A mystery mollusk sea slug in the deep ocean

A video about the newly described sea slug Bathydevius caudactylus, from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

• Scientists identified a new deep-sea sea slug species, Bathydevius caudactylus, using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
• Bathydevius caudactylus, found in the dark, cold depths of the ocean, is the only known sea slug living in deep open waters.
• This mostly gelatinous sea slug uses a unique head hood to catch crustaceans. It’s bioluminescent and can swim, or drift in the currents.

The 2025 EarthSky lunar calendar makes a great gift. Get yours today!

A discovery 20 years in the making

In February 2000, scientists using cameras on a remotely operated vehicle (called ROV for short) spotted an unusual sea slug swimming in the deep sea. They nicknamed it the mystery mollusk. Since then, there have been over 150 ROV sightings of this animal. And scientists were able to collect several specimens for detailed study in laboratories. Now, more than 20 years since that first sighting, they have enough information to announce that this sea slug is in fact a new species.

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) published their findings in the December 2024 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers.

They named the sea slug species Bathydevius caudactylus. This animal lives in a deep ocean zone cast in perpetual darkness because sunlight never reaches such great depths. It has a head dominated by a large gelatinous hood, a trunk containing internal organs, and a tail that acts like a paddle. Bathydevius are small creatures, with captured specimens ranging in size from 2.2 to 5.7 inches (56 to 145 millimeters). Moreover, they are bioluminescent, meaning these organisms can light up in the dark due to light-producing chemicals in their bodies.

Paper co-author, Steven Haddock remarked in a statement:

What is exciting to me about the mystery mollusk is that it exemplifies how much we are learning as we spend more time in the deep sea, particularly below 2,000 meters [6,500 feet]. For there to be a relatively large, unique, and glowing animal that is in a previously unknown family really underscores the importance of using new technology to catalog this vast environment. The more we learn about deep-sea communities, the better we will be at ocean decision-making and stewardship.

Bathydevius is a sea slug known as a nudibranch

When scientists first saw Bathydevius, they did not know what to make of it. That’s because they were puzzled by its appearance. For instance, a hood-like structure dominated the animal’s head. Its flat tail had several tentacle-like protrusions. In addition, within its almost transparent trunk were reddish internal organs.

A view of the newly identified sea slug species Bathydevius caudactylus. Image via MBARI. Used with permission.

Using ROVs, scientists carefully captured several of these delicate mystery mollusks for detailed anatomical and genetic studies. This work allowed them to confirm that their mystery mollusk was a nudibranch. Also known as sea slugs, nudibranchs are often found in shallower water such as tide pools and coral reefs. Some live in open water, near the ocean surface. In addition, a few nudibranch species live on the ocean floor.

However, Bathydevius was different. It was first encountered in the deep open waters of Monterey Bay. Since then, it has been observed in deep waters off the North American Pacific coast, ranging offshore from Oregon to Southern California. A similar-looking sea slug was spotted in the Mariana Trench, the deepest ocean trench, in the Western Pacific. Could that also be Bathydevius? Scientists aren’t sure, but if it is, that would greatly expand its range.

Bathydevius is a unique sea slug

What makes Bathydevius unique? It is the only sea slug known to live in deep open water. This animal has been found in depths from 3,300 to 13,100 feet (1,000 to 4,000 meters) in ocean waters known as the bathypelagic zone. This section of the ocean is always dark because sunlight never reaches such great depths. It is also very cold, about 39° Fahrenheit (4° Celsius). Pressures ranges from 100 to 400 atmospheres, depending on depth.

Like other nudibranchs, Bathydevius is a hermaphrodite, which means that it has both male and female sex organs. Scientists have observed them spawning, by attaching themselves to the seafloor with their muscular foot and laying ribbons of eggs.

The scientists also found, based on genetic studies of specimens they caught, that this creature is unique enough to belong to its own taxonomic family. (Family is a higher-level classification rank for closely related species. In this case, Bathydevius caudactylus is the only species in the family Bathydeviidae.)

A sea slug adapted for deep ocean waters

Most sea slugs feed using a rough-surfaced tongue, called a radula, taking prey attached to objects such as rocks. Bathydevius, however, uses its hood as a trap to catch crustaceans like shrimp, not unlike a Venus flytrap.

The sea slug species Bathydevius caudactylus with its hood extended open. Image via MBARI. Used with permission.

It swims slowly in the water by undulating its body. Sometimes, it simply drifts in the currents. Because Bathydevius has an almost transparent body, it is able to go largely undetected by predators. But if it needs to make an escape, it closes its hood rapidly, which propels its body backward.

Bathydevius is bioluminescent. It can create a light display, possibly to deter predators. The light comes from granules embedded in its body and appears like tiny blue stars illuminating the shape of the animal.

Bioluminescent spots in Bathydevius caudactylus, captured using a low-light camera system. Image via MBARI. Used with permission.

Haddock remarked in the statement:

Only recently have cameras become capable of filming bioluminescence in high-resolution and in full color. MBARI is one of the only places in the world where we have taken this new technology into the deep ocean, allowing us to study the luminous behavior of deep-sea animals in their natural habitat.

Bottom line: After 20 years of research, scientists have identified and named a new species of sea slug that lives in the deep ocean. They’ve called it Bathydevius caudactylus.

Source: Discovery and description of a remarkable bathypelagic nudibranch, Bathydevius caudactylus, gen. et. sp. nov.

Via Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)

Read more: The adorable leaf sheep sea slug: Lifeform of the week

The post A mystery mollusk sea slug in the deep ocean first appeared on EarthSky.

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A video about the newly described sea slug Bathydevius caudactylus, from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

• Scientists identified a new deep-sea sea slug species, Bathydevius caudactylus, using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
• Bathydevius caudactylus, found in the dark, cold depths of the ocean, is the only known sea slug living in deep open waters.
• This mostly gelatinous sea slug uses a unique head hood to catch crustaceans. It’s bioluminescent and can swim, or drift in the currents.

The 2025 EarthSky lunar calendar makes a great gift. Get yours today!

A discovery 20 years in the making

In February 2000, scientists using cameras on a remotely operated vehicle (called ROV for short) spotted an unusual sea slug swimming in the deep sea. They nicknamed it the mystery mollusk. Since then, there have been over 150 ROV sightings of this animal. And scientists were able to collect several specimens for detailed study in laboratories. Now, more than 20 years since that first sighting, they have enough information to announce that this sea slug is in fact a new species.

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) published their findings in the December 2024 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers.

They named the sea slug species Bathydevius caudactylus. This animal lives in a deep ocean zone cast in perpetual darkness because sunlight never reaches such great depths. It has a head dominated by a large gelatinous hood, a trunk containing internal organs, and a tail that acts like a paddle. Bathydevius are small creatures, with captured specimens ranging in size from 2.2 to 5.7 inches (56 to 145 millimeters). Moreover, they are bioluminescent, meaning these organisms can light up in the dark due to light-producing chemicals in their bodies.

Paper co-author, Steven Haddock remarked in a statement:

What is exciting to me about the mystery mollusk is that it exemplifies how much we are learning as we spend more time in the deep sea, particularly below 2,000 meters [6,500 feet]. For there to be a relatively large, unique, and glowing animal that is in a previously unknown family really underscores the importance of using new technology to catalog this vast environment. The more we learn about deep-sea communities, the better we will be at ocean decision-making and stewardship.

Bathydevius is a sea slug known as a nudibranch

When scientists first saw Bathydevius, they did not know what to make of it. That’s because they were puzzled by its appearance. For instance, a hood-like structure dominated the animal’s head. Its flat tail had several tentacle-like protrusions. In addition, within its almost transparent trunk were reddish internal organs.

A view of the newly identified sea slug species Bathydevius caudactylus. Image via MBARI. Used with permission.

Using ROVs, scientists carefully captured several of these delicate mystery mollusks for detailed anatomical and genetic studies. This work allowed them to confirm that their mystery mollusk was a nudibranch. Also known as sea slugs, nudibranchs are often found in shallower water such as tide pools and coral reefs. Some live in open water, near the ocean surface. In addition, a few nudibranch species live on the ocean floor.

However, Bathydevius was different. It was first encountered in the deep open waters of Monterey Bay. Since then, it has been observed in deep waters off the North American Pacific coast, ranging offshore from Oregon to Southern California. A similar-looking sea slug was spotted in the Mariana Trench, the deepest ocean trench, in the Western Pacific. Could that also be Bathydevius? Scientists aren’t sure, but if it is, that would greatly expand its range.

Bathydevius is a unique sea slug

What makes Bathydevius unique? It is the only sea slug known to live in deep open water. This animal has been found in depths from 3,300 to 13,100 feet (1,000 to 4,000 meters) in ocean waters known as the bathypelagic zone. This section of the ocean is always dark because sunlight never reaches such great depths. It is also very cold, about 39° Fahrenheit (4° Celsius). Pressures ranges from 100 to 400 atmospheres, depending on depth.

Like other nudibranchs, Bathydevius is a hermaphrodite, which means that it has both male and female sex organs. Scientists have observed them spawning, by attaching themselves to the seafloor with their muscular foot and laying ribbons of eggs.

The scientists also found, based on genetic studies of specimens they caught, that this creature is unique enough to belong to its own taxonomic family. (Family is a higher-level classification rank for closely related species. In this case, Bathydevius caudactylus is the only species in the family Bathydeviidae.)

A sea slug adapted for deep ocean waters

Most sea slugs feed using a rough-surfaced tongue, called a radula, taking prey attached to objects such as rocks. Bathydevius, however, uses its hood as a trap to catch crustaceans like shrimp, not unlike a Venus flytrap.

The sea slug species Bathydevius caudactylus with its hood extended open. Image via MBARI. Used with permission.

It swims slowly in the water by undulating its body. Sometimes, it simply drifts in the currents. Because Bathydevius has an almost transparent body, it is able to go largely undetected by predators. But if it needs to make an escape, it closes its hood rapidly, which propels its body backward.

Bathydevius is bioluminescent. It can create a light display, possibly to deter predators. The light comes from granules embedded in its body and appears like tiny blue stars illuminating the shape of the animal.

Bioluminescent spots in Bathydevius caudactylus, captured using a low-light camera system. Image via MBARI. Used with permission.

Haddock remarked in the statement:

Only recently have cameras become capable of filming bioluminescence in high-resolution and in full color. MBARI is one of the only places in the world where we have taken this new technology into the deep ocean, allowing us to study the luminous behavior of deep-sea animals in their natural habitat.

Bottom line: After 20 years of research, scientists have identified and named a new species of sea slug that lives in the deep ocean. They’ve called it Bathydevius caudactylus.

Source: Discovery and description of a remarkable bathypelagic nudibranch, Bathydevius caudactylus, gen. et. sp. nov.

Via Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)

Read more: The adorable leaf sheep sea slug: Lifeform of the week

The post A mystery mollusk sea slug in the deep ocean first appeared on EarthSky.

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How to see Earth’s shadow at sunrise and sunset

EarthSky’s Kelly Whitt explains how to see Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus, in this video.

Earth’s shadow is easy to see

Like all worlds orbiting a sun, Earth casts a shadow. It extends some 870,000 miles (1.4 million km) into space. And like all shadows, the shadow of Earth is always opposite the sun. You can see the shadow of Earth cast onto Earth’s atmosphere twice daily as a bluish band adjacent to the horizon. It’s easy to see in the sky. Just look east after sunset or west before sunrise.

Plus, the pretty band of pink that lies on top of Earth’s bluish shadow is called the Belt of Venus. More on that below!

Watch the evolution of the Earth's shadow after sunset in this outstanding video by Jan Curtis. You can see more of his work here: https://t.co/cOf2udpGOn pic.twitter.com/cgSLZ3871b

— EarthSky (@earthskyscience) November 14, 2023

The 2025 EarthSky Lunar Calendar makes a great gift. Get yours today!

What to look for to see Earth’s shadow

You’ll see Earth’s shadow as a deep blue-gray. It’s darker than the blue of the twilight sky.

The shadow of the Earth is big. It helps to be on a hill or somewhere you have a long view to the horizon. You might have to turn your head this way and that – along the arc of the horizon opposite the sun – to see the whole thing. And, just so you’ll recognize it more easily, remember that the shadow is curved, in exactly the same way that the whole Earth is curved.

Once you spot it, don’t go back inside just yet. Wait a while, and watch Earth’s shadow ascending or descending at exactly the same rate that the sun is rising or setting on the opposite horizon.

And here’s a fun thought … night itself is a shadow. When night falls, you’re standing within the shadow of Earth.

What exactly is the Belt of Venus?

The Belt of Venus, that pink band of sky above Earth’s shadow, also has the name of the anti-twilight arch. So, for example, during sunset, the colors of twilight will be happening in the west, and when you turn to the opposite horizon, you’ll see the anti-twilight arch. You’ve probably noticed that sometimes the whole sky seems colorful at sunset. There’s a good chance that what you’re seeing opposite the sunset is Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus.

When the sun is below the horizon, some of the sun’s rays of light still reach our atmosphere. The light passes through our atmosphere and – at the antisolar point – it backscatters. That light then reaches back to us in shades of pink.

You might think that the Belt of Venus got its name from the planet Venus. Venus, orbiting inside Earth’s orbit, never strays far from the sun in our sky. So we often see it around sunrise and sunset. But, of course, the sun is on the opposite side of the sky from the Belt of Venus. So if Venus is visible in the sky, it’s near the sun, not on the opposite horizon.

Instead, like many other objects we know in the sky, it gets its name from ancient myth. The Belt of Venus is named for the Goddess of Love’s pink girdle.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kamala Venkatesh in Julian, California, captured this image on November 2, 2023. Kamala wrote: “I shot this post-sunset pointing my camera to the east.” She caught the blue band of Earth’s shadow and the pink band called the Belt of Venus. Thank you, Kamala! Learn how to see Earth’s shadow, plus the pink band above Earth’s shadow known as the Belt of Venus.

Our shadow is why we see lunar eclipses

Earth’s shadow extends so far into space that it can touch the moon. That’s what a lunar eclipse is. It’s the moon within Earth’s shadow.

When the sun, Earth and moon align in space (nearly or perfectly), with the Earth between the sun and moon, then Earth’s shadow falls on the moon’s face. That’s when people on Earth see the shadow gradually turn a bright full moon into a dark lunar eclipse.

As seen from Earth’s surface, there are typically two or more lunar eclipses every year. Some are total, some are partial, some are a subtle kind of eclipse known as penumbral.

During a lunar eclipse, a very small amount of light from the sun filters through Earth’s atmosphere onto Earth’s shadow on the moon. It’s why – at the middle part of a total lunar eclipse – the shadow on the moon looks reddish.

A lunar eclipse takes place when the sun, Earth and full moon line up in space. The full moon passes through Earth’s shadow. Image via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain).

The view from space

Another way to get an awareness of Earth’s shadow is simply to think about it as seen from space.

The image below provides a beautiful global view of Earth at night. It’s a composite image, assembled from data acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite over nine days in April 2012 and 13 days in October 2012.

The dark part is, of course, in Earth’s shadow.

Global view of Earth at night. Image via NASA.

Photos of Earth’s shadow

EarthSky’s global community shares amazing photos with us every day. Here are some of their images of Earth’s shadow. Do you have a great photo to share? Send it to us!

View larger. | Jan Curtis captured this view of the full moon rising in Earth’s shadow with the pink Belt of Venus above on November 30, 2020, from Wyoming. In this image, you can see the curve of the blue shadow that mimics the curve of Earth. Image via Jan Curtis. Used with permission.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | EarthSky’s own Kelly Kizer Whitt captured this image of Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus on November 13, 2023.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Dennis Schoenfelder captured this sunset image on October 7, 2023. Dennis wrote: “We were out walking our dog and just happened to see these anticrepuscular rays. We moved to a spot for a nice reflection.” Thank you, Dennis! In this image, you can also see the dark blue of Earth’s shadow and the pink Belt of Venus.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohamed Farouk at Kottamia Astronomical Observatory in Egypt captured this image on August 2, 2023. Mohamed wrote: “The 1st supermoon of August 2023 is setting through the Belt of Venus.” Thank you, Mohamed!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Stephanie Longo captured this image of Earth’s shadow (on the right side) and the pink Belt of Venus before sunrise on February 2, 2020. Thank you, Stephanie!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cissy Beasley captured the moon from Rockport, Texas. She wrote: “As a longtime fan of the original StarDate radio show when I was a student at UT Austin, I have since been intrigued with nature photography. As a professional nature photographer, I eagerly embrace opportunities to capture scenes of sunrises and sunsets, and the moon. Last night, I found a nice spot for documenting the rising moon amid the Belt of Venus. Here is what I saw!” Gorgeous, Cissy. Thank you!

During Starship launch

When SpaceX attempted its second launch of Starship on November 18, 2023, it was during morning as the sun was rising. In some of the early images, you could see Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus behind the rocket.

On November 18, 2023, as Starship waited for launch, we could see Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus along the horizon. Image via SpaceX.

Bottom line: You can see Earth’s shadow in both the evening and morning sky. It appears as a bluish band opposite the sun. At sunset, face east and look for a dark blue line along the horizon. Above that you may see a pink band, which carries the pretty name of the Belt of Venus.

The post How to see Earth’s shadow at sunrise and sunset first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/P27MvQc

EarthSky’s Kelly Whitt explains how to see Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus, in this video.

Earth’s shadow is easy to see

Like all worlds orbiting a sun, Earth casts a shadow. It extends some 870,000 miles (1.4 million km) into space. And like all shadows, the shadow of Earth is always opposite the sun. You can see the shadow of Earth cast onto Earth’s atmosphere twice daily as a bluish band adjacent to the horizon. It’s easy to see in the sky. Just look east after sunset or west before sunrise.

Plus, the pretty band of pink that lies on top of Earth’s bluish shadow is called the Belt of Venus. More on that below!

Watch the evolution of the Earth's shadow after sunset in this outstanding video by Jan Curtis. You can see more of his work here: https://t.co/cOf2udpGOn pic.twitter.com/cgSLZ3871b

— EarthSky (@earthskyscience) November 14, 2023

The 2025 EarthSky Lunar Calendar makes a great gift. Get yours today!

What to look for to see Earth’s shadow

You’ll see Earth’s shadow as a deep blue-gray. It’s darker than the blue of the twilight sky.

The shadow of the Earth is big. It helps to be on a hill or somewhere you have a long view to the horizon. You might have to turn your head this way and that – along the arc of the horizon opposite the sun – to see the whole thing. And, just so you’ll recognize it more easily, remember that the shadow is curved, in exactly the same way that the whole Earth is curved.

Once you spot it, don’t go back inside just yet. Wait a while, and watch Earth’s shadow ascending or descending at exactly the same rate that the sun is rising or setting on the opposite horizon.

And here’s a fun thought … night itself is a shadow. When night falls, you’re standing within the shadow of Earth.

What exactly is the Belt of Venus?

The Belt of Venus, that pink band of sky above Earth’s shadow, also has the name of the anti-twilight arch. So, for example, during sunset, the colors of twilight will be happening in the west, and when you turn to the opposite horizon, you’ll see the anti-twilight arch. You’ve probably noticed that sometimes the whole sky seems colorful at sunset. There’s a good chance that what you’re seeing opposite the sunset is Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus.

When the sun is below the horizon, some of the sun’s rays of light still reach our atmosphere. The light passes through our atmosphere and – at the antisolar point – it backscatters. That light then reaches back to us in shades of pink.

You might think that the Belt of Venus got its name from the planet Venus. Venus, orbiting inside Earth’s orbit, never strays far from the sun in our sky. So we often see it around sunrise and sunset. But, of course, the sun is on the opposite side of the sky from the Belt of Venus. So if Venus is visible in the sky, it’s near the sun, not on the opposite horizon.

Instead, like many other objects we know in the sky, it gets its name from ancient myth. The Belt of Venus is named for the Goddess of Love’s pink girdle.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kamala Venkatesh in Julian, California, captured this image on November 2, 2023. Kamala wrote: “I shot this post-sunset pointing my camera to the east.” She caught the blue band of Earth’s shadow and the pink band called the Belt of Venus. Thank you, Kamala! Learn how to see Earth’s shadow, plus the pink band above Earth’s shadow known as the Belt of Venus.

Our shadow is why we see lunar eclipses

Earth’s shadow extends so far into space that it can touch the moon. That’s what a lunar eclipse is. It’s the moon within Earth’s shadow.

When the sun, Earth and moon align in space (nearly or perfectly), with the Earth between the sun and moon, then Earth’s shadow falls on the moon’s face. That’s when people on Earth see the shadow gradually turn a bright full moon into a dark lunar eclipse.

As seen from Earth’s surface, there are typically two or more lunar eclipses every year. Some are total, some are partial, some are a subtle kind of eclipse known as penumbral.

During a lunar eclipse, a very small amount of light from the sun filters through Earth’s atmosphere onto Earth’s shadow on the moon. It’s why – at the middle part of a total lunar eclipse – the shadow on the moon looks reddish.

A lunar eclipse takes place when the sun, Earth and full moon line up in space. The full moon passes through Earth’s shadow. Image via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain).

The view from space

Another way to get an awareness of Earth’s shadow is simply to think about it as seen from space.

The image below provides a beautiful global view of Earth at night. It’s a composite image, assembled from data acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite over nine days in April 2012 and 13 days in October 2012.

The dark part is, of course, in Earth’s shadow.

Global view of Earth at night. Image via NASA.

Photos of Earth’s shadow

EarthSky’s global community shares amazing photos with us every day. Here are some of their images of Earth’s shadow. Do you have a great photo to share? Send it to us!

View larger. | Jan Curtis captured this view of the full moon rising in Earth’s shadow with the pink Belt of Venus above on November 30, 2020, from Wyoming. In this image, you can see the curve of the blue shadow that mimics the curve of Earth. Image via Jan Curtis. Used with permission.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | EarthSky’s own Kelly Kizer Whitt captured this image of Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus on November 13, 2023.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Dennis Schoenfelder captured this sunset image on October 7, 2023. Dennis wrote: “We were out walking our dog and just happened to see these anticrepuscular rays. We moved to a spot for a nice reflection.” Thank you, Dennis! In this image, you can also see the dark blue of Earth’s shadow and the pink Belt of Venus.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohamed Farouk at Kottamia Astronomical Observatory in Egypt captured this image on August 2, 2023. Mohamed wrote: “The 1st supermoon of August 2023 is setting through the Belt of Venus.” Thank you, Mohamed!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Stephanie Longo captured this image of Earth’s shadow (on the right side) and the pink Belt of Venus before sunrise on February 2, 2020. Thank you, Stephanie!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cissy Beasley captured the moon from Rockport, Texas. She wrote: “As a longtime fan of the original StarDate radio show when I was a student at UT Austin, I have since been intrigued with nature photography. As a professional nature photographer, I eagerly embrace opportunities to capture scenes of sunrises and sunsets, and the moon. Last night, I found a nice spot for documenting the rising moon amid the Belt of Venus. Here is what I saw!” Gorgeous, Cissy. Thank you!

During Starship launch

When SpaceX attempted its second launch of Starship on November 18, 2023, it was during morning as the sun was rising. In some of the early images, you could see Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus behind the rocket.

On November 18, 2023, as Starship waited for launch, we could see Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus along the horizon. Image via SpaceX.

Bottom line: You can see Earth’s shadow in both the evening and morning sky. It appears as a bluish band opposite the sun. At sunset, face east and look for a dark blue line along the horizon. Above that you may see a pink band, which carries the pretty name of the Belt of Venus.

The post How to see Earth’s shadow at sunrise and sunset first appeared on EarthSky.

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Red monsters were massive galaxies in the early universe

Watch as EarthSky’s Will Triggs talks about red monsters, massive galaxies in the early universe.

The 2025 EarthSky Lunar Calendar is now available! A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar. Makes a great gift. Get yours today!

Red monsters were giant early galaxies

Astronomers thought galaxies in the early universe wouldn’t be too massive, because star production was just getting started. But the Webb Space Telescope recently discovered three “red monsters,” or massive, dusty galaxies that existed within the first billion years after the Big Bang. An international team of scientists said on November 13, 2024, that these galaxies were nearly as large as our own Milky Way galaxy. Therefore, our current models of galaxy formation will need some rethinking.

Presently, the leading theory of galaxy formation states that they form slowly, within halos of dark matter. Scientists thought that the gas trapped by these halos wasn’t particularly efficient at forming stars and, eventually, galaxies. But based on how early these massive galaxies appeared, the process must be more efficient than suspected.

Co-author Stijn Wuyts of Bath University said:

Finding three such massive beasts among the sample poses a tantalizing puzzle. Many processes in galaxy evolution have a tendency to introduce a rate-limiting step in how efficiently gas can convert into stars, yet somehow these red monsters appear to have swiftly evaded most of these hurdles.

The team published their results in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on November 13, 2024.

The Webb Space Telescope captured these 3 red monsters. The red monsters were extremely massive, dusty galaxies that existed in the 1st billion years after the Big Bang. Image via NASA/ CSA/ ESA/ M. Xiao/ P. A. Oesch (University of Geneva)/ G. Brammer (Niels Bohr Institute)/ Dawn JWST Archive.

How did they find the red monsters?

The Webb Space Telescope has powerful infrared vision that lets astronomers peer through dusty environments and get a peek at the early universe. In November 2022 and February 2023, Webb took long looks deep into space during the First Reionization Epoch Spectroscopically Complete Observations (FRESCO) survey.

While most of the galaxies in the survey fit the current model for galaxy formation, there were three surprises: the red monsters. These galaxies form stars twice as efficiently as the others. And because they have a high dust content, they appear redder, which earned them their name. Co-author David Elbaz of CEA Paris-Saclay said:

The massive properties of these ‘red monsters’ were hardly determined before JWST [James Webb Space Telescope], as they are optically invisible due to dust attenuation.

FRESCO’s goal was to:

… systematically analyze a complete sample of emission-line galaxies within the first billion years of cosmic history.

Emission-line galaxies are those that have strong emission lines in their spectra. So certain wavelengths appear brighter in these galaxies. These bright emission lines helped the astronomers pinpoint their distance from us. Then, knowing their spectra and distances led to a measurement of how many stars were within the galaxies.

Co-author Pascal Oesch of the University of Geneva said spectroscopy with Webb enabled them to:

identify and study the growth of galaxies over time, and to obtain a clearer picture of how stellar mass accumulates over the course of cosmic history.

More research ahead

The discovery of the red monsters isn’t a complete upheaval of what we understand about the formation of stars and galaxies in the early universe. But it does contribute to the existing question of how there can be so many massive galaxies so close to the Big Bang.

Lead author Mengyuan Xiao of the University of Geneva said:

Our findings are reshaping our understanding of galaxy formation in the early universe. These results indicate that galaxies in the early universe could form stars with unexpected efficiency. As we study these galaxies in more depth, they will offer new insights into the conditions that shaped the universe’s earliest epochs. The ‘red monsters’ are just the beginning of a new era in our exploration of the early universe.

Bottom line: Red monsters were massive galaxies in the early universe. Astronomers aren’t yet sure how these galaxies became so massive so soon after the Big Bang.

Source: Accelerated formation of ultra-massive galaxies in the first billion years

Via University of Geneva

Via Bath University

The post Red monsters were massive galaxies in the early universe first appeared on EarthSky.

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Watch as EarthSky’s Will Triggs talks about red monsters, massive galaxies in the early universe.

The 2025 EarthSky Lunar Calendar is now available! A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar. Makes a great gift. Get yours today!

Red monsters were giant early galaxies

Astronomers thought galaxies in the early universe wouldn’t be too massive, because star production was just getting started. But the Webb Space Telescope recently discovered three “red monsters,” or massive, dusty galaxies that existed within the first billion years after the Big Bang. An international team of scientists said on November 13, 2024, that these galaxies were nearly as large as our own Milky Way galaxy. Therefore, our current models of galaxy formation will need some rethinking.

Presently, the leading theory of galaxy formation states that they form slowly, within halos of dark matter. Scientists thought that the gas trapped by these halos wasn’t particularly efficient at forming stars and, eventually, galaxies. But based on how early these massive galaxies appeared, the process must be more efficient than suspected.

Co-author Stijn Wuyts of Bath University said:

Finding three such massive beasts among the sample poses a tantalizing puzzle. Many processes in galaxy evolution have a tendency to introduce a rate-limiting step in how efficiently gas can convert into stars, yet somehow these red monsters appear to have swiftly evaded most of these hurdles.

The team published their results in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on November 13, 2024.

The Webb Space Telescope captured these 3 red monsters. The red monsters were extremely massive, dusty galaxies that existed in the 1st billion years after the Big Bang. Image via NASA/ CSA/ ESA/ M. Xiao/ P. A. Oesch (University of Geneva)/ G. Brammer (Niels Bohr Institute)/ Dawn JWST Archive.

How did they find the red monsters?

The Webb Space Telescope has powerful infrared vision that lets astronomers peer through dusty environments and get a peek at the early universe. In November 2022 and February 2023, Webb took long looks deep into space during the First Reionization Epoch Spectroscopically Complete Observations (FRESCO) survey.

While most of the galaxies in the survey fit the current model for galaxy formation, there were three surprises: the red monsters. These galaxies form stars twice as efficiently as the others. And because they have a high dust content, they appear redder, which earned them their name. Co-author David Elbaz of CEA Paris-Saclay said:

The massive properties of these ‘red monsters’ were hardly determined before JWST [James Webb Space Telescope], as they are optically invisible due to dust attenuation.

FRESCO’s goal was to:

… systematically analyze a complete sample of emission-line galaxies within the first billion years of cosmic history.

Emission-line galaxies are those that have strong emission lines in their spectra. So certain wavelengths appear brighter in these galaxies. These bright emission lines helped the astronomers pinpoint their distance from us. Then, knowing their spectra and distances led to a measurement of how many stars were within the galaxies.

Co-author Pascal Oesch of the University of Geneva said spectroscopy with Webb enabled them to:

identify and study the growth of galaxies over time, and to obtain a clearer picture of how stellar mass accumulates over the course of cosmic history.

More research ahead

The discovery of the red monsters isn’t a complete upheaval of what we understand about the formation of stars and galaxies in the early universe. But it does contribute to the existing question of how there can be so many massive galaxies so close to the Big Bang.

Lead author Mengyuan Xiao of the University of Geneva said:

Our findings are reshaping our understanding of galaxy formation in the early universe. These results indicate that galaxies in the early universe could form stars with unexpected efficiency. As we study these galaxies in more depth, they will offer new insights into the conditions that shaped the universe’s earliest epochs. The ‘red monsters’ are just the beginning of a new era in our exploration of the early universe.

Bottom line: Red monsters were massive galaxies in the early universe. Astronomers aren’t yet sure how these galaxies became so massive so soon after the Big Bang.

Source: Accelerated formation of ultra-massive galaxies in the first billion years

Via University of Geneva

Via Bath University

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New Pentagon UAP report prompts Senate hearing today

One of the types of UAP objects that military pilots have reported in recent years are “cubes inside spheres,” in some cases passing very close to their fighter jets. The latest annual Pentagon UAP report from AARO sheds some more light on reported incidents from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024. Image via Andrew Pierce. Used with permission.

• AARO is the U.S. Department of Defense’s office tasked to investigate UAP, aka UFOs. UAP stands for “unidentified aerial phenomena.” This office, active since 2022, now releases annual reports on its findings. AARO focuses on reports of “sightings” from military personnel, for example from aircraft pilots.
• AARO released its latest unclassified public version of a UAP report on November 14, 2024. The report contains 757 new cases (sightings). As is usual, most cases were found to have commonplace explanations.
• The report also notes 21 unexplained cases. It calls them “truly anomalous.” So far, AARO has been unable to explain these 21 cases.

The 2025 EarthSky lunar calendar is now available! A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar. Keep up with all phases of the moon every night of the year.

Latest annual Pentagon UAP report released

Later today (November 19, 2024), the Senate Armed Services Committee, led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, will hold another hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), known to most of us as UFOs.

The first part of the hearing will be closed (classified), followed by the open (public) hearing. The public portion of the hearing starts at 4:30 p.m. EST. You can watch LIVE here or here.

The hearing will center on the latest annual report – issued November 14, 2024 – by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The report covers the past year’s findings by the DoD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). It covers a total of 757 new cases submitted to AARO since last year’s report. While the report repeats earlier statements that no connection to “extraterrestrials” has yet been found, it does note that at least 21 of the cases are unexplained.

These cases are said in the report to be “true anomalies.” AARO director Jon Kosloski also provided comments to reports during an off-camera media roundtable after the the DoD announced the release of the report. The DoD issued a press release on November 14, 2024, about the latest annual report. It noted that:

The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office is leading DoD’s efforts, in coordination with ODNI and other government agencies, to document, analyze and when possible, resolve UAP reports using a rigorous scientific framework and a data-driven approach.

The Senate hearing on November 19 will focus on testimony from Kosloski as well as recent incursions of probable drones/UAS (unmanned aerial systems) over Langley Air Force Base. Known drone incursions over military bases has been another problematic issue over the past few years, despite a lack of media coverage about the issue.

Read the full report here

Also read a good summary from DefenseScoop

757 new cases in new UAP report

The report contains a total of 757 new cases that were reported to AARO since May 1 of last year. The report stated:

This report covers unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) reports from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024, and all UAP reports from any previous time periods that were not included in an earlier report. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) received 757 UAP reports during this period; 485 of these reports featured UAP incidents that occurred during the reporting period. The remaining 272 reports featured UAP incidents that occurred between 2021 and 2022 but were not reported to AARO until this reporting period and consequently were not included in previous annual UAP reports.

Most cases resolved

Many of those cases have been resolved, fitting with many various earlier studies that have shown that the majority of cases can be explained as prosaic. The report said:

AARO resolved 118 cases during the reporting period, all of which resolved to prosaic objects such as various types of balloons, birds and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). As of May 31, 2024, AARO has an additional 174 cases queued for closure, pending a final review and Director’s approval. As of the publishing date of this report, all 174 cases have been finalized as resolved to prosaic objects including balloons, birds, UAS, satellites and aircraft. Many other cases remain unresolved and AARO continues collection and analysis on that body of cases. It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology.

Reported distribution of UAP cases and hot spots in the new AARO report, from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024. These reports come from military personnel and facilities, which is why they are grouped in certain regions. Image via U.S. Department of Defense.

Air and space domains

708 of the reported incidents occurred in the air domain. And interestingly, 49 of the cases are from the space domain. Those were from estimated altitudes of 62 miles (100 km) or higher. As the report said:

AARO notes that none of the space domain reports originated from space-based sensors or assets; rather, all of these reports originated from military or commercial pilots or ground observers who reported UAP located at altitudes estimated at 100 kilometers or higher, consistent with U.S. Space Command’s (USSPACECOM) astrographic area of responsibility.

No known connections to adversaries

A popular theory is that most UAP reports are the result of adversarial nations spying with drones or balloons. While some incidents do indeed involve drones and balloons in general, the report also noted that to date, none of the resolved UAP cases have been attributed to foreign adversarial activities. It said:

None of these resolved cases substantiated advanced foreign adversarial capabilities or breakthrough aerospace technologies. AARO will provide immediate notification to Congress should AARO identify that any cases indicate or involve a breakthrough foreign adversarial aerospace capability.

Reported morphologies (types) of UAP in the new AARO report, from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024. Image via U.S. Department of Defense.

21 ‘truly anomalous’ cases

AARO’s mandate is to focus on cases that remain anomalous after investigation. When other cases are resolved as commonplace, they are handed off to other agencies. As Kosloski told DefenseScoop on November 14:

So those investigations are conducted by somebody else, and we’re focusing on the truly anomalous where we don’t understand the activity.

Out of 757 new cases, AARO deemed 21 of them to be significant enough for more detailed study. These include three incidents where pilots reported being “trailed or shadowed” by UAP. The report said:

AARO is working closely with its IC (intelligence community) and S&T (science and technology) partners to understand and attribute the 21 cases received this reporting period that merit further analysis based on reported anomalous characteristics and/or behaviors.

While none of the resolved cases were found to involve breakthrough technologies, what about the still-unresolved ones? AARO doesn’t know yet. Kosloski said:

That’s exactly right. So we don’t fully understand the phenomenon enough to say whether or not it’s a breakthrough technology or not. So it’s a very small percentage of our overall cases that after the initial analysis still have the anomalous characteristics that one could attribute breakthrough technologies to. It’s less than 3.5% of our cases. And we’re still studying those with our IC and S&T partners, trying to understand what technologies could be used to provide those characteristics.

Not all drones and UAS

Kosloski also noted that there are several particularly interesting cases that AARO is still working on. These are presumably among the 21 cases previously mentioned. He also stated that these UAP incidents are not all just drones and UAS:

It’s definitely not all just drones and UAS. So we have several particularly interesting cases. We’re working on within the office, working with our partners to downgrade several of those cases, so we can talk about them publicly. But there are interesting cases that I, with my physics and engineering background and time in the IC, I do not understand. And I don’t know anybody else who understands them either. Until we get the information approved for release, I’d rather not say where those sightings were, but definitely interesting sightings.

Reported object types of resolved UAP cases in the new AARO report from May 1, 2023 to June 1, 2024. These do not include still-unresolved cases. Image via U.S. Department of Defense.

Declassification workshop

For the public, one of the primary frustrations has been the over-classification of UAP information. Indeed, even when documents are released through FOIA, they are still largely blacked out. Kosloski said that AARO is working to improve that:

We’re going to be hosting a declassification workshop, so we can make sure we’re implementing best practices from across the DOD and the IC. All of that takes more time than I think the public would like for it to take, but AARO is working on it. We recognize that the types of cases that I was just talking about are, from my perspective, true anomalies.

And we’re going to need significant scientific rigor to address those. And yes, the U.S. government has a lot of nice scientists, little bias there, but we’re going to need the help of academia and the public to address some of these so we need to build that more transparent partnership.

Schematic diagram of the DoD’s new GREMLIN surveillance system, designed to try to track and identify UAP. Image via U.S. Department of Defense.

GREMLIN surveillance system

AARO is also working on a new system of deployable advanced sensors called GREMLIN. The purpose is to try to track UAP activity in known hotspots. GREMLIN includes 2D and 3D radars, long-range electro-optical/infrared sensors, GPS, satellite communications, aircraft tracking systems and radio frequency spectrum monitoring.

It was first tested in March 2024 and is now deployed.

Bottom line: The DoD just released its new annual report on UAP, known to most of us as UFOs. The Pentagon UAP report covers 757 new cases, with 21 of them unexplained so far.

Source: Fiscal Year 2024 Consolidated Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena

Via U.S. Department of Defense (press release)

Via U.S. Department of Defense (Media Roundtable Transcript)

Via DefenseScoop

Read more: New UAP study: This one is from NASA

Read more: Exploring Mars’ Grand Canyon, plus a UFO camera for Mars

The post New Pentagon UAP report prompts Senate hearing today first appeared on EarthSky.

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One of the types of UAP objects that military pilots have reported in recent years are “cubes inside spheres,” in some cases passing very close to their fighter jets. The latest annual Pentagon UAP report from AARO sheds some more light on reported incidents from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024. Image via Andrew Pierce. Used with permission.

• AARO is the U.S. Department of Defense’s office tasked to investigate UAP, aka UFOs. UAP stands for “unidentified aerial phenomena.” This office, active since 2022, now releases annual reports on its findings. AARO focuses on reports of “sightings” from military personnel, for example from aircraft pilots.
• AARO released its latest unclassified public version of a UAP report on November 14, 2024. The report contains 757 new cases (sightings). As is usual, most cases were found to have commonplace explanations.
• The report also notes 21 unexplained cases. It calls them “truly anomalous.” So far, AARO has been unable to explain these 21 cases.

The 2025 EarthSky lunar calendar is now available! A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar. Keep up with all phases of the moon every night of the year.

Latest annual Pentagon UAP report released

Later today (November 19, 2024), the Senate Armed Services Committee, led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, will hold another hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), known to most of us as UFOs.

The first part of the hearing will be closed (classified), followed by the open (public) hearing. The public portion of the hearing starts at 4:30 p.m. EST. You can watch LIVE here or here.

The hearing will center on the latest annual report – issued November 14, 2024 – by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The report covers the past year’s findings by the DoD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). It covers a total of 757 new cases submitted to AARO since last year’s report. While the report repeats earlier statements that no connection to “extraterrestrials” has yet been found, it does note that at least 21 of the cases are unexplained.

These cases are said in the report to be “true anomalies.” AARO director Jon Kosloski also provided comments to reports during an off-camera media roundtable after the the DoD announced the release of the report. The DoD issued a press release on November 14, 2024, about the latest annual report. It noted that:

The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office is leading DoD’s efforts, in coordination with ODNI and other government agencies, to document, analyze and when possible, resolve UAP reports using a rigorous scientific framework and a data-driven approach.

The Senate hearing on November 19 will focus on testimony from Kosloski as well as recent incursions of probable drones/UAS (unmanned aerial systems) over Langley Air Force Base. Known drone incursions over military bases has been another problematic issue over the past few years, despite a lack of media coverage about the issue.

Read the full report here

Also read a good summary from DefenseScoop

757 new cases in new UAP report

The report contains a total of 757 new cases that were reported to AARO since May 1 of last year. The report stated:

This report covers unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) reports from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024, and all UAP reports from any previous time periods that were not included in an earlier report. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) received 757 UAP reports during this period; 485 of these reports featured UAP incidents that occurred during the reporting period. The remaining 272 reports featured UAP incidents that occurred between 2021 and 2022 but were not reported to AARO until this reporting period and consequently were not included in previous annual UAP reports.

Most cases resolved

Many of those cases have been resolved, fitting with many various earlier studies that have shown that the majority of cases can be explained as prosaic. The report said:

AARO resolved 118 cases during the reporting period, all of which resolved to prosaic objects such as various types of balloons, birds and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). As of May 31, 2024, AARO has an additional 174 cases queued for closure, pending a final review and Director’s approval. As of the publishing date of this report, all 174 cases have been finalized as resolved to prosaic objects including balloons, birds, UAS, satellites and aircraft. Many other cases remain unresolved and AARO continues collection and analysis on that body of cases. It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology.

Reported distribution of UAP cases and hot spots in the new AARO report, from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024. These reports come from military personnel and facilities, which is why they are grouped in certain regions. Image via U.S. Department of Defense.

Air and space domains

708 of the reported incidents occurred in the air domain. And interestingly, 49 of the cases are from the space domain. Those were from estimated altitudes of 62 miles (100 km) or higher. As the report said:

AARO notes that none of the space domain reports originated from space-based sensors or assets; rather, all of these reports originated from military or commercial pilots or ground observers who reported UAP located at altitudes estimated at 100 kilometers or higher, consistent with U.S. Space Command’s (USSPACECOM) astrographic area of responsibility.

No known connections to adversaries

A popular theory is that most UAP reports are the result of adversarial nations spying with drones or balloons. While some incidents do indeed involve drones and balloons in general, the report also noted that to date, none of the resolved UAP cases have been attributed to foreign adversarial activities. It said:

None of these resolved cases substantiated advanced foreign adversarial capabilities or breakthrough aerospace technologies. AARO will provide immediate notification to Congress should AARO identify that any cases indicate or involve a breakthrough foreign adversarial aerospace capability.

Reported morphologies (types) of UAP in the new AARO report, from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024. Image via U.S. Department of Defense.

21 ‘truly anomalous’ cases

AARO’s mandate is to focus on cases that remain anomalous after investigation. When other cases are resolved as commonplace, they are handed off to other agencies. As Kosloski told DefenseScoop on November 14:

So those investigations are conducted by somebody else, and we’re focusing on the truly anomalous where we don’t understand the activity.

Out of 757 new cases, AARO deemed 21 of them to be significant enough for more detailed study. These include three incidents where pilots reported being “trailed or shadowed” by UAP. The report said:

AARO is working closely with its IC (intelligence community) and S&T (science and technology) partners to understand and attribute the 21 cases received this reporting period that merit further analysis based on reported anomalous characteristics and/or behaviors.

While none of the resolved cases were found to involve breakthrough technologies, what about the still-unresolved ones? AARO doesn’t know yet. Kosloski said:

That’s exactly right. So we don’t fully understand the phenomenon enough to say whether or not it’s a breakthrough technology or not. So it’s a very small percentage of our overall cases that after the initial analysis still have the anomalous characteristics that one could attribute breakthrough technologies to. It’s less than 3.5% of our cases. And we’re still studying those with our IC and S&T partners, trying to understand what technologies could be used to provide those characteristics.

Not all drones and UAS

Kosloski also noted that there are several particularly interesting cases that AARO is still working on. These are presumably among the 21 cases previously mentioned. He also stated that these UAP incidents are not all just drones and UAS:

It’s definitely not all just drones and UAS. So we have several particularly interesting cases. We’re working on within the office, working with our partners to downgrade several of those cases, so we can talk about them publicly. But there are interesting cases that I, with my physics and engineering background and time in the IC, I do not understand. And I don’t know anybody else who understands them either. Until we get the information approved for release, I’d rather not say where those sightings were, but definitely interesting sightings.

Reported object types of resolved UAP cases in the new AARO report from May 1, 2023 to June 1, 2024. These do not include still-unresolved cases. Image via U.S. Department of Defense.

Declassification workshop

For the public, one of the primary frustrations has been the over-classification of UAP information. Indeed, even when documents are released through FOIA, they are still largely blacked out. Kosloski said that AARO is working to improve that:

We’re going to be hosting a declassification workshop, so we can make sure we’re implementing best practices from across the DOD and the IC. All of that takes more time than I think the public would like for it to take, but AARO is working on it. We recognize that the types of cases that I was just talking about are, from my perspective, true anomalies.

And we’re going to need significant scientific rigor to address those. And yes, the U.S. government has a lot of nice scientists, little bias there, but we’re going to need the help of academia and the public to address some of these so we need to build that more transparent partnership.

Schematic diagram of the DoD’s new GREMLIN surveillance system, designed to try to track and identify UAP. Image via U.S. Department of Defense.

GREMLIN surveillance system

AARO is also working on a new system of deployable advanced sensors called GREMLIN. The purpose is to try to track UAP activity in known hotspots. GREMLIN includes 2D and 3D radars, long-range electro-optical/infrared sensors, GPS, satellite communications, aircraft tracking systems and radio frequency spectrum monitoring.

It was first tested in March 2024 and is now deployed.

Bottom line: The DoD just released its new annual report on UAP, known to most of us as UFOs. The Pentagon UAP report covers 757 new cases, with 21 of them unexplained so far.

Source: Fiscal Year 2024 Consolidated Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena

Via U.S. Department of Defense (press release)

Via U.S. Department of Defense (Media Roundtable Transcript)

Via DefenseScoop

Read more: New UAP study: This one is from NASA

Read more: Exploring Mars’ Grand Canyon, plus a UFO camera for Mars

The post New Pentagon UAP report prompts Senate hearing today first appeared on EarthSky.

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Camels are adapted to desert life: Lifeform of the week

Image via Amer Yonis/ Unsplash.

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Camels are extremely resilient creatures, well adapted to life in the desert. Camels can tolerate both extreme heat and cold and go several weeks without drinking a drop of water. They eat whatever’s available, including plants with thorns or the bones and skins of dead animals. And they have a translucent eyelid to protect their eyes and help them see in sandstorms.

Do camels have one hump or two? The answer is both! One-humped camels are often called dromedaries, and two-humped camels are Bactrian camels.

Camels are extremely resilient

Camels live in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. They also live in Australia, where they were imported for labor in the 19th century and then abandoned. Because camels live in deserts, where there is barely any food, they have adapted to eat branches and plants with thorns without hurting their snouts or stomachs. They can also feed on the bones and skins of dead animals.

Camels are one of the animals that can resist extreme temperatures the best. That’s because they can withstand temps from 122 to -22 degrees Fahrenheit (50 to -30 degrees Celsius). Their fur is similar to that of llamas or alpacas. It is shorter in summer to protect them from the sun, and denser and longer in winter to cover them like a blanket, like sheep’s wool.

On the other hand, camels sweat very little. Humans start to sweat when the outside temperature rises higher than their body temperature, which is about 98 F (37 C). But camels have a unique thermostat. They have body temperatures that can span a wider range, rising an additional 10.8 F (6 C) before they start to sweat. This prevents water loss and dehydration.

Camels are extremely resilient animals. They can eat branches and plants with thorns, and withstand extreme temps. Image via Mohamed Hashif/ Unsplash.

Do camels store water in their humps?

It’s a myth that camels store water in their humps. The humps are actually made of fat. Thus, the humps reserve energy, not water. In fact, when camels don’t eat for a long time, their bodies consume this fat, and the humps become empty and slump to the side. Then, once they feed again, the camels regain their weight and their hump become upright.

Also, the camel’s humps play a key role in regulating body temperature. By storing fat in their humps, camels isolate the heat there, allowing the rest of their body to stay cooler during hot days. At night, camels gradually release stored heat throughout their bodies, preventing their temperature from dropping too much when it gets cooler.

The amount of time camels can live without water depends on several factors. Among other things, it depends on the season of the year, the temperature and the physical activity they’re partaking in. For example, in winter they can survive for 50 days without a drop of water.

If camels drink water frequently, then they consume it little by little. However, when they have gone a long time without tasting a drop, they can drink 35 gallons (135 liters) in just 13 minutes. They are real sponges. This ability to drink huge amounts of water and go days without ingesting liquids makes the camel perfect for desert life.

Some scientists think camels store water in their stomachs (with three distinct chambers), in their intestines, bladders and kidneys. Others think they store it in their bloodstream. But there’s no evidence, though, that camels can store water for long periods of time anywhere in their bodies.

Camels store fat in their humps, not water. Humps also help them regulate their body temperature. Image via long do/ Pexels.

Camels have three eyelids

In the desert there is little water, but what there is – in great quantity – is sand. Camels have thick, long eyelashes for protection from sand. But it turns out that camels also have three eyelids. The third eyelid is a transparent membrane that allows them to see during sandstorms.

Likewise, camels can partly or completely close their nostrils to prevent sand from entering their airways.

Another interesting fact about their anatomy is that camels have hairless and dry areas on their knees, elbows and chest. These areas are similar to thick calluses. These appear when the animal reaches the age of five months. These leather patches help support the animal’s weight when kneeling, resting and standing up.

And, did you know? Even though most camels have never seen large bodies of water, they know how to swim. Camels can even swim in the open sea to look for food or mates in other areas.

Camels are perfect for desert life. They even possess 3 eyelids. The 3rd one is a transparent membrane that allows them to see during sandstorms. Image via Amin Alavi/ Unsplash.

Camel babies

Normally, female camels have a single calf every two years. In addition, gestation lasts about 15 months, which means they have a low birth rate. When the calf is born, it follows its mother from a few hours after birth and accompanies her until three to five years of age. These mothers do a lot of caring for their babies.

And, did you know that camel milk is one of the most similar milks to human breast milk? In addition, it has a vitamin C content three times richer than cow’s milk. And it’s ideal for those who are lactose intolerant and diabetic.

Of course baby camels grow so big and strong! The life expectancy of the camel is around 40 to 50 years.

Female camels have only 1 calf every 2 years. The calves follow their moms until they are 3 to 5 years old. Image via Steven Su/ Unsplash.

One hump or two?

There are only three types of camels. The two-humped camel, the one-humped dromedary, and the wild camel, which has two humps and is critically endangered.

The dromedary, with a height between 6 and 8 feet (190 and 240 cm), is taller than the camel, which is between 5 and 6 feet (160 and 180 cm). The dromedary’s legs are longer. Curiously, camels are usually heavier than dromedaries. Dromedaries weigh between 880 and 1,520 pounds (400 and 690 kg), while camels weigh between 660 and 2,200 pounds (300 and 1,000 kg).

Furthermore, the dromedary has short, even fur, while the camel grows a thick, long coat of hair every winter. Camels cannot walk as far as dromedaries do with their long legs, but they do tolerate the cold much better thanks to their long hair.

There are many more dromedaries than camels, since there are about 16 million dromedaries and only 2 million camels. Dromedaries also inhabit the steppes, semi-deserts and deserts of the Canary Islands in Spain, and Australia in Oceania.

As for the wild camel … It is critically endangered, with only about 600 left in the Gobi Desert of northwest China and 450 in the Mongolian Desert.

Camels have 2 humps and dromedaries have 1. Dromedaries are taller, but camels are heavier. Camels also grow a dense, long fur in winter. Dromedaries sport a shorter, even fur. Image via Rishabh Dharmani/ Unsplash.

The outlook for camels

A problem for camels is that they are incredibly docile. Thus, they have been domesticated and used to work the land in agriculture, to transport heavy loads through the desert, for meat consumption and the manufacture of skins, for racing and as a tourist attraction.

Camels can’t jump, but they can run. For this reason, people use them in racing. They move at an average speed of 6 miles per hour (10 kph) when taking tourists through the desert, but they can run at 40 miles per hour (65 kph) in short races.

Camels are normally used as pack animals, because they’re capable of lifting up to 50% of their body weight. Likewise, people use their fur, milk and meat. And that’s why there are few wild camels left.

Camels are incredibly docile animals. Thus, they have been domesticated and used by humans in many ways. There are only about 1,000 wild camels in the world. And all dromedaries are domesticated. Image via Tapish/ Unsplash.

Hybrid camels

Additionally, camels and dromedaries can interbreed. And if you think that by mixing an animal with two humps with one with one hump, an animal with three humps is born … well no! Hybrids usually have a single hump, but a very large one. But sometimes they’re born with two humps.

Hybrids are often much larger and more productive than their purebred parents. Unfortunately, that once again means the animals are put to use by humans. People breed camels to obtain larger animals for competitions, or more resistant and more productive camels.

In fact, humans have even produced camas, that is, a hybrid between a dromedary and a llama, born by artificial insemination.

Camels are amazing creatures that are capable of lifting up to 50% of their body weight. They can even run and swim! Humans use them to transport heavy loads through the desert, as food, for racing, tourist attractions and more. Image via Stanislav Lvovsky/ Unsplash.

Bottom line: Camels are incredible animals that can live without water for weeks. But they also have many other unique adaptations for desert life.

Kangaroo rats are desert dwellers: Lifeform of the week

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Image via Amer Yonis/ Unsplash.

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Camels are extremely resilient creatures, well adapted to life in the desert. Camels can tolerate both extreme heat and cold and go several weeks without drinking a drop of water. They eat whatever’s available, including plants with thorns or the bones and skins of dead animals. And they have a translucent eyelid to protect their eyes and help them see in sandstorms.

Do camels have one hump or two? The answer is both! One-humped camels are often called dromedaries, and two-humped camels are Bactrian camels.

Camels are extremely resilient

Camels live in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. They also live in Australia, where they were imported for labor in the 19th century and then abandoned. Because camels live in deserts, where there is barely any food, they have adapted to eat branches and plants with thorns without hurting their snouts or stomachs. They can also feed on the bones and skins of dead animals.

Camels are one of the animals that can resist extreme temperatures the best. That’s because they can withstand temps from 122 to -22 degrees Fahrenheit (50 to -30 degrees Celsius). Their fur is similar to that of llamas or alpacas. It is shorter in summer to protect them from the sun, and denser and longer in winter to cover them like a blanket, like sheep’s wool.

On the other hand, camels sweat very little. Humans start to sweat when the outside temperature rises higher than their body temperature, which is about 98 F (37 C). But camels have a unique thermostat. They have body temperatures that can span a wider range, rising an additional 10.8 F (6 C) before they start to sweat. This prevents water loss and dehydration.

Camels are extremely resilient animals. They can eat branches and plants with thorns, and withstand extreme temps. Image via Mohamed Hashif/ Unsplash.

Do camels store water in their humps?

It’s a myth that camels store water in their humps. The humps are actually made of fat. Thus, the humps reserve energy, not water. In fact, when camels don’t eat for a long time, their bodies consume this fat, and the humps become empty and slump to the side. Then, once they feed again, the camels regain their weight and their hump become upright.

Also, the camel’s humps play a key role in regulating body temperature. By storing fat in their humps, camels isolate the heat there, allowing the rest of their body to stay cooler during hot days. At night, camels gradually release stored heat throughout their bodies, preventing their temperature from dropping too much when it gets cooler.

The amount of time camels can live without water depends on several factors. Among other things, it depends on the season of the year, the temperature and the physical activity they’re partaking in. For example, in winter they can survive for 50 days without a drop of water.

If camels drink water frequently, then they consume it little by little. However, when they have gone a long time without tasting a drop, they can drink 35 gallons (135 liters) in just 13 minutes. They are real sponges. This ability to drink huge amounts of water and go days without ingesting liquids makes the camel perfect for desert life.

Some scientists think camels store water in their stomachs (with three distinct chambers), in their intestines, bladders and kidneys. Others think they store it in their bloodstream. But there’s no evidence, though, that camels can store water for long periods of time anywhere in their bodies.

Camels store fat in their humps, not water. Humps also help them regulate their body temperature. Image via long do/ Pexels.

Camels have three eyelids

In the desert there is little water, but what there is – in great quantity – is sand. Camels have thick, long eyelashes for protection from sand. But it turns out that camels also have three eyelids. The third eyelid is a transparent membrane that allows them to see during sandstorms.

Likewise, camels can partly or completely close their nostrils to prevent sand from entering their airways.

Another interesting fact about their anatomy is that camels have hairless and dry areas on their knees, elbows and chest. These areas are similar to thick calluses. These appear when the animal reaches the age of five months. These leather patches help support the animal’s weight when kneeling, resting and standing up.

And, did you know? Even though most camels have never seen large bodies of water, they know how to swim. Camels can even swim in the open sea to look for food or mates in other areas.

Camels are perfect for desert life. They even possess 3 eyelids. The 3rd one is a transparent membrane that allows them to see during sandstorms. Image via Amin Alavi/ Unsplash.

Camel babies

Normally, female camels have a single calf every two years. In addition, gestation lasts about 15 months, which means they have a low birth rate. When the calf is born, it follows its mother from a few hours after birth and accompanies her until three to five years of age. These mothers do a lot of caring for their babies.

And, did you know that camel milk is one of the most similar milks to human breast milk? In addition, it has a vitamin C content three times richer than cow’s milk. And it’s ideal for those who are lactose intolerant and diabetic.

Of course baby camels grow so big and strong! The life expectancy of the camel is around 40 to 50 years.

Female camels have only 1 calf every 2 years. The calves follow their moms until they are 3 to 5 years old. Image via Steven Su/ Unsplash.

One hump or two?

There are only three types of camels. The two-humped camel, the one-humped dromedary, and the wild camel, which has two humps and is critically endangered.

The dromedary, with a height between 6 and 8 feet (190 and 240 cm), is taller than the camel, which is between 5 and 6 feet (160 and 180 cm). The dromedary’s legs are longer. Curiously, camels are usually heavier than dromedaries. Dromedaries weigh between 880 and 1,520 pounds (400 and 690 kg), while camels weigh between 660 and 2,200 pounds (300 and 1,000 kg).

Furthermore, the dromedary has short, even fur, while the camel grows a thick, long coat of hair every winter. Camels cannot walk as far as dromedaries do with their long legs, but they do tolerate the cold much better thanks to their long hair.

There are many more dromedaries than camels, since there are about 16 million dromedaries and only 2 million camels. Dromedaries also inhabit the steppes, semi-deserts and deserts of the Canary Islands in Spain, and Australia in Oceania.

As for the wild camel … It is critically endangered, with only about 600 left in the Gobi Desert of northwest China and 450 in the Mongolian Desert.

Camels have 2 humps and dromedaries have 1. Dromedaries are taller, but camels are heavier. Camels also grow a dense, long fur in winter. Dromedaries sport a shorter, even fur. Image via Rishabh Dharmani/ Unsplash.

The outlook for camels

A problem for camels is that they are incredibly docile. Thus, they have been domesticated and used to work the land in agriculture, to transport heavy loads through the desert, for meat consumption and the manufacture of skins, for racing and as a tourist attraction.

Camels can’t jump, but they can run. For this reason, people use them in racing. They move at an average speed of 6 miles per hour (10 kph) when taking tourists through the desert, but they can run at 40 miles per hour (65 kph) in short races.

Camels are normally used as pack animals, because they’re capable of lifting up to 50% of their body weight. Likewise, people use their fur, milk and meat. And that’s why there are few wild camels left.

Camels are incredibly docile animals. Thus, they have been domesticated and used by humans in many ways. There are only about 1,000 wild camels in the world. And all dromedaries are domesticated. Image via Tapish/ Unsplash.

Hybrid camels

Additionally, camels and dromedaries can interbreed. And if you think that by mixing an animal with two humps with one with one hump, an animal with three humps is born … well no! Hybrids usually have a single hump, but a very large one. But sometimes they’re born with two humps.

Hybrids are often much larger and more productive than their purebred parents. Unfortunately, that once again means the animals are put to use by humans. People breed camels to obtain larger animals for competitions, or more resistant and more productive camels.

In fact, humans have even produced camas, that is, a hybrid between a dromedary and a llama, born by artificial insemination.

Camels are amazing creatures that are capable of lifting up to 50% of their body weight. They can even run and swim! Humans use them to transport heavy loads through the desert, as food, for racing, tourist attractions and more. Image via Stanislav Lvovsky/ Unsplash.

Bottom line: Camels are incredible animals that can live without water for weeks. But they also have many other unique adaptations for desert life.

Kangaroo rats are desert dwellers: Lifeform of the week

Meerkats are our adorable and sociable lifeform of the week

The post Camels are adapted to desert life: Lifeform of the week first appeared on EarthSky.

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Mars in November 2024: It’s time to start watching!

We have our best views of Mars only once every two years. And that time is approaching! Watch for the moon near Mars in the next few days … and join us LIVE TUESDAY (12:15 p.m. CST or 18:15 UTC on November 19, 2024) for charts and more about Mars. By the way, another test launch of the SpaceX Starship, a vehicle designed to take us to Mars, is scheduled to happen later in the day on November 19, too. We’ll be talking about that and more! Click in for a “notify me” button.

• Mars can appear bright or faint in our sky. 2024 has been mostly a faint year, but Mars has been steadily brightening. It’s beginning to get bright! The time to start observing Mars for this two-year period is here.
• Mars is growing brighter as Earth catches up with Mars, in our smaller, faster orbit around the sun. The next opposition of Mars – when Earth will pass between it and the sun, bringing Mars closest and brightest – will come in January 2025.
• By the end of 2024, Mars will shine brightly at -1.2 magnitude. That’s brighter than most stars! Start watching it now.

Mars in 2024

Opposition for Mars last fell on December 7-8, 2022. That’s when our planet Earth last flew between Mars and the sun. Mars will reach opposition again in January 2025. Throughout November 2024, Mars has been growing brighter. It’s now easy to spot late at night or in the morning before dawn.
How to see Mars in the sky: Mars will be shining at magnitude -0.3 by the end of November. It’ll also be rising several hours after sunset by month’s end.
Note: Mars reaches opposition about every 26 months, or about every two Earth-years. So Mars alternates between appearing bright and faint in our sky. It was bright in late 2022 and early 2023. But by September 2023, Mars faded dramatically in brightness and disappeared in the sunset glare in October 2023. It last passed behind the sun on November 18, 2023. It’s now racing toward its January 2025 opposition.

Watch for Mars late at night on November 18 and 19, 2024, when the waning moon will slide near red it. The moon and Mars will be a striking sight near the twin stars of Gemini: Castor and Pollux. They’ll rise several hours after sunset the night before and be visible on the mornings of November 19 and 20. Read Mars updates for 2024, here. Or catch our Mars livestream on Tuesday, November 19.

Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

Chart via EarthSky.

In November 2024, red Mars will lie near the twin stars of Gemini: Castor and Pollux. And it’ll make a beeline toward the Beehive star cluster. It’ll rise in the late evening and will be obvious in the sky before dawn.Chart via EarthSky.

Sometimes, Mars is faint

Mars last reached opposition on December 8, 2022. It remained bright through early 2023, then started to rapidly fade through the end of the year. Mars reached superior conjunction – when it passed behind the sun as viewed from Earth – on November 18, 2023. It began 2024 as a faint object, far across the solar system from us. But now Mars is getting bright again.

The geometry of Mars’ orbit is such that it spends much longer periods of time at large distances from the Earth than it does close to us, which provides added incentive to observe it in the weeks around opposition. When it passes opposition, every 2 years, Mars appears large and bright for only a few weeks. Here’s a comparison of the apparent size of Mars when seen at its closest opposition, around its opposition in 2025, and at its most farthest opposition. Also shown is how Mars appears when it’s most distant from the Earth at solar conjunction. Image via Dominic Ford/ In-The-Sky.org. Used with permission.

Sometimes, Mars is bright

Mars’ dramatic swings in brightness (and its red color) are why the early stargazers named Mars for their God of War.

Sometimes the war god rests. And sometimes he grows fierce! These changes are part of the reason Mars is so fascinating to watch in the night sky.

When Mars passes opposition, every 2 years, it appears large and bright for only a few weeks. The panel above shows the change in Mars’ apparent size from November 20, 2024, to March 12, 2025. Mars will appear 14.6 arcseconds wide on January 15, 2025. Image via Dominic Ford/ In-The-Sky.org. Used with permission.

As Mars races towards its next opposition in January 2025, it’ll grow in apparent size and increase in brightness. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2024 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

Want to follow Mars? Bookmark EarthSky’s monthly night sky guide.

Mars isn’t very big

To understand why Mars varies so much in brightness in Earth’s sky, first realize that it isn’t a very big world. It’s only 4,219 miles (6,790 km) in diameter, making it only slightly more than half Earth’s size (7,922 miles or 12,750 km in diameter).

On the other hand, consider Mars in contrast to Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. Jupiter is 86,881 miles (140,000 km) in diameter. As an illustration, more than 20 planets the size of Mars could be lined up side by side in front of Jupiter. Basically, Jupiter always looks bright, because it’s so big.

Not so for little Mars, however. Rather, its extremes in brightness have to do with its nearness (or lack of nearness) to Earth.

Mars isn’t very big, so its brightness – when it is bright – isn’t due to its bigness, as is true of Jupiter. Mars’ brightness, or lack of brightness, is all about how close we are to the Red Planet. It’s all about where Earth and Mars are, relative to each other, in their respective orbits around the sun. Image via NASA.

Future Martian oppositions

As mentioned above, the next opposition of Mars – when will appear at its brightest in Earth’s sky for that two-year period – will be January 2025. Check out the chart on this page that lists all oppositions of Mars from 1995 to 2037.

There’s a 15-year cycle of Mars, whereby the Red Planet is brighter and fainter at opposition. In July 2018, we were at the peak of the 2-year cycle – and the peak of the 15-year cycle – and Mars was very, very bright! In 2020, we were also at the peak of the 2-year cycle; however, Earth and Mars were farther apart at Mars’ opposition than they were in 2018. Still, 2020’s opposition of Mars was excellent. And, in December 2022, Mars had a good opposition but appeared smaller and dimmer than in 2020, since we were farther away from it. And the January 2025 opposition will find Mars smaller and dimmer than Mars was in 2022. Diagram by Roy L. Bishop. Copyright Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Used with permission. Visit the RASC eStore to purchase the Observer’s Handbook, a necessary tool for all skywatchers.

EarthSky Community Photos

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Paolo Bardelli of Italy made this composite image and said: “On January 16, 2025, Mars will be in opposition, the previous one occurred on December 8, 2022, when it became the brightest object in the night sky. During these periods, tracing the apparent motion of the Red Planet from evening to evening is very interesting, as a real “noose” is created, with a double reversal of its movement. This put ancient sky observers in crisis at the time when the geocentric theory was dominant. Putting things in their place, it turned out to be a simple perspective effect, due to the mutual motion of Earth and Mars. This image is the sum of a sequence taken every useful evening, clouds permitting, from August 12, 2022, to March 22, 2023. The background is the sum of 22 shots of the area of the sky where Mars was located, the rich star field of the constellation del Toro (Taurus). By coincidence, in February 2023 the path of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) crossed the noose.” Thank you, Paolo!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Miguel Ventura in Fafe, Portugal, captured this image on August 28, 2022, and wrote: “Every now and then and in addition to its natural beauty, the night sky and the whims of the universe offer us moments like this. With some planning and luck in the mix (truce from the clouds) I was able to photograph this magnificent alignment. We can see the Pleiades and the constellation of Taurus with the planet Mars between these 2 … below near the horizon the imposing constellation of Orion appears, announcing the autumn sky.” Thank you, Miguel!

Seeing red

Mars appears as a reddish light in the sky and, therefore, is often called the Red Planet. Other obvious red dots in the sky are reddish-orange Aldebaran and the famous red supergiant Betelgeuse. So, it is fun to contrast Mars’ color and intensity of red with that of Aldebaran or Betelgeuse.

And then there is red Antares. Antares is Greek for rival of Ares, meaning rival of Mars. Antares is sometimes said to be the anti-Mars due to its competing red color. For a few months every couple of years Mars is much brighter than Antares. Also, every couple of years Mars passes near Antares, as if taunting the star. Mars moves rapidly through the heavens and Antares is fixed to the starry firmament.

What makes them red?

Surface temperature is what determines the colors of the stars. The hottest stars are blue and the coolest stars are red. In fact, from hottest to coolest, the colors of stars range from blue, white, yellow, orange and red. And while the colors of stars might be hard to detect, some stars – like Aldebaran, Antares and Betelgeuse – are noticeably colorful.

On the other hand, Mars appears red for a different reason. It’s red because of iron oxide in the dust that covers this desert world. Iron oxide gives rust and blood its red color. Rovers on Mars sampled the Martian dust and determined it contains three colors: reds, browns and oranges. So those three colors are what you may see when you gaze upon Mars.

Do you see red when you look at Mars, Aldebaran, Antares and Betelgeuse? Are they the same color? Do you see any other colors of stars?

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Nancy Ricigliano captured Mars from Long Island, New York, on October 6, 2020, when it was closest to Earth. Thank you, Nancy. See more photos of Mars at its closest in 2020.

Bottom line: Mars is getting bright! And it has shifted into the evening sky. By the end of 2024, it’ll become much more noticeable. Its opposition, when it’ll be brightest for this two-year period, will fall in January 2025.

Moon and Mars! Fav photos of December 7 occultation

Photos of bright Mars in 2018, from the EarthSky community

Photos of bright Mars in 2020, from the EarthSky community

The post Mars in November 2024: It’s time to start watching! first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/FeaW9dr

We have our best views of Mars only once every two years. And that time is approaching! Watch for the moon near Mars in the next few days … and join us LIVE TUESDAY (12:15 p.m. CST or 18:15 UTC on November 19, 2024) for charts and more about Mars. By the way, another test launch of the SpaceX Starship, a vehicle designed to take us to Mars, is scheduled to happen later in the day on November 19, too. We’ll be talking about that and more! Click in for a “notify me” button.

• Mars can appear bright or faint in our sky. 2024 has been mostly a faint year, but Mars has been steadily brightening. It’s beginning to get bright! The time to start observing Mars for this two-year period is here.
• Mars is growing brighter as Earth catches up with Mars, in our smaller, faster orbit around the sun. The next opposition of Mars – when Earth will pass between it and the sun, bringing Mars closest and brightest – will come in January 2025.
• By the end of 2024, Mars will shine brightly at -1.2 magnitude. That’s brighter than most stars! Start watching it now.

Mars in 2024

Opposition for Mars last fell on December 7-8, 2022. That’s when our planet Earth last flew between Mars and the sun. Mars will reach opposition again in January 2025. Throughout November 2024, Mars has been growing brighter. It’s now easy to spot late at night or in the morning before dawn.
How to see Mars in the sky: Mars will be shining at magnitude -0.3 by the end of November. It’ll also be rising several hours after sunset by month’s end.
Note: Mars reaches opposition about every 26 months, or about every two Earth-years. So Mars alternates between appearing bright and faint in our sky. It was bright in late 2022 and early 2023. But by September 2023, Mars faded dramatically in brightness and disappeared in the sunset glare in October 2023. It last passed behind the sun on November 18, 2023. It’s now racing toward its January 2025 opposition.

Watch for Mars late at night on November 18 and 19, 2024, when the waning moon will slide near red it. The moon and Mars will be a striking sight near the twin stars of Gemini: Castor and Pollux. They’ll rise several hours after sunset the night before and be visible on the mornings of November 19 and 20. Read Mars updates for 2024, here. Or catch our Mars livestream on Tuesday, November 19.

Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

Chart via EarthSky.

In November 2024, red Mars will lie near the twin stars of Gemini: Castor and Pollux. And it’ll make a beeline toward the Beehive star cluster. It’ll rise in the late evening and will be obvious in the sky before dawn.Chart via EarthSky.

Sometimes, Mars is faint

Mars last reached opposition on December 8, 2022. It remained bright through early 2023, then started to rapidly fade through the end of the year. Mars reached superior conjunction – when it passed behind the sun as viewed from Earth – on November 18, 2023. It began 2024 as a faint object, far across the solar system from us. But now Mars is getting bright again.

The geometry of Mars’ orbit is such that it spends much longer periods of time at large distances from the Earth than it does close to us, which provides added incentive to observe it in the weeks around opposition. When it passes opposition, every 2 years, Mars appears large and bright for only a few weeks. Here’s a comparison of the apparent size of Mars when seen at its closest opposition, around its opposition in 2025, and at its most farthest opposition. Also shown is how Mars appears when it’s most distant from the Earth at solar conjunction. Image via Dominic Ford/ In-The-Sky.org. Used with permission.

Sometimes, Mars is bright

Mars’ dramatic swings in brightness (and its red color) are why the early stargazers named Mars for their God of War.

Sometimes the war god rests. And sometimes he grows fierce! These changes are part of the reason Mars is so fascinating to watch in the night sky.

When Mars passes opposition, every 2 years, it appears large and bright for only a few weeks. The panel above shows the change in Mars’ apparent size from November 20, 2024, to March 12, 2025. Mars will appear 14.6 arcseconds wide on January 15, 2025. Image via Dominic Ford/ In-The-Sky.org. Used with permission.

As Mars races towards its next opposition in January 2025, it’ll grow in apparent size and increase in brightness. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2024 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

Want to follow Mars? Bookmark EarthSky’s monthly night sky guide.

Mars isn’t very big

To understand why Mars varies so much in brightness in Earth’s sky, first realize that it isn’t a very big world. It’s only 4,219 miles (6,790 km) in diameter, making it only slightly more than half Earth’s size (7,922 miles or 12,750 km in diameter).

On the other hand, consider Mars in contrast to Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. Jupiter is 86,881 miles (140,000 km) in diameter. As an illustration, more than 20 planets the size of Mars could be lined up side by side in front of Jupiter. Basically, Jupiter always looks bright, because it’s so big.

Not so for little Mars, however. Rather, its extremes in brightness have to do with its nearness (or lack of nearness) to Earth.

Mars isn’t very big, so its brightness – when it is bright – isn’t due to its bigness, as is true of Jupiter. Mars’ brightness, or lack of brightness, is all about how close we are to the Red Planet. It’s all about where Earth and Mars are, relative to each other, in their respective orbits around the sun. Image via NASA.

Future Martian oppositions

As mentioned above, the next opposition of Mars – when will appear at its brightest in Earth’s sky for that two-year period – will be January 2025. Check out the chart on this page that lists all oppositions of Mars from 1995 to 2037.

There’s a 15-year cycle of Mars, whereby the Red Planet is brighter and fainter at opposition. In July 2018, we were at the peak of the 2-year cycle – and the peak of the 15-year cycle – and Mars was very, very bright! In 2020, we were also at the peak of the 2-year cycle; however, Earth and Mars were farther apart at Mars’ opposition than they were in 2018. Still, 2020’s opposition of Mars was excellent. And, in December 2022, Mars had a good opposition but appeared smaller and dimmer than in 2020, since we were farther away from it. And the January 2025 opposition will find Mars smaller and dimmer than Mars was in 2022. Diagram by Roy L. Bishop. Copyright Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Used with permission. Visit the RASC eStore to purchase the Observer’s Handbook, a necessary tool for all skywatchers.

EarthSky Community Photos

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Paolo Bardelli of Italy made this composite image and said: “On January 16, 2025, Mars will be in opposition, the previous one occurred on December 8, 2022, when it became the brightest object in the night sky. During these periods, tracing the apparent motion of the Red Planet from evening to evening is very interesting, as a real “noose” is created, with a double reversal of its movement. This put ancient sky observers in crisis at the time when the geocentric theory was dominant. Putting things in their place, it turned out to be a simple perspective effect, due to the mutual motion of Earth and Mars. This image is the sum of a sequence taken every useful evening, clouds permitting, from August 12, 2022, to March 22, 2023. The background is the sum of 22 shots of the area of the sky where Mars was located, the rich star field of the constellation del Toro (Taurus). By coincidence, in February 2023 the path of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) crossed the noose.” Thank you, Paolo!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Miguel Ventura in Fafe, Portugal, captured this image on August 28, 2022, and wrote: “Every now and then and in addition to its natural beauty, the night sky and the whims of the universe offer us moments like this. With some planning and luck in the mix (truce from the clouds) I was able to photograph this magnificent alignment. We can see the Pleiades and the constellation of Taurus with the planet Mars between these 2 … below near the horizon the imposing constellation of Orion appears, announcing the autumn sky.” Thank you, Miguel!

Seeing red

Mars appears as a reddish light in the sky and, therefore, is often called the Red Planet. Other obvious red dots in the sky are reddish-orange Aldebaran and the famous red supergiant Betelgeuse. So, it is fun to contrast Mars’ color and intensity of red with that of Aldebaran or Betelgeuse.

And then there is red Antares. Antares is Greek for rival of Ares, meaning rival of Mars. Antares is sometimes said to be the anti-Mars due to its competing red color. For a few months every couple of years Mars is much brighter than Antares. Also, every couple of years Mars passes near Antares, as if taunting the star. Mars moves rapidly through the heavens and Antares is fixed to the starry firmament.

What makes them red?

Surface temperature is what determines the colors of the stars. The hottest stars are blue and the coolest stars are red. In fact, from hottest to coolest, the colors of stars range from blue, white, yellow, orange and red. And while the colors of stars might be hard to detect, some stars – like Aldebaran, Antares and Betelgeuse – are noticeably colorful.

On the other hand, Mars appears red for a different reason. It’s red because of iron oxide in the dust that covers this desert world. Iron oxide gives rust and blood its red color. Rovers on Mars sampled the Martian dust and determined it contains three colors: reds, browns and oranges. So those three colors are what you may see when you gaze upon Mars.

Do you see red when you look at Mars, Aldebaran, Antares and Betelgeuse? Are they the same color? Do you see any other colors of stars?

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Nancy Ricigliano captured Mars from Long Island, New York, on October 6, 2020, when it was closest to Earth. Thank you, Nancy. See more photos of Mars at its closest in 2020.

Bottom line: Mars is getting bright! And it has shifted into the evening sky. By the end of 2024, it’ll become much more noticeable. Its opposition, when it’ll be brightest for this two-year period, will fall in January 2025.

Moon and Mars! Fav photos of December 7 occultation

Photos of bright Mars in 2018, from the EarthSky community

Photos of bright Mars in 2020, from the EarthSky community

The post Mars in November 2024: It’s time to start watching! first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/FeaW9dr