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SEE THE SPACE STATION:
Space shuttle Endeavour docked to the International
Space Station on Sunday, Nov. 16th, delivering a new crew member
and 14,000+ pounds of equipment and supplies to the outpost. Joined
together, the two spacecraft are among the brightest objects in
the night sky, rivaling Venus in luminosity. Check the Simple
Satellite Tracker for flyby times.
photos: from
Becky Ramotowski of Tijeras, New Mexico; from
Ben Cooper at the Wright Flyer replica in Daytona, Florida;
from
Adrian New of San Antonio, Texas;
MYSTERY MOON OF VENUS:
The second planet from the sun has no moon,
yet last night, Nov. 17th, Venus did have a companion. John Stetson
photographed the duo shining through the cobalt-blue twilight skies
of Portland, Maine:
There's no real moon mystery here. Venus' temporary sidekick was
3rd-magnitude star λ Sagittarii located 77 light years from Earth.
Venus passes by λ Sagittarii from time to time. In 1984 Venus completely
eclipsed the star; last night the separation was a relatively spacious
0.1o.
This conjunction is finished but Venus is heading for an even more
spectacular pairing with Jupiter at the end of the month. Go outside
tonight and look into the glow of sunset. You can actually see the
two planets rushing together, their separation shrinking noticeably
from night to night. The climax occurs on Dec. 1st when the crescent
Moon leaps up from the horizon to join them for a three-way conjunction
of unforgettable beauty. Keep an eye on the sunset! Sky
maps: Nov
18, 19,
20, 21,
22, 23,
24, 25,
26, 27,
28, 29,
30, Dec
1.
more images: from
Jonathan Sabin of Ellenton, Florida; from
Doug Zubenel of De Soto, Kansas; from
Daniel Strehle of Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany; from
Tamas Ladanyi of Veszpremfajsz, Hungary; from
Becky Ramotowski of Tijeras, New Mexico; from
Pavel Klimes of Hostivice, Czech Republic; from
Thomas Filbey of Papillion, Nebraska;
SOMETHING FISHY IN
THE SKY: When you run into a thousand penguins
all staring at the sky, two words come to mind: flying fish.
But on Oct. 28th, photographer Steve
Shuey caught the flightless birds of South Georgia Island staring
up at something else: atmospheric optics. "The sun
had just risen," he says, "when this fogbow
appeared in the mist."
Photo details: Canon
5D, ISO 160, 1/500th sec, f/11
"A fogbow is like a rainbow except that the fog droplets making
them are a hundred times smaller than raindrops," explains
atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. "Wave
interference inside the tiny droplets smears the bow into a
broad and almost-colorless band. You do not need to be in penguin-land
to see a fogbow. Look for them whenever a low sun starts
to shine through morning mist."
more images: from
Mila Zinkova on South Georgia Island; from
Wade B Clark Jr of Burlington, Washington; from
Bill Smith of Cherry Creek, New York; from
Frank Ryan Jr of The Burren, Co. Clare, Ireland
Nov.
2008 Aurora Gallery
[Previous Novembers: 2007,
2006, 2004,
2003, 2001,
2000]
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