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. SOLAR
ACTIVITY: A large prominence is dancing over
the sun's northwestern limb: image.
If you have a solar
telescope, take a look!
more images: from
Alan Friedman of Buffalo, New York
GIANT COMET: Comet
17P/Holmes has been relentlessly expanding since its explosion on
Oct 23rd and now it spans an angle in the sky almost half as wide
as the full Moon. Using a picture of the comet he took on Oct. 30th,
Helmut Groell of Moers, Germany,
created this animation for comparison:
Actually, the comet is even bigger than it looks. While the Moon
is a mere 240 thousand miles away, Comet Holmes is 150 million
miles from Earth. The comet's physical diameter is thus seven times
wider than the planet Jupiter--and it is still expanding.
Anyone with a backyard
telescope can watch it grow. After sunset, point your 'scope
at the 3rd-magnitude fuzzball in the constellation Perseus: sky
map. Finding the comet is no problem. The only question is,
will it fit in the eyepiece?
Comet
17P/Holmes Photo Gallery
[Interactive
World Map of Comet Photos]
[sky map]
[ephemeris]
[3D orbit]
[Night
Sky Cameras]
FEED THE DINOSAUR:
Just before nightfall on Oct. 31st, Ed
Kreminski of Westerville, Ohio, dashed to the store for emergency
candy. Why? To feed the dinosaur:
"I spotted this dinosaur in the sky while I was getting ready
for Trick-or-Treaters," he says. It was a great way to kick
off Halloween.
The iridescent colors are caused by tiny water droplets in the
cloud diffracting
sunlight. And if you think a pastel dinosaur looks funny, think
again. While the fossil record does not tell us the color of dinosaur
skin, it does show that many dinosaurs are related to modern birds.
(Some paleontologists say birds
are dinosaurs.) This means dinosaurs may have been
as colorful as a
peacock, a
Lilacbreasted Roller--or even an
iridescent cloud. Keep looking up!
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