UFO Sighting Near Chicago's O'Hare Airport

A report of a widespread UFO sighting over Chicago's O'Hare Airport  hit the Internet over night.  It also has become one of the most searched for items on Google trends. However, I can not seem to find any information about it over any of the news wires.  So perhaps it is a hoax.

The most probable linkage to the sudden upswing in Internet frenzy is to a video from 2007 that leaked from  CLTV, a 24 hour news channels in Oak Brook, IL. The interview is between Jon Hilkevitch (the Chicago Tribune transportation reporter who reported the Chicago UFO story) and Jim Wagner a news anchor with CLTV.

They are speaking as if off, they are not even on live TV, and joke around a little bit during the interview, so it appears to be a hoax.  Interesting how things like this get latched onto by the public and spread around on the Internet.

Perseid Meteor Shower Winding Down - What's Next?

The Perseid Meteor showers a quickly winding down, and these showers did not disappoint.  I was able to get out and view the skies for a couple of hours and was able to log a couple of sightings despite the poor view conditions at my location.  There was a lot of haze and a few clouds.

So, what's next if you are itching to get out and view some more meteors?  Well the Orionids are coming up on October 21st and October 22nd.  A full moon is expected on during the main viewing nights, so expect a lot of interference from moonlight.  Still, even with a full moon, you may get to see a few brighter shooting stars if you head out a few hours before twilight on the 19th.

The next shower after the Orionids are the Leonids in November.  Occasionally these showers put on a real show, and there moon will be in a waxing gibbous phase.  There should be fairly good viewing conditions for this meteor shower.  Get out on the night of November 17th to get the best chance to see a shooting star.

Japanese Spacecraft Akatsuki Passes Venus

Venus is easy to spot in the evening sky, a planet with a surface that is hot enough to melt lead.  Akatsuki, a Japanese spacecraft is due to enter reach the hot planet in early December and will take a close up look when it enters orbit.

There are a lot of similarities between Venus and Earth.  The planet is about the same distance from the Sun, and has a mass that is close to Earth, with a very active weather system.  It also appears to be a planet where the greenhouse effect went awry, and scientists are hoping that the Japanese space mission to Venus will give them greater understanding of the Venusian atmosphere. This will help gain better understandings into Earth's possible climate change controversy.

Akatsuki is blistered with numerous instruments to examine the planets surface and atmosphere.  The are cameras for measuring different wavelengths of the magnetic spectrum, from the IR band, to UV, and the visible.  Other instruments will check out for volcanic activity, and look for lightning activity.

The Akatsuki spacecraft will orbit around the equator of Venus for 2 years.

Perseid Meteor Showers Live and on Camera with Meteor Radars

NASA has set up a webcam that focuses on the sky to view shooting stars.  An interesting aspect of this sky camera is that you are also given an audio feed to the sky radar, where you can hear the pings and pops created by incoming meteors.

You can view the camera, along with audio here.

The camera is mounted at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL.

Another camera can be view at SpaceWeather.com, which is located in Walker, GA.  It can be accessed here.  Once the page comes up, click on the main image to see the live meteor feed.

So, if you cannot make out to look at the sky for the big meteor shower, then simply tune in to one of these all sky cameras to look for fireballs.

Nature Own Set of Fireworks

A cool Canadian air mass has settled in across the eastern United States and will remain in place for the rest of the 4rth of July holiday weekend. This will lead to prime viewing conditions for firework displays tonight.  These dry conditions will also lead to prime meteor watching conditions after the fireworks displays are over.  Once the smoke clears, sit back and let the crowds clear out and continue to take in the night sky. Most fireworks displays should be over before the moon rises, so you will have about an hour or two of prime viewing conditions once the fireworks come to an end.


Last night I spent a few hours under the night sky.  I saw several satellites, and a couple of meteors.  It got a little nippy towards midnight here in West Virginia, and I was glad I brought a light jacket and a pair of sweat pants along.

Meteor Strikes the Planet Jupiter

If you happened to be looking at Jupiter through a telescope at the right time on June 3rd, you just may have had a glimpse of a flash of light. Astronomers have be wondering exactly what it was that slammed into the gas giant mass of the planet Jupiter.


It could have either been a comet, but Australian amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley supposes that it was a meteorite that struck the gas giant. There is a video captured by Anthony that shows Jupiter being struck by a meteor.

The object did not leave a gaping dark spot on Jupiter, much the same way as when Comet Shumacher-Levy slammed into the planet in1994.

Jupiter is readily viewable after midnight, rising between 1 am and 2 am.  By sunrise, you should easily spot Jupiter in the southeastern sky. It will be the brightest object in the early morning sky.

Most backyard telescopes are able to make out the bright disc of Jupiter, as well as some dark shadows on the surface. These dark shadows are the clouds of gas that swirl around the surface of the planet. In addition to the bands swirling around the planet, you should also be able to see tiny pin pricks of light on either side of the planet. You will note that these pin pricks of light will change position on each successive night, and sometimes even hourly. These are some of the moons that are in orbit around Jupiter.  There are over 60 moons that have been discovered in orbit around Jupiter, but only the largest are viewable with a backyard telescope.