Monthly Archives: January 2012

Astronomy’s an adventure and don’t let anyone tell you differently

Posted on January 31, 2012 by astrobob

Dawn space station passes for the U.S. will wind down this week, so if you’re a morning person, the next few days will present several nice opportunities to see the magnificent flying machine. Starting this Saturday the station will be … Continue reading →

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Ina Caldera – one of the moon’s coolest, hottest mysteries

Posted on January 30, 2012 by astrobob

In the March 2012 issue of Sky and Telescope magazine there’s a fascinating short article about a possible lunar volcanic landform called Ina Caldera. This 2-mile long D-shaped patch looks like nothing I’ve ever seen on the moon. Blobs of … Continue reading →

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Moon, Jupiter, Mars strut their stuff tonight

Posted on January 29, 2012 by astrobob

Cast a glance upward at the moon tonight. That big, bright object just a few degrees to its south is the planet Jupiter. The two will be sky buddies the next couple evenings. Through binoculars the 6-day-old moon will reveal … Continue reading →

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The biggest star in the sky and how to see it

Posted on January 28, 2012 by astrobob

Astronomy is full of superlatives. Farthest, closest, hottest, densest, biggest, smallest. It’s fun to prowl around the sky in search of these extremes. Two nights ago, I found myself star-hopping across Canis Major the Greater Dog in search of this … Continue reading →

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Zippy little asteroid 2012 BX34 makes a quick visit

Posted on January 27, 2012 by astrobob

I had a good night under the stars last night. Temperatures in the 20s made it easy to be outside for a change. It also meant I could make a few time exposures without having to worry about running out … Continue reading →

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Comet Lovejoy pokes its head above Arizona’s horizon

Posted on January 26, 2012 by astrobob

A question from a reader this morning stirred me to post this update on Comet Lovejoy, the great sungrazing comet of 2011. While the brightest part of the tail near the nearly-vanished head of the comet is now visible from … Continue reading →

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Beautiful aurora! What makes it happen?

Posted on January 25, 2012 by astrobob

Clouds! They were with us last night, but according to Mike Thiele, who observed from northwestern Minnesota, the storm had spent itself by the time it was night along the U.S.-Canada border: “Very weak display partially obscured by clouds about … Continue reading →

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Things to see while waiting for the storm to hit

Posted on January 24, 2012 by astrobob

* UPDATE 10:30 p.m. CST: The Kp index, which measures magnetic activity and the potential for auroras, reached storm levels of 5 this afternoon but has since dropped to an “active” but non-storm level of 3 for the past six … Continue reading →

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Big solar storm, possible auroras on the way

Posted on January 23, 2012 by astrobob

A large, long-duration M9-class flare that began around 10 p.m. Central time Sunday January 22 blasted a supercharged cloud of plasma called a coronal mass ejection in Earth’s and Mars’ direction. Traveling at 4.5 million miles per hour, it’s expected … Continue reading →

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Mars shifts gears as it approaches Earth

Posted on January 23, 2012 by astrobob

Last night’s aurora graced the skies of Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and even Ireland. Perhaps you saw it, too. We were cloudy in my town but that won’t stop me from sharing a striking image shot by Øystein Lunde Ingvaldsen of … Continue reading →

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