toba super volcano almost wiped out human race

The eruption went 20 miles in air (Mt. St.Helens went 10 miles)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toba_catastrophe_theory

Mysterious Noctilucent Cloud Storm Panorama

I've been to Russia and Canada but never seen these clouds. Strange and mysterious this is a nice photo of them.
7/11/2009
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the APOD page lower portion)
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Beautiful celestial structure: Pillars of Eagle Castle

This now famous part of the sky , seen with Hubble Space Telescope or not, is an amazingly rich photo of colors and celestial structures. The Eagle nebula comsic structions are both beautiful have a lot of curiousity that cries out to ask “what are these things?”
APOD
7/10/2009
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the APOD page lower portion)
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

found a 1,100 pound meat-eating dinosaur with three slashing claws

Scientists keep uncovering more dinosaur fossibls. This one would have been dangerous too.
http://news.aol.com/article/austrailia-dinosaur-find/555266

Puzzling Strange Space Blob

New and fascinating celestial objects are being discovered all the time. Here is a new one posted by
Jeremy Hsu, Space.com
(April 22) -- A newly found primordial" blob" may represent the most massive object ever discovered in the early univers.The gas cloud, spotted from 12.9 billion light-years away, could represent the earliest stages of galaxy formation back when the universe was just 800 million year

http://news.aol.com/article/space-blob/443146?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fspace-blob%2F443146

Scientists recover meteorites from asteroid which entered our atmosphere

This endeavour was the first of its kind- trying to observe an asteroid entering the atmosphere and recovering parts of the celestial body in the form of meteorites. Recently it was known that a very small asteroid was about to enter the atmosphere and burn up on 10/7/2008. The hope was that the asteroid could be observed entering the atmosphere and that some meteorites would survive on reentry.
Here is more information and a photo of one of the bigger meteorites
3/28/2009
not 3/28 consult archives
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Here is more information about the meteorite
http://www.universetoday.com/2009/03/25/meteorites-found-in-africa-from-first-predicted-asteroid-hit/
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v458/n7237/full/nature07920.html

Sungrazer Comet photo 3/21/2009

This photo was snapped on 12/23/1996 by the LASCO oriented SOHO space telescope and showed a comet arching into and later being destroyed by the Sun’s heat.

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

Small asteroid flies close by Earth

On 3/20/2009, asteroid 2009 DO111 flew past Earth only about 288,000 miles away--just beyond the orbit of the Moon! About the size of a football field, this dangerous space rock was visible in backyard telescopes as it sped through the constellation Cassiopeia shining at 13th magnitude, far below naked eye visibility.

Here is a nice photo taken
http://spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=David-Strange-2009DO111_20090318_dgs6_1237551645.jpg

Comet Lulin still looking good

I've posted my photos previously of the comet. Some other amateaurs still have some nice photos. Here's another one.
3/7/2009
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the Spaceweather page lower portion)
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090307.html

Comparing Jupiter’s Moon Europe to our Moon

Is there life under the ice of Europe? This premise and the observations and characteristics for Europa are tentalizing. Ice covered, there are cracks with orange-red coloration with the cracks. Is there seas under the ice? Other areas on Earth have life in inhospitable conditions? Maybe on Europe too?

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

3/8/2009
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the APOD page lower portion)

A mission to Europa is being planned that would arrive at Europa in 2020. So it is a long way off and so is paying for the billions of dollars for this mission. But for now we can learn more about Europa and its tentalizing features at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)

Iceball falls into the Sun

On Feb. 23rd, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observed a comet plunge into the sun and disintegrate. This one was part of a family of small comets called Kreutz sungrazers which resulted from the breakup of a giant comet s over 2000 years ago. Most are small and faint, but this one was a beauty. Watch the movie of its demise. The comet appears coming up from the left at around 8 oclock. (The black disc is a coronography type instruments that shield the Sun to show the surrounding area).
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/C3_comet_feb09_zm.mov

Mardi Gras' Fat Tuesday’s Green Smudge Comet Lulin

It was my hope to take photograph the Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday’s Green Smudge Comet Lulin. I wanted to show what Comet Lulin might look like with out a big telescopic view, from a city or slightly darker area to simulate what most would see as the comet comes closest to Earth on 2/24. I tried a couple of weeks ago but no success.

Last night 2/21, I tried again at Powell Observatory, Louisburg, KS just south of Kansas City. Some people said that the comet could now be spotted with binoculars and even naked eye! And I saw it had brightened and could see both these views as well as in our 30 inch telescope.

0n 2/21/09 returning back to Powell, I saw the brightening comet. The nucleus was brighter and so was the rest of the comet coma. It is moving away fast from the Sun.
We could see it moving across the the telescope's field. The coma was bigger and one side (left) was brighter. We could see it easily with our binoculars and could see it (naked eye) as a smudge below Saturn.

This time I was successful using my Canon Rebel XT with 55mm lens, ASA 800 at 30 seconds f/6.3.
You can see the smudge comet (6 magnitude) in the photo just under ) the 3.56 star Zanijava which is just below the brighter planet Saturn (mag 0.56) to the left of the bright blue star called Denabola, in the constellation Leo . Since it was 11:00 CT, the comet was still coming up from the East horizon and still drank in some of the lights from the horizon. Still I was glad to image it . If I could see it with naked eye and binoculars and image it without a big lens (my next attempt), you can too!

Additional information

Comet Lulin, discovered at an observatory in China , is now brightening for a date to be nearest Earth on Feb 24. Now at mag 6 we hope it will brighten to 5th. I saw it with our 30 inch telescope a couple of weeks ago using our Powell Observatory’s 39 inch telescope. Its greenish colored and was difficult to see. The nucleus was even more difficult to see.

This photo on APOD is like what I saw of it and sketched from last week. A tenuous circle like cloud like coma with viewable but difficult to see nucleus right in the center.

2/21-22/2009
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
if not 2/21 look at archivescan't find it? use the archives and go to earlier date other then this one

Also there are several nice photos on spaceweather.com

Also nice article and more pics at
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/090220-comet-lulin.html

Galileo's Sunspots

Galileo was the first person to see sunspots while working with his telescope. He discovered more about these "dark" spots and their true nature.
2/15/2009
(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/

Comet Lulin has a disconnected tail

The brightening Comet Lulin, which hopefully peak in brightness, as it comes closer to Earth on 2/24/09, now has a disconnected tail
see 2/5/09
if not 2/5 see archives
http://www.spaceweather.com/

Close up view of Saturn's cratered moon Hyperion

Saturn's Hyperion: A Moon with Odd Craters
1/18/2009
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the APOD page lower portion)
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Beautiful Saturn in a whole different light

Actually this photo taken by the Cassini probe is from inside Saturn's shadow . Very different type of view yielding several extraordinary aspects of the planet's ring system and more.
1/11/09
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the APOD page lower portion)
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

A halo like cloud around the moon is called a-----

Sometimes when you look up in the sky, whether day or night, you can see interesting phenomenon. Perhaps you have seen one like this but did not know what to call it.
Lunar coronas
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/droplets/cormoon.htm

check out the rest of this site Atmpospheric Optics. Interesting stuff

More yellowstone earthquakes- is a big one coming?

Yellowstone is a big volcanic area that has a lot of volcanic activity but is a possible site for future eathquakes, Here is information about the latest rumblings.

http://news.aol.com/article/yellowstone-earthquakes-raise-fears/292261

Another fireball this time over New England

Another fireball streaked through the sky , this time over New England. Here is a plot of the reports and more information including accounts.
12/31/08
http://www.spaceweather.com/

can't find it? use the archives and go to earlier date other then this one

Ten top Space stories 2008

It is always interesting to see the top 10 of the year 2008. Here are 10 for space.

http://news.aol.com/article/2008-a-momentous-year-in-spaceflight/287469