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ALMOST GONE: Comet 73P/Schwassmann Wachmann 3 is receding from Earth and about to disappear into the glare of the sun--but it's not gone yet. Darrell Spangler photographed two of the comet's fragments (B and C) shining through the morning twilight of Drake, Colorado, on May 21st:
"Clouds and moon and sunrise, oh my!" says Spangler. "Talk about challenging, but persistence paid off." No telescope was required for the shot, only a Canon EOS 300D camera and a good long exposure.
Ready for the challenge? Load your camera and set your alarm for 4:30 in the morning. The crescent moon will guide you straight to the comet: sky map.
FIREBALL MOVIE: It happens more often than you might think. Every few days or so, somewhere on Earth, a small asteroid will hit the atmosphere producing a fantastic fireball. Astronomers call them "bolides." They cast shadows, let loose a sonic boom, and explode in mid-air.
On May 4, 2006, astronomer Jim Gamble caught one flying over El Paso, Texas:
Click to view the full-sized movie.
Remarkably, most bolides are never noticed by anyone. Some streak over uninhabited oceans and deserts. Others appear during broad daylight when the sun outshines them, or in the deep of night when people are asleep and not looking up.
The May 4th bolide was different. It appeared at 9:45 p.m. local time, well before bedtime, over a densely populated area. Thousands of people saw it. Indeed, how could they miss it? It was brighter than the Moon, which also appears in the video--the stationary light at bottom-right.
Bolides: another good reason to keep looking up.