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BEWARE THE MARS HOAX:
If you have marked your calendar for August 27th to remind yourself
to watch Mars swell to the size of a full Moon, go back and add
these words: Mars Hoax! Contrary to a widespread email
alert, Mars will not come close to Earth on August 27th and it can
never rival the full Moon in the night skies of our planet. Science@NASA
has the full
story.
BUSY MORNING:
Monday began with a flurry of activity in the eastern sky. The Moon
and Venus converged for a beautiful close encounter and, for many
observers in North America, the International Space Station zipped
across the dawn traveling 17,000 mph. Thomas Dorman photographed
the action over Horizon City, Texas:
 .
"Wow, what a show!" says Dorman.
Elsewhere, the Moon-Venus conjunction provided a backdrop
for rocket
launches
and other forms of air
travel. It was a busy morning, indeed. Did you miss the show?
Next time get a "look-up" reminder from Spaceweather
PHONE.
more images: from
Richard Glenn of Cape Sebastian, OR; from
Richard Sass of Cloudcroft, New Mexico; from
Chris Peterson of Guffey, Colorado; from
Monika Landy-Gyebnar of Veszprem, Hungary; from
Robert T. Smith of Stoneville, NC; from
Jim Tegerdine of Marysville, Washington; from
Danny Ratcliffe of Deception Bay, Australia; from
Bill Davis of Albuquerque NM; from
Sabawa Jordan of Pocomoke City, MD; from
Michael Boschat of Halifax, Nova Scotia; from
Shevill Mathers of Hobart, Tasmania;
JUPITER AT OPPOSITION:
This month, the sun, Earth and Jupiter are almost perfectly aligned.
An astronomer would say "Jupiter is at opposition," because
Jupiter and the sun are on opposite sides of the sky. This
arrangement has a rare and beautiful effect on Jupiter's moon
shadows. Consider the following photo taken Aug. 15th by David Leong
of Hong Kong:
"The shadow of Jupiter's moon Io fell almost directly beneath
Io, giving the scene a 3D appearance," says Leong. "This
was my first time watching a shadow transit at opposition. It was
amazing." Even more amazing is the movie. Click
here to set the scene in motion.
Another benefit of opposition: Jupiter is as close to Earth as
it gets. The giant planet rises in the east at sunset and outshines
the stars all night long. Train a backyard telescope on Jupiter
to see the Great Red Spot, Jupiter's moons, moon shadows, and debris
from a mystery
impact spreading around Jupiter's south pole.
more images: from
Raffaello Lena of Rome, Italy; from
Alan Friedman of Buffalo, NY; from
Mike Hood of Kathleen, Georgia;
UPDATED: 2009
Perseid Photo Gallery
[Science@NASA: The
Perseids are Coming, Horse
Flies and Meteors]
2009
Noctilucent Photo Gallery
[previous years: 2008,
2007, 2006,
2005, 2004,
2003]
Explore
the Sunspot Cycle
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