Autumn is here, and it's a wonderful time for stargazing. Find out what's up from Spaceweather PHONE.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY--AND THANKS: Has it really been so long? This week Spaceweather.com is nine years old. The author wishes to thank readers around the world for their contributions to the web site: eye-witness reports, fantastic photos and, of course, spell-checking. (continued below)
Image credit: Greg Piepol of Rockville, Maryland.
Without you, nine years of spaceweather would not have happened. Here's to nine more! --Signed, gratefully, Dr. Tony Phillips.
NOT A UFO: Last week when the Leonid meteor shower was underway, Joel Bavais of Ath, Belgium, grabbed his camera and went outside, looking for shooting stars. This is what he saw:
Photo details: Canon 300D, 200 ASA, 30s exp.
"I took the picture by putting my camera on a garden table and pointing it straight up," says Bavais. "The streaks of light were almost directly overhead."
Were they Leonids? Cosmic rays? UFOs?
"None of the above," says atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. "These are urban light pillars."
He explains: "That night above Ath there was an icy fog full of flat plate crystals. The tiny crystals mirrored the lights of the city beneath into sets of light pillars. The higher the crystals, the closer the reflection glints approached the zenith making the pillars appear to converge overhead: illustration. Why the breaks in the lines of light? There were several layers of ice crystals with gaps between them."