ROBOT SET TO JOIN SPACE STATION CREW: On Wednesday, Nov. 3rd, space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to leave Earth for one last trip to the International Space Station. Among the passengers is R2 (short for Robonaut 2), a humanoid robot set to become a permanent member of the space station crew. With dexterous fingers, strong arms, and camera eyes, R2 can potentially perform tasks ranging from simple housekeeping to setting up delicate science experiments. Read more about R2 from Science@NASA and stay tuned to nasa.gov for launch updates.
BE ALERT FOR 'HARTLEY-ID' METEORS: If Comet Hartley 2 is going to produce a meteor shower, tonight is the night. According to experts, there is a slim chance that dust from the comet could hit Earth's atmosphere on Nov. 2nd and 3rd, producing a slow flurry of meteors streaming from the constellation Cygnus. If you're out after sunset, be alert for Hartley-ids.
RETURN OF THE MEGA-FILAMENT: Remember that spectacular mega-filament of magnetism sprawling across the sun's southern hemisphere in October? It's back....almost. For the past 10 days, the filament has been out of sight transiting the farside of the sun. This image from NASA's STEREO-B spacecraft suggests that the magnificent structure is about to return:
STEREO-B is stationed above the sun's eastern limb with a good view of things just over the horizon. The ultraviolet hotspot pictured above is where the filament would be if it is still intact. A continuing series of eruptions like this one might have decimated the structure, leaving it in tatters. We'll find out soon enough. Solar rotation is turning the region toward Earth and it should begin to be visible around Nov. 5th. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.
BALLOONING SPIDERS SPIN SUN HALO: "Yesterday, the skies over Flagstaff, Arizona, were full of spider silk," reports photographer Brian Klimowski. "Young spiders were 'ballooning' by the hundreds of thousands." This created an unusual type of sun halo, shown here from the shadows of a Flagstaff rooftop:
"The most visible strands of silk were oriented perpendicular to the viewer-sun axis," notes Klimowski. "This created the appearance of a silky halo encircling the sun. Additional photographs show local towers shrowded with the silk strands, and even a close-up of one of the interlopers!"
Ballooning--i.e., the use of silky threads as a mechanical kite--is a popular form of transportation among many small spider species and some caterpillars, too. If these creatures are hatching where you live, be alert for silky halos, and submit yor pictures here.
October 2010 Aurora Gallery
[previous Octobers: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001]
Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (
PHAs) are space rocks larger than approximately 100m that can come closer to Earth than 0.05 AU. None of the known PHAs is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding
new ones all the time.
On November 2, 2010 there were 1157 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach. | The official U.S. government space weather bureau |
| The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. |
| Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever. |
| 3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory |
| Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. |
| from the NOAA Space Environment Center |
| the underlying science of space weather |