According to worldwide observers reporting to the International Meteor Organization, there was indeed an outburst of Draconid meteors on October 8th. Preliminary counts suggest a peak rate of 660 meteors per hour at 2010 UT (4:10 pm EDT).Most Draconids in the
Comet Elenin, the supposed “doomsday comet” that has inspired so much confusion and controversy since its discovery in December 2010, may have broken apart completely during its recent pass around the Sun.Discoverer Leonid Elenin posted the image
For all those who live in the Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East area, a short reminder to keep watching the clock for 17-18:00 UTC when you may be in the right place at the right time for a burst of activity from the annual Draconid Meteor Shower. There’s a
Want to know what science experiments the astronauts are working on in the International Space Station today? Interested in looking over the shoulder of the flight controllers in Houston? There’s a new website that allows you to follow all the activities on the space
Most of us space-minded folks don’t need an excuse to gaze upon the brightest object in the night sky – our own Moon. But just in case you need a reason or are hoping to convince some friends or family to take a look with you, there’s a special event coming up
Minor geomagnetic storming (G1 on the Geomagnetic Storm Scale) is underway following the arrival at Earth of 1 or more Coronal Mass Ejections that erupted from the Sun late last week and into the weekend. Activity is not expected to strengthen much beyond current
On October 8th Earth is going to plow through a stream of dust from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, and the result could be an outburst of Draconid meteors.”We’re predicting as many as 750 meteors per hour,” says William Cooke of the Meteoroid Environment Office at
Yesterday, October 4th, something exploded on the far side of the sun and propelled a spectacular CME into space. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the cloud as it emerged from behind the sun’s limb:Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab have
A comet discovered by amateur astronomers on Friday, Sept. 30th, disintegrated in spectacular fashion the very next day when it plunged into the sun. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the comet’s last hours. The end was punctuated by an unexpected
On October 1st around 10:17 UT, widely-spaced sunspots 1302 and 1305 erupted in quick succession, revealing a long-distance entanglement which was not obvious before. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded the movie of the double blast:Since it was
