Lyrid meteor shower peaks this week

Lyrid meteor shower peaks this week

Earth is approaching the debris field of ancient Comet Thatcher, source of the annual Lyrid meteor shower. Every year in late April Earth passes through the dusty tail of Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1), and the encounter causes a meteor shower – the Lyrids. This year the

Comet Swan dove into the Sun’s atmosphere

Comet Swan dove into the Sun’s atmosphere

Last week SOHO’s SWAN instrument discovered a bright comet on its way to dive into Sun. It has been named COMET SWAN and it is one of the brightest Kreutz-group comets ever observed by SOHO beside Comet Lovejoy from  December last year. Sungrazing Comet SWAN dove

Lovejoy’s brother – Bright comet dives into radiation storm

Lovejoy’s brother – Bright comet dives into radiation storm

Another bright comet is diving into the sun. It was discovered just last week by SOHO’s SWAN instrument, so it has been named “Comet SWAN.” The comet’s death plunge ( or “swan dive”) comes just as the sun has unleashed a strong flare and radiation storm around

Fireballs of February – big space rocks hitting Earth’s atmosphere

Fireballs of February – big space rocks hitting Earth’s atmosphere

In the middle of the night on February 13th, something disturbed the animal population of rural Portal, Georgia. Cows started mooing anxiously and local dogs howled at the sky. The cause of the commotion was a rock from space.”At 1:43 AM Eastern, I witnessed an

Moon mineral Tranquillityite found in western Australia

Moon mineral Tranquillityite found in western Australia

Scientists have identified what appear to be terrestrial versions of tranquillityite in billion-year-old rocksin Western Australia. Tranquillityite is a mineral consisting of iron, zirconium, yttrium, titanium, silicon and oxygen. It is named after the moon’s Sea of

2012 Quadrantids guide for skywatchers

2012 Quadrantids guide for skywatchers

Earth is about to pass through a stream of debris from 2003 EH1, a comet fragment that produces the annual Quadrantid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the shower to peak around 07:20 UT (02:20 am EST) on Wednesday morning, January 4th. At maximum, as many as 100

The 2012 Quadrantid meteor shower

The 2012 Quadrantid meteor shower

The first meteor shower this year —  Quadrantid meteor shower —  will occur at around 2 a.m. EST (0700 GMT) on Jan. 4. While many meteor displays in 2011 were washed out by a bright moon, the Quadrantid meteor shower is expected to put on a spectacular light

Night sky guide for January 2012

Night sky guide for January 2012

January brings us striking views of the night skies! You’ll be able to see well known constellations during the long hours of darkness in the Northern hemisphere, with crisp cold skies. This is an ideal time to get out and look at the wonders of the night sky as t

Comet Lovejoy now visible with naked eye

Comet Lovejoy now visible with naked eye

Comet Lovejoy's tail is visible after all,  from around the southern hemisphere. It can be visible just before sunrise. Reports of two tails indicates that it develop dust and ion tail. The gaseous tail is blow almost directly away from the sun by solar wind