A Possible Naked-eye Comet in March, A Better One in December.

Until the news about ISON starts heating up in October, I'll be passing along the NASA Science Newsletter.

First up:
Gigantic Hurricane Spotted on Saturn - NASA Science



Video: NASA - Multimedia - Video Gallery


Then:
Cassini Catches Meteors Hitting Saturn's Rings - NASA Science

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Other Interests:

Successful Launch for Antares Orbital Sciences Antares rocket successfully launched at 5 p.m., Sunday, April 21, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad 0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Antares' maiden flight serves as a precursor for a demonstration flight of its Cygnus resupply ship to the International Space Station later this year.

Source: NASA - Multimedia - Video Gallery

Have $200,000 to take a flight?

MOJAVE, Calif. – Today (Sunday 04-29-2013), Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s aabar Investments PJS, completed the first rocket-powered flight of its space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2).

Source: VIRGIN GALACTIC BREAKS SPEED OF SOUND IN FIRST ROCKET-POWERED FLIGHT OF SPACESHIPTWO | Virgin Galactic

Fascinating video of engine firing from 1:31 to 1:49
Virgin Galactic First Powered Flight VNR

If you let the video run into the second video you'll see a few more and different views of the flight.

Starting about May 11th around a half hour after Sunset and lasting until the end of the month.

May 10, 2013: Sunset is a special time of day. Low-hanging clouds glow vivid red and orange as the background sky turns cobalt blue. The first stars pop out in the heavenly dome overhead, eliciting wishes from backyard sky watchers.

The sunset of May 26th will be extra special. On that date, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will gather in the fading twilight to form a bright triangle only three degrees wide.

Source: Planets Aligning in the Sunset Sky - NASA Science

A Planetary Feast For May


"Star Gazers" Video Download Page




Clear Skies!

Thanks Steve, I hope the clouds go away so I can see some of these things.

Your welcome Gary,

I feel the same way, the weather is finally starting to break around here after being rainy/cloudy all this past week.

May 17, 2013: For the past 8 years, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the Moon for signs of explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. "Lunar meteor showers" have turned out to be more common than anyone expected, with hundreds of detectable impacts occurring every year. They've just seen the biggest explosion in the history of the program.
"On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before."

Source: Bright Explosion on the Moon - NASA Science

Clear Skies!

I was outside this morning and saw four streakers and three points:

My terminology:

• Streakers, When you see a meteor from the side and it leaves a long "streak" of illumination.
• Points or pointers, When you see a "point" of light fade in then out, this signifies that the meteor was approaching you head-on. These are usually brighter than streakers.

July 26, 2013: In astronomy, there's nothing quite like a bright meteor streaking across the glittering canopy of a moonless night sky. The unexpected flash of light adds a dash of magic to an ordinary walk under the stars. New research by NASA has just identified the most magical nights of all.

"We have found that one meteor shower produces more fireballs than any other," explains Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "It's the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on August 12th and 13th."

Source: Perseid Fireballs - NASA Science

It is still quiet on the Comet ISON front:

UPDATES:
June 2: Latest assessment. Comet ISON was still stuck at 16th magnitude as of early May, when it was becoming difficult to observe. John Bortle has posted an updated assessment, which should stand unchanged until the comet comes out from the glare of the Sun in early September.
Read Bortle's assessment here.

Source: Updates on Comet ISON - Observing Highlights - SkyandTelescope.com

Here's a simulated view from Sidney, Australia:


Comet ISON - Fall of a Thousand Suns

Recent update, I subscribed to Borg386 Perseid Thread: August hosts Perseid, the best meteor shower of the year

Me too Steve, thanks. Our local weather prognosticators pronounce it "pur-syde". IT should be "pur-see-id".

I find errors every time I watch the "Boob Tube", a lazy bunch of blokes man or woman that can not enunciate properly, it makes me think, "Now what kind of pressures are they under?"

But you are correct Gary. PUR-see-ids, PURseeids.

Comet ISON to fly by Mars

August 23, 2013:
Around the world, astronomers are buzzing with anticipation over the approach of Comet ISON. On Thanksgiving Day 2013, the icy visitor from the outer solar system will skim the sun's outer atmosphere and, if it survives, could emerge as one of the brightest comets in years.

First, though, it has to fly by Mars.

"Comet ISON is paying a visit to the Red Planet," says astronomer Carey Lisse of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. "On Oct 1st, the comet will pass within 0.07 AU from Mars, about six times closer than it will ever come to Earth."

Source: Comet ISON to fly by Mars - NASA Science

Mars is rising in the East.