EarthSky 22: Solar storms and supernovas

Image Credit: NASA

Host: Jorge Salazar
Lead Producer: Mike Brennan

This week’s featured stories:

What makes a star blow up? Jorge Salazar speaks with Dr. Brad Schaefer of Louisiana State University about what causes a type 1a supernovae, and what cosmological lessons the remnants of these explosions have for us.

Global Night Sky Deborah Byrd talks about how the sun has been super active so far in 2012, and about seeing auroras.

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Moon still between Venus and Jupiter on January 28

Jupiter, upper left, moon and Venus, lower right. Image via Fay Knight in the UK, earlier today.

If your skies are clear on the evening of January 28, 2012, there’s no way you can miss the dazzling planets Venus and Jupiter. At evening dusk or nightfall, look first for the moon in the western sky. Venus, the thir brightest body after the sun and moon, beams like a lighthouse beneath the moon, while Jupiter, the fourth brightest celestial body, shines mightily above it.

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Most amazing high def image of Earth so far

Most recent Blue Marble image, a composite made from multiple images acquired on January 4, 2012. Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring

This week (January 25, 2012), NASA released what it said is the “most amazing high definition image of Earth” ever. It’s part of NASA’s Blue Marble series. It’s composite image that uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, 2012.

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Male house mice sing songs to impress the girls

Males house mice sing songs of individuality and kinship to attract mates, according to a paper in the journal Physiology & Behavior in January 2012. Although the vocalizations are inaudible to human ears, when playbacks of recorded songs are slowed down their similarity to bird song becomes striking.

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Coincidence that sun and moon seem same size?

Sun and moon appear same size, approximately, as seen from Earth. Image via Gabrielle Wang

At this particular moment in Earth’s history – although the sun’s diameter is about 400 times larger than that of the moon – the sun is also about 400 times farther away. So the sun and moon appear nearly the same size as seen from Earth. And that’s why we on Earth can sometimes witness that most amazing of spectacles, a total eclipse of the sun – or even an annular solar eclipse like the one coming up on May 20, 2012. What are the odds?

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Annular solar eclipse seen from space

Did you know there’s going to be an annular eclipse of the sun visible from the southwestern U.S. on May 20, 2012? Here’s more information about that eclipse. It reminded me of this wonderful video from Hinode, a Japanese satellite that has been orbiting Earth since 2006, of a January 4, 2011 solar eclipse – as seen from space. The eclipse was partial from Earth’s surface, but annular as seen by the satellite. Check out this video:

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2011 was one of the worst years for wildfires

Image Credit: USDA

Thousands of wildfires raged across the United States last year, 2011, burning a record amount of land, especially in the southern U.S. In fact, 2011 the third-most-active fire season since 1960 (when this record-keeping began) with respect to acres burned, according to preliminary data released from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in late December 2011. The NIFC will be releasing an official summary report detailing the 2011 wildfire season later in 2012.

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Study confirms we do get by with a little help from our friends

Photo credit: Jolante

Keeping friends close has real physiological and psychological benefits, according to a January 2012 study in the journal Developmental Psychology.

The presence of a best friend directly and immediately benefits children going through negative experiences, says the report. Feelings of self-worth and levels of cortisol, a hormone produced naturally by the adrenal gland in direct response to stress, are largely dependent on the social context of a negative experience.

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January 2012 guide to the five visible planets

Jupiter's Great Red Spot, seen by Voyager spacecraft

Venus and Jupiter are the sky’s two most brilliant planets. In late January 2012, they are the first “stars” to pop out at evening dusk, and they are near the waxing crescent moon in the sky. These evenings views of the moon, Venus and Jupiter – around January 25-31 – aren’t to be missed. But don’t forget the other planets! The other planet that will “wow” you in early 2012 is Mars. It is now gearing up for its opposition to the sun in early March 2012. In other words, in the coming months Mars will become extremely noticeable in our sky – more noticeable than it’s been for two years.

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What makes Venus the brightest planet?

Have you been watching Venus in the evening sky? It’s beautiful – especially when it’s near the moon.

Moon between Venus and Jupiter on January 27

Moon still between Venus and Jupiter on January 28

Venus is so much brighter than any other planet viewed in the sky. Why is it so bright?

Photo credit: James Jordan

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