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. SUN BUZZ: The solar physics community is abuzz this week. No, there haven't been any great eruptions or solar storms. The source of the excitement is a modest knot of magnetism that popped up on the sun, possibly heralding the start of a new solar cycle: full story. GEMINID UPDATE: This morning's Geminid meteor shower is receiving mixed reviews. "I was out last night near Louisburg, Kansas, and counted more than 70 Geminids in just an hour and a half. Five of the meteors I saw left smoke trails that lasted a few seconds," reports Carolyn Karns. "It was the best meteor shower I've seen all year," agrees Ron Wayman who counted dozens of meteors through the city lights of his hometown Tampa, Florida. But in San Francisco, Mila Zinkova says "No, I would not call this shower the best of the year." She saw no more than ten Geminids per hour, well below expected peak rates. Other reports from around the world agree: the display was "patchy" producing many Geminids in some places and few in others. Sometimes, however, one is enough: Lorenzo Comolli captured this fireball streaking over Tradate, Italy, using a Canon 350D digital camera. Stay tuned for more pictures. LISTEN! In New Mexico, amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft recorded a radio echo from the ionized trail of a Geminid fireball as the bright meteor flew over his observatory. Turn up the volume and click here. [more] CRACKLING SUNSPOT: Giant sunspot 978 is crackling with C-class solar flares, unleashing five in the past 24 hours alone. Yesterday, in the hills overlooking Los Angeles, California, Gary Palmer caught the spot in mid-eruption: 11 MB IMAX-style Movie Using his Coronado SolarMax90, Palmer recorded an entire movie of the eruption--"IMAX-style," he says. Caution: The seething, pulsating surface of the sun might spill over the edge of your computer screen. Click here if you dare. more images: from the SOHO spacecraft 1.5 million km from Earth; from Monty Leventhal of Sydney, Australia; from Alcaria Rego of Almada - Portugal; from Paul Haese of Blackwood, South Australia; from Günter Kleinschuster of Feldbach, Austria Comet 17P/Holmes Photo Gallery [Interactive World Map of Comet Photos] [sky map] [ephemeris] [3D orbit] [Night Sky Cameras] |