The space shuttle will fly over the United States in July. Would you like to see it? Sign up for Spaceweather PHONE.
ASTEROID FLYBY: During the early morning hours of Monday, July 3rd, asteroid 2004 XP14 will fly past Earth barely farther away than the Moon. XP14 is large enough (600 meters wide) and bright enough (11th magnitude) to see through backyard telescopes as it races across the star-fields of the Milky Way. There's no danger of a collision, just a nice photo-op for amateur astronomers. [sky map] [ephemeris] [observing tips]
INKY BLACK: A long magnetic filament is snaking across the sun in plain view of small solar telescopes. "It's one of the darkest, inky black filaments I have ever seen!" says veteran solar photographer Mike Taormina of Palatine, Illinois, who took this picture on June 24th:
Would you believe this black gash is actually very bright? A solar filament is a cloud of hydrogen floating above the sun's surface, propped up by magnetic force fields. The gas inside is glowing-hot; nevertheless, it appears dark vs. the even-hotter, brighter sun below. [more]
STEREO PLANET: A tip for astrophotographers: Take a picture of Jupiter, wait 10 minutes and do it again. You've just made a stereo pair. Jupiter spins so fast that 10 minutes is enough time to get a different perspective on the planet. Christopher Go of the Philippines made this stereo pair on June 21st: (continued below)
Stare at a point between the two images, cross your eyes slightly and--pop!--Jupiter jumps out in 3D. (If you have trouble doing this with small images, try these larger ones.)
At the center of the 3D image are the Great Red Spot and its younger cousin Red Jr. (diagram). The two huge storms are about to bump into each other. Closest approach: July 15-20. Will Red Jr. survive? See for yourself.
Finding Jupiter: It's easy! Look south at sunset. Jupiter pops out of the twilight brighter than any star: sky map.
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