Autumn is here, and it's a wonderful time for stargazing. Find out what's up from Spaceweather PHONE.
THANKSGIVING SKIES: Flying somewhere for Thanksgiving? Think of the trip as a sky watching opportunity. There are some things you can see only through the window of an airplane: full story.
SOLAR PROMINENCE: Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny day in Zanesville, Ohio, so Erika Rix decided to spend "some one-on-one time with the sun." The view through her SolarMax60 was "grand!" she says. "I made this sketch using black Strathmore Artagain paper and white Conte' crayon."
Rix's prominence is still on the sun today--and it is growing larger. If you have a solar telescope, take a look.
more images: from Emiel Veldhuis of Zwolle, the Netherlands; from Denis Joye of Paris, France; from Adrian Guzman of San Jose, California.
COMET SWAN: Say good-bye to Comet Swan. But take one last look before it goes:
"As Comet Swan retreats to wherever it came from, it is passing through a deep star field in Aquila," says Mike Holloway of Van Buren, Arkansas, who took this picture on Nov. 19th.
The comet swooped through the inner solar system last month, briefly brightening to naked-eye visibility. Now it's heading back to the dark recesses of the outer solar system. Swan's orbit is a hyperbola, which means it will never return.
So, truly, take one last look. "The comet is about as bright as a 7th-magnitude star," which makes it an easy target for backyard telescopes equipped with digital cameras. Comet Swan may be found not far from the bright star Altair just after sunset. [sky map] [ephemeris]
Comet Swan Photo Gallery