MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Rob Waugh – “The Northern Lights have lit up the skies above Scotland, Canada and Norway after the biggest solar storm in more than six years bombarded Earth with radiation.

The Canadian Space Agency posted a geomagnetic storm warning on Tuesday after residents were also treated to a spectacular show in the night sky.

Ken Kennedy, director of the Aurora section of the British Astronomical Association, said that the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible for a few more days.

The Northern Lights are sometimes seen from northern parts of Scotland but the unusual solar activity this week means the lights have also been visible from as far south as northeast England, a rarity.

Geomagnetic storms cause awesome sights, but they can also bring trouble.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, problems can include current surges in power lines, and interference in the broadcast of radio, TV and telephone signals.” Read more.

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“A powerful solar eruption is expected to blast a stream of charged particles toward Earth tomorrow (Jan. 24), as the strongest radiation storm since 2005 rages on the sun.

Early this morning (0359 GMT Jan. 23, which corresponds to late Sunday, Jan. 22 at 10:59 p.m. EST), NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught an extreme ultraviolet flash from a huge eruption on the sun , according to the skywatching website Spaceweather.com.

The solar flare spewed from sunspot 1402, a region of the sun that has become increasingly active lately. Several NASA satellites, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and the Stereo spacecraft observed the massive sun storm.

A barrage of charged particles triggered by this morning’s solar flare is expected to hit Earth tomorrow at around 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT), according to experts at the Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [Video & photos of the huge solar flare]

According to NOAA, this is the strongest solar radiation storm since May 2005, and as a precaution, polar flights on Earth are expected to be re-routed within the next few hours, Kathy Sullivan, deputy administrator of NOAA, said today at the 92nd annual American Meteorological Society meeting in New Orleans, La.

Scientists call these electromagnetic bursts ‘coronal mass ejections’ (CMEs), and they are closely studied because they can produce potentially harmful geomagnetic storms when the charged particles rain down Earth’s magnetic field lines.

In addition to generating stronger than normal displays of Earth’s auroras (also known as the northern and southern lights), geomagnetic storms aimed directly at our planet can also disrupt satellites in orbit, cause widespread communications interference and damage other electronic infrastructures.

‘There is little doubt that the cloud is heading in the general direction of Earth,’ Spaceweather.com announced in an alert. ‘A preliminary inspection of SOHO/STEREO imagery suggests that the CME will deliver a strong glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field on Jan. 24-25 as it sails mostly north of our planet.'” Read more.

By Alan Boyle – “The sun has unleashed a blast in Earth’s direction, and that should cause brighter-than-normal auroral displays this weekend. Skywatchers won’t be the only ones monitoring the storm: The folks in charge of power grids and orbiting satellites will also be on guard to make sure the disturbance in the (geomagnetic) force won’t be disruptive.

Word of today’s blast, technically known as a coronal mass ejection or CME, comes via SpaceWeather.com’s Tony Phillips. NASA says the outburst sparked an M3.2-class solar flare, as well as a stream of electrically charged particles that is due to interact with Earth’s magnetic field on Saturday. ‘Viewers can be on the lookout for increased aurora,’ NASA says.

M-class flares are capable of causing brief radio blackouts near the poles as well as minor radiation storms, but it’s unlikely that this one will disrupt communication or power transmission networks. The forecast would be different if it were an X-class storm heading our way. As the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle in 2013 or so, we can expect to see more powerful solar outbursts.” Read more.

By Mike Wall – “Particles ejected by recent solar storms are due to slam into Earth over the next few days, possibly causing super-charged northern lights displays and temporary radio blackouts in some areas, experts say.

On Monday (Dec. 26), the sun unleashed a massive eruption of solar plasma known as a coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME’s fast-moving charged particles should squarely strike Earth’s magnetic field at about 3:20 p.m. EST (2020 GMT) Wednesday, give or take seven hours, according to the website Spaceweather.com.

The particles from another CME could deliver a glancing blow to our planet a few hours earlier on Wednesday, Spaceweather.com reported.

The two impacts will likely spawn minor and/or moderate geomagnetic storms at high latitudes on Wednesday and Thursday. If they’re powerful enough, geomagnetic storms can temporarily disrupt GPS signals, radio communications and power grids.

‘Category G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storms are expected 28 and 29 December due to multiple coronal mass ejection arrivals,’ the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center wrote in an update Tuesday (Dec. 27). ‘R1 (Minor) radio blackouts are expected until 31 December.'” Read more.

Here’s an interesting tidbit of info on Saturday’s lunar eclipse …

By Joe Rao – “This year’s second total lunar eclipse on Saturday morning will offer a rare chance to see a strange celestial sight traditionally thought impossible.

Ringside seats for the lunar eclipse can be found in Alaska, Hawaii, northwestern Canada, Australia, New Zealand and central and eastern Asia. Over the contiguous United States and Canada, the eastern zones will see either only the initial penumbral stages before moonset, or nothing at all.

Over the central regions of the United States, the moon will set as it becomes progressively immersed in the Earth’s umbral shadow. The Rocky Mountain states and the prairie provinces will see the moon set in total eclipse, while out west the moon will start to emerge from the shadow as it sets.

The moon passes through the southern part of the Earth’s shadow, with totality beginning at 6:06 a.m. PT and lasting 51 minutes.

For most places in the United States and Canada, there will be a chance to observe an unusual effect, one that celestial geometry seems to dictate can’t happen. The little-used name for this effect is a ‘selenelion’ (or ‘selenehelion’) and occurs when both the sun and the eclipsed moon can be seen at the same time.

Seeing the impossible

But wait! How is this possible? When we have a lunar eclipse, the sun, Earth and moon are in a geometrically straight line in space, with the Earth in the middle. So if the sun is above the horizon, the moon must be below the horizon and completely out of sight (or vice versa).

And indeed, during a lunar eclipse, the sun and moon are exactly 180 degrees apart in the sky; so in a perfect alignment like this (a ‘syzygy’) such an observation would seem impossible.

But it is atmospheric refraction that makes a selenelion possible.

Atmospheric refraction causes astronomical objects to appear higher in the sky than they are in reality.

For example: when you see the sun sitting on the horizon, it is not there really. It’s actually below the edge of the horizon, but our atmosphere acts like a lens and bends the sun’s image just above the horizon, allowing us to see it.

This effect actually lengthens the amount of daylight for several minutes or more each day; we end up seeing the sun for a few minutes in the morning before it has actually risen and for a few extra minutes in the evening after it actually already has set.

The same holds true with the moon as well.

As a consequence of this atmospheric trick, for many localities there will be an unusual chance to observe a senelion firsthand with Saturday morning’s shadowy event. There will be a short window of roughly 1 to 6 minutes (depending on your location) when you may be able to simultaneously spot the sun rising in the east-southeast and the eclipsed full moon setting in the west-northwest.” Read more.

Or does it? Nonetheless, expect the next round of cosmic conspiracy theories involving “Elenin” and “Nibiru” in 3, 2, 1 …

By TED THORNHILL – “A gigantic object the size of a planet has appeared on astronomers screens lurking near Mercury, with UFO hunters around the world wondering whether it’s an alien ship.

‘The object appears from nowhere in a sequence of images of a coronal ejection from the Sun, taken by a Nasa telescope.

As the flare races past Mercury, a huge round object appears next to it – but Nasa scientists insist that the object is merely a result of the way the images are processed.

Over 100,000 YouTube users have watched the sequence taken by the Heliospheric Imager-1 telescope.

It was uploaded by user siniXster and he says in his commentary: ‘It’s cylindrical on either side and has a shape in the middle. It definitely looks like a ship to me, and very obviously, it’s cloaked.’

However, experts say that there is no alien race hiding away in our solar system.

The image from the telescope was analysed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory, with engineer Nathan Rich explaining that the ‘object’ is actually the image of Mercury from the previous day.

To make sure that the solar flare stood out, researchers compare the image with one taken the day before and subtract anything that appears twice – because that means it’s interfering background light.

Stars are easily eliminated, but moving objects, like planets, are more difficult to remove.” Read more.

By Amar Kapadia – “On the 10th of December, half of the world will get a chance to see earth leaving its shadow over moon during total lunar eclipse. But for India, this total lunar eclipse would be special as Indian population won’t be able to view it again for next seven years.

Dr. DP Duari, Director of Research and Academics at the MP Birla Planetarium, noted, ‘For observers in India, on December 10, the Moon will start falling under the Earth’s shadow at around 6.15 p. m. The next total lunar eclipse, visible in its entirety from India will only be after another seven years in 2018’.

The total eclipse will last for a period of approximately one hour that is from at 7:36 p. m. to 8:28 p. m. on the 15th of June as well, total lunar eclipse did occur. However, Indian population was not able to witness it because of cloudy weather.

It is expected that on 10th of December the view of eclipse would be clearer. Usually a lunar eclipse occurs when the sun is on one side of the earth and the moon on the opposite side. The moment when they align lunar eclipse occurs.

This time, the eclipse will be visible in Asia and Australia. The view would be interesting as Moon will noticeably darken and flare different colors as the Earth blocks the Sun’s rays, refracting light through its own atmosphere and coloring the Moon much like the horizon during a sunrise or sunset – a phenomenon known as Rayleigh scattering.

Lunar eclipse is interesting views which captures the mind and heart of viewers. Every year, a large number of foreigners travel from country to country to capture the beauty of eclipse. This year, as the eclipse would be visible to half of the world, it is expected that large number of foreigners will visits Asian countries.” Source – News Tonight.

By Denise Chow – “A partial solar eclipse was visible over parts of the southern hemisphere today (Nov. 25), as the moon passed between Earth and the sun for the fourth and final time this year.

The eclipse was visible in southern South Africa, Antarctica, Tasmania, and most of New Zealand, according to NASA scientists. At greatest eclipse, as the moon orbited between the sun and Earth, 90.5 percent of the sun’s diameter was covered from the location closest to the axis of Earth’s shadow, which is a point in the Bellingshausen Sea on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula.

While majority of the Earth was not able to view today’s partial solar eclipse, the event was visible in pockets of southern South Africa, across the Antarctic continent, Tasmania and portions of New Zealand’s South Island.

The shadow with Earth last touched a point on the planet west of the South Island, in the Tasman Sea, before it swept back out into space.

Solar eclipses are some of nature’s most dramatic celestial events, and occur when the Earth, moon and sun are aligned on the same plane. Partial solar eclipses happen when the moon partly covers the sun as it travels between our planet and its closest star.

Today’s eclipse was the fourth and final solar eclipse of the year. Partial solar eclipses previously occurred on Jan. 4, June 1 and July 1.

The next solar eclipse, on May 20, 2012, is expected to be a stunning event, and will be visible from China, Japan and parts of the United States.” Read more.

“MOSCOW – Russia’s failed Mars probe could come crashing down to Earth in January unless scientists can find a way to blast it out of low-Earth orbit, the head of the Roscosmos space agency said Monday.

The unmanned Phobos-Grunt spacecraft blasted off toward the Red Planet last Wednesday where it was hoped to bring back rock and soil samples from the moon Phobos.

But its engines failed to put in the correct course, and the craft only managed to reach an orbit about 125 miles from Earth. Scientists were still trying to regain communication with spacecraft.

“We estimate that the Phobos-Grunt will fly until January, and to make it perform its mission, we still have time until the beginning of December,” Roscosmos general director Vladimir Popovkin was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency.

Popovkin said there was little chance that the probe would hit a populated area when it crashed down.

‘There are 7.5 metric tons of fuel in the aluminum tanks on board. We have no doubts that they will explode [and destroy the probe] upon re-entry,’ Popovkin said. ‘It is highly unlikely that its parts would reach Earth.'” Source – Fox News.

Phobos-Grunt: a legal analysis of potential liability and options for mitigation – “For the third time in as many months the potential exists for a large space object to fall out of orbit and impact the surface of the Earth. Unlike the prior two incidents where the space objects involved were derelict research satellites, the space object in question is a probe launched by the Russian Federation on November 9, 2011, destined to travel to Mars… A preliminary date for reentry is November 26, according to one report, but Russian officials report it could stay in orbit for up to sixty days. Obviously, as the decay of the spacecraft’s orbit progresses, these timelines will change.” Read more.