Metallic photos of the sun by renowned photographer Greg Piepol bring together the best of art and science. Buy one or a whole set. They make a stellar gift. |
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VOLCANIC
SUNSETS: South of the equator, gaseous
fumes from Chile's erupting Puyehue-Cordón Caulle
volcano are painting the sky vivid shades of purple,
gold, and red. "Ash has been blown around the
world to our little island, and has resulted in
some spectacular sunsets," reports Jason Reilly
of Launceston, Tasmania. "The red glow lasts
for well over an hour after the sun sets."
Volcanic ash has also grounded dozens of flights
in South America and Australia. Stranded travelers
can take some consolation in the fantastic
view.
VOLCANIC
LUNAR ECLIPSE: On Wednesday night,
June 15th, there's going to be a total lunar eclipse
visible from every continent except North
America. The Moon will spend 100 minutes
fully engulfed in Earth's shadow, making this the
longest lunar eclipse in nearly 11 years. Maximum
coverage occurs on Wednesday night at 20:12 UT.
[details]
[animated
map] [webcasts: #1,
#2]
Exhaust from the erupting volcano in Chile could
alter the appearance of the eclipse. Scroll past
the shadowed Moon for further discussion:
Above: A
lunar eclipse on Dec. 21, 2010, photographed by
Alan Dyer of Gleichen, Alberta. [gallery]
Atmospheric scientist Richard Keen of the University
of Colorado explains the volcano-eclipse connection:
"The Moon will pass deep into Earth's shadow
during totality, actually passing over the center
of the shadow at mid-eclipse. As such, it should
be a fairly dark eclipse. Furthermore, it appears
that last week's eruption of the volcano in Chile
may have placed some sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere.
The ash and sulfur plume is extensive
and dense, with ash reported at least as high
as 13.7
km. Particles in the southern stratosphere could
cause a darkening of the southern part of the Moon
during totality."
In recent years, Keen has studied the brightness
of the Moon during eclipses to probe conditions
in the stratosphere. When the eclipsed Moon is bright,
the stratosphere is clear. On the other hand, a
dark eclipse indicates a dusty stratosphere. Clear
vs. dusty is important because the state of
the stratosphere affects climate; a clear stratosphere
lets the sunshine in to warm the Earth below. At
a 2008 SORCE conference Keen reported
that "the lunar eclipse record indicates a
clear stratosphere over the past decade, and that
this has contributed about 0.2 degrees to recent
warming."
Sky watchers in the eclipse zone are encouraged
to monitor
the darkness.
SPACE
STATION MARATHON: The International
Space Station is putting on a rare "marathon"
show for sky watchers in the northern hemisphere.
In some places, the bright spacecraft is appearing
as many as four times a night. On June 12th, Mark
Humpage of South Kilworth, Leics, UK, captured two
flybys in a single exposure:
"What an amazing night of multiple flybys
over the UK," says Humpage. "I set up
a tent and camera beside the water and watched all
night as the space station flew overhead 4 times.
This shot shows a double flyby at 0057 UT and 0232
UT. The ISS was nearly as bright as the moon, and
a low lying mist added to the eerie breathtaking
scene. Stunning."
Multiple flyby predictions for cities around the
world are available from Spaceweather's Simple
Satelite Tracker or on your
cell phone. Enjoy the show!
more images: from
Orlando Z. Gonzalez of Bayamón, Puerto Rico;
from
Mark Staples of Little Lake Santa Fe, Florida;
from
Jim Saueressig II of Burlington, Kansas
June
2011 Aurora Gallery
[Aurora alerts: text,
voice]
[previous Junes: 2010,
2008, 2001]
Midnight
Solar Eclipse Gallery
[NASA: A
Rare Eclipse of the Midnight Sun]
