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WHAT'S FOLLOWING
THE ISS? Several readers have reported seeing
a "mysterious satellite" following the International Space
Station. It trails the station by about one minute, relatively faint,
but definitely there. Mystery solved: The follower is Progress 33,
a Russian supply ship. On July 12th, it will come within meters
of the ISS to test a new automated docking system. Check the Simple
Satellite Tracker for flyby times--and get two spaceships for
the price of one.
images: from
Ralf Vandebergh of Wittem, the Netherlands; from
Jun Lao of Deerfield Township, Ohio
SUBSIDING SUNSPOT:
Sunspot 1024 is experiencing some decay
and solar flare activity is subsiding. Nevertheless, by recent standards
it is still a behemoth. "Now approaching the western limb,
the region provides a tremendous richness of detail through amateur
solar
telescopes," says Pete Lawrence who sends this picture
from his backyard observatory in Selsey UK:
Many readers are writing to ask if this sunspot is going to produce
a major solar storm today, July 7th. Such a storm was "predicted"
by a set of crop circles in England, and the solar blogosphere has
been abuzz with speculation. The answer is "no." A major
storm is not in the offing. Sunspot 1024 is relatively large, but
it does not have the kind of complex magnetic field that poses a
threat for major eruptions. Crop circles, it turns out, are not
a useful tool for forecasting solar activity.
more images: from
Mike Borman of Evansville, Indiana; from
Stuart Thomson of Melbourne, Australia; from
Fulvio Mete of Rome, Italy; from
Mustafa Erol of Antalya, Turkey; from
Raffaele Filannino of Barletta, Puglia, Italia; from
Gary Colwell of Ardooch Ontario; from
Tom Jorgenson of Neenah, Wisconsin; from
Therese van Nieuwenhoven of Laukvik, Lofoten islands, Norway;
from
T. Emerson and J. Stetson of South Portland, Maine; from
Pavol Rapavy of Observatory Rimavska Sobota, Slovakia;
FULL MOON:
Tonight's full Moon is more than just a source of light and beauty.
It also makes a good footrest:
Greek photographer P.Nikolakakos took the picture from a Spartan
beach on July 7th. "I used an off-the-shelf Canon 40D,"
he says. After the model's feet were sufficiently rested, she bent
down and cradled
the Moon in her hands. "The Moon offers so many good photo-ops
if only you are ready to take advantage of them."
Photographers, that sounds like a challenge. What will you
do with tonight's full Moon? Submit your photos here.
2009
Sarychev Sunset Gallery
[See also: 2008
Kasatochi Sunset Photo Gallery]
2009
Noctilucent Photo Gallery
[previous years: 2008,
2007, 2006,
2005, 2004,
2003]
Explore
the Sunspot Cycle
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