Thursday, November 19, 2009

Video of hugh fireball

Some think this brilliant fireball may have been a small asteroid.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8714738

Monday, November 16, 2009

A new type of cloud has been discovered

It doesn't happen very often that new clouds are discovered. But this one is new one for the weather record books

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undulatus_asperatus

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Famous Leonid meteor show morning of Nov 17

Most likely the weather here in Kansas/Missouri will be rainy and cloudy. Maybe there will be some clearings.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/10nov_leonids2009.htm?list1285438

Another good article by Joe Rao whom I was with in 1998 during the Caribbean eclipse is here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33589356

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Mars changed from a warm planet into a colder one, now some news

Long ago, something bad happened to Mars, transforming a warm and hospitable world into the cold, seemingly lifeless desert we view today. Many scientists believe the Red Planet lost most of its atmospher. A new NASA mission named MAVEN is specifically designed to answer some questions about the series of events.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/06nov_maven.htm?list1285438

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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

Thursday, October 22, 2009

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

Saturday, October 17, 2009

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

Thursday, October 15, 2009

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

Friday, October 9, 2009

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

Thursday, October 8, 2009

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.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

National Parks TV documentary

If you have been to one or more national parks then fine on your local PBS station and find and view this brilliant documentary. Movies, photos and information give an appreciation for how the National Parks were developed.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

A new found planet : First rocky extrasolarplanet

The mass of this new planet indicates it is not a gas giant but is rocky like our first 4 planets in our solar system. Now the quest is to find a rocky planet farther away from a star similar to Earth.
9/23/2009
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the APOD Spaceweather page lower portion)

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

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Beautiful galaxies in space

Star islands in space are beautiful to look through small and bigger telescopes.
can't find it? use the archives and go to earlier date other then this one
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html