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VOLCANO WATCH:
Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano is rumbling
and geologists expect it to erupt "within days." The last
time an Alaskan volcano blew its top (Kasatochi in August 2008),
about a million tons of ash and sulfur dioxide flooded the stratosphere,
causing fantastic
sunsets around
the northern hemisphere and possibly
reducing
Earth's temperature by a fraction of a degree. More SO2 is in
the offing. Stay tuned for updates.
SUNSET SKY SHOW:
For the second night in a row, Venus and the crescent Moon are gathered
in beautiful proximity. Look southwest at sunset to see the two
brightest lights in the night sky beaming side-by-side through the
twilight: sky
map.
Just hours ago, Mahdi Zamani used a Canon
30D to photograph the pair over Tehran, Iran:
"The Moon and Venus looked very nice shining over Sanat square
and the Milad tower," says Zamani. "Milad is the tallest
tower in Iran and Sanad square is at the center of northwest Tehran."
more images: from
Wienie van der Oord in the eastern Negev desert, Israel; from
Minghelli of L'Escarène, Alpes Maritimes, France; from
Patrick Jablonski of Normandie, France; from
Eleazar Sánchez of Shanghai, China; from
Mike O'Leary of El Cajon, California; from
Larry Fischer of Topeka, Kansas; from
Hal Schade of Rio Dulce, Guatemala; from
Alfredo Garcia Jr of Torrance Beach, California; from
Sam Cole of Austin, Texas;
SOLAR ECLIPSE: The
jagged spires of Candi
Prambanan, an ancient Hindu temple in Java, never fail to make
a deep impression on visitors. An atmosphere of celestial expectation
swirls through the grounds as the architecture itself draws attention
to the heavens. It feels like something amazing is about to happen.
On Monday, Jan. 26th, something did. The disk of the sun turned
into a ring:
"It was an annular eclipse," explains photographer Sangku
Kim of Merak, Indonesia. The Moon passed in front of the sun--dead
center--covering 93% of the solar disk. "I photographed the
event at 10 minute intervals using my Canon
5D and a Baader solar filter."
Similar "rings of fire," crescent suns, and strangely-shaped
shadows were witnessed along an "path of annularity" spanning
the Indian Ocean from the waters off South Africa to the islands
of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Browse the gallery for
the latest photos:
Jan.
26 Solar Eclipse Gallery
[Submit your photos] [Safe
solar telescopes]
UPDATED:
Comet
Lulin Photo Gallery
[Comet
Hunter telescope] [sky
map] [ephemeris]
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the Sunspot Cycle
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