TONIGHT'S FULL MOON IS A BLUE MOON: Most months have only one full Moon. October 2020 has two, and tonight's full Moon is the second. According to modern folklore, that makes it a "Blue Moon." Of course, it won't actually turn blue ... unless it does. Major forest fires and volcanic eruptions can give the lunar disk a blue hue. If you see a truly-blue Moon tonight--Happy Halloween! by the way--share your story here.
BIG COMET ATLAS: Comet ATLAS (C/2020 M3) is approaching Earth. At closest approach on Nov. 14th it will be 0.358 AU (54 million km) away--not quite near enough to make it a naked-eye object. But can you say "photo-op"? Amateur astronomers with small telescopes will find it to be an easy target glowing like a 7th or 8th magnitude star. This preview comes from Michael Jaeger of Jauerling, Austria:
"I took the picture on Oct. 28th using my 11-inch telescope," says Jaeger.
The comet's green atmosphere is huge. This composite photo from Dan Bartlett of June Lake, California, shows that it is nearly as wide as a full Moon. Hence the following tip for astrophotographers: You'll need a wide field to capture the entire comet. It gets its verdant hue from diatomic carbon (C2), a compound which glows green in the near vacuum of space.
On the date of closest approach, Comet ATLAS will be in the constellation Orion. Exact coordinates may be found here.
Realtime Comet ATLAS Photo Gallery
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RIO SUNSET: Don't worry. This is not a mushroom cloud. "It's the setting sun," reports Helio de Carvalho Vital of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "Air layers of different densities lying just above the sea surface off the coast of Rio severely distorted the sun's image."
Warm air, strong temperature gradients, and at least one temperature inversion sliced the image of the setting sun into multiple shape-shifting layers. Briefly, the sun assumed the form of a mushroom cloud, followed by a sequence of other shapes including a rectangle. Giant sunspot AR2778 (note the black streak, lower left, in the image above) was stretched, compressed, and ultimately obliterated. Watch the complete video.
"It was a strange, yet beautiful way to end the day.," says Vital.
Realtime Spaceweather Photo Gallery
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THE SPACE HAMMER: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the Space Hammer. In May, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew a payload of hammers to the edge of space, 115,000 feet above Earth's surface onboard a high altitude helium balloon. You can have one for $97.95:
These compact 8 oz. hammers are light enough to fly on a balloon yet dense enough to deliver a powerful blow. The magnetic head holds a nail for one-handed starting, and the stubby 6 in. length is perfect for tight work areas.
Each space hammer comes with a unique gift card showing the tool floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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