Friday, October 31, 2008

Spooky Auroras

Space Weather News for Oct. 30, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

Spooky Auroras

SPOOKY SKIES: The heavens are getting into the spirit of Halloween. A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field, stirring up ghostly auroras around the Arctic Circle. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for them tonight. Meanwhile, Venus and the crescent Moon are converging for a sunset sky show on Halloween itself. The bright pair will be widely visible even from light-polluted cities. Check http://spaceweather.com for photos and sky maps.

COLORADO FIREBALL: On Oct. 28th, a meteoroid hit Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated with the luminosity of a full Moon. By happenstance, the event occurred directly above an all-sky video camera in Colorado. Today's issue of Spaceweather.com features a movie of the fireball, the sound of radio echoes from the fireball's trail, and eyewitness reports from several US states.

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