 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. . AURORA WATCH: High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras tonight. A high-speed solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field and causing geomagnetic storms. NEW SUNSPOT: The sun has been blank for 21 consecutive days, but today a new sunspot is emerging. This movie recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows the active region emerging in less than 16 hours: 
Although it seems little more than a tiny speck, the new spot is in fact as wide as Earth, which makes it an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. A planet-sized object materializing before our eyes in less than a day? That may be worth watching. Stay tuned. more images: from Maxim Usatov of Dniepropetrovsk, Ukraine. WHITE RAINBOW: "As I stepped outside early this morning, I noticed fog beginning to develop," says Doug Zubenel of De Soto, Kansas. "Later, driving by a muddy field on the way to work, I was gifted by this scene." 
Photo details: Canon Rebel XTi , 16mm fisheye lens, 1/20th sec, ISO 100
The "white rainbow" arcing over the sunflowers is actually a fogbow. Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley explains: "Fogbows are formed like rainbows, with tiny fog droplets taking the place of much larger raindrops. Light waves squeezed inside the small drops interfere to produce the broad almost-colorless bow. Always look for ghostly fogbows when a low sun starts to shine through mist or fog." To capture his fogbow, "I had to squish my way out into a wet field," adds Zubenel. "But it was the most enjoyable muddying of my shoes ever!" more images: from Maxime Spano and Marc Cherix of La Palma observatory, Canary island; from Eva Seidenfaden of Trier, Germany; from Mila Zinkova of San Francisco, California.
September 2007 Aurora Gallery
[August 2007 Aurora Gallery] [Aurora Alerts] | 
