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SOLAR ACTIVITY ALERT:
"There is a spectacular
prominence on the sun today," reports Mike Borman of Evansville,
Indiana. "It looks like a gigantic hook." Readers, if
you have a solar
telescope, take a look.
more images: from
Cai-Uso Wohler of Bispingen, Germany; from
James Kevin Ty of Manila, the Philippines
VOLCANIC SUNSETS:
Sky watchers across the USA and Europe are
reporting unusually colorful sunsets and sunrises. The cause appears
to be the August 7th eruption of the Kasatochi
volcano in Alaska. The volcano hurled a massive cloud of ash
and sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere; high winds have since
carried the aerosols over parts of the USA and Europe.
"I was taking photos of sunflowers on Aug. 26th when this
amazing sunset materialized," says Darin Brunin of Lawrence,
Kansas. "It had colors brighter than the yellow petals of the
sunflower itself. Now I know this unique sunset was caused by the
volcano."
Violet
domes, dramatic pink and magenta rays
crossing
the
sky,
red aureoles around Venus--these are just a few of the things people
are seeing. When the sun goes down tonight, look west. You may be
in for a treat.
more images: from
Jerry Chab of Falls City, Nebraska; from
Doug Zubenel of Kansas; from
Marco Langbroek of Leiden, the Netherlands; from
Vladislav Cech of Brno, Czech Republic; from
Monika Landy-Gyebnar of Paloznak, Hungary; from
Eric Schandall of Oslo, Norway; from
Jeff Boyne of West Salem, Wisconsin; from
Dick McGowan of Tonganoxie and Olathe, Kansas; from
Fred Chabala from Washington, Pennsylvania; from
Radek Grochowski near Ĺwidnica, Poland; from
Victor van Wulfen of MVC Berlicum, the Netherlands; from
Mark D. Marquette of Boones Creek, Tennessee; from
Mark Wloch of Erie, Michigan;
OLD TRACKS: Mars
rover Opportunity is leaving
Victoria Crater, and it's exiting the way it came in. Put on your
3D
glasses and behold the new tracks beside the old:
Graphic artist Patrick
Vantuyne created the anaglyph by combining left- and right-eye
images from Opportunity's navigation camera.
"Making stereo images of Mars has become almost routine for
me, but it's still a thrill to see something new in 3D, which is
hardly visible in a single picture," says Vantuyne. As an example,
he notes the clouds in the upper-right corner of the anaglyph. Gaze
for a while into the sky and watch the fluff emerge: full-size
image.
August
2008 Aurora Gallery
[Science@NASA: Plasma
Bullets Spark Northern Lights]
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