONID METEORS: Last night's Leonid meteor shower was supposed to be faint, but observers in Europe report seeing some very bright meteors:
"What a great night," says Martin McKenna of Northern Ireland. "Four of us drove to a dark country location outside Maghera. We counted 226 meteors of which 181 were Leonids, including a burst of 8 Leonids in 10 seconds. Of special note was a fireball which left a stunning smoke train." Conor McDonald photographed the smokey debris:
"As we were eating a huge fireball came racing from Leo!" adds McDonald. "It was bright blue then flashed and turned bright white. It stretched 45 degrees from end to end."
2006 Leonid Meteor Gallery
HOLE PUNCH CLOUDS: The sky is full of mysteries, and one of them appeared over Wisconsin on Wednesday, Nov. 15th. "I live in Stevens Point on the University of Wisconsin campus, and I saw some very strange clouds," reports Samantha Weise who took several pictures:
more: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7
These are "hole punch clouds," and no one is certain what they are. One theory holds that they are formed by jet airplanes punching through a cirrocumulous cloud deck. When the jet pierces the cloud, supercooled water droplets in the cloud suddenly crystallize. This water-to-ice transformation proceeds outward from the point of impact, creating a vast circle of icy wisps--the "hole." But how many jets would it take to create this display? A mystery, indeed.
Readers, if you ever see a hole punch cloud in the act of opening, take pictures. You could help solve the puzzle of these beautiful formations.
UPDATE (Nov. 17): NASA and NOAA satellite images reveal that there were jets in the area on Nov. 15th. Apparently the jets themselves did not punch through the clouds, but particles in their exhaust may have fallen down through the cloud deck, creating the holes as described above: full story.