Archive for the 'Planetary Science' Category
Tropical Sundog
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A second Sun in the Sky ?
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A close up of the effect with its partial rainbow & the image of the sun visible.
This was a first for me in 7 years of watching the sky in the NT seeing a Sun Dog. I almost ran off the road on my way home, as to my absolute surprise there was a “Second Sun” in the sky, just before sunset. As a Space Weather follower, I knew I had a Sun Dog. Something I have never seen in our tropical skies.
I raced for the camera and these images are the results. It even brightened before my eyes at one stage. It is amazing that tiny hexagonal ice crystals high in the upper atmosphere can align and have such a dramatic effect. These optical effects occur in a 22deg arc around the sun and can form above, below and to the sides of the sun. The closest I have seen to this is a sunbow, about 5 years ago. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more of these & my guess is now that I am looking I will see more .
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The Deep Lunar Eclipse – June 2011
There are times when the planets align perfectly and on Thursday morning
the 16th June 2011 the earth and the moon did just that,
for the deepest lunar eclipse in over 10 years.
shadow or Umbra, as it is known. Sitting beneath the overhanging
branches of a mature Mahogany tree as it framed the moon in the cool
morning air of Nhulunbuy was magical. Add the mellow sounds of Pink
Floyd, “Wish You Were Here”and the scene becomes surreal. As the eclipse
progressed and the black “bite” out of the moon grew larger the Pink Floyd
music could not have been better better choreographed had I tried.
It did not seem long before the entire moon was in the deep shadow
and glowing an eerie Coppery red. With the sky darkening sporadic
meteors shot across the western sky as if to herald the deepest part
of the eclipse. At the height of the moons eclipse, the centre of the moon
Sounds like a great excuse for a Lunar Eclipse moon party !
No commentsKepler Mission – New Earths
The Kepler planet hunting space telescope has achieved astounding success in not only finding 1500 new planets around other stars. It has discovered what has never been done to date, finding earth like planets ….
Top Ten Discoveries on the Moon – Part 1
The Lunar Reconnaissance orbiter has made some startling discoveries on the moon.
Here we discuss the first six of these groundbreaking finds …..
Mimas the Death Star
Mimas, the well known moon of Saturn bears a striking similarity to the Star Wars “Death Star”, but what about the science behind it ? …….
Comet Wise
A new comet has been discovered by one of the hard working space probes. This time its the infra red observatory “WISE” that has the bragging and naming rights to the new comet ….
Launch of the Solar Dynamics Observatory
A new generation of solar observatories has been launched, creating a bit of science as it rockets through the atmosphere ….
Earth Science – Education Outreach
Well, the ATSG has been on the move again. This time at the International Science Education Conference 2009 in Singapore. I had the chance to speak with Sue John from Cardiff University Wales UK. We speak about the work Sue has been doing to bring universities and science educators together, for the benefit of both education and the environment …..
The Orionid Meteor Shower and Haleys Comet
Haley’s comet is the best known of all the comets, and this meteor shower is one of 2 chances each year to catch some of its dusty debris burning up in our Atmosphere … It has passed us now having peaked on the 22nd of October, but it is a timely reminder to watch out for the upcoming Geminid Meteor Shower on the 14th of December ….
