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.
THANKSGIVING
SKIES: Thanksgiving is the biggest travel
holiday of the year in the United States. Millions of people board
airplanes and fly long hours to visit friends and family. Dreading
the trip? Think of it as a sky watching opportunity. There are some
things you can see only through the window of an airplane: full
story.
AURORA WATCH: A
solar wind stream hit Earth on Nov. 20th sparking auroras over Scandinavia
and Iceland. Fredrik Holm photographed
this "green twister" over Reykjavík:
Photo details: Canon
EOS 30D, 200 ISO, 30 seconds
The display has subsided, but perhaps only temporarily.
Solar wind is still buffeting Earth's magnetic field and more geomagnetic
storms are possible. People at high latitudes should remain alert
for auroras.
COMET 17P/HOLMES:
Exploding Comet Holmes is fading as it expands,
and it is no longer easy to see with the naked eye, but it remains
a good target for off-the-shelf digital
cameras. A ~20 second exposure yields a print like this:
"After midnight the sky cleared up and the comet was an easy
target in my suburban sky even without a telescope," says photographer
Peter von Bagh of
Porvoo, Finland.
Comet Holmes is now about as wide as a full Moon with a vast atmosphere
that overlaps the bright star Mirfak.
It's a beautiful ensemble for cameras and backyard
telescopes alike. Take a look tonight after sunset: sky
map.
Comet
17P/Holmes Photo Gallery
[Interactive
World Map of Comet Photos]
[sky
map] [ephemeris]
[3D orbit]
[Night
Sky Cameras]
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