FIRST AURORA LISTENING POST ESTABLISHED: For centuries Arctic sky watchers have occasionally reported hearing sounds under the Northern Lights--from "blaster fire" to geomagnetic thunder. It's a controversial topic, with some researchers asserting that the sounds are imaginary. To place the field on a firm scientific footing, Prof. Unto Laine of Finland's Aalto University is setting up a dedicated listening post at the Hankasalmi observatory in Northern Finland. Sensitive microphones will listen for auroral sounds alongside an aurora webcam, a magnetometer, and other sensors, generating as much as 32GB of data every night. Such an acoustic observatory might finally crack the mystery of auroral sounds. Free: Aurora Alerts.
INFERIOR CONJUNCTION OF VENUS: On Oct. 26th, Venus will pass almost directly between Earth and the sun--an event astronomers call "inferior solar conjunction." As Venus approaches the sun, the planet is turning its night side toward Earth, reducing its luminous glow to a thin sliver. Astrophotographer Mariano Ribas of Buenos Aires, Argentina, took this picture on Oct. 14th:
"Venus looks really impressive in the eyepiece of my telescope--almost unreal," says Ribas. "The planet is looking bigger and thinner each day. I took the picture in broad daylight (4:30 pm local time) with my Meade LX90 12telescope and a Canon digital camera."
In the days ahead, the crescent of Venus will become increasingly thin and circular. The horns of the crescent might actually touch when the Venus-sun angle is least (~6 degrees) on Oct. 26th. This is arguably the most beautiful time to observe Venus--but also the most perilous. The glare of the nearby sun magnified by a telescope can damage the eyes of anyone looking through the eyepiece.
Anthony J. Cook of the Griffith Observatory has some advice for observers: "I have observed Venus at conjunction, but only from within the shadow of a building, or by adding a mask to the front end of the telescope to fully shadow the optics from direct sunlight. This is tricky with a refractor or a catadioptric, because the optics start at the front end of the tube. Here at Griffith Observatory, I rotate the telescope dome to make sure the lens of the telescope is shaded from direct sunlight, even through it means that the lens will be partially blocked when aimed at Venus. With our Newtonian telescope, I add a curved cardboard mask at the front end of the tube to shadow the primary mirror."
For the rest of this week Venus can still be observed without elaborate precautions in deep twilight after sunset. Every evening the crescent grows and narrows. Scan the realtime photo gallery for updates.
SOLAR SYSTEM CRYSTAL BALL: The holidays are coming. To get ready for gift-giving, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a Solar System crystal ball to the stratosphere. Watch the video as the orb travels onboard a giant helium balloon 93,000 feet above Earth's surface, stretching, focusing, and inverting the incredible landscape of the Sierra Nevada mountains behind it:
You can have it for $229. The students are selling these crystal balls to raise funds for their cosmic ray ballooning program. The 800 gram sphere contains an embedded model of the Solar System, including the sun, eight planets and their moons. It makes an incredible gift for anyone interested in space.
Each crystal ball comes with a unique gift card showing the item at the edge of space and telling the story of its flight. All proceeds support Earth to Sky Calculus and hands-on STEM research.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery