VENUS AND THE MOON AT SUNSET: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Venus and the crescent Moon (~16%) are shining side-by-side in the twilight sky. Try to catch them before the sky fades to black. Venus and the Moon are extra-beautiful when they are surrounded by twilight blue: sky map.
A COMET WITH A RAZOR-THIN TRAIL: Earth is approaching the orbital plane of an ancient comet with an unusual appearance: 10P/Tempel. The comet is bisected by a razor-thin layer of dust, making it look a bit like Saturn with edge-on rings. Chris Schur photographed 10P this week from Happy Jack, Arizona:
"This comet is exhibiting the most obvious dust trail I have ever seen in 50 years of imaging," says Schur.
Note the distinction: trail vs. tail. The structure in Schur's photo is a trail--a pancake of gravel-sized debris that has settled into the comet's orbit over hundreds to thousands of years. This differs from a tail, which is a young spray of fresh gas and dust in many directions.
Comet 10P's pancake trail was discovered by NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in 1983--one of the first ever found. Catching it with a backyard telescope is a rare feat.
This weekend is prime time to try. Between July 18th and 22nd, Earth crosses 10P's orbital plane. As the crossing occurs, the trail will sharpen to maximum thinness and surface brightness. Later, the trail will pivot and fan back open. Long exposures taken days apart may show notable changes.
The comet is currently a magnitude 8.4 object in the constellation Capricorn, brightening to ~7.7 by month's end. It will be closest to Earth on August 3rd, but now is the time to look while the gravel trail is edge on. A small telescope will show the green coma with ease, while deep-sky exposures will be needed to catch the gravel.
Take a look! And submit your photos here.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Space Weather Newsletter
ASTRONAUT SNOOPY COFFEE CUP: Coffee tastes better in a cup from space. On July 16th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the 'I Need My Space' Snoopy cup to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. Here it is floating more than 105,315 feet above Earth's surface:
You can have it for $99.95. It's Peanuts for a cup from space! The students are selling Snoopy cups to support their cosmic ray monitoring program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the cup in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Space Weather Newsletter