Did
you sleep through the
auroras of Dec. 14th? Next time get a wake-up call:
Spaceweather
PHONE.
SOUTH
POLE FLYBY:
This week, the ESA-NASA Ulysses spacecraft is flying over
uncharted territory--the mysterious South Pole of the
sun: full
story.
VENUS
PILLARS:
Venus is so bright, it does things normally reserved for
the Sun and Moon--such as sprouting pillars. John
E. Cordiale of South Glens Falls, NY, took this picture
on Jan. 24th:
Photo
details: Canon
350D, Tamron
19-35mm lens, 800 iso, 30 seconds
"I
was watching the sunset and noticed that Venus looked
a
little strange," says Cordiale. "I took
some photos and found that Venus had pillars! In one image
Venus was behind the clouds and the pillars were still
visible."
Venus
pillars, like Sun
pillars and Moon
pillars, are caused by flat, six-sided ice crystals
fluttering down from high clouds. The crystals reflect
light from their horizontal faces, spreading a single
point of light into a luminous column.
Tonight,
look for Venus pillars after sunset. And if you don't
see any, let Mercury be your consolation prize: sky
map.
IN
THE FREEZER SECTION:
"I always marvel at halos,
pillars
and sundogs--all
made by tiny ice crystals," says photographer Mila
Zinkova of San Francisco. "But where could I
find these tiny wonders here in San Francisco?" She
found these at Costco:
Photo details: Canon
XTI, 28
mm lens, macro mode
"In
Costco," she explains, "freezer doors are made
out of double glass and sometimes ice crystals form in
between." Not all beauty is in the sky, it seems.
You can find some in the refrigerator section, too.
SPACE WEATHER
SPACE WEATHER
