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ARIZONA FIREBALL:
Over the weekend, midnight sky watchers in Arizona and New Mexico
witnessed a "spectacular fireball" that exploded in "a
flash like lightning." The brightness may have exceeded that
of a full Moon. The approximate time was 0604 UT, a few minutes
past midnight MDT on April 26th. A fireball camera operated by Thomas
Ashcraft near Santa Fe, NM, captured the event, which was brilliant
despite its low elevation: movie.
Readers, if you saw or photographed this fireball, please submit
a report.
SUNSET CONJUNCTION:
Last night, sky watchers around the world witnessed a beautiful
conjunction of the Moon, Mercury and Pleiades. Richard Fleet
sends this photo from Pewsey Vale, Wiltshire, England:
"The photo doesn't do it justice," says
Fleet. "The binocular view of Earthshine and the Pleiades was
very striking."
The alignment is now breaking up--Moon exit stage
left--but there is still something to see. Mercury and the Pleiades
are converging for a mini-conjunction of their own on April 30th.
Keep an eye on the sunset: sky
map.
more photos: from
Vladimir Knyaz of Moscow, Russia; from
Elizabeth Warner of Alexandria, Virginia; from
Jose Suro of Tierra Verde, Florida; from
Dave Gulyas of Black River Astronomical Society, Carlisle, Ohio;
from
Gary A. Becker of Coopersburg, PA; from
Jimmy Westlake of Stagecoach, Colorado; from
Pablo Lonnie Pacheco Railey of Monterrey, Mexico; from
Terry Mann of West Manchester, Ohio; from
Willian Carlos de Souza of Sao Paulo, Brazil; from
Nigel Merrick of Oakland, Tennessee; from
Miguel Claro of Costa da Caparica, Almada - Portugal; from
Jonathan Sabin of Ellenton, Florida; from
Michael Boschat of Halifax, Nova Scotia; from
Tamas Ladanyi of Veszpremfajsz, Hungary; from
Uriel Goldvais of Rehovot, Israel; from
Pete Lawrence of Selsey, West Sussex, UK; from
André of Bath, UK; from
Doug Berry of Defiance, Ohio; from
Chris Schur of Payson, Arizona;
NORTHERN LIGHTS VS
MIDNIGHT SUN: At this time of year, night
doesn't fall around the Arctic Circle until almost midnight. The
window of darkness for auroras is shrinking as summer approaches.
Nevertheless, "we saw some beautiful Northern Lights over the
weekend," reports Sylvain Serre, who sends this April 25th
picture from the outskirts of Salluit, an Inuit village in Nunavik,
Canada:
Photo details: Canon
EOS 30D, 10mm, f 3.5, 800 ISO, 15 sec
"On Saturday night, some friends and I decided to go out to
take a few pictures," says Serre. "The sky was not very
dark at 11:00 pm, but the Northern Lights came anyway. They were
beautiful with a lot of movement over our heads."
More auroras are due on or about May 7th when a solar wind stream
is due to hit Earth. Northern Lights vs. Midnight Sun--which will
prevail? Stay tuned!
April
2009 Aurora Gallery
[previous Aprils: 2008,
2007, 2006,
2005, 2004,
2003, 2002]
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