Where's Saturn? Is that a UFO--or the ISS? What's the name of that
star? Get the answers from mySKY--a
fun new astronomy helper from Meade. AURORA
WATCH : Earth is entering a solar wind stream that could
spark high latitude geomagnetic storms tonight. Sky watchers, be
alert for auroras.
MAGICAL PROMS: "As I
watch the sun in motion, I see no-Rhyme, no-Reason in how the plasma
behaves," says photographer Gary
Palmer of Los Angeles, California. "One thing's for sure--it's
magical." Regard this movie he made yesterday using his Coronado
SolarMax90,
and see if you agree:
The 6.6 megabyte "IMAX" version of this
movie is a must-see: click
here.
The dancing arcs of plasma
are prominences--arcs of hot gas held aloft by barely-stable solar
magnetic fields. Each ragged loop is wide enough to fit a planet;
Earth could roll through one with tens of thousands of kilometers
to spare. Got a solar telescope? Take a look. These magical proms
are still dancing today.
more images: from
Guenter Kleinschuster of Feldbach, Austria; from
Franck Charlier of Marines, Val d'Oise - France; from
Pavol Rapavy of Rimavska Sobota, Slovakia; from
Robert Morlan of La Porte, Indiana.
GERRIS ARGENTATUS: Photographer
Mila
Zinkova of San Francisco has found a new way to observe the
sun--in the footprints of Water Striders:
More images: #1, #2,
#3
"Yesterday, I was on a bridge overlooking a pond
when I noticed the sun reflected from dimples in the water where
the Striders were standing," she says. Water
Striders (the species pictured above is Gerris argentatus)
weigh about 0.00002 lb, just enough to stretch the surface of the
water without breaking through. The sides of the dimples act like
tilted mirrors, beaming little images of the sun to observers around
the pond.
Strange but true: Each sun reflection lies near the
core of an invisible vortex. A few years ago, researchers at
MIT discovered
that Water Striders use vortices as a means of propulsion. A drop
of dye in the water reveals the hidden
swirls.
.2007
Noctilucent Cloud Gallery
[Night-Sky
Cameras] ["Noctilucent
Cloud"--the song]
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