astronomy Archives - Page 3 of 5 - New York Metro Weather

Two fireballs seen in the Northeast since Sunday

February 25, 2014/0 Comments/by John Homenuk

The skies have been active in the NYC/NJ areas over the past several days. Multiple reports of a bright fireball were received on Sunday evening, from Vermont to New York. Observers reported the fireball “streaking through the sky, brightening and then dimming in only 10 seconds”. An additional fireball was reportedly seen on Monday night in much of the Northeast US including New York and New Jersey. Jersey Shore Hurricane News reader JP Dunne reported “I’m located in Oceanport, and it occurred directly south. Someone else had to see it.”\

Not surprisingly, the American Meteor Society has received hundreds of reports from both events — so we can almost certainly say that the events were not isolated or a hoax. The AMS uses a public submission form so that observers of meteors can submit their reports time, location, brightness and other information. You can view the reports from each event (and others throughout the United States over the past several days, weeks and months) at the AMS report page right here.

Most interestingly of all, the Sunday meteor had a little bit of luck involved. Ethan Rogati was taking long-exposure photographs of the sky in Vermont when the meteor flew directly through his field of view. The incredible photograph he captured is below. Although there have been a few meteors spotted in the Northeast US over the past few days, there is no meteor storm or shower currently occurring. Astronomers don’t anticipate a continued uptick in meteor activity.

Sunday’s meteor as captured by Ethan Rogati in Sand Bar State Park VT.

R.I.P Comet ISON

November 28, 2013/1 Comment/by John Homenuk

Comet ISON, the sungrazing comet which grabbed the attention of millions when it was discovered in September 2012, reached the end of its five million-year long journey towards the sun today. Unfortunately, for all parties involved, the Comet did not make it around the sun in one piece. ISON brightened dramatically yesterday, but then was seen to become less bright and elongate this morning. As it dove towards its perihelion, high resolution imagery showed no visible nucleus — and athe brightest part of the comet was in its tail. A steady dust trail also signaled the eventual demise of the comet, as its nucleus fragmented and apparently disintegrated just an hour or less before perihelion. As of now, ISON has not appeared on the other side of the sun on any of the handful of NASA cameras pointed at the sun specifically to observe it today.

The result of Comet ISON evaporating just prior to perihelion will be disappointing for all on the ground — as Comet ISON will never be able to be observed again. The tail of Comet ISON still remains dragged out towards the sun, a haunting remnant of its entrance into the suns very harsh environment. But the emptiness of any light on the other side of the sun tells the true tale — as ISON was never able to make it out. Over the next few days, scientists and amateur astronomers will certainly analyze the incredible amounts of data that were collected on ISON’s approach.

So, for the record. Sun: 1 Comet ISON: 0.

Stay tuned over the next few days for additional information.

Comet ISON dove towards the sun on November 28 2013, but never made it out on the other side.

Live Blog: Comet ISON’s biggest hour

November 28, 2013/0 Comments/by John Homenuk

Comet ISON reaches perihelion today around 1:40pm Eastern time, and the tension is building as it heads towards the sun. ISON is currently experiencing the most hostile conditions it will in its lifetime, with intense solar wind, incredible temperatures, and ridiculous speed as it rounds the sun. The comet brightened dramatically yesterday, and the brightness was saturating NASA’s SOHO LASCO satellite imagery. But today, the comet has faded as it approaches the sun. In fact, the newest reported attempts of photometric of the center of ISON suggest “there may be no active nucleus at all anymore”.

ISON will reach perihelion today, and we will know the fate of the comet shortly thereafter. If it survives its trip around the sun, it may put on quite a show as it comes around the other side of the sun..and may be visible from earth during the first and second weeks of December. If not, the comet may not emerge and will not be seen again. Our live blog will follow along with new images and information over the next hour. So stay right here!

Comet ISON rounding towards the sun on November 28th, 2013.

New images of Comet ISON in outburst

November 14, 2013/0 Comments/by John Homenuk

Two weeks from perihelion (its closest approach to the sun), Comet ISON is finally brightening at a rapid pace. Observations taken over the last week had shown the structure of the comet developing. Initially, bifurcation of the comets tail was observed. Shortly thereafter, the tails split into two and three — followed by a disconnection event. All of these were indications of Comet ISON interacting with increased solar winds. Late on Wednesday, amateur astronomers began reporting dramatically increased brightness, and new observations confirm that Comet ISON is likely in “outburst”. Outburst occurs when the comets volatiles (dust, gas, ice on the surface and within the comet) begin to react to the suns heat and solar wind.

It remains to be seen if the outburst will be short lived, or if it will continue until perihelion. The comets fate still is very much up in the air, partly because not much is known about the comets makeup. Originating from the Oort Cloud, Comet ISON is the first of its kind to be observed with modern day instruments. Scientists have been hoping to get a bright, in tact comet to study. But ISON could still break up as it interacts with the suns heat and wind. It could brighten sharply over the next few days and then simply burn out, it could survive until it reaches the sun, or it could survive well past perihelion. The ladder of the three possibilities would offer a terrific show here on earth, as the comet would all but certainly shine extremely bright with a spectacular tail as it moves away from the sun. The next few weeks will certainly be interesting — and we will be watching very carefully! Check out a series of images from the past few days below.

Tag Archive for: astronomy

Posts