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Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.
Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New.� A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.
The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.
Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.
Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.
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Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.
A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth�s shadow is apparent in the image.
19.05.11: �Incoming!� Meteorite Strikes House in Polish Town.
X Marks the Soltmany Fall. (Credit: CIA World Factbook).
Ahhhh� nothing makes the astro-news like a �House-strikes-space rock� story. Amid many dubious claims of low-flying rocks heard over the Chesapeake and striking lawns in New Jersey over the past few weeks, a quiet but amazing story of a meteorite strike came our way from �across the pond��
On April 30th at 6AM local, something curious occurred in the tiny Polish town of Soltmany, Poland. While one Mrs. Alfreda and her daughter enjoyed a morning coffee, a loud crash was heard. Upon searching the property, a fist-sized hole was found in the roof and debris was identified scattered over a 4 meter wide area. The jury is still out on the scientific analysis, but the pictures of the largest one kilogram fragment has all of the visual hallmarks of an honest to goodness meteorite. Note the smooth black fused crust caused by heated ablation as the rock tore through the Earth�s atmosphere in its final moments. A video was also posted on You Tube from a local news source; yes, it�s in Polish, but watching it, you pretty much get the idea;
Like the Peekskill fall that struck the trunk of a car in 1992, meteorites striking houses or automobiles are rare, but not unknown. Nothing else on the web seems to spark pandemonium like �meteor fever� as legions of space rock hunters mobilize to chase after any fiery fall. This is just one example of how, on occasion, the heavens reach out and touch us!