Autumn
is here, and it's a wonderful time for stargazing. Find
out what's up from Spaceweather
PHONE.
LOW-HANGING
PLANETS:
When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look
west. If you have a clear view of the horizon, you'll
see Mercury, Jupiter and the slender crescent Moon beaming
through the glow of sunset--very pretty. [sky
map] [photos: #1,
#2, #3]
FADING
SUNSPOT:
Easy come, easy go. Sunspot 917 exploded into being on
Oct 21st, growing from near-invisibility to a crackling
active region the size of Neptune in less than 24 hours.
Today, almost as quickly, the sunspot is fading away:
Three days of sunspot 917. Credit:
SOHO
If
you have a solar
telescope, keep an eye on developments. This could
be a good opportunity to observe a sunspot as it breaks
apart.
more
images: from
Cameran Ashraf of Claremont, California; from
John C McConnell of Maghaberry, Northern Ireland;
from John Stetson
of Falmouth, Maine.
NAME
THAT CLUSTER: Can
you identify this star cluster? Hint: It's very close
to Earth. Scroll down for the answer.
It's a spider's web!
California
photographer Mila
Zinkova explains: "The blue stars are dew drops
hanging on the strands of the web and lit by the morning
sun. The orange nebulas are autumn leaves. When I showed
this underexposed picture to my husband, he said 'it looks
like stars.'" Indeed it does. Compare Mila's picture
to Hubble images of NGC
290 and the Quintuplet
Cluster.
A
slightly longer exposure reveals the strands of the web
and the orange leaves: image.
It really is a spider's creation--just call it "The
Arachnid Cluster."
PS.
Apologies for the trick question.
SPACE WEATHER
SPACE WEATHER
