JULES VERNE UNDOCKS: The European Space Agency's robotic cargo carrier, Jules Verne, undocked from the ISS on Sept. 5th. Now the two spacecraft are flying through the night sky in tandem. Michel Vandeputte saw them soaring over Ronse, Belgium, on Sept. 6th: "The Jules Verne was visible at magnitude 0; the ISS at magnitude -2." Readers, check the Satellite Tracker for flybys of your hometown. 3D BONUS: Put on your 3D glasses and check out Jules Verne, docked in stereo: #1, #2. Graphic artist Patrick Vantuyne of Belgium created the anaglyphs from photos taken by shuttle astronauts in June 2008. FIND THE PLEIADES: When in Iceland, where do you look for the Pleiades? Scan the photo for hints as you scroll down for the answer: Through a gap in the Northern Lights, of course. Click here. Sean Scully took the picture on Sept. 6th just outside of Akureyri, Iceland. "The sunsets are now early enough that the sky is dark after 10 p.m. and we can see the auroras again." This display was caused by a solar wind stream buffeting Earth's magnetic field. Good news: the solar wind is still blowing and more auroras are possible tonight. Sky watchers in Alaska, Canada, Iceland and Scandinavia should be alert for Pleiades peeking through the green. September 2008 Aurora Gallery [Past Septembers: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, 2001] PILLARS OF FIRE: "In Greek mythology, Hercules built pillars to hold up the sky and thus freed Atlas the Titan. I used to think it was just a beautiful legend," says Mila Zinkova of San Francisco, California, "until I witnessed the pillars myself." She found them beneath the setting sun on Sept. 1st: Photo details: Canon XTI, 300 mm; 1/4000s, f/10, ISO100 "The sun held up by pillars?" asks atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. "We might say 'Nonsense, it's only a mirage.' But which is the mirage and which is the real sun? Layers of different temperature air have distorted the sun's rays and produced several solar images. All of them are illusions. Even the top bright one is raised up in the sky and flattened." "Philosophers ponder what is real, relax instead and enjoy the spectacle!" |