pickled ginger

Will its current sun-grazing blaze of glory be its swan song or just a close call? Stay tuned ...
http://www.cometison2013.co.uk/per…
Either way, there should be some amazing satellite images of the Oort Cloud native's close approach.

ETA: NOPE, didn't make it. Video here:
http://spaceweather.com/archive.ph…

Updates at Comet Ison site or here:
http://spaceweather.com/

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... CFIDS/ME sufferers and normal controls needed NOW for chronic fatigue study. Pass it on!
(This post public, for easier sharing.)
___________________________________________
National Centre for Neuroimmunology and
Emerging Diseases - NCNED

Dear all,
NCNED would like to thank all participants,
however, we are still looking for more! If you
would like to participate as a ME/CFS
PARTICIPANT or as a HEALTHY CONTROL or
know of anyone that would like to participate,
you can help us by donating blood to assist
us in finding an immunological biomarker for
ME/CFS.
Please call (07)56789283 or email
ncned@griffith.edu.au for more information
and to organise an appointment.
Participants blood collection site are in Gold
Coast and Brisbane area:
1. Robina Hospital,
2. NCNED Center (Griffith Univeristy on
Parkland Drive)
2. Logan Hospital
3. Royal Women Brisbane hospital
4. Tweed Hospital
As this study is commencing in November,
please contact us directly as dates are filling
up.
Thank you,
NCNED Team



( The National Centre for Neuroimmunology and
Emerging Diseases (NCNED) is a research team
situated at Griffith University on the Gold
Coast, lead by Professor Sonya Marshall-
Gradisnik. We focus on Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.)

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Without us puny humans, but we can watch ... those in USian Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, anyway.

Saith SpaceWeather.com: "Tonight, Sept. 6th, at approximately 11:27 p.m. EDT, a Minataur V rocket carrying NASA's LADEE moon probe will blast off from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Sky watchers along a broad swath of the US east coast from Maine to the Carolinas can see the launch."

For a launch-visibility map and additional info: http://spaceweather.com/archive.ph…

ETA: Successful launch!
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/…

ETA2: Gorgeous shot of the moon shot:
http://spaceweather.com/gallery/in…

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... an asteroid and its moon. Closest approach of this flyby for 1998 QE2 and its companion will be later today -- 20:59 UTC / 4:59 pm EDT / 1:59 pm PDT, according to SpaceWeather.com -- but viewing for amateur astronomers will be better over the next week, writes NASA's Dr. Tony Phillips.

"Newly-obtained radar images show that 1998 QE2 is a binary system. The 2.7 km wide primary is circled by a smaller 600 meter satellite," Phillips says in his SpaceWeather.com report.

But not to worry -- yet. The pair will whizz by well outside of Luna's orbit on this pass, at a projected 5.8 million km from Earth.

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... Or, for those south of the equator, happy autumn.

Yes, today is the equinox: the sun crossed the celestial equator this morning at 11:02 GMT / 7:02 EDT.

No, it isn't feeling very spring-like -- at least, not in the USA or the UK. But, hey, give it time.

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http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2013/03/…

ETA: Sunrise just-post-meteor
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130302…

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Do you or someone you know suffer from these symptoms, especially lightheadedness or fainting? ( [cut for size]Collapse )

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Lovely world-in-round photomosaic thingie of last night's full moon, seen from a frozen and snowy lake.

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Tomorrow is flyby day for that space rock I mentioned a few months back, the one that will be diving inside geostationary orbit -- at about 19:25 UT / 14:25 EST / 11:25 PST, JPL data show -- swooping by at about 9% of the distance between Earth and its Moon.

So, how close *is* that? Weather.com has a good discussion of the scale of the asteroid and the nearness and speed of its closest approach.

Space billiards remain unlikely: Geosynch is a big shell, and mostly empty. It also is far enough out that, yes, astronomers are quite sure this asteroid will NOT hit the Earth. And that's a very good thing as, at an estimated 50 to 65 m in diameter, 2012 DA14 is about the same size as the rocks "responsible for the Meteor Crater in Arizona and the Tunguska Event in Siberia," says SpaceWeather.com.

This rock is very fast and fairly dim, so not a great candidate for home viewing, even if you have a telescope. So if you want to see the big event, check out NASA TV tomorrow at 2 pm EST (yes, 14:00); live video from Australian and European observatories is due to begin a couple hours earlier.

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This evening, after sunset, step outside and look the other way. (A clear sky and line of sight will help, of course.)

Jupiter and Luna will hang side by side, separated by less than a single degree, in the Earthly sky. (Folks in South America may even get to see our moon pass in front of the gas giant. Close enough for ya? ;-) Should be decorative -- and photogenic, especially as Jupiter is still so close and bright.

Thanks to SpaceWeather.com for the heads-up ...

... and for spotlighting a submitted photo of the Aurora-lit sky above and bioluminescent bacteria-lit shore along the seaside in Sortland, Norway. Go, look. It's like a glimpse of Faerie.

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