Earth & Space Weather

10,000 Walruses Gather on Shore as Ice Retreats

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Discovery.com - Kieran Mulvaney, 10/02/13

 

 

If you see a walrus in the wild, chances are you’ll see other walruses with it. A lot of other walruses. And it doesn’t matter if the ice floe that they have chosen as the spot on which to rest is seemingly far too small to accommodate such a massive quantity of blubber and tusk: Like a Great Dane that doesn’t know it isn’t supposed to be a lap dog, they will somehow squeeze their collective bulk onto it. It can be, candidly, an amusing sight: a floating platform of ice barely visible beneath a mound of giant pinnipeds.

~ Space Weather Update~ CME IMPACT, GEOMAGNETIC STORM

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CME IMPACT, GEOMAGNETIC STORM : Arriving a little earlier than expected, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Oct. 2nd at approximately 0200 UT. The impact sparked a G2-class geomagnetic storm with auroras across Canada and several northern-tier US states. Alan Dyer sends this picture from Gleichen, Alberta:

After the CME hit "I made a point of checking the sky and, sure enough, a fairly bright aurora was present all across the northern horizon," says Dyer. "The camera picked up red bands as broad and intense as I've seen."

The show's not over. Solar wind in the wake of the CME is blowing strong while magnetic conditions favor more storming. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

Jebel Zubair volcano news & activity updates (video)

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Volcano Discovery Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013

MODIS / Terra satellite image 1 Oct showing the steam plume from the eruption

MODIS / Terra satellite image 1 Oct showing the steam plume from the eruption

As of yesterday morning when the latest MODIS satellite image was taken from the area, the eruption continued with little changes. A video has appeared showing the activity (from distance) on the first day of the eruption:

 

Tornado Confirmed Near Seattle: High Winds Damage Industrial Area

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Wunderground.com - 10/1/13

SEATTLE -- A rare tornado damaged industrial buildings south of Seattle as an early winter storm dumped record amounts of rain and knocked out power for thousands in the Pacific Northwest.

The tornado at 7:20 a.m. Monday hit the industrial area of Frederickson, tearing a hole in the roof of the Northwest Door factory, blowing out car windows at a nearby Boeing factory, and damaging a building where sections of a downtown Seattle tunnel project were being assembled.

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October 2013 guide to the five visible planets

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Earthsky.org - 10/1/13, Bruce McClure, Deborah Byrd

http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/10/2013-october-06-venus-saturn-mercury-night-sky-chart.jpg

 

Only one planet is easily visible at nightfall around the world in October 2013: Venus. Venus beams mightily in the west at dusk, as seen from across the Earth. You can’t miss it. It sets roughly two hours after sunset at mid-northern latitudes in early October, and about two-and-one-half hours after the sun by the month’s end. Venus! It’s the beautiful “evening star.”

Saturn can also be seen from around the world – near Venus after sunset – as October begins. It’s much more visible from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere than from northerly latitudes. Why? Because the ecliptic, or path of the planets, places objects in evening twilight straight above the sunset in spring, instead of to one side of the sunset, as in autumn.

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Eyes on the Sky: Sept 30 thru Oct 6

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EyesontheSky.com - 10/1/13

Published on Sep 29, 2013

www.eyesonthesky.com The minor planet Juno and the gas giant Uranus are in somewhat dim constellations this week, but both are surprisingly easy to see with the right optical equipment. Learn where and how to observe each one. You can even see Uranus with just binoculars! See what's up in the night sky every week with "Eyes on the Sky" videos, astronomy made easy.

Get ready! Comet ISON to sweep closely past Mars on October 1 (video)

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Earthsky.org - 10/1/13, Bruce McClure

Artist's concept Comet ISON flies by Mars. Via NASA

On Tuesday (October 1, 2013), this year’s most anticipated comet – Comet ISON – will sweep closely past the Red Planet Mars. It’ll be on its way to a Thanksgiving Day (November 28) encounter with the sun, and hopefully to a good showing in Earth’s night sky. Right now, amateur astronomers with telescopes and photographic equipment are the main ones capturing images of Comet ISON. And they are sure to be trying already to captured Mars and the comet in the same photo in the predawn sky. But NASA and ESA are also readying a flotilla of spacecraft in Mars orbit or on Mars’ surface, which will attempt to record the comet’s passage near Earth’s neighboring planet.

And we do mean near. On October 1, Comet ISON will pass within 0.07 AU from Mars. That’s about six times closer than the comet will ever come to Earth.

Comet ISON Goes Green

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Universe Today - Bob King, 9/28/13

 

Another photo of a "greening" Comet ISON taken on Sept. 24 with a 17-inch (43-cm) telescope. Click to enlarge. Credit: Damian Peach

Another great photo of the “greening” of Comet ISON taken on Sept. 24 with a 17-inch (43-cm) telescope. Click to enlarge. Credit: Damian Peach

 

As NASA and the European Space Agency prepare  their remote photojournalists – Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers – to capture photos of Comet ISON’s flyby of Mars early next week, amateur astronomers continue to monitor and photograph the comet from backyard observatories across the blue Earth. Several recent color photos show ISON’s bright head or nucleus at the center of  a puffy, green coma. Green’s a good omen – a sign the comet’s getting more active as it enters the realm of the inner solar system and sun’s embrace.

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