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Welcome to Bob's Sky Watch
Periodically when there are interesting astronomical events we will send out a notice to everyone on the Garden Weather Alerts list. Although these events aren't particularly weather related they are still interesting, educational, and fun for the whole family. Grab a blanket, some hot chocolate, and check out these astromonical events taking place in this fall.
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Today is the Autunal Equinox, the first day of Fall. This Fall's sky will feature falling satellites, solar flares, brilliant planets, and a chance to see some evening meteors.
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The Sky is Falling
Satellite set to fall from sky ... somewhere.
A decommissioned NASA satellite is expected to plummet to Earth today (Sept. 23), and agency officials are monitoring the dead spacecraft closely to try to narrow down when and where the debris will fall. According to NASA, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, will make its fiery descent through the atmosphere some time this afternoon or early evening (Eastern Daylight Time), but while it is still too soon to tell where pieces of the defunct satellite will land, scientists have been able to rule out North America from the potential impact zone.
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Massive X-Class Solar Flare What exactly are solar flares? A large coronal mass ejection (CME) shot off the West (right) side of the sun at 6:24 PM on September 21, 2011. The CME is moving away from Earth at about 900 miles per second.
The next morning, an X1.4 class flare erupted from the other side of the sun, peaking at 7:01 AM on September 22. The flare came from sunspot N15E88, which is just moving into view as the sun rotates. This flare has caused elevated proton levels on the East (left) side of the sun. Associated with this flare, there was a significant CME, traveling at over 600 miles per second, that began around 7:24 AM.
A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. Flares are our solar system's largest explosive events. They are seen as bright areas on the sun and they can last from minutes to hours. We typically see a solar flare by the photons (or light) it releases, at most every wavelength of the spectrum. The primary ways we monitor flares are in x-rays and optical light. Flares are also sites where particles (electrons, protons, and heavier particles) are accelerated. |
October Sky to Dazzle Stargazers The Moon and Jupiter will grace the October Sky. Jupiter is high and even more brilliant than usual, overpowering everything else in the sky with it. The planet is at opposition on Oct. 28, when Earth glides between the planet and the sun. At that time Jupiter will appear opposite the sun in the sky, rising around sunset and setting near sunrise. No need to worry about finding it: If you go out later than an hour or so after sunset and face toward the south, it will be obvious.
The full hunter's moon will be a beauty, rising the evening of Oct. 11, only three hours before true fullness. This moon gets its name from the proximity of hunting season, which follows the fall harvest and the fattening of deer.
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Dragon in The Sky The Draconid Meteor Shower is this year's last chance to see meteors. The Fall of 2011 will be a bit of a bust when it comes to viewing meteors. Light from the moon will obscure every meteor shower this Fall, but there is still some hope. The Draconid shower is a real oddity, in that the radiant point stands highest in the sky as darkness falls. Unlike many meteor showers, the Draconids are more likely to fly in the evening hours than in the morning hours after midnight. This shower is usually a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the Dragon awakes!
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