This will be a thread where we can post interesting articles about our planet and whatever is "out there" in our skies and in space.
Fallstreak hole: Rare cloud formation pictured in the East - BBC News
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This will be a thread where we can post interesting articles about our planet and whatever is "out there" in our skies and in space.
Fallstreak hole: Rare cloud formation pictured in the East - BBC News
VIDEO: Ancient death pits in Los Angeles
The La Brea Tar Pits sit right in downtown Los Angeles. These still-bubbling pits once trapped thousands of animals, such as mammoths, mastodons and saber-toothed tigers, and are rich with fossils. Join Kelly Kizer Whitt on a visit to the La Brea Tar Pits in this video.
Ring of Fire Eclipse Today - Join the Watch Party
At 1:45 p.m. CDT (18:45 UTC) today, the moon will be right between us and the sun. But the moon will be further from Earth than it was during the April 8 total solar eclipse, so it will appear too small to cover the sun completely. That means we'll see an annular eclipse, where a spectacular "ring of fire" hangs in the sky. It will be visible from parts of South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and Antarctica. And we'll be livestreaming the eclipse in cooperation with our friends at TimeandDate.com. Join the watch party from 12:15 p.m. CDT (17:15 UTC).
Another one! New comet could get SUPER-bright
We’ve been eagerly waiting for bright Comet A3 to grace our skies. And now there’s another comet! On Friday, the ATLAS survey discovered a comet that could appear even brighter than Comet A3, and even brighter than the brightest planet, Venus. Comets are notoriously unpredictable, but early observations suggest it might be bright enough to be seen even in the daytime.
Earth to get a mini moon starting today
Starting today, September 29, a 33-foot (10 meters) wide asteroid will temporarily begin orbiting Earth. Earth’s gravity will capture this mini-moon until November 25, when the sun will once again pull it away and back into a sun-centered - or heliocentric - orbit. Read more about 2024 PT5, Earth's new, temporary mini-moon.
The moon, a bright star and a comet
On Sunday morning, the moon will lie close to the star Regulus, the Heart of Leo the Lion. Notice the pattern of stars in the shape of a backward question mark; this pattern is called the Sickle. Now notice Monday and Tuesday morning, when the moon will move closer to the sunrise and to Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3). Find updates on Comet A3 here. In October, it could become one of the brightest comets in years. Don't miss this amazing gallery of comet images
Scientists across the globe have observed octopuses and fish hunting together. The fish act as scouts, and the octopuses serve as leaders, keeping the group organized and pulling food from hard-to-reach places. And, scientists said this month, octopuses are known to reach out an arm and punch unruly fish. Plus, it seems some fish species are more punchable than others. Watch a video of octopuses punching fish, and read more about this interspecies hunt.
New Mars gravity map finds strange hidden structures
Scientists have found a group of strange, highly dense “structures” hidden below the surface of Mars. They're buried beneath sediment from a possible former Martian ocean. The discovery was made thanks to a new map of gravity variations on the Red Planet. The map also uncovered signs of a massive lava pool beneath Olympus Mons, Mars' largest volcano.
Sun-stuff arrived at Earth early!
A chunk of sun-stuff - a mixture of solar materials and magnetic fields, aka a coronal mass ejection or CME - was expected at Earth by midday today. But Earth's geomagnetic field has already taken a hit. Read the sun news.
Is cosmology at a tipping point?
The standard model in cosmology – which has the Big Bang theory as its foundation – has been evolving since the mid-20th century. Astronomers like it, because it explains much of what they see. But it's failed to explain everything: the rate at which the galaxies fly apart from one another, the smoothness versus clumpiness of matter, massive early galaxies, and more. Will new observations validate the standard model? Or will there be a tipping point, where we need new physics?
Happy September equinox: All you need to know
The 2024 September equinox falls at 12:44 UTC (7:44 a.m. CDT) today. On this day, days and nights are approximately (but not exactly) equal in length for everyone across the globe. The word equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), that is, equal night.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cecille Kennedy captured this unusual view of a forest glade in Ridgefield, Washington, this week. Cecille wrote: "Along the nature trail I stopped to look up and admire the sky, and the trees basking in the late afternoon summer sun. I thought I can capture more of the scene using a fisheye lens and this is the resulting image." Thank you, Cecille! See more beautiful nature photos at EarthSky Community Photos.
Are day and night equal on the equinox?
The September equinox will arrive at 7:44 a.m. CDT (12:44 UTC) this Sunday. It's a hallmark in Earth's orbit around the sun. You sometimes hear that, at the equinoxes, day and night are equal in length. But there’s really more daylight than darkness at the equinox, 8 more minutes or so at mid-temperate latitudes. Here's why.
Spot the asteroid, save the world? Astronomers are getting better at asteroid detection, which could protect us against future collisions. Image via NASA/ JPL/ Caltech. Read about asteroids and planetary defense.
Moon eclipse from Earth, and sun eclipse from spaceWe hope you caught last night's lunar eclipse! It was a a little one, but extremely beautiful. If you didn't catch it, check out the replay of EarthSky's eclipse watch party. Also here's something cool. As we saw the partial lunar eclipse from Earth, NASA's SOHO spacecraft also observed an eclipse ... of the sun! What happened? Read the sun news.
Tonight, the Earth, the sun and the Super Harvest Moon will line up in space, causing a lunar eclipse. The eclipse will be far from total. At mid-eclipse, only 8% of the moon will lie in Earth's dark shadow. Still, the EarthSky team - in cooperation with our friends at TimeandDate.com - will have fun watching the eclipse LIVE beginning at 8:45 p.m. CDT on September 17 (1:45 UTC on September 18). We'll be talking about why this September full moon is a Super Harvest Moon, about how eclipses prove the Earth is round, and more. Join our Super Harvest Moon watch party!
A double rainbow for your Sunday
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Gerald Barney captured this double rainbow over Port Wentworth, Georgia, on September 12. Gerald wrote: "It rained most of the day on Thursday. Late in the afternoon, the sky cleared for a short time and Mother Nature gave us this beautiful rainbow." Thank you, Gerald! Visit EarthSky Community Photos.
Today is September 13, and it’s a Friday. It's the first of 2 Friday the 13ths in 2024. The next one will be in December. Does that mean 2024 is super unlucky? No. Any calendar year has at least 1 – but no more than 3 – Friday the 13ths. Are you scared of Friday the 13th? Or has it just got a bad rap? It’s really just a feature of our Gregorian calendar, and a pretty common one at that. Read about Friday the 13th.
BREAKING ... Earth to get a mini-moon
We're about to capture a temporary 2nd moon! On September 29, our planet’s gravity will snag a newly discovered asteroid named 2024 PT5. This 33-feet-wide (10 meters) space rock will become our planet’s mini-moon for 2 months, before ultimately breaking loose from Earth’s gravitational pull on November 25 and returning to its orbit around the sun. Read more about Earth's temporary mini-moon.
Hurricane Francine to hit the Gulf Coast today
Tropical Storm Francine strengthened into a hurricane yesterday afternoon, as it moved northward toward Louisiana. Forecasters say Francine might even reach category 2 strength – with winds of 96 mph (154 kph) and above – before coming ashore near Vermillion Bay – west of New Orleans – later today. The outer bands of the storm system have already brought flooding to areas of the Gulf Coast in Mexico and Texas. Read about Hurricane Francine.