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TWO SPACESHIPS, ONE
FLYBY: Space shuttle Discovery docked to
the International Space Station on Sunday, August 30th, carrying
a load of high-tech equipment to outfit the station's science labs.
Joined together, the two massive spaceships outshine every star
in the night sky. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker
for flybys of your hometown.
NEW SUNSPOT:
A new sunspot is emerging about 15o north of the sun's
equator: map.
Pete Lawrence sends this picture from his backyard observatory in
Selsey, UK:
"It is small, but a welcome sight, especially after the current
long run of no surface activity," he says.
Indeed, if this active region consolidates into a true dark-cored
sunspot, it will break a string of nearly 52 spotless days, one
of the longest quiet spells of the current solar minimum. Readers
with solar
telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.
VANISHING RINGS:
On Sept. 4, 2009, Saturn will turn its rings edge-on to Earth, and
for the first time in 14 years they will seem to disappear. "To
mark the occasion I've made an animation combining six years of
Saturn observations," says New York amateur astronomer Alan
Friedman. "It shows the changing plane of the ring system as
viewed from my Buffalo backyard from 2004 to 2009."
"The final frame is constructed from observations I made earlier
this year," he explains. "it shows how the planet will
appear on Sept. 4th."
Unfortunately, the actual ring plane crossing on Sept. 4th will
be practically impossible to observe. "On that day, Saturn
will be very close to the sun--only 11o away--and the
glare will hide the big event. In the fall of 2009, Saturn will
emerge from the glare of the sun in the early morning sky and provide
Earth-bound astronomers with our first glimpse of its blue
north pole in 14 years."
August
2009 Aurora Gallery
[previous Augusts: 2008,
2007, 2006,
2005, 2004,
2003, 2002,
2001]
Explore
the Sunspot Cycle
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