Space Weather News for Dec. 6, 2008
http://spaceweather.com
COLORADO FIREBALL: Last night, a fireball one hundred times brighter than the full Moon lit up the sky near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Astronomer Chris Peterson photographed the event using an all-sky video camera dedicated to meteor studies. "In seven years of operation, this is the brightest fireball I've ever recorded. I estimate the terminal explosion at magnitude -18." Meteors this bright are called superbolides; they are caused by small (meter-class) asteroids and are likely to pepper the ground with meteorites when they explode. Visit http://spaceweather.com to watch the fireball video and contribute sighting reports that could help pinpoint any meteoritic debris.
TUMBLING TOOLBAG: The space station's famous sidekick, the ISS Toolbag, is circling Earth and reportedly producing flashes of light bright enough to record using off-the-shelf digital cameras. The flashes, shown in a photo on today's edition of Spaceweather.com, could be a sign that the bag is tumbling. Both the Toolbag and the ISS will be making a series of evening passes over North America and Europe in the evenings ahead, so now is a good time to look. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker for viewing times: http://spaceweather.com/flybys
BONUS: The Dec. 1st Great Conjunction Photo Gallery continues to grow with daily additions from around the world. Start browsing here: http://spaceweather.com/conjunctions/gallery_01dec08.htm
Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society
