Eclipse Reflections
by Celestyn M Brozek
City of (Sunspot) Lights
Sunspot AR1476 (photographed above over the Eiffel Tower) has been monitored all week, as the Jupiter-sized coronal “active region” has been pointed squarely at Earth, ready to release a wave of magnetic energy in the form of a solar flare or coronal mass ejection. Last night, a CME was detected, racing toward Earth at over 1,000 km/s.
This awesome animation from the Goddard Space Weather Lab demonstrates the forecasted wave and glancing blow we await on Earth (we aren’t in any danger, but satellites may be disrupted):
Above, the sunspot is photographed Thursday evening over the Eiffel Tower by VegaStar Carpentier.
Sadly Saturn is still too difficult to get a decent picture of. It’s easily my favorite thing to look at in the sky, and really freaks people out when they see it with their own eyes for the first time. The view through a telescope is far better than this picture would indicate.
This stunning 360 degree panorama of the night sky was stitched together from 37,000 images by a first-time astrophotographer.
I was gonna blog about that awesome record-setting, super-sized panoramic sky photo going around ourdashboards today, but I had this nagging sense of deja vu. And sure enough, I found it in my archives from 10 months ago.
But seriously, go enjoy it again. It’s so fantastic and informative. The guy quit his job, traveled 60,000 miles and he had never done anything like this before.
Vela Supernova Remnant in Visible Light
Credit: Digitized Sky Survey, ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator. Color Composite: Davide De Martin (Skyfactory)
The explosion is over but the consequences continue. About eleven thousand years ago a star in the constellation of Vela could be seen to explode, creating a strange point of light briefly visible to humans living near the beginning of recorded history. The outer layers of the star crashed into the interstellar medium, driving a shock wave that is still visible today.
On February 9, 1913, a unique meteor procession was seen over Canada and parts of the US. It was likely the breakup of a short-lived natural satellite. Here in a painting by Gustav Hahn.
What kinds of myths might have developed among early people had there been a ring system?
(Source : demoncolbert)
NGC 2264 Narrowband
Copyright: Bernard Miller
This is pure eye candy: a time lapse of Lake Tahoe scenery. Perfect for a Thursday, wouldn’t you say?
More eye candy, fascinating tidbits and bit size news bits from the editors of DiscoveryNews can be found here.
