John Homenuk

PM Update: Gorgeous autumn weather continues

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Ten straight days of dry, pleasant, and sunny weather with low humidity. It has been quite a run, and we aren’t through yet. Stretching even farther back from the last cold front which brought some rain and storms (which seems like months ago at this point), it has been a 3 to 4 week stretch of pleasant weather in our area. Such a stretch is nearly unprecedented — but we have settled into a benign weather pattern. One has to wonder when the pattern ends, how long the unsettled weather that follows will continue.

Regional observations and fronts from the evening of October 2nd, 2013.

Regional observations and fronts from the evening of October 2nd, 2013.

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John Homenuk

Comet ISON’s moment of truth not far away

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Several months ago, it was heralded as the upcoming “Comet of the Century”. Whether exaggerated or not, the general theme in all predictions for Comet ISON, which is expected to streak through the sky during November and December 2013, was that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Some predictions even ventured to say that ISON would shine brighter than a full moon in the night sky, and be visible during the daylight hours.

But suddenly, as astronomers and amateurs alike began to capture new images of Comet ISON drawing closer to our neighborhood of the universe, the predictions changed. Newer imagery showed that ISON was not nearly as bright as anticipated, and out of the woodworks came the reports that the comet may not be seen at all.

While reports of the comet’s demise may be greatly exaggerated, the wild reports of an astronomical event for the ages may be as well. The truth it, we don’t know just yet how bright ISON may eventually be. The key lies in the path, and timing, of ISON’s future over the next few weeks.

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