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LUNAR PERSEIDS: Amateur
astronomers watching last month's Perseid meteor shower saw meteoroids
hitting not only Earth but also the Moon. The impacts, which they
recorded using backyard telescopes and off-the-shelf video cameras,
are featured in today's
story from Science@NASA.
KASATOCHI MOON: Colorful
sunsets caused by the August eruption of Alaska's Kasatochi
volcano are still underway in the United States and Europe.
Last night, however, "the crescent Moon stole the show,"
says Edmund E Kasaitis, who sends this picture from Manchester,
Maryland:
Compared to previous nights, "the sunset colors and rays seem
to have subsided a bit," notes Kasaitis. This could be a result
of east winds in the stratosphere carrying Kasatochi's
aerosols away from the United States and toward Europe. Indeed,
last night in Vallentuna, Sweden, P-M Hedén witnessed an advance
of strange high clouds and a new wave of volcanic colors: photos.
"It was a lovely sight!"
No matter where you live, look west at tonight's sunset. The crescent
Moon is out again and, if the winds are willing, it might be a Kasatochi
Moon.
more images: from
Bill Jamison of San Diego, CA; from
Kevin Jung of Grand Rapids, Michigan; from
Christian Pierson of North Ridgeville, Ohio; from
Doug Zubenel near De Soto, Kansas; from
Adam Kraft of Jackson, Michigan; from
Andrew Catsaitis of Peats Ridge, NSW, Australia; from
Rick Gens at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois; from
Jeffrey Berkes at the Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland;
from
Tom Soetaert of Lawrence, Kansas; from
Karen Webb of Ridgecrest, California; from
Scott Sparrow of Pasadena, CA; from
David Smoyer of Truckee, CA;
STEAM DEVILS: Alert.
Steam devil season is underway. In late Summer-early Fall when waters
are still warm but morning air is growing cold, little tornadoes
of steam are often seen dancing across lake surfaces. Iowa photographer
Mike Hollingshead caught this one at sunrise on August 29th:
"I saw these amazing devils on a small lake near DeSoto Bend,"
he says. "The rapid motion in them can be rather captivating
if you can get a close enough view; my 400mm lens did the trick."
Steam devils appear when vapor released by a warm lake condenses
rapidly in cooler air above. Light winds spin condensing plumes
of steam into dancing columns. The bigger the lake, the bigger the
devils. Steam devils on Lake Superior have been observed to rise
1500 ft tall!
"These steam devils really seem to prefer the morning shadow
line of some trees along the lake shore," notes Hollingshead.
"Differential heating must help them get started there."
The devilish fog also provided a photogenic backdrop for the crescent
Moon and created a crepuscular sun corona: photos.
"This is a good time of year to wake up early."
August
2008 Aurora Gallery
[Science@NASA: Plasma
Bullets Spark Northern Lights]
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