Not only am I interested in what goes on above the Earth, but I also like to keep up on the latest on what is going on under the earth. The USGS is reporting increased seismic activity at Mt Redoubt, which is a volcano in Alaska. MT Redoubt last erupted in 1989. An eruption is expected any time now, either within the next few hours, up to a couple of weeks away. Here is an image showing the latest seismic activity from the last 24 hours.
There are a number of these sensors located around the mountain that are measuring for earthquakes. In addition, there are numerous web cams like this one:
Most of the time, the web cams are shrouded in clouds, since Alaska is in the midst of its winter. There are a couple of view to choose from at the Alaska Volcanic Observatory. You may get lucky and catch a volcano eruption in progress via the web!
Barack Obama has pledged and "open" and "transparent" government. In his first day in office he issued a memorandum directing heads of government agencies to create new policies about how to declassify information that is not deemed a threat to national security. The agencies were given 120 days to create this new policy. This information could be released under guidelines set forth in the Freedom of Information Act if requested by the public. Under the Bush administration, it was very difficult for agencies like the FBI and CIA to declassify information, thus it stayed locked up in vaults for years.
Now that it seems like it will be easier to release information, this could mean that UFO buffs will be able to see what types of government investigations there have been in UFOs, if any serious ones occurred at all. It will be interesting to see what kind of documents, all with a bunch of inked out lines the government issues over the next couple of years. I am not holding my breath at this point.
I wrote about sighting of a fireball over Sweden as possibly being the Molniya-M Stage 3 that was set to make an entry sometime later in the day last Saturday. The Russian rocket motor actually entered the atmosphere off of the coast of southern Australia, on the opposite end of the world. Since this was an uncontrolled re-entry this is no real surprise that the location and timing of the re-entry was so far off from the predictions. In addition, from what I read in their reports, it was traveling in the opposite direction of the old Russian rocket.
So, it is unlikely that the witnesses in Sweden were looking at a rocket motor, but most likely just a regular old meteor burning up.
The word Molniya means "lightning" in Russian. These rocket motors have been in service since the 1960s. The one that burned up over southern Australia was launched back in 1982. That's quite a long time that it spent floating around in space before it came down!
Air rescue server units, and other Swedish authorities received a lot of call last night as a fireball was seen streaking across the sky. Authorities have attributed that object as being a bolide.
The fireball was seen across southern and western Sweden for several seconds.
Meanwhile, a little later today at 20:38 UTC a Molniya-M Stage 3 Rocket is expected to make re-entry into the atmosphere just off the coast of eastern South America. The Molniya is a rocket that is built by the Russians. The third stage it an upper stage on the rocket body and measures about 7 to 8 feet long by a little over 6 feet wide. Looks like the projected path of this re-entry is going to be out over the Caribbean and Western Atlantic ocean. It is common for a couple of these to come down each year.
However, the re-entry time prediction for this rocket stage is plus or minus 14 hours. It may be that the sighting in Sweden may have actually this rocket stage, since its projected path takes it over southern Sweden a few orbits before re-entry. If I get a little better confirmation on when the rocket make reentry, I will update.
A new season of Battlestar Galactica starts up with 10 new, and most likely the final episodes on the SciFi channel. While this blog never really delves into the world of science fiction, and BSG has nothing to do with meteors falling from the sky, I just have to mention the show because I am a fanboy of Battlestar. I was a fanboy of the original series, when I was a kid growing up. It was the coolest program on television, and I am an even bigger fanboy of the new series.
Now, when I look back on those old episodes from the original series, I find it hard to believe I used to be able to sit through the full 60 minute episode. They were pretty campy! Like the old Batman shows from the 1960's.
Thenew SciFi channel series as a lot harder edge to it, and for the most part good writing and acting. Not only that, the storyline is very intriguing as there are a lot of twists on the plot. Now that ragtag, fugitive, fleet is about to set upon earth, maybe all of the mysteries and questions will be solved.
I have no doubt that by the end of these 10 episodes, there will be a couple of things hanging, and the series will continue for next year. One can only hope!
The calendar for meteor showers quiets down for the first couple of months of the year, now that the Quadrantids have finished. Next up are the Lyrids, but this meteor shower does not make an appearance until the third week in April.
Look for these showers to peak during the early morning hours of April 22, before sunrise. The Lyrids will not be hampered too much by moonlight. The moon will appear as a waning crescent. The shower should produce about 10 to 20 meteors per hour under dark sky conditions. If you live out in the city, then you probably should look for a dark spot away from city lights.
If you live out west then you will get a double astronomical treat. During the morning hours of the 22nd the planet Venus will pass behind the moon. This is what is know as an occultation. Folks on the east coast will miss out because it will occur after sunrise and Venus will no longer be visible.
If you have binoculars or a small telescope, they will provide pretty views. But since Venus is so bright, the backdrop of the crescent moon should still provide a spectacular site for the naked eye.
Computer controlled "all sky cameras" have popped up all over the United States and Canada providing a continuous watch for meteors and fireballsas they streak across the sky.
The setup for these cameras come in a variety of methods. In most cases they have some sort of fish eye type lens that provides a view over the entire sky. These cameras are then connected to a recording device that allows one to go back and review the data. Image analysis software usually allow azimuth information, and perhaps even sky charts to be super imposed, to allow for easy analysis.
Some more sophisticated setups may have automatic motion detection software that not only keeps track of meteor count, but also deter nines origin and track across the sky.
There are also many all sky cameras that feed their images directly to the internet, like this sky camera from the University of Arizona. This is a good one because, on most nights the skies are clear, and you get a good view of the sky.
I think "all sky cameras" are pretty neat. Not only would you be able to sleep peacefully at night and still be on the lookout for meteors, but you would also perhaps catch the UFO. You would thing that with all of these cameras out in the field, at least one or two would have spotted a UFO.
Image: Karzaman Ahmad in Malaysia with a 20-inch scope Spaceweather.com
Comet C/2007 N2 (aka Lulin) was discovered last year by astronomers working for the Lulin Sky project sky survey. At the time of this post, it is not yet visible to the naked eye. It is still only a Magnitude 11 object. So it will a decent telescope with tracking software and a drive to find.
The comet was discovered last year by the Lulin Sky Survey. This sky survey is a cooperative effort between astronomers from both China and Taiwan. The centerpiece of the program is a 16 inch telescope located at Lulin Observatory at National Central University in Taiwan. The programs goal was to find and track minor bodies in our solar system such as comets and asteroids.
The comet is moving through Scorpio and will make a quick trek across the sky over the coming months. Its closest approach to the Earth will be on February 24th. At that time it should be easily identifiable through binoculars. It may even become visible to the naked eye when it makes its closest pass to earth. Since it is approaching the sun, a tail should also be seen.
An interesting aspect of this comet is that it is orbiting nearly on the ecliptic, but is traveling backwards! Because of this strange orbit, and the comets proximity to the ecliptic, it will appear to have two tails, each pointing in the opposite direction, as seen in the image above which is brought to you courtesy of Spaceweather.com. Karzaman Ahmad in Malaysia captured this image the a 20-inch scope
A movie due out this spring will feature meteors and ufos as part of its plot. And what an interesting plot! That is, if you are interested in kids movies.
In Monsters vs Aliens, due out March 27th, 2009, a woman gets struck by an object from outer space on her wedding day. This meteor contains some sort of space goop that transforms her into a giant that is 50 stories tall.
The military then whisks her away to some secret facility that has a bunch of other monsters that have been caught over the years. One monster is a 350 foot grub called Insectosaurus, another is a blob of goo named "B.O.B". Each creature has their own quirky personality, that pervades these types of movies.
A giant alien robot from outer space attacks the earth, and the monsters are asked to take it out. Sounds like fun.
Check out the trailer for Monsters vs. Aliens
There are some notable stars that are in this movie. It includes Reese Witherspoon, Keifer Sutherland, and Paul Rudd.
It looks like Dreamworks Studio will have another hit on their hands for next summer. They are obviously capitalizing on the success of Monters, Inc. and The Incredibles. If a formula works, then why not try to squeeze out another dollar or two.
Based on what I saw in the trailer, I am quite sure that my kids will be dragging me to go see it.
Celebrations on and around New Years Eve that involved the use of Chinese sky lanterns have caused UFO hotlines to light up across Europe and the United Kingdom over the past couple of weeks. Chinese sky lanterns have become more popular to light and release across the United Kingdom and Europe over the past couple of weeks.
After they are released they float in the air, up to several hundred feet and appear as lighted orbs floating in the sky. Usually, more than one will be released, and when they travel in groups, can be easily mistaken for a UFO.
Sky Lanterns have a wooden frame, usually bamboo, that is covered with oily rice paper. A small candle is placed inside the frame and hot air from the candle will collect inside the paper shell, causing the lantern to rise up into the air. It is almost like a miniature hot air balloon.
With the large number of sky lantern sightings it is still surprising to see some mainstream media outlets still reporting these as UFOs, when a simple web search will solve the mystery!
On Monday December 29th, a possible fireball streaked across the sky and created sonic booms over Tok, Alaska. The loud booms and contrails had local residents concerned that an aircraft mishap had occured. There were even some theories that the Air Force was operating, or maybe UFOs had landed.
Where the heck is Tok? Well it is a leisurely 6 hour drive from Anchorage along Alaska Route 1. It is really amazing how big the state is.
Calls started streaming in to a local 911 dispatch shortly after 330 pm in the afternoon, with people reporting hearing a large sonic boom. Others saw a smoky contrail, while some actually did see the fireball come down and break up into several pieces.
The area is quite remote, so there will probably be little chance of finding any pieces. The object was probably about the size of a volleyball, or maybe a little larger.
Alaska misses out on most meteor showers in the summertime because of the nearly 24 hour daylight in that occurs over most of the state.
In the wintertime, it is another story, as it is dark most of the time, so your chances of seeing object streaking in from space are much greater.
