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NEW SUNSPOT:
A new sunspot may be emerging in the southeastern quadrant of the
sun. Readers, if you have a solar
telescope, take a look. Images: #1,
#2.
SPACE DEBRIS UPDATE:
The piece of orbital space junk that buzzed the ISS on March 12th
was bigger than originally reported. Initial reports quoted 0.35
inches; the correct size was 5 inches. If the metal fragment had
struck one of station's pressurized modules, the crew would have
had only 10 minutes of air: full
story.
SKI HALOS:
Friday the 13th was a lucky day at the Killington ski resort in
Vermont. A bank of icy clouds drifted directly in front of the sun,
producing a sun
halo of such intense beauty, it stopped skiers in their tracks:
"I was simply astounded!" says photographer Steven Benatar.
"The amazing halo lasted for about 45 minutes. Thankfully I
had my handy Canon
SD780 to snap some quick pics as evidence."
Benatar says he's seen pictures of sun halos before on the internet,
but "they are much better in person!"
more images: from
Alex Conu of Clinceni, Romania; from
Jim Saueressig of Emporia, Kansas; from
Lois Reinert of Tracy, Minnesota
TITAN TRANSIT:
On March 12th, Saturn's giant moon Titan cast its shadow on the
ringed planet's cloudtops. In the Phillipines, astrophotographer
Christopher Go was waiting and took this well-timed shot through
his 11-inch
Celestron:
Click to
view the movie
"Titan skimmed over Saturn's north pole with its shadow following
behind," says Go. The ruddy disk of Titan is located just above
the much darker shadow, he points
out. "Also, I was also to capture the EZn white spot--a
pale storm raging near Saturn's equator." To see it, play the
movie.
UPDATED: Comet
Lulin Photo Gallery
[Comet
Hunter Telescope: review]
[Comet
Lulin finder chart]
March
2009 Aurora Gallery
[previous Marches: 2008,
2007, 2006,
2005, 2004,
2003, 2002]
Explore
the Sunspot Cycle
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