Surprising small asteroid hits

The asteroid "hit" took astronomers completely by surprise with
50 kton of TNT (two to three times more powerful than World War II-era atomic bombs). Apparently there was little news of it spread around the world for some reason (I only heard about it briefly) when it hit in Indonesia in the atmosphere.
See the smoke trail of the blast and a new video too by using links!
10/28/2009
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the Spaceweather page lower portion)
http://www.spaceweather.com/

Crab Nebula further revealed

This supernova (exploding star) was so bright in 1054 that the Chinese recorded that it happened. Today we have different views of this phenomenon.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091025.html

Mysterious trails from above are Martian Dustdevils trails

Dustdevils are found on Earth rising from the surface. However on Mars they are taller sometimes rising to 8 km (do you know how many miles this is?) into the thin Martian air. Read more

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091021.html

Learning about weather resource here

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/%28Gh%29/guides/mtr/svr/torn/dgr/sch.rxml



http://www.stormtrack.org/library/faq/

lunar lander and no wings

NASA Science News for October 15, 2009

How do you fly on a world with no atmosphere? Wings won't work and neither do propellers. The space agency is perfecting the art of "airless flying" using a prototype lunar lander at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/15oct_lunarlander.htm?list731500

The Moon is a big sponge

The Moon is a big sponge that absorbs electrically charged particles given out
by the Sun. These particles interact with the oxygen present in some dust grains
on the lunar surface, producing water. This discovery, made by the ESA-ISRO
instrument SARA onboard the Indian Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter, confirms how
water is likely being created on the lunar surface.

More at:
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM8TBYRA0G_index_0.html

vast, glowing ribbon at the edge of the solar system

NASA's IBEX spacecraft has discovered a vast, glowing ribbon at the edge of the solar system. One mission scientist calls the discovery "shocking" and says theorists are "working like crazy" to explain the finding.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/15oct_ibex.htm?list731500

Are Hummingbirds Still Present?

Last couple of years I have seen hummies starting 8/22 for a month but not this year. Here is info about reports and more FYI.

http://webmail.aol.com/28200/aol/en-us/Suite.aspx

NOW Where Are Hummingbirds Still Present? Please Let Us Know!
The coldest air of the season is moving across the continent now. Most hummingbirds have already abandoned the northern states and the Canadian provinces, but some scattered sightings are still being made. When did you see your last hummingbird of the season? Are hummingbirds still present where you live?

Please Report Your Hummingbird Observations:
1) PLEASE REPORT NOW if you are still seeing hummingbirds.
2) Please submit a FINAL REPORT for the date you last saw a hummingbird. CAREFUL! Do not use today's date. Our goal is to show when and where hummingbirds are present. Therefore, date your final report for the last date a hummingbird was present. DON'T WORRY: If you should report a "final" hummingbird, and then see one again, simply report again. Your final report will appear on the map.

You Can Report Your Sightings Here:
http://www.learner.org/cgi-bin/jnorth/jn-sightings

Migration Map: (Showing fewer and fewer hummingbirds!)
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/humm_fall2009.html

Meteor Crater Arizona

8/11/2009 APOD
can't find it? use the archives and go to earlier date other then this one
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Free charting/planetarium software

One printable star chart that I have found interesting is at
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1052

Another more interactive simple charting program is at
http://www.philharrington.net/tuba.htm

For a really deep, printable atlas, there is triatlas at

http://www.uv.es/jrtorres/index.html

If all you need is a monthly one page chart,
http://www.skymaps.com/

For planetarium programs, one of the best free ones find more at
Cartes du Ciel.
Hallo Northern Sky,
Celestia, and
Stellarium are also not too bad.