The University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon campus caught an awesome fireball Saturday January 5th. 9:05 pm. My hats off to the staff and students for having a camera on top of the chemistry building to capture such events, too cool for school!
A fireball is basically a large meteor, the fireball objects entering our atmosphere can range from a few inches to a few feet in size, entering our atmosphere at up to 70,000 mph they stop burning around 10-20 miles high and only 1-2% reach the ground to become a meteorite.
Messenger had it's closest approach to Mercury Monday January 14th, another spacecraft had an important happening on that date as well. Ulysses spacecraft was at it's highest point over our Sun's north pole. NASA and the ESA have joined together for the Ulysses mission, launched from the Discovery Shuttle October 1990 the Ulysses spacecraft used Jupiter for gravitational assist to orbit around the Sun's poles. Just as Earth's poles are crucial to studies of terrestrial climate change, the Sun's poles may be crucial to studies of the Solar cycle.
Photo credit Sky and TelescopeThe Sun goes through an eleven year cycle from minimum solar activity, things like Sunspots and flares to maximum activity. We are at Solar minimum and January 3rd was declared the start of a brand new cycle, cycle 24 has just started with the arrival of sunspot, active region 10981. Active region 10981 has an opposite magnetic polarity compared to active region 10980 and is at a high solar latitude, both indications a new cycle is upon us. What this means for me is more sunspots and flares to take pics of.
Got my first picture of a Sunrise the other day and guess what, decided to make another animated gif, hope you like it.
42 comments:
Beautiful GIF Bob. That sunrise is unsurpassed. I suppose the cold temps help alot. Hope you didn't freeze too many digits out there :-)
And, wow. What a shot by the University of Saskatchewan capturing that meteorite coming in. Do you know what kind of camera they used?
Now, don't you suppose you should be out there hunting for any fragments? They can be worth alot of money.
~JD
Bob, I can always count on you to have something really cool and educational. I'm learning more here about space, the plants and stars than anywhere else my friend.
Danny said it all, Bob...I am having my 11 year old start reading your blog for science..you are too cool for school, brother!
Thanks JD! and yes it was very cold, well let me put it this way, it's always COLD, lol, about the fingers, they always get cold, can't operate a camera with gloves, too bad. I'm thinking any camera will do, and as long as you have some kind of recording system a guy could be good to go, nuts just something more for me to think about buying.
Thanks Danny! I do what I can, and it's something that really gets me excited. Glad you like.
Hi Hope, love saying that, glad to help out with your 11 year old, bout the age I feel like.
Bob: Very cool shot of that fireball. Kudos to the staff and students. Also, that is a great picture of the sun. Thanks for labeling the sunspot region, and for the very informative explanation of sunspot activity. Fabulous sunsets in your area of the world! Yeah - it's definitely GIF time.
Very cool bob...I like what you do with the pictures...with the water reflection.
The sun spots...ohhh...that's why everyone's been acting crazy!
Thanks swubird! The fireball is very cool, the first pic of the Sun I should mention is not mine, got it from Sky and telescope website. The Sunset was very cool, and very cold that morning indeed. Actually got a good video of it as well.
Lol drowsey, gonna be a lot more crazy people as the spots increase.
Neat fireball picture. Interesting post. I'm way too tired to think of something interesting, or even intelligent to say... so I'll stick with this:
I appreciate your blog so much, and you too!
Lol, Thanks Shirley!
Bob,
How COOL the campus captured a meteorite!!! Jeff and I watched a flash of green sail across the sky one January morning a few years ago and there was no way we could have captured a shot, as fast as it was going. Great post. Love the views. :D
I just am healing all the way from sunspot removal. Don't like the sound of flares. HEAVENS!!! Must wear two layers of sunscreen just to fetch in the mail. :D
Happy Sunday!!!
Hugs, JJ
Hugs, JJ
Thanks JJ, better get lots of sunscreen, supposed to be a very active cycle,lol.
I love your site. The information you are giving to others is just wonderful. I have something for you. Look for #4.
Love and Blessings,
AngelBaby
Thanks AngelBaby! the award is too cool, I'll post about it next Saturday!
Hey Bob:
I read someplace that the orbit of Mercury is slightly affected by Einstein's idea of warped space. Because of that it took astronomers a long time to be able to accurately predict its true orbit.
Your right swubird, because of the mass of the Sun, Mercury's orbit is affected due to the Sun's disturbance of spacetime, back then all they had was Newton's laws, Einstein came along with his theory of relativity, problem solved.
Love your captures and the last one of the sundown and animated is so beautiful - Love it :)
Thanks for the great info that you share with us about the captured fire ball, and the Sun's new cicle, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have heard of it at all!
Thanks Bob, love your blog my friend, and feel like knowing you for ages :D
Tatiana
Hi Bob;
Very cool photon torpedo video!!!
Speaking of “fireballs” reminded me of the old Pintos….
The Mandarin orange with the writing on it looks a little overripe…
Very nice GIF Bob….
In all seriousness I very much enjoy the way you present your edutainment. You inform very well and deliver the information in a memorable and enjoyable format. Not an easy thing to do….
Hey Tatiana, thanks! Glad you are getting something out of my blog, thats why I got into it to start with to spread this cool stuff around.
Lol livingsword!, and thanks! The first thing I thought of when you mentioned photon torpedo was Star Trek the Motion Picture, when Decker cancels the phaser order Kirk gave and gives the Photon torpedo to be fired, Too funny the fireball looks like one, now it is really cool,lol.
Wow, that fireball was pretty dang cool.
Hi Oswegan, it is too cool! especialy now that it looks like a photon torpedo.
Nice capture on that fire ball!! And great GIF Bob love that ripple effect! What kind of editor are you using if you don't mind me asking?
Hey Roger, thanks!. Goto
http://www.blibs.com/editor/
upload one of your images, do what ever effect you want, lots to choose from, then pick a host website, it gives you lots to choose from, then copy the html code onto your post.
Wow! That fireball did indeed look like it was coming straight at the camera! I have seen a few that I guess could be called a fireball. From my position, they were always going across the sky.
Hi Will, I've seen a few too, they were crossing the sky as well, very cool.
Hi Bob, you know something, someone is preventing me from posting a comment here, lol, I think I got through one post. I have been here about 5 times since last week Friday, and every time I am ready to write you a comment something happens. It all started with office move last Friday, everything was cut off just in time, then weekend I got some interruptions, and yesterday I got to your blog, read it again, started to write, but then we had to go home, so I said okay tomorrow morning - and this tomorrow turn into power outage (but before that 2 hour drive to work) - how wonderful. So I decided to write off line and when I get the chance I will just pop the comment in really fast, lol. About your post, great info. It always amazes me how fast the meteors can move through the atmosphere, never know may be the dust sometimes we get may be from them. Thanks for the education on sun - too bad I cannot see those spots with naked eye, lol. And lastly, your giffs are amazing as always along with your photography of the sunsets - I think you are enjoying your camera very much too, have you consider other lenses yet, or you are using the one that came with the camera? Hope all is well. Anna :)
Very fascinating. I learnt something there.
Hi and thanks Anna! 2 hour drive to work, is that every day? if so that must really suck,lol. I am having a lot of fun with the camera, got a 75-300 mm lens for the close ups of the Moon and Sun, and maybe some deepsky objects later on when I figure out what I'm doing, just a terrific camera, just getting use to operating it and all the options it has, thanks so much for all your advice, you've been a great big help!!
Hey jean-luc, thanks!!
Bob, yes 2 hour drive, but only because of the snow storms we been having, and the last pile up we had near us on Sunday, everyone is so paranoid, but I am glad that people are taking easy, accidents are just pain.
The 75-300mm lens is actually good, I still have one. I took my first moon photos with this lens and they are as good as with my 100-400mm lens, the reason I got larger lense was more for birds, but then you got me all going with the night sky, lol. I must tell you your sun photos are just amazing and I enjoy seeing every time.
Hey glad that I can help, as I am still so greatful for the support you gave me at the beginning of my blogging and until now. Thanks, Anna :)
Hey Anna, gonna be posting some cool pics I got of a moonrise I took with the 300mm tomorrow.
...I be there, thanks. Anna :)
Bob from day today from year to year you are professional to explain about planet and the condition..As a human being we are to small than universe. Nice Job and Amazing Picture Bob
Thanks very much Franx!
Sounds good Anna.
tag your it........
gt281, too funny.
Hi Bob - I actually saw the Jan 5th fireball over Saskatoon. I was looking at Mars in the eyepiece of my telescope at 9:05PM when the snow around me started to light up. I thought it was an airplane's landing lights but looked up in time to see the fireball streak across the sky from the North East to the South west. It was the most spectacular fireball I have ever seen in my 60+ years!
-Murray
Hey Murray, that is too cool that you saw it live, I wish I would have been out.
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