 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. PROM ALERT: Readers with solar telescopes, turn your optics toward the southeastern limb of the sun. An active prominence is on display today: photos. MOON & MARS: Last night's Moon-Mars gathering is breaking up, but it is not too late to see the pair in the same patch of sky. Campfire-red Mars and the silver Moon are beautifully sprawled across the constellations Taurus and Gemini. Look east after sunset for a glittering view: sky map. AURORA WATCH: The night of Jan. 15th was so cold in Ft Greely, Alaska, that the batteries in Jack Carlson's camera (a Canon 30D) died after 43 minutes. But that was all the time he needed to capture this picture of star trails and a lovely green aurora borealis: 
"It was quite cold out," he says--"38 below!" It's cold again tonight and the auroras are out again as well. A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field, causing high-latitude geomagnetic storms. Photographers in Russian, Scandinavia, Canada and Alaska, keep your batteries warm and keep an eye on the sky! World Map of Aurora Sightings BLUE MOON ALERT: This is an alert for Central and South Americans. Colombia's Galeras volcano is spewing ash miles high into the atmosphere, and this could set the stage for a beautiful "Blue Moon." (continued below) 
Above: The Galeras volcano, photographed Jan. 17, 2008, by spaceweather reader Alberto Quijano Vodniza using a Canon 20D. Fine volcanic ash floating in the air has been known to act as a color-filter, transforming ordinary moonlight from silver to blue. It is often said that Blue Moons are mythical or absurd, but they are real, and one may appear over your part of the world this weekend. If you see a Blue Moon, take its picture and submit same to spaceweather.com.
Comet 17P/Holmes Photo Gallery
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