Ringing in 2018 with 85 new species

A female and male of Japalura slowinskii, a new lizard from China. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

In 2017, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences, along with several dozen international collaborators, added 85 new plant and animal species to Earth’s tree of life, including 16 flowering plants, three scorpions, 10 sharks, 22 fish, a lizard, an elephant-shrew, and a slew of species with unique names (a butterflyfish named after Donald Rumsfeld and a ‘bat-wing’ sea slug named after Dumbo the Flying Elephant). The scientists made their discoveries in five continents and three oceans.

Dr. Shannon Bennett, Chief of Science at the California Academy of Sciences, said in a statement:

Despite tireless efforts to explore from the far-flung corners of the globe to our backyard crannies, scientists estimate that more than 90 percent of species have yet to be discovered — with many going extinct before we even know they exist. We are not only losing members of the tree of life; we are also forfeiting potential breakthroughs in medicine, agricultural pollinators, water purifiers, and many other critical components of a healthy planet.

Here are a few highlights from the 85 new species described by the Academy in 2017.

In 2017, seven new species of ants joined the tree of life in their march toward global domination. (Ants rival humans having colonized almost every landmass on Earth.) One new species, collected in Taiwan, was described from the Stigmatomma genus of Dracula ants infamous for drinking the blood of their larvae. Image via California Academy of Sciences

A newly described species of brown-and-white, charismatic butterflyfish made a fantastic, 7,000-mile journey before surprising scientists with its unknown status. Live specimens collected from 360 feet beneath the ocean’s surface in the Philippine’s Verde Island Passage escaped special notice until a single black fin spine tipped off aquarium biologists back in San Francisco. “We named this reef fish Roa rumsfeldi because, as Donald Rumsfeld once said, some things are truly ‘unknown unknowns,’” says Luiz Rocha, California Academy of Sciences curator of ichthyology. Roa rumsfeldi joins 21 other new fish, including a catfish from China and 20 new reef fish. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

Scientists elevated a subspecies of elephant-shrew known as Rhynchocyon stuhlmanni back to its original full species status. These small mammals are more closely related to elephants, sea cows, and aardvarks than to true shrews. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

Every spring, plants in the princess flower family color the rocky plateaus in Southeastern Brazil with flowers ranging from shades of purple, magenta, and pink to white, yellow, and orange. Lavoisiera canastrensis — one of several new species described in 2017 — is critically endangered, with fewer than a dozen populations growing on a single mountaintop in Brazil’s Serra da Canastra National Park, their only known habitat on Earth. Image via Frank Almeda/California Academy of Sciences.

Of 13 new species of sea slugs, eight were from the Philippines and are members of the bat-wing family. Unlike most sea slugs, they are capable of swimming, using tiny ‘wings’ that they flap to move through the water. This species was named Siphopteron dumbo given its resemblance to the famed flying elephant. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

Three new species join the club-tailed scorpions. A painstaking revision of a large group of Neotropical “club-tailed” scorpions led to three new descriptions of colorful species (and two new groups) hailing from the tropical regions of North, Central, and South America. “One wild thing about this group is that many species have the unique ability to make sounds by rubbing a specialized comb-like structure against their sandpaper-like abdomen,” said California Academy of Sciences arachnology curator Dr. Lauren Esposito. She said the warning is audible to the human ear, “sounding like a hiss, or a maraca shaking,” and is likely a loud way to tell predators: back off. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

Bottom line: Scientists described 85 new species in 2017.

Read more from the California Academy of Sciences

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2Cxvo4Z

A female and male of Japalura slowinskii, a new lizard from China. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

In 2017, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences, along with several dozen international collaborators, added 85 new plant and animal species to Earth’s tree of life, including 16 flowering plants, three scorpions, 10 sharks, 22 fish, a lizard, an elephant-shrew, and a slew of species with unique names (a butterflyfish named after Donald Rumsfeld and a ‘bat-wing’ sea slug named after Dumbo the Flying Elephant). The scientists made their discoveries in five continents and three oceans.

Dr. Shannon Bennett, Chief of Science at the California Academy of Sciences, said in a statement:

Despite tireless efforts to explore from the far-flung corners of the globe to our backyard crannies, scientists estimate that more than 90 percent of species have yet to be discovered — with many going extinct before we even know they exist. We are not only losing members of the tree of life; we are also forfeiting potential breakthroughs in medicine, agricultural pollinators, water purifiers, and many other critical components of a healthy planet.

Here are a few highlights from the 85 new species described by the Academy in 2017.

In 2017, seven new species of ants joined the tree of life in their march toward global domination. (Ants rival humans having colonized almost every landmass on Earth.) One new species, collected in Taiwan, was described from the Stigmatomma genus of Dracula ants infamous for drinking the blood of their larvae. Image via California Academy of Sciences

A newly described species of brown-and-white, charismatic butterflyfish made a fantastic, 7,000-mile journey before surprising scientists with its unknown status. Live specimens collected from 360 feet beneath the ocean’s surface in the Philippine’s Verde Island Passage escaped special notice until a single black fin spine tipped off aquarium biologists back in San Francisco. “We named this reef fish Roa rumsfeldi because, as Donald Rumsfeld once said, some things are truly ‘unknown unknowns,’” says Luiz Rocha, California Academy of Sciences curator of ichthyology. Roa rumsfeldi joins 21 other new fish, including a catfish from China and 20 new reef fish. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

Scientists elevated a subspecies of elephant-shrew known as Rhynchocyon stuhlmanni back to its original full species status. These small mammals are more closely related to elephants, sea cows, and aardvarks than to true shrews. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

Every spring, plants in the princess flower family color the rocky plateaus in Southeastern Brazil with flowers ranging from shades of purple, magenta, and pink to white, yellow, and orange. Lavoisiera canastrensis — one of several new species described in 2017 — is critically endangered, with fewer than a dozen populations growing on a single mountaintop in Brazil’s Serra da Canastra National Park, their only known habitat on Earth. Image via Frank Almeda/California Academy of Sciences.

Of 13 new species of sea slugs, eight were from the Philippines and are members of the bat-wing family. Unlike most sea slugs, they are capable of swimming, using tiny ‘wings’ that they flap to move through the water. This species was named Siphopteron dumbo given its resemblance to the famed flying elephant. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

Three new species join the club-tailed scorpions. A painstaking revision of a large group of Neotropical “club-tailed” scorpions led to three new descriptions of colorful species (and two new groups) hailing from the tropical regions of North, Central, and South America. “One wild thing about this group is that many species have the unique ability to make sounds by rubbing a specialized comb-like structure against their sandpaper-like abdomen,” said California Academy of Sciences arachnology curator Dr. Lauren Esposito. She said the warning is audible to the human ear, “sounding like a hiss, or a maraca shaking,” and is likely a loud way to tell predators: back off. Image via California Academy of Sciences.

Bottom line: Scientists described 85 new species in 2017.

Read more from the California Academy of Sciences

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2Cxvo4Z

Did our solar system form in a bubble around a giant star?

This simulation shows how bubbles form over the course of 4.7 million years from the intense stellar winds off a massive star. UChicago scientists postulated how our own solar system could have formed in the dense shell of such a bubble. Image via V. Dwarkadas/ D. Rosenberg/ UChicagoNews.

For decades, astronomers have accepted the theory that our sun and planets – our solar system – formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a spinning cloud of gas and dust. In recent years, they’ve added to that idea a triggering mechanism: a nearby supernova, or exploding star. A nearby supernova might have triggered a gravitational collapse in the cloud of gas and dust, ultimately leading to our sun and its planets. But questions have remained, and now University of Chicago scientists have described a new comprehensive theory, which can explain some of the mysteries. According to their theory, our solar system might have formed in the wind-blown bubbles around a giant, long-dead Wolf-Rayet star.

Their work was published December 22, 2017 in the peer-reviewed Astrophysical Journal.

Wolf-Rayet stars are a type of star – more than 40 to 50 times the size of our own sun – that aren’t supernovae yet, but will likely become supernovae in the future. The new scenario by the UChicago scientists starts with this type of star, which, their statement said:

… burns the hottest of all stars, producing tons of elements which are flung off the surface in an intense stellar wind. As the Wolf-Rayet star sheds its mass, the stellar wind plows through the material that was around it, forming a bubble structure with a dense shell.

Geophysicist Nicolas Dauphas at UChicago is a co-author on the new study. He said:

The shell of such a bubble is a good place to produce stars.

That’s because dust and gas become trapped inside where they can condense into stars, and presumably solar systems like the one in which we live.

These scientists estimate that 1 percent to 16 percent of all sunlike stars could be formed in the bubbles produced by Wolf-Rayet stars.

via GIPHY

The UChicago statement said:

This setup differs from the supernova hypothesis in order to make sense of two isotopes that occur in strange proportions in the early solar system, compared to the rest of the galaxy. Meteorites left over from the early solar system tell us there was a lot of aluminium-26. In addition, studies, including a 2015 one by Dauphas and a former student, increasingly suggest we had less of the isotope iron-60.

This brings scientists up short, because supernovae produce both isotopes.

Coauthor and astronomer Vikram Dwarkadas explained:

[The production of both elements by supernovae] begs the question of why one was injected into the solar system and the other was not.

That’s why these scientists turned to the idea of Wolf-Rayet stars. They are well-studied stars, known to release lots of aluminium-26, but no iron-60. Dwarkadas said

The idea is that aluminum-26 flung from the Wolf-Rayet star is carried outwards on grains of dust formed around the star. These grains have enough momentum to punch through one side of the shell, where they are mostly destroyed—trapping the aluminum inside the shell.

Eventually, part of the shell collapses inward due to gravity, forming our solar system, these scientists suggest.

As with all new theories, this one will have to undergo scrutiny by other scientists.

Slices of a simulation showing how bubbles around a massive star evolve over the course of millions of years (moving clockwise from top left). Image via V. Dwarkadas/ D. Rosenberg/ UChicagoNews.

Bottom line: A new theory suggests the possibility that our solar system formed in wind-blown bubbles around a giant, long-dead Wolf-Rayet star.

Source: Triggered star formation inside the shell of a Wolf-Rayet bubble as the origin of the solar system.

Via UChicagoNews

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2lKDv39

This simulation shows how bubbles form over the course of 4.7 million years from the intense stellar winds off a massive star. UChicago scientists postulated how our own solar system could have formed in the dense shell of such a bubble. Image via V. Dwarkadas/ D. Rosenberg/ UChicagoNews.

For decades, astronomers have accepted the theory that our sun and planets – our solar system – formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a spinning cloud of gas and dust. In recent years, they’ve added to that idea a triggering mechanism: a nearby supernova, or exploding star. A nearby supernova might have triggered a gravitational collapse in the cloud of gas and dust, ultimately leading to our sun and its planets. But questions have remained, and now University of Chicago scientists have described a new comprehensive theory, which can explain some of the mysteries. According to their theory, our solar system might have formed in the wind-blown bubbles around a giant, long-dead Wolf-Rayet star.

Their work was published December 22, 2017 in the peer-reviewed Astrophysical Journal.

Wolf-Rayet stars are a type of star – more than 40 to 50 times the size of our own sun – that aren’t supernovae yet, but will likely become supernovae in the future. The new scenario by the UChicago scientists starts with this type of star, which, their statement said:

… burns the hottest of all stars, producing tons of elements which are flung off the surface in an intense stellar wind. As the Wolf-Rayet star sheds its mass, the stellar wind plows through the material that was around it, forming a bubble structure with a dense shell.

Geophysicist Nicolas Dauphas at UChicago is a co-author on the new study. He said:

The shell of such a bubble is a good place to produce stars.

That’s because dust and gas become trapped inside where they can condense into stars, and presumably solar systems like the one in which we live.

These scientists estimate that 1 percent to 16 percent of all sunlike stars could be formed in the bubbles produced by Wolf-Rayet stars.

via GIPHY

The UChicago statement said:

This setup differs from the supernova hypothesis in order to make sense of two isotopes that occur in strange proportions in the early solar system, compared to the rest of the galaxy. Meteorites left over from the early solar system tell us there was a lot of aluminium-26. In addition, studies, including a 2015 one by Dauphas and a former student, increasingly suggest we had less of the isotope iron-60.

This brings scientists up short, because supernovae produce both isotopes.

Coauthor and astronomer Vikram Dwarkadas explained:

[The production of both elements by supernovae] begs the question of why one was injected into the solar system and the other was not.

That’s why these scientists turned to the idea of Wolf-Rayet stars. They are well-studied stars, known to release lots of aluminium-26, but no iron-60. Dwarkadas said

The idea is that aluminum-26 flung from the Wolf-Rayet star is carried outwards on grains of dust formed around the star. These grains have enough momentum to punch through one side of the shell, where they are mostly destroyed—trapping the aluminum inside the shell.

Eventually, part of the shell collapses inward due to gravity, forming our solar system, these scientists suggest.

As with all new theories, this one will have to undergo scrutiny by other scientists.

Slices of a simulation showing how bubbles around a massive star evolve over the course of millions of years (moving clockwise from top left). Image via V. Dwarkadas/ D. Rosenberg/ UChicagoNews.

Bottom line: A new theory suggests the possibility that our solar system formed in wind-blown bubbles around a giant, long-dead Wolf-Rayet star.

Source: Triggered star formation inside the shell of a Wolf-Rayet bubble as the origin of the solar system.

Via UChicagoNews

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2lKDv39

How snowflakes get their shape

Image via Paula Lancaster Lupi

The shape of snowflakes is influenced by the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere.

Snowflakes form in the atmosphere when cold water droplets freeze onto dust particles. Depending on the temperature and humidity of the air where the snowflakes form, the resulting ice crystals will grow into a myriad of different shapes.

How do you take photos of snowflakes?

Image via snowcystals.com

Wilson Bentley (1865 – 1931) from Jericho, Vermont was the first person to capture photographs of snowflakes through the use of a microscope attached to a camera. His collection of 5,000 snowflake images introduced many people to the astounding diversity of snow crystals.

William Bentley photographing snowflakes. Image via Snowflake Bentley.

In 1951, scientists from an organization now called the International Association of Cyrospheric Sciences (IACS) devised a classification system that characterized snowflakes into ten basic shapes. These shapes include the stellar crystals that many people are familiar with and odd snowflake forms such as capped columns. The IACS classification system is still in use today although there are other more complex classification systems as well.

Classification of snow crystals in 1951 by the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences. Image via Vincent J. Schaefer.

Kenneth Libbrecht, Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology, has made extensive observations of how water molecules get incorporated into snow crystals. In his research, he has observed that the most intricate snowflake patterns are formed when there is moisture in the air. Snowflakes produced in drier conditions tend to have simpler shapes.

Effects of temperature and humidity on snowflake formation. Image via Kenneth Libbrecht.

Temperature also has a large effect on the formation of snowflakes according to Libbrecht’s research. Snowflakes formed in temperatures below – 22 degrees Celsius (- 7.6 degrees Fahrenheit) consist primarily of simple crystal plates and columns whereas snowflakes with extensive branching patterns are formed in warmer temperatures.

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Bottom line: Temperature and humidity influence snowflake formation. The most intricate snowflake patterns are typically formed during warm and wet conditions.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/SudIHn

Image via Paula Lancaster Lupi

The shape of snowflakes is influenced by the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere.

Snowflakes form in the atmosphere when cold water droplets freeze onto dust particles. Depending on the temperature and humidity of the air where the snowflakes form, the resulting ice crystals will grow into a myriad of different shapes.

How do you take photos of snowflakes?

Image via snowcystals.com

Wilson Bentley (1865 – 1931) from Jericho, Vermont was the first person to capture photographs of snowflakes through the use of a microscope attached to a camera. His collection of 5,000 snowflake images introduced many people to the astounding diversity of snow crystals.

William Bentley photographing snowflakes. Image via Snowflake Bentley.

In 1951, scientists from an organization now called the International Association of Cyrospheric Sciences (IACS) devised a classification system that characterized snowflakes into ten basic shapes. These shapes include the stellar crystals that many people are familiar with and odd snowflake forms such as capped columns. The IACS classification system is still in use today although there are other more complex classification systems as well.

Classification of snow crystals in 1951 by the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences. Image via Vincent J. Schaefer.

Kenneth Libbrecht, Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology, has made extensive observations of how water molecules get incorporated into snow crystals. In his research, he has observed that the most intricate snowflake patterns are formed when there is moisture in the air. Snowflakes produced in drier conditions tend to have simpler shapes.

Effects of temperature and humidity on snowflake formation. Image via Kenneth Libbrecht.

Temperature also has a large effect on the formation of snowflakes according to Libbrecht’s research. Snowflakes formed in temperatures below – 22 degrees Celsius (- 7.6 degrees Fahrenheit) consist primarily of simple crystal plates and columns whereas snowflakes with extensive branching patterns are formed in warmer temperatures.

Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!

Bottom line: Temperature and humidity influence snowflake formation. The most intricate snowflake patterns are typically formed during warm and wet conditions.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/SudIHn

New Year’s fireworks?

Dwarf galaxy Kiso 5649, via ESA.

In this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope – released January 2, 2018 – a firestorm of star birth is lighting up one end of the dwarf galaxy Kiso 5649 (aka LEDA 36252). ESA said:

The galaxy is a member of a class of galaxies called ‘tadpoles’ because of their bright heads and elongated tails. This galaxy resides relatively nearby, at a distance of 80 million light-years. Tadpoles are rare in the local universe but common in the distant universe, suggesting that many galaxies pass through a phase like this as they evolve.

Read more from ESA about this image.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2A9GQho

Dwarf galaxy Kiso 5649, via ESA.

In this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope – released January 2, 2018 – a firestorm of star birth is lighting up one end of the dwarf galaxy Kiso 5649 (aka LEDA 36252). ESA said:

The galaxy is a member of a class of galaxies called ‘tadpoles’ because of their bright heads and elongated tails. This galaxy resides relatively nearby, at a distance of 80 million light-years. Tadpoles are rare in the local universe but common in the distant universe, suggesting that many galaxies pass through a phase like this as they evolve.

Read more from ESA about this image.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2A9GQho

Latest sunrises happen in early January

Photo at top: Peter Bowers

So you like to sleep late, but don’t want to miss the sunrise? This time of year is for you. Sleep on – if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, that is. The latest sunrises of 2017 are happening around now for mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. For example, sunrise time in the central U.S. – say, around Wichita, Kansas – for the next several days will be around 7:45 a.m.

Meanwhile, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, your latest sunsets are happening around now, assuming you’re at mid-southern latitudes.

Many sky watchers notice this phenomenon, which is part of an unvarying sequence each year. For us at mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the sequence is: earliest sunset in early December, shortest day at the solstice around December 21, latest sunrise in early January.

At middle latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the sequence is: earliest sunrise in early December, longest day at the December solstice, latest sunset in early January.

This natural order is part of what we can expect, every year.

The discrepancy between the clock and sun gives us the latest sunrises after the winter solstice for mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Photo of the Larkin sundial via Anika Malone

The December solstice always brings the shortest day to the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day to the Southern Hemisphere. But, clearly, the latest sunrise doesn’t coincide with the day of least daylight, and the latest sunset doesn’t happen on the day of greatest daylight. Why not?

The main reason is that the Earth’s rotational axis is tilted 23.5^o out of vertical to the plane of our orbit around the sun. A secondary reason is that the Earth’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle. Due to our eccentric orbit (that’s an orbit shaped like a squashed circle, with the sun slightly off its center), Earth travels fastest in January and slowest in July.

Clock time gets a bit out of sync with sun time – by about the tune of 1/2 minute per day for several weeks around the December solstice.

Because solar noon (midday) comes later by the clock today than on the solstice, so do the times of sunrise and sunset. The table below helps to explain:

For Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date	Sunrise	Solar Noon (Midday)	Sunset	Daylight Hours
December 7	7:09 a.m.	11:52 a.m.	4:35 p.m.	9 hours 26 minutes
December 21	7:19 a.m.	11:59 a.m.	4:39 p.m.	9 hours 20 minutes
January 3	7:23 a.m.	12:05 p.m.	4:48 p.m.	9 hours 25 minutes

The exact date for the latest sunrise or latest sunset varies by latitude. At present, mid-temperate latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere have their latest sunrises, while the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-temperate latitudes are watching their latest sunsets. At latitudes closer to the equator, the latest sunrise or latest sunset has yet to come. Closer to the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the latest sunrise and latest sunset have already come and gone.

But in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, the sequence is always the same:

1) earliest sunset, winter solstice, latest sunrise
2) earliest sunrise, summer solstice, latest sunset

Bottom line: Notice the time of sunrise and sunset at this time of year. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, your latest sunrises are happening around now at mid-northern latitudes. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, mid-latitudes are watching the year’s latest sunsets. Enjoy them!

A planisphere is virtually indispensable for beginning stargazers. Order your EarthSky Planisphere today!

Earth comes closest to the sun in early January

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1Bcduvr

Photo at top: Peter Bowers

So you like to sleep late, but don’t want to miss the sunrise? This time of year is for you. Sleep on – if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, that is. The latest sunrises of 2017 are happening around now for mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. For example, sunrise time in the central U.S. – say, around Wichita, Kansas – for the next several days will be around 7:45 a.m.

Meanwhile, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, your latest sunsets are happening around now, assuming you’re at mid-southern latitudes.

Many sky watchers notice this phenomenon, which is part of an unvarying sequence each year. For us at mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the sequence is: earliest sunset in early December, shortest day at the solstice around December 21, latest sunrise in early January.

At middle latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the sequence is: earliest sunrise in early December, longest day at the December solstice, latest sunset in early January.

This natural order is part of what we can expect, every year.

The discrepancy between the clock and sun gives us the latest sunrises after the winter solstice for mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Photo of the Larkin sundial via Anika Malone

The December solstice always brings the shortest day to the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day to the Southern Hemisphere. But, clearly, the latest sunrise doesn’t coincide with the day of least daylight, and the latest sunset doesn’t happen on the day of greatest daylight. Why not?

The main reason is that the Earth’s rotational axis is tilted 23.5^o out of vertical to the plane of our orbit around the sun. A secondary reason is that the Earth’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle. Due to our eccentric orbit (that’s an orbit shaped like a squashed circle, with the sun slightly off its center), Earth travels fastest in January and slowest in July.

Clock time gets a bit out of sync with sun time – by about the tune of 1/2 minute per day for several weeks around the December solstice.

Because solar noon (midday) comes later by the clock today than on the solstice, so do the times of sunrise and sunset. The table below helps to explain:

For Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date	Sunrise	Solar Noon (Midday)	Sunset	Daylight Hours
December 7	7:09 a.m.	11:52 a.m.	4:35 p.m.	9 hours 26 minutes
December 21	7:19 a.m.	11:59 a.m.	4:39 p.m.	9 hours 20 minutes
January 3	7:23 a.m.	12:05 p.m.	4:48 p.m.	9 hours 25 minutes

The exact date for the latest sunrise or latest sunset varies by latitude. At present, mid-temperate latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere have their latest sunrises, while the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-temperate latitudes are watching their latest sunsets. At latitudes closer to the equator, the latest sunrise or latest sunset has yet to come. Closer to the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the latest sunrise and latest sunset have already come and gone.

But in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, the sequence is always the same:

1) earliest sunset, winter solstice, latest sunrise
2) earliest sunrise, summer solstice, latest sunset

Bottom line: Notice the time of sunrise and sunset at this time of year. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, your latest sunrises are happening around now at mid-northern latitudes. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, mid-latitudes are watching the year’s latest sunsets. Enjoy them!

A planisphere is virtually indispensable for beginning stargazers. Order your EarthSky Planisphere today!

Earth comes closest to the sun in early January

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Air Force Antibody Research Could Save Lives during Disasters

The Air Force agreed to a licensing arrangement for antibodies that could help in areas hit by disaster and disease.

from http://ift.tt/2Cf9krP

The Air Force agreed to a licensing arrangement for antibodies that could help in areas hit by disaster and disease.

from http://ift.tt/2Cf9krP

See it! New Year’s supermoon

Neeti Kumthekar in Belmar, New Jersey caught the supermoon rising with a mirage effect. The rising or setting moon or sun can exhibit a mirage when there are air layers of different temperatures near your horizon, for example, over an ocean. Read more about mirages from Atmospheric Optics.

First full moon of 2018 – and closest supermoon – at 99.9% illumination as captured from Karachi, Pakistan by Talha Zia.

Abhijit Patil in Salem, Massachusetts wrote: “I went out to witness the first full moon of the new year and it was a soothing sight.” He also said this was the first moonrise he’s shot in 3 years of photography practice. Nice one, Abhijit!

Supermoon from Rome, Italy via Gianluca Masi at the Virtual Telescope Project, which hosted an online viewing of the event.

Heidi Gabbert in San Jose, California wrote: “New Year supermoon – January 1, 2018 – giving us a glimpse through the cloudy sky. The first of two full moons occurring in January.” True, and the second one on January 31 is also a supermoon – and a Blue Moon – and will undergo an eclipse!

Supermoon rising from Héctor Barrios in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Chirag Upreti in New Jersey caught the supermoon rising over midtown Manhattan. “I guess, after the holidays, even a supermoon needs a little help from a super crane to get it rolling!” he wrote.

Supermoon rising, from Bridget Borchert in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Supermoon setting behind the trees in Anchorage, Alaska, via Doug Short.

Mike Cohea caught the rising supermoon from Rhode Island and created the video above.

Rays of the rising supermoon. Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona said it was “almost blindingly bright! This is a 9-image HDR merged in Photoshop and processed with efex. Each image is spaced by 0,3 stops.”

Another one from Eliot Herman, who wrote: “The supermoon is almost too bright to look at through the telescope! This is over 100 images blended together to preserve detail and dynamic range of the super bright orb!” Captured from Tucson, Arizona a few minutes after the exact moment of full moon under slightly hazy skies. Read more about how Eliot made this composite.

“Happy New Year!!!” wrote Alexander Krivenyshev of WorldTimeZone.com, who captured the New Year’s full supermoon above the Empire State Building in New York City.

Gowrishankar Lakshminarayanan caught a closer view of NYC’s Empire State Building. He wrote: “This is a blue-hour composite of the supermoon rising over the Manhattan skyline. I had planned this shot to have the moon clip the spire of the Empire State Building which was lit red/green for the post-Christmas holiday. This is a composite of 12 images, with the moon spaced 3 minutes apart.”

January 1, 2018 reflecting in a swimming pool, with blue underwater lighting switched on, from Peter Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe.

Supermoon from Greg Redfern in Virginia.

Supermoon from Andy Bentley in California.

Smokey supermoon from Greg Bishop in Los Alamitos, California. He shot this through light clouds and fireplace smoke.

January 1, 2018 rising supermoon captured by Kwong Liew in Livermore, California at the top of a hill along Paterson Pass Road.

“First full moon of 2018 and a super one to boot,” wrote Lou Musacchio in Montreal.

Steve Scanlon Photography wrote on January 1: “Tonight’s rising supermoon over homes on Grange Avenue, Fair Haven, NJ. A frozen Navesink River in the foreground. 1/1/18 4:41pm.”

Greg Diesel-Walck wrote on January 1: “Tonight’s Wolf Moon rising over the Potomac River – Washington DC”

A creative use of lens flares from Helio C. Vital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He wrote: “The topocentric distance to the moon was only 352,000 km [218,723 miles], making it 18% greater in apparent area and in brightness than the average moon.”

View larger. | Here’s another creative shot, from Zsolt Berend in London, who wrote: “Many people stopped and had a WOW moment when the Wolf Moon started to rise above the horizon, giving a perfect addition to the skyline of London from the Millennium Bridge. Many took their smart phones to seize the moment … in this photo, the moon is the brightest spot on the top right, and it is also on the phone on the top left.”

New Year supermoon January 1, 2018 – Ploiesti, Romania via Steliana Cristina Voicu.

January 1 full supermoon from Karthik Easvur in Hyderabad, India.

Raymond Johnston caught the January 1, 2018 supermoon from Prague, Czech Republic.

James Billups in southern California caught the moonset on the morning of January 1, 2018 via a Palomar mountain webcam. He wrote: “We are approx 3 miles southwest of the Palomar Observatory.”

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2lH0uvI

Neeti Kumthekar in Belmar, New Jersey caught the supermoon rising with a mirage effect. The rising or setting moon or sun can exhibit a mirage when there are air layers of different temperatures near your horizon, for example, over an ocean. Read more about mirages from Atmospheric Optics.

First full moon of 2018 – and closest supermoon – at 99.9% illumination as captured from Karachi, Pakistan by Talha Zia.

Abhijit Patil in Salem, Massachusetts wrote: “I went out to witness the first full moon of the new year and it was a soothing sight.” He also said this was the first moonrise he’s shot in 3 years of photography practice. Nice one, Abhijit!

Supermoon from Rome, Italy via Gianluca Masi at the Virtual Telescope Project, which hosted an online viewing of the event.

Heidi Gabbert in San Jose, California wrote: “New Year supermoon – January 1, 2018 – giving us a glimpse through the cloudy sky. The first of two full moons occurring in January.” True, and the second one on January 31 is also a supermoon – and a Blue Moon – and will undergo an eclipse!

Supermoon rising from Héctor Barrios in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Chirag Upreti in New Jersey caught the supermoon rising over midtown Manhattan. “I guess, after the holidays, even a supermoon needs a little help from a super crane to get it rolling!” he wrote.

Supermoon rising, from Bridget Borchert in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Supermoon setting behind the trees in Anchorage, Alaska, via Doug Short.

Mike Cohea caught the rising supermoon from Rhode Island and created the video above.

Rays of the rising supermoon. Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona said it was “almost blindingly bright! This is a 9-image HDR merged in Photoshop and processed with efex. Each image is spaced by 0,3 stops.”

Another one from Eliot Herman, who wrote: “The supermoon is almost too bright to look at through the telescope! This is over 100 images blended together to preserve detail and dynamic range of the super bright orb!” Captured from Tucson, Arizona a few minutes after the exact moment of full moon under slightly hazy skies. Read more about how Eliot made this composite.

“Happy New Year!!!” wrote Alexander Krivenyshev of WorldTimeZone.com, who captured the New Year’s full supermoon above the Empire State Building in New York City.

Gowrishankar Lakshminarayanan caught a closer view of NYC’s Empire State Building. He wrote: “This is a blue-hour composite of the supermoon rising over the Manhattan skyline. I had planned this shot to have the moon clip the spire of the Empire State Building which was lit red/green for the post-Christmas holiday. This is a composite of 12 images, with the moon spaced 3 minutes apart.”

January 1, 2018 reflecting in a swimming pool, with blue underwater lighting switched on, from Peter Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe.

Supermoon from Greg Redfern in Virginia.

Supermoon from Andy Bentley in California.

Smokey supermoon from Greg Bishop in Los Alamitos, California. He shot this through light clouds and fireplace smoke.

January 1, 2018 rising supermoon captured by Kwong Liew in Livermore, California at the top of a hill along Paterson Pass Road.

“First full moon of 2018 and a super one to boot,” wrote Lou Musacchio in Montreal.

Steve Scanlon Photography wrote on January 1: “Tonight’s rising supermoon over homes on Grange Avenue, Fair Haven, NJ. A frozen Navesink River in the foreground. 1/1/18 4:41pm.”

Greg Diesel-Walck wrote on January 1: “Tonight’s Wolf Moon rising over the Potomac River – Washington DC”

A creative use of lens flares from Helio C. Vital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He wrote: “The topocentric distance to the moon was only 352,000 km [218,723 miles], making it 18% greater in apparent area and in brightness than the average moon.”

View larger. | Here’s another creative shot, from Zsolt Berend in London, who wrote: “Many people stopped and had a WOW moment when the Wolf Moon started to rise above the horizon, giving a perfect addition to the skyline of London from the Millennium Bridge. Many took their smart phones to seize the moment … in this photo, the moon is the brightest spot on the top right, and it is also on the phone on the top left.”

New Year supermoon January 1, 2018 – Ploiesti, Romania via Steliana Cristina Voicu.

January 1 full supermoon from Karthik Easvur in Hyderabad, India.

Raymond Johnston caught the January 1, 2018 supermoon from Prague, Czech Republic.

James Billups in southern California caught the moonset on the morning of January 1, 2018 via a Palomar mountain webcam. He wrote: “We are approx 3 miles southwest of the Palomar Observatory.”

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2lH0uvI