Lifeform of the week: Snails are full of surprises

Snails are quite common creatures. Surely, you’ve seen one in person or even held one with your own fingers … or hands, because some are huge. There are many curious facts about snails. Did you know that there are land, sea and freshwater snails? We’re going to focus on land snails. Snails are hermaphrodites, which means they are both male and female at the same time. Furthermore, land snails are able to move on the blade of a knife without cutting themselves. And they have thousands of teeth.

Snails have tentacles

Snails are gastropod mollusks. That is, they are invertebrate animals: They do not have bones or joints. Their bodies can be divided into three parts: head, shell and foot.

Snails have tentacles. The four little horns on their heads are flexible and move in all directions. The top two have eyes at the ends, although they can only distinguish changes in light intensity, as if to differentiate day from night. The two little horns below are sensory organs that snails use to feel the terrain and guide themselves. Snails have their sense of smell in all four tentacles.

Additionally, snails are deaf, as they do not have ear canals. So, to look for food, they use their sense of smell and their tentacles. Likewise, snails can retract and regenerate their tentacles if they lose them. Another fascinating fact is that snails can remember the places they have been and the objects in their environment.

And land snails breathe through lungs. There is a hole on the side of the body, under the shell, that communicates with the lung. But some species that live in areas with a lot of humidity can breathe via gills.

The 4 little horns on snails’ heads are flexible and move in all directions. Snails use them to see, smell and feel the terrain and guide themselves. Image via Marinko Krsmanovic/ Pexels.

Who owns the coolest houses?

Imagine a house that you can take everywhere, protects you and is also beautiful? Well, yes, snails are lucky. And so are you, if you have a van.

Snails have shells made of calcium carbonate. Their organs are well protected under it, so when they feel threatened, they hide the rest of the body inside.

Additionally, when environmental conditions become harsh, snails can crawl into their shells and seal them to “hibernate” for as long as necessary. In reality, this process is known as estivating, which is entering a state of lethargy or inactivity to survive unfavorable conditions such as drought, extreme cold or lack of food.

During estivation, snails seal themselves inside their shells and reduce their metabolism to conserve energy and water. The length of the estivation period can vary depending on environmental conditions and the species of snail. But, in general, snails can estivate for weeks, months and even years before returning to activity when conditions improve.

It is not surprising these incredible animals inhabited the planet about 550 million years ago, back in the Cambrian period.

And, thanks to its shell, you can know the approximate age of a snail. You just have to analyze the number of spirals it has. Another curious fact is that the shell of snails complies with the laws of the Fibonacci sequence. A Fibonacci sequence is a mathematical sequence in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers.

Snails’ shells are used for protection. These animals can even spend months inside them when environmental conditions become harsh. Image via Ragib Huda/ Unsplash.

Snail slime, the best defense

The third part of the snail is a single foot, called the ventral (belly) foot. To move, the muscles of the foot contract and create wave movements. The foot requires a large production of mucus to facilitate movement on rocks, sand or grass.

Furthermore, that layer of slime is not only abundant, but also dense. It’s so dense it prevents even the sharpest blades from touching the snail’s delicate skin.

In addition, the mucus they produce serves to create a protective barrier at the entrance to their shells and seal them, to prevent them from dehydrating in places where there is little humidity or high temperatures. It also helps them communicate with other snails using chemical signals.

As you can see, although they are generally tiny creatures, snails are resistant and strong. They can even carry 10 times their own weight.

Snails have a single foot they use to move. Its muscles contract and create waves. Also, they produce a mucus to help them move and protect their skin. Image via Alexia Francois/ Unsplash.

Not all snails are small

There are 35,000 species of land snails worldwide. Normally, you think of snails as small creatures. But they aren’t all small. For example, the giant African snail can measure up to a foot (30 cm).

Normally, snails are small, like the one here, but there are enormous ones! Like the Giant African land snail. Image via Pixabay/ Pexels.

Snails are hermaphrodites

In the snail kingdom there are no kings or queens, neither males nor females. Snails are hermaphrodites, that is, they have a female and male reproductive system at the same time. Now, they cannot self-fertilize, so they have to mate with another snail to exchange genetic material and fertilize their eggs.

Snails can produce at least 50 eggs in one clutch. And, by the way, the shell of their eggs is also made of calcium carbonate. After 15 days the baby snails are ready to hatch.

A common snail lives up to 7 years on average.

Snails are hermaphrodites, that is, they have both a female and male reproductive system. Image via Riadh Dallel/ Pexels.

How many teeth?!

Land snails are herbivores and love to eat plants, vegetables and fruits, although there are some carnivorous species that feed on worms and even dead animals. And there are cannibal snails! Some species of land snails eat other snails.

These animals can have up to 25,000 tiny teeth in their mouths. The teeth are found in rows in a structure called the radula, with which they scrape their food, rather than chew it, and then swallow it.

Believe it or not, these tiny animals have 25,000 teeth in their mouths. Plus, they scrape their food, rather than chew it. Image via Julian/ Unsplash.

How slow is a snail?

Snails have a well-deserved reputation for being slow. They can travel at a relative speed of one meter (yard) per hour. Humans travel that distance with one stride.

Are they really that slow? Well, yes. But they are very agile and can stick to many different surfaces. Image via Daniyal Ghanavati/ Pexels.

More photos

“Want a ride? Jump on, I’m strong.” Snails can carry 10 times their own weight. Image via Krzysztof Niewolny/ Unsplash.

What a cool house! You can take it anywhere. Image via Ankur Dutta/ Unsplash.

There are 35,000 species of land snails worldwide. Image via Haci Elmas/ Unsplash.

Snails can produce at least 50 eggs in one clutch. Image via Raquel Raclette/ Unsplash.

Bottom line: There are many surprising facts about land snails. Did you know a snail is both male and female? And they can have 25,000 teeth?

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

The post Lifeform of the week: Snails are full of surprises first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/HlO4j5F

Snails are quite common creatures. Surely, you’ve seen one in person or even held one with your own fingers … or hands, because some are huge. There are many curious facts about snails. Did you know that there are land, sea and freshwater snails? We’re going to focus on land snails. Snails are hermaphrodites, which means they are both male and female at the same time. Furthermore, land snails are able to move on the blade of a knife without cutting themselves. And they have thousands of teeth.

Snails have tentacles

Snails are gastropod mollusks. That is, they are invertebrate animals: They do not have bones or joints. Their bodies can be divided into three parts: head, shell and foot.

Snails have tentacles. The four little horns on their heads are flexible and move in all directions. The top two have eyes at the ends, although they can only distinguish changes in light intensity, as if to differentiate day from night. The two little horns below are sensory organs that snails use to feel the terrain and guide themselves. Snails have their sense of smell in all four tentacles.

Additionally, snails are deaf, as they do not have ear canals. So, to look for food, they use their sense of smell and their tentacles. Likewise, snails can retract and regenerate their tentacles if they lose them. Another fascinating fact is that snails can remember the places they have been and the objects in their environment.

And land snails breathe through lungs. There is a hole on the side of the body, under the shell, that communicates with the lung. But some species that live in areas with a lot of humidity can breathe via gills.

The 4 little horns on snails’ heads are flexible and move in all directions. Snails use them to see, smell and feel the terrain and guide themselves. Image via Marinko Krsmanovic/ Pexels.

Who owns the coolest houses?

Imagine a house that you can take everywhere, protects you and is also beautiful? Well, yes, snails are lucky. And so are you, if you have a van.

Snails have shells made of calcium carbonate. Their organs are well protected under it, so when they feel threatened, they hide the rest of the body inside.

Additionally, when environmental conditions become harsh, snails can crawl into their shells and seal them to “hibernate” for as long as necessary. In reality, this process is known as estivating, which is entering a state of lethargy or inactivity to survive unfavorable conditions such as drought, extreme cold or lack of food.

During estivation, snails seal themselves inside their shells and reduce their metabolism to conserve energy and water. The length of the estivation period can vary depending on environmental conditions and the species of snail. But, in general, snails can estivate for weeks, months and even years before returning to activity when conditions improve.

It is not surprising these incredible animals inhabited the planet about 550 million years ago, back in the Cambrian period.

And, thanks to its shell, you can know the approximate age of a snail. You just have to analyze the number of spirals it has. Another curious fact is that the shell of snails complies with the laws of the Fibonacci sequence. A Fibonacci sequence is a mathematical sequence in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers.

Snails’ shells are used for protection. These animals can even spend months inside them when environmental conditions become harsh. Image via Ragib Huda/ Unsplash.

Snail slime, the best defense

The third part of the snail is a single foot, called the ventral (belly) foot. To move, the muscles of the foot contract and create wave movements. The foot requires a large production of mucus to facilitate movement on rocks, sand or grass.

Furthermore, that layer of slime is not only abundant, but also dense. It’s so dense it prevents even the sharpest blades from touching the snail’s delicate skin.

In addition, the mucus they produce serves to create a protective barrier at the entrance to their shells and seal them, to prevent them from dehydrating in places where there is little humidity or high temperatures. It also helps them communicate with other snails using chemical signals.

As you can see, although they are generally tiny creatures, snails are resistant and strong. They can even carry 10 times their own weight.

Snails have a single foot they use to move. Its muscles contract and create waves. Also, they produce a mucus to help them move and protect their skin. Image via Alexia Francois/ Unsplash.

Not all snails are small

There are 35,000 species of land snails worldwide. Normally, you think of snails as small creatures. But they aren’t all small. For example, the giant African snail can measure up to a foot (30 cm).

Normally, snails are small, like the one here, but there are enormous ones! Like the Giant African land snail. Image via Pixabay/ Pexels.

Snails are hermaphrodites

In the snail kingdom there are no kings or queens, neither males nor females. Snails are hermaphrodites, that is, they have a female and male reproductive system at the same time. Now, they cannot self-fertilize, so they have to mate with another snail to exchange genetic material and fertilize their eggs.

Snails can produce at least 50 eggs in one clutch. And, by the way, the shell of their eggs is also made of calcium carbonate. After 15 days the baby snails are ready to hatch.

A common snail lives up to 7 years on average.

Snails are hermaphrodites, that is, they have both a female and male reproductive system. Image via Riadh Dallel/ Pexels.

How many teeth?!

Land snails are herbivores and love to eat plants, vegetables and fruits, although there are some carnivorous species that feed on worms and even dead animals. And there are cannibal snails! Some species of land snails eat other snails.

These animals can have up to 25,000 tiny teeth in their mouths. The teeth are found in rows in a structure called the radula, with which they scrape their food, rather than chew it, and then swallow it.

Believe it or not, these tiny animals have 25,000 teeth in their mouths. Plus, they scrape their food, rather than chew it. Image via Julian/ Unsplash.

How slow is a snail?

Snails have a well-deserved reputation for being slow. They can travel at a relative speed of one meter (yard) per hour. Humans travel that distance with one stride.

Are they really that slow? Well, yes. But they are very agile and can stick to many different surfaces. Image via Daniyal Ghanavati/ Pexels.

More photos

“Want a ride? Jump on, I’m strong.” Snails can carry 10 times their own weight. Image via Krzysztof Niewolny/ Unsplash.

What a cool house! You can take it anywhere. Image via Ankur Dutta/ Unsplash.

There are 35,000 species of land snails worldwide. Image via Haci Elmas/ Unsplash.

Snails can produce at least 50 eggs in one clutch. Image via Raquel Raclette/ Unsplash.

Bottom line: There are many surprising facts about land snails. Did you know a snail is both male and female? And they can have 25,000 teeth?

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

The post Lifeform of the week: Snails are full of surprises first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/HlO4j5F

Super Hunter’s Moon: Closest supermoon in 2024

The October 17 full moon is the Super Hunter’s Moon. It’s the 3rd of 4 supermoons in a row in 2024. It’ll rise in the east opposite the sunset, be highest in the sky around midnight and set in the west around sunrise. Chart via EarthSky.

It’s a full moon, the Hunter’s Moon and the closest supermoon of 2024.

Super Hunter’s Moon follows the Super Harvest Moon

When and where to look in 2024: For all of us on Earth, the bright, round full moon will rise in the east around sunset on October 17, 2024. It’ll be visible all night. Be sure to watch on the nights before and after that, too. This is the Northern Hemisphere’s Hunter’s Moon, the full moon after the Harvest Moon (which is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox). This Hunter’s Moon is also the third of four supermoons in a row in 2024.
The crest of the full moon falls that morning for the Americas at 11:26 UTC on October 17. That’s 6:26 a.m. CDT, about two hours before moonset in central North America. If you want to see the fullest possible moon, look in the west on the morning of October 17 before sunrise.
The moon’s perigee, or closest point to Earth for this month, falls about 10 hours before the crest of the moon’s full phase. Perigee comes at 8 p.m. CDT on October 16 (1 UTC on October 17). So this is a very close full moon, known as a supermoon. In fact, it’s the closest supermoon of 2024! So it’ll be the brightest moon of this year.
Characteristics of the Hunter’s Moon: The moon is always roundest on the day that it’s full. And, on the day of a full moon, the moon always rises close to the time of sunset. But the nights before and after a full moon feature a round-looking moon, too. And, like the Harvest Moon, this October Hunter’s moon will be characterized by a shorter-than-usual time between successive moonrises for several nights in a row. So Northern Hemisphere dwellers will see full-looking moons in twilight skies, ascending in the east as the sun sets in the west, for several nights around October 17.
For the Southern Hemisphere, the nights around this full moon feature a longer-than-usual time between successive moonrises. So, for the southern part of the globe, the moon will rise on October 18, 19 and 20 (and for many nights after that) in a sky that’s already dark.

At full moon, the sun, Earth and moon are aligned in space, with Earth in the middle. The moon’s day side – its fully lighted hemisphere – directly faces us. Chart via EarthSky.

What’s special about a Hunter’s Moon?

A full moon is always opposite the sun in space, and opposite the sun in our sky. So all full moons rise in the east around sunset. And all full moons set in the west around sunrise. But the various full moons have different characteristics.

On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox – either a Harvest or a Hunter’s Moon – the moon (at mid-temperate latitudes) rises only about 30 to 35 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full moon. The reason is that the ecliptic – which more or less marks the path the moon travels across the sky – makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumnal equinox.

The result is that there’s a shorter-than-usual lag time between successive moonrises around the full Hunter’s Moon.

Early evening moonrises make every Hunter’s Moon special. Every full moon rises around sunset. After the full Hunter’s Moon, you’ll see the moon ascending in the east relatively soon after sunset for a few days in a row at northerly latitudes.

A great source of moonrise times is the Custom Sunrise Sunset Calendar. Once you get to that page, be sure to click the box for “moon phases” and “moonrise and moonset times.”

By the way, since the Harvest Moon is the closest full moon to the equinox, it can come either before or after it. So the Harvest Moon can sometimes fall in October, which it does every three or four years. When the Harvest Moon falls in October, the Hunter’s Moon – the full moon following the Harvest Moon – will fall in early November.

That’ll happen next in 2025.

When the angle of the ecliptic is narrow, the moon rises noticeably farther north on your horizon from one night to the next. So there’s no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise. In other words, around the time of an autumn full moon, many people see the rising moon ascending in the eastern sky in twilight for several evenings in a row. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, your evening ecliptic is nearly perpendicular to your early evening horizon now. You’ll see the full moon rise in twilight, but the next night’s moon comes up in darkness, much later at night. Image via ClassicalAstronomy.com. Used with permission.

A word about supermoons

A full supermoon happens when the full moon happens at – or near – the time the moon is closest to us in its elliptical orbit.

Of course, full supermoons draw a lot of attention and are very popular.

Do supermoons look bigger to the eye? Generally not, unless you’re an avid moon observer. But … do supermoons look brighter than ordinary full moons? Yes! By a noticeable amount. That’s because a supermoon exceeds the disk size of an average-sized moon by up to 8% and the brightness of an average-sized full moon by some 16%. And then, it exceeds the disk size of a micro-moon (a year’s most distant and therefore smallest full moon) up to 14% and the brightness of a micro-moon by some 30%. So, go outside on the night of a full supermoon. Even if you’re a casual observer of the moon, there’s a chance you’ll notice the supermoon is exceptionally bright!

A note to those in the Southern Hemisphere

If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, your Harvest and Hunter’s Moons center on the March equinox, your autumnal equinox. Much of what we say in his post – the general information about Harvest and Hunter’s Moons – applies to you, too… next March and April.

Right now, your full moon will be doing the opposite of a Hunter’s Moon. That is, for the Southern Hemisphere around the time of the September and October full moons, there’s a longer-than-usual time between moonrises on successive nights.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s autumn now. That means the ecliptic – or sun and moon’s path – makes its narrowest angle with the horizon in early evening. Image via ClassicalAstronomy.com. Used with permission.

Tips and tricks to view the Super Hunter’s Moon

How did the Hunter’s Moon get its name?

There are many stories surrounding the names of the moons, including the Hunter’s Moon. From a practical standpoint, the Harvest Moon and subsequent Hunter’s Moon provided extra light in the evenings for farmers and hunters to finish their tasks.

Every full moon has a slew of nicknames tied to months of the year. But some moon names, such as the Harvest and Hunter’s Moons, are tied to seasons.

In North America, the Harvest Moon was a time when the bright moon meant farmers could stay out later, working in their fields, gathering in the crops before the first freeze. After the harvest, farmers would turn to hunting deer and other animals to bolster their food stores before winter. The bright light of the full moon and almost full moons would let them hunt into the evening hours. So, we call it a Hunter’s Moon.

Who named the Harvest and Hunter’s Moon? Those names probably sprang to the lips of farmers and hunters throughout the Northern Hemisphere, on autumn evenings, at times of the full moon.

Is a Hunter’s Moon bigger or brighter?

Generally, no. The Hunter’s Moon is just an ordinary full moon with a special path across our sky. Still, many of us do think the Hunter’s Moon looks bigger … or brighter … and more orange than usual. Why?

It’s because the Hunter’s Moon has a powerful mystique. Many people look for it shortly after sunset around the time of full moon. After sunset around any full moon, the moon will always be near the horizon … because full moons rise at sunset. It’s the location of the moon near the horizon that causes the Hunter’s Moon – or any full moon – to look big and orange in color.

The orange color of a moon near the horizon is a true physical effect. It stems from the fact that, when you look toward the horizon, you’re looking through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere than when you gaze up and overhead. The atmosphere scatters blue light – that’s why the sky looks blue. The greater thickness of atmosphere in the direction of a horizon scatters blue light most effectively, but it lets red light pass through to your eyes. So a full moon near the horizon – any full moon near the horizon – takes on a yellow or orange or reddish hue.

The bigger-than-usual size of a moon seen near the horizon is something else entirely. It’s a trick that your eyes are playing – an illusion – called the Moon Illusion.

However, in 2024, the Hunter’s Moon is a supermoon. And it’s the closest supermoon in 2024. So yes, it will look brighter than an average full moon!

2024 full moon is in Pisces

The October full moon usually lies in front of one of three constellations of the zodiac: Pisces the Fish, Aries the Ram, or Cetus the Whale.

Typically, it’s in Pisces and that is the case for 2024.

The October 2024 full moon occurs on October 17 and lies in the constellation Pisces the Fish. It’s also the 3rd of 4 full supermoons in a row in 2024. Chart via EarthSky.

Hunter’s Moon photos from our community

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Riste Spiroski in Ohrid, Macedonia, caught a full Hunter’s Moon in 2023, setting in the west in the morning. Thank you, Riste!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Adelina Bathorja in Tirane, Albania, captured these images of the full moon on October 28, 2023. Adelina wrote: “Another beautiful full moon, the Hunter’s Moon.” Thank you, Adelina!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Riste Spiroski in Ohrid, Macedonia, also captured this image of the October 28-29, 2023, moon. Riste wrote: “Full Hunter’s Moon was taken at its maximum partial eclipse at 10:14 p.m.” Thank you, Riste!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Iaroslav Kourzenkov captured this image on October 28, 2023. Iaroslav wrote: “Hunter’s Moon and the penumbral lunar eclipse with Maugher Beach Lighthouse as seen from York Redoubt National Historic Site, Nova Scotia, Canada.” Thank you, Iaroslav!

Bottom line: The Super Hunter’s Moon – this year’s October full moon – is on October 17, 2024. Plus, it’s the closest – and brightest – supermoon of 2024.

The post Super Hunter’s Moon: Closest supermoon in 2024 first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/H3EyXDc

The October 17 full moon is the Super Hunter’s Moon. It’s the 3rd of 4 supermoons in a row in 2024. It’ll rise in the east opposite the sunset, be highest in the sky around midnight and set in the west around sunrise. Chart via EarthSky.

It’s a full moon, the Hunter’s Moon and the closest supermoon of 2024.

Super Hunter’s Moon follows the Super Harvest Moon

When and where to look in 2024: For all of us on Earth, the bright, round full moon will rise in the east around sunset on October 17, 2024. It’ll be visible all night. Be sure to watch on the nights before and after that, too. This is the Northern Hemisphere’s Hunter’s Moon, the full moon after the Harvest Moon (which is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox). This Hunter’s Moon is also the third of four supermoons in a row in 2024.
The crest of the full moon falls that morning for the Americas at 11:26 UTC on October 17. That’s 6:26 a.m. CDT, about two hours before moonset in central North America. If you want to see the fullest possible moon, look in the west on the morning of October 17 before sunrise.
The moon’s perigee, or closest point to Earth for this month, falls about 10 hours before the crest of the moon’s full phase. Perigee comes at 8 p.m. CDT on October 16 (1 UTC on October 17). So this is a very close full moon, known as a supermoon. In fact, it’s the closest supermoon of 2024! So it’ll be the brightest moon of this year.
Characteristics of the Hunter’s Moon: The moon is always roundest on the day that it’s full. And, on the day of a full moon, the moon always rises close to the time of sunset. But the nights before and after a full moon feature a round-looking moon, too. And, like the Harvest Moon, this October Hunter’s moon will be characterized by a shorter-than-usual time between successive moonrises for several nights in a row. So Northern Hemisphere dwellers will see full-looking moons in twilight skies, ascending in the east as the sun sets in the west, for several nights around October 17.
For the Southern Hemisphere, the nights around this full moon feature a longer-than-usual time between successive moonrises. So, for the southern part of the globe, the moon will rise on October 18, 19 and 20 (and for many nights after that) in a sky that’s already dark.

At full moon, the sun, Earth and moon are aligned in space, with Earth in the middle. The moon’s day side – its fully lighted hemisphere – directly faces us. Chart via EarthSky.

What’s special about a Hunter’s Moon?

A full moon is always opposite the sun in space, and opposite the sun in our sky. So all full moons rise in the east around sunset. And all full moons set in the west around sunrise. But the various full moons have different characteristics.

On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox – either a Harvest or a Hunter’s Moon – the moon (at mid-temperate latitudes) rises only about 30 to 35 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full moon. The reason is that the ecliptic – which more or less marks the path the moon travels across the sky – makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumnal equinox.

The result is that there’s a shorter-than-usual lag time between successive moonrises around the full Hunter’s Moon.

Early evening moonrises make every Hunter’s Moon special. Every full moon rises around sunset. After the full Hunter’s Moon, you’ll see the moon ascending in the east relatively soon after sunset for a few days in a row at northerly latitudes.

A great source of moonrise times is the Custom Sunrise Sunset Calendar. Once you get to that page, be sure to click the box for “moon phases” and “moonrise and moonset times.”

By the way, since the Harvest Moon is the closest full moon to the equinox, it can come either before or after it. So the Harvest Moon can sometimes fall in October, which it does every three or four years. When the Harvest Moon falls in October, the Hunter’s Moon – the full moon following the Harvest Moon – will fall in early November.

That’ll happen next in 2025.

When the angle of the ecliptic is narrow, the moon rises noticeably farther north on your horizon from one night to the next. So there’s no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise. In other words, around the time of an autumn full moon, many people see the rising moon ascending in the eastern sky in twilight for several evenings in a row. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, your evening ecliptic is nearly perpendicular to your early evening horizon now. You’ll see the full moon rise in twilight, but the next night’s moon comes up in darkness, much later at night. Image via ClassicalAstronomy.com. Used with permission.

A word about supermoons

A full supermoon happens when the full moon happens at – or near – the time the moon is closest to us in its elliptical orbit.

Of course, full supermoons draw a lot of attention and are very popular.

Do supermoons look bigger to the eye? Generally not, unless you’re an avid moon observer. But … do supermoons look brighter than ordinary full moons? Yes! By a noticeable amount. That’s because a supermoon exceeds the disk size of an average-sized moon by up to 8% and the brightness of an average-sized full moon by some 16%. And then, it exceeds the disk size of a micro-moon (a year’s most distant and therefore smallest full moon) up to 14% and the brightness of a micro-moon by some 30%. So, go outside on the night of a full supermoon. Even if you’re a casual observer of the moon, there’s a chance you’ll notice the supermoon is exceptionally bright!

A note to those in the Southern Hemisphere

If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, your Harvest and Hunter’s Moons center on the March equinox, your autumnal equinox. Much of what we say in his post – the general information about Harvest and Hunter’s Moons – applies to you, too… next March and April.

Right now, your full moon will be doing the opposite of a Hunter’s Moon. That is, for the Southern Hemisphere around the time of the September and October full moons, there’s a longer-than-usual time between moonrises on successive nights.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s autumn now. That means the ecliptic – or sun and moon’s path – makes its narrowest angle with the horizon in early evening. Image via ClassicalAstronomy.com. Used with permission.

Tips and tricks to view the Super Hunter’s Moon

How did the Hunter’s Moon get its name?

There are many stories surrounding the names of the moons, including the Hunter’s Moon. From a practical standpoint, the Harvest Moon and subsequent Hunter’s Moon provided extra light in the evenings for farmers and hunters to finish their tasks.

Every full moon has a slew of nicknames tied to months of the year. But some moon names, such as the Harvest and Hunter’s Moons, are tied to seasons.

In North America, the Harvest Moon was a time when the bright moon meant farmers could stay out later, working in their fields, gathering in the crops before the first freeze. After the harvest, farmers would turn to hunting deer and other animals to bolster their food stores before winter. The bright light of the full moon and almost full moons would let them hunt into the evening hours. So, we call it a Hunter’s Moon.

Who named the Harvest and Hunter’s Moon? Those names probably sprang to the lips of farmers and hunters throughout the Northern Hemisphere, on autumn evenings, at times of the full moon.

Is a Hunter’s Moon bigger or brighter?

Generally, no. The Hunter’s Moon is just an ordinary full moon with a special path across our sky. Still, many of us do think the Hunter’s Moon looks bigger … or brighter … and more orange than usual. Why?

It’s because the Hunter’s Moon has a powerful mystique. Many people look for it shortly after sunset around the time of full moon. After sunset around any full moon, the moon will always be near the horizon … because full moons rise at sunset. It’s the location of the moon near the horizon that causes the Hunter’s Moon – or any full moon – to look big and orange in color.

The orange color of a moon near the horizon is a true physical effect. It stems from the fact that, when you look toward the horizon, you’re looking through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere than when you gaze up and overhead. The atmosphere scatters blue light – that’s why the sky looks blue. The greater thickness of atmosphere in the direction of a horizon scatters blue light most effectively, but it lets red light pass through to your eyes. So a full moon near the horizon – any full moon near the horizon – takes on a yellow or orange or reddish hue.

The bigger-than-usual size of a moon seen near the horizon is something else entirely. It’s a trick that your eyes are playing – an illusion – called the Moon Illusion.

However, in 2024, the Hunter’s Moon is a supermoon. And it’s the closest supermoon in 2024. So yes, it will look brighter than an average full moon!

2024 full moon is in Pisces

The October full moon usually lies in front of one of three constellations of the zodiac: Pisces the Fish, Aries the Ram, or Cetus the Whale.

Typically, it’s in Pisces and that is the case for 2024.

The October 2024 full moon occurs on October 17 and lies in the constellation Pisces the Fish. It’s also the 3rd of 4 full supermoons in a row in 2024. Chart via EarthSky.

Hunter’s Moon photos from our community

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Riste Spiroski in Ohrid, Macedonia, caught a full Hunter’s Moon in 2023, setting in the west in the morning. Thank you, Riste!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Adelina Bathorja in Tirane, Albania, captured these images of the full moon on October 28, 2023. Adelina wrote: “Another beautiful full moon, the Hunter’s Moon.” Thank you, Adelina!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Riste Spiroski in Ohrid, Macedonia, also captured this image of the October 28-29, 2023, moon. Riste wrote: “Full Hunter’s Moon was taken at its maximum partial eclipse at 10:14 p.m.” Thank you, Riste!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Iaroslav Kourzenkov captured this image on October 28, 2023. Iaroslav wrote: “Hunter’s Moon and the penumbral lunar eclipse with Maugher Beach Lighthouse as seen from York Redoubt National Historic Site, Nova Scotia, Canada.” Thank you, Iaroslav!

Bottom line: The Super Hunter’s Moon – this year’s October full moon – is on October 17, 2024. Plus, it’s the closest – and brightest – supermoon of 2024.

The post Super Hunter’s Moon: Closest supermoon in 2024 first appeared on EarthSky.

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Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wiggles like gelatin

• Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wiggles like gelatin. That’s according to scientists using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope.
• The giant anticyclone has been around for at least 150 years, but it’s not as stable as it looks.
• It’s the first time scientists have seen the spot oscillate. The jet streams keep it in place but the storm gets squeezed like a stress ball.

NASA published this original story on October 9, 2024. Edits by EarthSky.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wiggles like gelatin

Astronomers have observed Jupiter’s legendary Great Red Spot, an anticyclone large enough to swallow Earth, for at least 150 years. But Hubble’s new observations of the famous red storm reveal the Great Red Spot is not as stable as it might look. Recent data collected for 90 days from December 2023 to March 2024 show the Great Red Spot jiggles like a bowl of gelatin. The combined Hubble images allowed astronomers to assemble a time-lapse movie of the squiggly behavior of the Great Red Spot.

Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is the lead author of the science paper published in the peer-reviewed The Planetary Science Journal. Simon said:

While we knew its motion varies slightly in its longitude, we didn’t expect to see the size oscillate as well. As far as we know, it’s not been identified before. This is really the first time we’ve had the proper imaging cadence of the Great Red Spot. With Hubble’s high resolution we can say that the Great Red Spot is definitively squeezing in and out at the same time as it moves faster and slower. That was very unexpected, and at present there are no hydrodynamic explanations.

Watch Jupiter's Great Red Spot as it oscillates over time. Images from the Hubble Space Telescope between Dec 2023 and Mar 2024. pic.twitter.com/RZEzy1t8zf

— Kelly Kizer Whitt (@Astronomommy) October 10, 2024

Storms on other worlds

Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer solar system planets every year through the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL) led by Simon. But these observations were from a program dedicated to the Great Red Spot. Understanding the mechanisms of the largest storms in the solar system puts the theory of hurricanes on Earth into a broader cosmic context. This knowledge might be applied to better understanding the meteorology on planets around other stars.

Simon’s team used Hubble to zoom in on the Great Red Spot for a detailed look at its size, shape, and any subtle color changes. Simon said:

When we look closely, we see a lot of things are changing from day to day.

This includes ultraviolet-light observations showing that the distinct core of the storm gets brightest when the Great Red Spot is at its largest size in its oscillation cycle. This indicates less haze absorption in the upper atmosphere.

These 8 images are from the Hubble Space Telescope, taken across 90 days from December 2023 to March 2024. At the time, Jupiter ranged from 391 million miles (630 million km) to 512 million miles (823 million km) from the sun. Astronomers measured the Great Red Spot’s size, shape, brightness, color and vorticity over one full oscillation cycle. The data reveal that the Great Red Spot is not as stable as it might look. It went through an oscillation in its elliptical shape, jiggling like a bowl of gelatin. The cause of the 90-day oscillation is unknown. Image via NASA/ ESA/ Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC)/ processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

The Great Red Spot is trapped between jet streams

Co-investigator Mike Wong of the University of California at Berkeley said:

As it accelerates and decelerates, the Great Red Spot is pushing against the windy jet streams to the north and south of it. It’s similar to a sandwich where the slices of bread are forced to bulge out when there’s too much filling in the middle.

Wong contrasted this to Neptune, where dark spots can drift wildly in latitude without strong jet streams to hold them in place. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot has been held at a southern latitude, trapped between the jet streams, for the extent of Earth-bound telescopic observations.

Astronomers used these 8 images of Jupiter from December 2023 to March 2024 to closely examine the movements of the Great Red Spot. Image via NASA/ ESA/ Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC)/ processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

A shrinking storm?

The team has continued watching the Great Red Spot shrink since the OPAL program began 10 years ago. They predict it will keep shrinking before taking on a stable, less-elongated, shape. Simon said:

Right now it’s over-filling its latitude band relative to the wind field. Once it shrinks inside that band the winds will really be holding it in place.

The team predicts the Great Red Spot will probably stabilize in size, but for now Hubble only observed it for one oscillation cycle.

The researchers hope that in the future other high-resolution images from Hubble might identify other Jovian parameters that indicate the underlying cause of the oscillation.

The scientists presented their results at the 56th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences, in Boise, Idaho.

Bottom line: New observations with the Hubble Space Telescope show that Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wiggles like a bowl of gelatin. It squeezes in and out like a stress ball.

Source: A Detailed Study of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot over a 90-day Oscillation Cycle

Via NASA

Read more: Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is 190 years old, scientists say

Read more: Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is shrinking! But why?

The post Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wiggles like gelatin first appeared on EarthSky.

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• Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wiggles like gelatin. That’s according to scientists using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope.
• The giant anticyclone has been around for at least 150 years, but it’s not as stable as it looks.
• It’s the first time scientists have seen the spot oscillate. The jet streams keep it in place but the storm gets squeezed like a stress ball.

NASA published this original story on October 9, 2024. Edits by EarthSky.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wiggles like gelatin

Astronomers have observed Jupiter’s legendary Great Red Spot, an anticyclone large enough to swallow Earth, for at least 150 years. But Hubble’s new observations of the famous red storm reveal the Great Red Spot is not as stable as it might look. Recent data collected for 90 days from December 2023 to March 2024 show the Great Red Spot jiggles like a bowl of gelatin. The combined Hubble images allowed astronomers to assemble a time-lapse movie of the squiggly behavior of the Great Red Spot.

Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is the lead author of the science paper published in the peer-reviewed The Planetary Science Journal. Simon said:

While we knew its motion varies slightly in its longitude, we didn’t expect to see the size oscillate as well. As far as we know, it’s not been identified before. This is really the first time we’ve had the proper imaging cadence of the Great Red Spot. With Hubble’s high resolution we can say that the Great Red Spot is definitively squeezing in and out at the same time as it moves faster and slower. That was very unexpected, and at present there are no hydrodynamic explanations.

Watch Jupiter's Great Red Spot as it oscillates over time. Images from the Hubble Space Telescope between Dec 2023 and Mar 2024. pic.twitter.com/RZEzy1t8zf

— Kelly Kizer Whitt (@Astronomommy) October 10, 2024

Storms on other worlds

Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer solar system planets every year through the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL) led by Simon. But these observations were from a program dedicated to the Great Red Spot. Understanding the mechanisms of the largest storms in the solar system puts the theory of hurricanes on Earth into a broader cosmic context. This knowledge might be applied to better understanding the meteorology on planets around other stars.

Simon’s team used Hubble to zoom in on the Great Red Spot for a detailed look at its size, shape, and any subtle color changes. Simon said:

When we look closely, we see a lot of things are changing from day to day.

This includes ultraviolet-light observations showing that the distinct core of the storm gets brightest when the Great Red Spot is at its largest size in its oscillation cycle. This indicates less haze absorption in the upper atmosphere.

These 8 images are from the Hubble Space Telescope, taken across 90 days from December 2023 to March 2024. At the time, Jupiter ranged from 391 million miles (630 million km) to 512 million miles (823 million km) from the sun. Astronomers measured the Great Red Spot’s size, shape, brightness, color and vorticity over one full oscillation cycle. The data reveal that the Great Red Spot is not as stable as it might look. It went through an oscillation in its elliptical shape, jiggling like a bowl of gelatin. The cause of the 90-day oscillation is unknown. Image via NASA/ ESA/ Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC)/ processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

The Great Red Spot is trapped between jet streams

Co-investigator Mike Wong of the University of California at Berkeley said:

As it accelerates and decelerates, the Great Red Spot is pushing against the windy jet streams to the north and south of it. It’s similar to a sandwich where the slices of bread are forced to bulge out when there’s too much filling in the middle.

Wong contrasted this to Neptune, where dark spots can drift wildly in latitude without strong jet streams to hold them in place. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot has been held at a southern latitude, trapped between the jet streams, for the extent of Earth-bound telescopic observations.

Astronomers used these 8 images of Jupiter from December 2023 to March 2024 to closely examine the movements of the Great Red Spot. Image via NASA/ ESA/ Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC)/ processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

A shrinking storm?

The team has continued watching the Great Red Spot shrink since the OPAL program began 10 years ago. They predict it will keep shrinking before taking on a stable, less-elongated, shape. Simon said:

Right now it’s over-filling its latitude band relative to the wind field. Once it shrinks inside that band the winds will really be holding it in place.

The team predicts the Great Red Spot will probably stabilize in size, but for now Hubble only observed it for one oscillation cycle.

The researchers hope that in the future other high-resolution images from Hubble might identify other Jovian parameters that indicate the underlying cause of the oscillation.

The scientists presented their results at the 56th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences, in Boise, Idaho.

Bottom line: New observations with the Hubble Space Telescope show that Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wiggles like a bowl of gelatin. It squeezes in and out like a stress ball.

Source: A Detailed Study of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot over a 90-day Oscillation Cycle

Via NASA

Read more: Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is 190 years old, scientists say

Read more: Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is shrinking! But why?

The post Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wiggles like gelatin first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/IMHsLya

The Big Dipper: Why can’t you see it now?

Big Dipper in autumn

It’s autumn for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. There’s a chill in the air, and nights are getting long. Maybe you’ve been standing outside on an autumn evening, looking for the Big Dipper? It’s perhaps the most famous of all star patterns. You know you’re supposed to look northward. And you’re looking, but you can’t find it. Why not?

If you’re at a latitude of about 41 degrees north – or farther north – you will see the Dipper. From very northerly latitudes, the Big Dipper is circumpolar, or always above the northern horizon. If you’re below that latitude, though, you won’t find the Big Dipper in the evening now. In autumn, the Big Dipper is below your horizon during the evening hours.

Want to see it? If you’re in the southern U.S. or a comparable latitude, you’ll have to wait until the hours before dawn. At this time of the year, before dawn, you’ll easily see the Big Dipper ascending in the northeast.

To remember the best times to view the Big Dipper in the evening, remember the phrase: spring up and fall down. That’s because the Big Dipper shines way up high in the sky on spring evenings but close to the horizon on autumn evenings.

This animation shows the Big Dipper in autumn – and all 4 seasons – from mid-northern latitudes. The Big Dipper is shown at the same time – mid-evening – on the days of the solstices and equinoxes. Charts via Stellarium. Animation by EarthSky.

5 Dipper stars are related

So you might or might not be able to see the Big Dipper now. But you can think about it. Did you know that the distances of the stars in the Dipper reveal something interesting about them? Five of these seven stars have a physical relationship in space. That’s not always true of patterns on our sky’s dome. Most star patterns are made up of unrelated stars at vastly different distances.

Where is the Big Dipper in autumn? It’s tough to spot on October evenings because it rides so low in the north. As always, the 2 outer stars in the Dipper’s bowl point to Polaris, the North Star.

Five of the Dipper’s stars – Merak, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez and Phecda – are part of a single star grouping. They probably were born together from a single cloud of gas and dust, and they’re still moving together as a family.

The other two stars in the Dipper – Dubhe and Alkaid – are unrelated to each other and to the other five. Here are the star distances to the Dipper’s stars:

Alkaid 101 light-years
Mizar 83 light-years
Alioth 81 light-years
Megrez 59 light-years
Phecda 83 light-years
Dubhe 123 light-years
Merak 80 light-years

What’s more, Dubhe and Alkaid are moving in an entirely different direction from the other five stars.

How the Big Dipper changes over time

And that’s why – millions of years from now – the Big Dipper will have lost its familiar dipper-like shape.

They do change, Here is a gif oh the big dipper changing over time pic.twitter.com/nwezuQnYyR

— LetsDoIt291 (@_lets_do_it_) June 24, 2018

Images of the Big Dipper

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Susan Jensen captured this image on September 6, 2024, and wrote: “Right place, right time! Standing on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere, looking across a stubble field. This slow-moving, vibrant meteor stopped me in my tracks! I was shooting the Big Dipper with the shutter locked to catch multiple frames for stacking when this monster did a slow flyby. How lucky that I was able to capture it!” Thank you, Susan!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeremy Likness from Agate Beach, Newport, Oregon, captured this image on August 11, 2024, and wrote: “A Perseid meteor streaks across the curtain of aurora borealis rippling beneath the Big Dipper.” Thank you!

Bottom line: If you’re above 41 degrees north latitude, the Big Dipper star pattern is circumpolar; it stays in your sky always, circling around the northern pole star, Polaris. Below that latitude, the Dipper is below your horizon in the evening in autumn.

The post The Big Dipper: Why can’t you see it now? first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/AQI35Cm

Big Dipper in autumn

It’s autumn for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. There’s a chill in the air, and nights are getting long. Maybe you’ve been standing outside on an autumn evening, looking for the Big Dipper? It’s perhaps the most famous of all star patterns. You know you’re supposed to look northward. And you’re looking, but you can’t find it. Why not?

If you’re at a latitude of about 41 degrees north – or farther north – you will see the Dipper. From very northerly latitudes, the Big Dipper is circumpolar, or always above the northern horizon. If you’re below that latitude, though, you won’t find the Big Dipper in the evening now. In autumn, the Big Dipper is below your horizon during the evening hours.

Want to see it? If you’re in the southern U.S. or a comparable latitude, you’ll have to wait until the hours before dawn. At this time of the year, before dawn, you’ll easily see the Big Dipper ascending in the northeast.

To remember the best times to view the Big Dipper in the evening, remember the phrase: spring up and fall down. That’s because the Big Dipper shines way up high in the sky on spring evenings but close to the horizon on autumn evenings.

This animation shows the Big Dipper in autumn – and all 4 seasons – from mid-northern latitudes. The Big Dipper is shown at the same time – mid-evening – on the days of the solstices and equinoxes. Charts via Stellarium. Animation by EarthSky.

5 Dipper stars are related

So you might or might not be able to see the Big Dipper now. But you can think about it. Did you know that the distances of the stars in the Dipper reveal something interesting about them? Five of these seven stars have a physical relationship in space. That’s not always true of patterns on our sky’s dome. Most star patterns are made up of unrelated stars at vastly different distances.

Where is the Big Dipper in autumn? It’s tough to spot on October evenings because it rides so low in the north. As always, the 2 outer stars in the Dipper’s bowl point to Polaris, the North Star.

Five of the Dipper’s stars – Merak, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez and Phecda – are part of a single star grouping. They probably were born together from a single cloud of gas and dust, and they’re still moving together as a family.

The other two stars in the Dipper – Dubhe and Alkaid – are unrelated to each other and to the other five. Here are the star distances to the Dipper’s stars:

Alkaid 101 light-years
Mizar 83 light-years
Alioth 81 light-years
Megrez 59 light-years
Phecda 83 light-years
Dubhe 123 light-years
Merak 80 light-years

What’s more, Dubhe and Alkaid are moving in an entirely different direction from the other five stars.

How the Big Dipper changes over time

And that’s why – millions of years from now – the Big Dipper will have lost its familiar dipper-like shape.

They do change, Here is a gif oh the big dipper changing over time pic.twitter.com/nwezuQnYyR

— LetsDoIt291 (@_lets_do_it_) June 24, 2018

Images of the Big Dipper

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Susan Jensen captured this image on September 6, 2024, and wrote: “Right place, right time! Standing on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere, looking across a stubble field. This slow-moving, vibrant meteor stopped me in my tracks! I was shooting the Big Dipper with the shutter locked to catch multiple frames for stacking when this monster did a slow flyby. How lucky that I was able to capture it!” Thank you, Susan!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeremy Likness from Agate Beach, Newport, Oregon, captured this image on August 11, 2024, and wrote: “A Perseid meteor streaks across the curtain of aurora borealis rippling beneath the Big Dipper.” Thank you!

Bottom line: If you’re above 41 degrees north latitude, the Big Dipper star pattern is circumpolar; it stays in your sky always, circling around the northern pole star, Polaris. Below that latitude, the Dipper is below your horizon in the evening in autumn.

The post The Big Dipper: Why can’t you see it now? first appeared on EarthSky.

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LIVE: SpaceX Starship Test Flight No. 5 Watch Party!

Stream the party on our YouTube channel or via the player above.

Starship watch party Sunday morning … Join us!

SpaceX’s Starship will make its fifth test flight at 7 a.m. CT (12:00 UTC) on Sunday, October 13. We’ll be live watching the world’s most powerful rocket take to the sky! Join the party with EarthSky’s Dave Adalian and, who knows, maybe some surprise guests!

According to SpaceX:

The launch window will open as early as 7:00 a.m. CT. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to stay tuned to our X account for updates.

SpaceX’s Starship will launch on its 5th test flight at 7 a.m. CT (12:00 UTC) this Sunday, October 13. Join EarthSky’s Dave Adalian for a live launch party. Watch via the player at the top of this page or on EarthSky’s YouTube page. See you then!

Read more: SpaceX Starship 4th test flight: Lots of successes

Bottom line: Want to see the world’s most powerful rocket take to the sky? Join our watch party Sunday morning.

The post LIVE: SpaceX Starship Test Flight No. 5 Watch Party! first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/3KzafxA

Stream the party on our YouTube channel or via the player above.

Starship watch party Sunday morning … Join us!

SpaceX’s Starship will make its fifth test flight at 7 a.m. CT (12:00 UTC) on Sunday, October 13. We’ll be live watching the world’s most powerful rocket take to the sky! Join the party with EarthSky’s Dave Adalian and, who knows, maybe some surprise guests!

According to SpaceX:

The launch window will open as early as 7:00 a.m. CT. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to stay tuned to our X account for updates.

SpaceX’s Starship will launch on its 5th test flight at 7 a.m. CT (12:00 UTC) this Sunday, October 13. Join EarthSky’s Dave Adalian for a live launch party. Watch via the player at the top of this page or on EarthSky’s YouTube page. See you then!

Read more: SpaceX Starship 4th test flight: Lots of successes

Bottom line: Want to see the world’s most powerful rocket take to the sky? Join our watch party Sunday morning.

The post LIVE: SpaceX Starship Test Flight No. 5 Watch Party! first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/3KzafxA

Auroras everywhere! Best pics from October 10 display

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Weatherly captured the October 10 auroral display from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He wrote: “Today’s coronal mass ejection impact was potent, sparking severe geomagnetic storms and filling our skies with auroras. The pinks and reds were astonishingly vibrant to the eye. This photo is looking due east.” Beautiful shot, Joel!

Did you see the northern and southern lights?

People around the globe saw an incredible outbreak of auroras on the night of October 10 to 11, 2024. There were sightings as far south as Turkey, Mexico, Florida and the Bahamas! With geomagnetic storm levels reaching G4 (severe) for extended periods, Earth’s magnetic field went through a night of disturbance to rival the May 2024 superstorm. And the auroral displays really delivered. Here’s a collection of just some of the photos that poured into our EarthSky Community Photos page. Thank you if you submitted a photo to us!

The geomagnetic storm that brought the auroras was caused by a strong coronal mass ejection – a blob of solar material and magnetic fields – that was launched straight at Earth by an X1.8 solar flare early on October 9. It impacted Earth’s magnetic field just after midday on October 10, and geomagnetic disturbance rocketed to G4 (severe) not long after. And the aurora images started to roll in as soon as the skies darkened.

Auroras everywhere!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tim Rubbert captured the auroral display from Whitefish, Montana. Tim wrote: “Looking east. The aurora borealis surrounded me in all directions and directly above.” Thank you, Tim!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Sheryl R Garrison saw the aurora in Southern Alberta, Canada. Sheryl wrote: “It was almost impossible to choose just one photo tonight. But it was sure fun to start photographing early for a change! Amazingly beautiful show.” Agreed, Sheryl! Thank you.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Elmarie van Rooyen in Smoky Lake, Alberta, Canada, captured last night’s aurora from below. What a great view! Thank you, Elmarie.

More amazing auroras

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kent Carlson had a great view of the aurora from Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. He wrote: “Thank you X flares! At least an hour of nice auroras, many visible to the eye. Curtains of reds and pinks lit up the sky over a diffuse base of green.” Thank you X flares indeed! And thank you, Kent.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Arash Sefidgaran captured the aurora from Mitcham Common, London. Arash wrote: “After a powerful X1.8 solar flare was unleashed directly toward Earth on October 8, this breathtaking geomagnetic storm was perfectly predicted for the night of October 10-11, which was visible to the unaided eye even in heavily light-polluted skies! And how lucky can one be? Living in London with all its cloudy nights, yet on this night, the sky remained clear throughout!” Very lucky indeed, Arash! Thanks for sharing your photo.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Graham Galloway imaged the October 10 aurora from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. Thanks, Graham!

More aurora images

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Martin Curran captured this image of the aurora in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on October 11, 2024. He named his photo “fire clouds”. Thank you, Martin!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cecille Kennedy of Depoe Bay, Oregon, captured this image on October 10, 2024, and wrote: “On the night of the northern lights, looking west, the purple pink hues of the sky and the moon’s light on the sea from the setting moon hidden behind the leaves on the left of the image make for a surreal scene.” Thank you, Cecille!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Todd Weiler captured this image in Wisconsin. Todd wrote: “One of many red-tinted auroras that came through after midnight October 11, 2024. Looking west from Harrington State Park.” Thank you, Todd!

But wait, there’s more …

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Diane Rains of Hudson, Wisconsin, captured this image on October 11, 2024. Diane wrote: “We had a light but blanketing cloud cover in Hudson during most of last night’s mega G4 aurora. There were a few moments of intense color, but I found the many pastel watercolor patterns to be lovely in their own right!” Thank you, Diane!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Glenn Hughson captured this image in Lawrence, Kansas, on October 10, 2024. Glenn wrote: “I went to Clinton Lake to try and capture photos of the aurora borealis and was not disappointed! It was even clearly visible to the unaided eye for a good while! It is extremely rare to see the northern lights in this part of Kansas, but this is the brightest that I have ever seen them around here.” Thank you, Glenn!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Lisa Durick of Grand Forks, North Dakota, captured this image on October 11, 2024. Lisa wrote: “Big Dipper floating above an aurora storm.” Thank you, Lisa!

Bottom line: People around the globe saw an incredible outbreak of auroras on the evening of October 10 to 11, 2024. Check out some of our favorite images from the EarthSky community.

The post Auroras everywhere! Best pics from October 10 display first appeared on EarthSky.

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View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Weatherly captured the October 10 auroral display from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He wrote: “Today’s coronal mass ejection impact was potent, sparking severe geomagnetic storms and filling our skies with auroras. The pinks and reds were astonishingly vibrant to the eye. This photo is looking due east.” Beautiful shot, Joel!

Did you see the northern and southern lights?

People around the globe saw an incredible outbreak of auroras on the night of October 10 to 11, 2024. There were sightings as far south as Turkey, Mexico, Florida and the Bahamas! With geomagnetic storm levels reaching G4 (severe) for extended periods, Earth’s magnetic field went through a night of disturbance to rival the May 2024 superstorm. And the auroral displays really delivered. Here’s a collection of just some of the photos that poured into our EarthSky Community Photos page. Thank you if you submitted a photo to us!

The geomagnetic storm that brought the auroras was caused by a strong coronal mass ejection – a blob of solar material and magnetic fields – that was launched straight at Earth by an X1.8 solar flare early on October 9. It impacted Earth’s magnetic field just after midday on October 10, and geomagnetic disturbance rocketed to G4 (severe) not long after. And the aurora images started to roll in as soon as the skies darkened.

Auroras everywhere!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tim Rubbert captured the auroral display from Whitefish, Montana. Tim wrote: “Looking east. The aurora borealis surrounded me in all directions and directly above.” Thank you, Tim!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Sheryl R Garrison saw the aurora in Southern Alberta, Canada. Sheryl wrote: “It was almost impossible to choose just one photo tonight. But it was sure fun to start photographing early for a change! Amazingly beautiful show.” Agreed, Sheryl! Thank you.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Elmarie van Rooyen in Smoky Lake, Alberta, Canada, captured last night’s aurora from below. What a great view! Thank you, Elmarie.

More amazing auroras

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kent Carlson had a great view of the aurora from Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. He wrote: “Thank you X flares! At least an hour of nice auroras, many visible to the eye. Curtains of reds and pinks lit up the sky over a diffuse base of green.” Thank you X flares indeed! And thank you, Kent.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Arash Sefidgaran captured the aurora from Mitcham Common, London. Arash wrote: “After a powerful X1.8 solar flare was unleashed directly toward Earth on October 8, this breathtaking geomagnetic storm was perfectly predicted for the night of October 10-11, which was visible to the unaided eye even in heavily light-polluted skies! And how lucky can one be? Living in London with all its cloudy nights, yet on this night, the sky remained clear throughout!” Very lucky indeed, Arash! Thanks for sharing your photo.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Graham Galloway imaged the October 10 aurora from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. Thanks, Graham!

More aurora images

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Martin Curran captured this image of the aurora in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on October 11, 2024. He named his photo “fire clouds”. Thank you, Martin!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cecille Kennedy of Depoe Bay, Oregon, captured this image on October 10, 2024, and wrote: “On the night of the northern lights, looking west, the purple pink hues of the sky and the moon’s light on the sea from the setting moon hidden behind the leaves on the left of the image make for a surreal scene.” Thank you, Cecille!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Todd Weiler captured this image in Wisconsin. Todd wrote: “One of many red-tinted auroras that came through after midnight October 11, 2024. Looking west from Harrington State Park.” Thank you, Todd!

But wait, there’s more …

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Diane Rains of Hudson, Wisconsin, captured this image on October 11, 2024. Diane wrote: “We had a light but blanketing cloud cover in Hudson during most of last night’s mega G4 aurora. There were a few moments of intense color, but I found the many pastel watercolor patterns to be lovely in their own right!” Thank you, Diane!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Glenn Hughson captured this image in Lawrence, Kansas, on October 10, 2024. Glenn wrote: “I went to Clinton Lake to try and capture photos of the aurora borealis and was not disappointed! It was even clearly visible to the unaided eye for a good while! It is extremely rare to see the northern lights in this part of Kansas, but this is the brightest that I have ever seen them around here.” Thank you, Glenn!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Lisa Durick of Grand Forks, North Dakota, captured this image on October 11, 2024. Lisa wrote: “Big Dipper floating above an aurora storm.” Thank you, Lisa!

Bottom line: People around the globe saw an incredible outbreak of auroras on the evening of October 10 to 11, 2024. Check out some of our favorite images from the EarthSky community.

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Proxima Centauri discovered 109 years ago

Our sun’s closest neighbors among the stars, including Proxima Centauri. Image via NASA PhotoJournal.

Discovery of Proxima Centauri announced in 1915

October 12, 1915. On this date, the Scottish-born astronomer Robert Innes, at the Union Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa, announced the discovery of what we now know as the nearest star to our sun. That star is Proxima Centauri, one of three known stars in the Alpha Centauri system, with the other two stars being Alpha Centauri A and B. He announced his discovery in a paper dated October 12, 1915, titled A Faint Star of Large Proper Motion.

Formerly, before this announcement, astronomers believed that Alpha Centauri was the closest star to our solar system.

However, Proxima – a relatively small red dwarf star – is closer at a distance of about 4.24 light-years. Conversely, Alpha Centauri lies 4.36 light-years away.

Mark your calendars—Mondays and Fridays at 12:15 p.m. CDT, tune in to our YouTube livestreams! From cosmic discoveries to solar updates, there’s so much to explore. Help us keep this momentum by matching our $50,000 gift. Every bit counts!

Another 2-dimensional chart showing the distance to the Alpha Centauri system – including Proxima Centauri – in light-years. Image via ESO. Used with permission.

The 100-year-anniversary celebration

By the way, SAASTA – the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement – celebrated Proxima’s centenary in 2015. And at its website, SAASTA explained:

Although Innes had thoroughly observed Alpha Centauri, with his vast experience and passion for observing double stars he suspected that Alpha Centauri might have a companion. Innes compared photographic plates taken five years apart and observed that a certain faint star had moved. He found that this movement was about the same as that of Alpha Centauri.

After further investigation, he concluded that it was closer to the sun than Alpha. In 1917 he proposed the new star should be called Proxima Centauri, proxima being the Latin word for ‘nearest.’

Proxima Centauri has 3 known exoplanets

Today, Proxima remains the closest star to Earth, but it is too dim to see without optical aid. Also, Proxima Centauri has three confirmed planets, known as Proxima Centauri b, c and d. So these three exoplanets are the nearest planets outside our solar system. Interestingly, Proxima b orbits inside the star’s habitable zone.

View larger. | The 2 bright stars here are Alpha and Beta Centauri. The red circle below shows the location of Proxima Centauri. It is much dimmer than its companions. Therefore, it is more difficulte to see from Earth. But, at just over one parsec away, it is the closest star to our sun. Also, sitting in the southern constellation Centaurus the Centaur, it is most likely gravitationally bound to the bright star on the right: Alpha Centauri. Image via Skatebiker/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC Share Alike 3.0.

Bottom line: October 12, 1915, was the date of the publication of a paper announcing that the little star Proxima Centauri – in the Alpha Centauri system – is the nearest star to our sun.

Read more: Alpha Centauri planets? TOLIMAN will search

The post Proxima Centauri discovered 109 years ago first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/qoLGh4y

Our sun’s closest neighbors among the stars, including Proxima Centauri. Image via NASA PhotoJournal.

Discovery of Proxima Centauri announced in 1915

October 12, 1915. On this date, the Scottish-born astronomer Robert Innes, at the Union Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa, announced the discovery of what we now know as the nearest star to our sun. That star is Proxima Centauri, one of three known stars in the Alpha Centauri system, with the other two stars being Alpha Centauri A and B. He announced his discovery in a paper dated October 12, 1915, titled A Faint Star of Large Proper Motion.

Formerly, before this announcement, astronomers believed that Alpha Centauri was the closest star to our solar system.

However, Proxima – a relatively small red dwarf star – is closer at a distance of about 4.24 light-years. Conversely, Alpha Centauri lies 4.36 light-years away.

Mark your calendars—Mondays and Fridays at 12:15 p.m. CDT, tune in to our YouTube livestreams! From cosmic discoveries to solar updates, there’s so much to explore. Help us keep this momentum by matching our $50,000 gift. Every bit counts!

Another 2-dimensional chart showing the distance to the Alpha Centauri system – including Proxima Centauri – in light-years. Image via ESO. Used with permission.

The 100-year-anniversary celebration

By the way, SAASTA – the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement – celebrated Proxima’s centenary in 2015. And at its website, SAASTA explained:

Although Innes had thoroughly observed Alpha Centauri, with his vast experience and passion for observing double stars he suspected that Alpha Centauri might have a companion. Innes compared photographic plates taken five years apart and observed that a certain faint star had moved. He found that this movement was about the same as that of Alpha Centauri.

After further investigation, he concluded that it was closer to the sun than Alpha. In 1917 he proposed the new star should be called Proxima Centauri, proxima being the Latin word for ‘nearest.’

Proxima Centauri has 3 known exoplanets

Today, Proxima remains the closest star to Earth, but it is too dim to see without optical aid. Also, Proxima Centauri has three confirmed planets, known as Proxima Centauri b, c and d. So these three exoplanets are the nearest planets outside our solar system. Interestingly, Proxima b orbits inside the star’s habitable zone.

View larger. | The 2 bright stars here are Alpha and Beta Centauri. The red circle below shows the location of Proxima Centauri. It is much dimmer than its companions. Therefore, it is more difficulte to see from Earth. But, at just over one parsec away, it is the closest star to our sun. Also, sitting in the southern constellation Centaurus the Centaur, it is most likely gravitationally bound to the bright star on the right: Alpha Centauri. Image via Skatebiker/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC Share Alike 3.0.

Bottom line: October 12, 1915, was the date of the publication of a paper announcing that the little star Proxima Centauri – in the Alpha Centauri system – is the nearest star to our sun.

Read more: Alpha Centauri planets? TOLIMAN will search

The post Proxima Centauri discovered 109 years ago first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/qoLGh4y