Snow in an Infant Solar System: A Frosty Landmark for Planet and Comet Formation

Science News, 7/18/13

July 18, 2013 — A snow line has been imaged in a far-off infant solar system for the very first time. The snow line, located in the disc around the Sun-like star TW Hydrae, promises to tell us more about the formation of planets and comets, the factors that decide their composition, and the history of the Solar System.

The results are published today in Science Express.

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array have taken the first ever image of the snow line in an infant solar system. On Earth, snow lines form at high altitudes where falling temperatures turn the moisture in the air into snow. This line is clearly visible on a mountain, where the snow-capped summit ends and the rocky face begins.

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Earth & Space Weather

~ Space Weather Update~ Inside a Solar Wind Stream,Chance of Storms

CHANCE OF STORMS: A stream of high-speed solar wind is blowing past Earth. So far the low-density stream is doing little to spark geomagnetic storms. This could change, however, with a shift in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). A south-pointing IMF would allow this fast wind into Earth's magnetosphere, possibly sparking bright auroras. NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on July 20th. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: Earth's "noctilucent daisy" is glowing brighter than ever. Seeded by meteor smoke, noctilucent clouds are surrounding the north pole in a luminous circle visible from ground and space alike. Tadas Janušonis photographed this display on July 18th from Vabalninkas in the Birzai district of Lithuania:

"This was the best show in the night sky I've seen this year by far," says Janušonis. "Noctilucent clouds were shining from twilight to dawn."

Earth & Space Weather

Waves recorded at Louisiana sinkhole which is now more than 500 feet (150 meters) deep

The Watchers, 7/20/13, Chillimanjaro

Lots o new activity at mysterious Louisiana sinkhole in Bayou Corne. Assumption Parish Police Jury blog reported abundant surface water movement and burp event in the center of the sinkhole starting early on July 19, 2013. Video bellow, released on the same day shows sudden water movement at sinkhole area with tidal wave characteristics.

Lakes and smaller bodies of water do not normally have "tidal waves" which are typical only for oceans and seas but also bodies of water that are connected with them. There are some suggestions that Louisiana sinkhole somehow connected with the Gulf of Mexico through the salt dome and the Louann salt layer which connects all of these salt domes and covers over 7 states. The Louann underlies much of the northern Gulf coast from Texas to the Florida panhandle and extends beneath large areas of the Gulf coastal plain of Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Pressure, sediment movements, another floor collapse, gas leak...there is a list of possible causes.

Earth & Space Weather

4MIN News July 20, 2013: Climate Extremes, Umbral Field Opening vs Coronal Hole

Suspicious Observers, 7/20/13

Earth & Space Weather

Mars and Jupiter conjunction – plus hottest part of summer

Earthsky.org, 7/19/13

Look eastward before or at morning dawn on Sunday, July 21, and Monday, July 22, for the close coupling of the planets Mars and Jupiter. From most places around the world, Mars and Jupiter will be less than one degree apart on these two days. That’s about the width of your little finger at an arm length. Of course, Mars and Jupiter are not actually close together in space. They just happen to reside near the same line of sight. Mars lies about 2.4 astronomical units away from Earth whereas Jupiter lodges about 6 astronomical units away. One astronomical unit = the sun/Earth distance = 149,597,871 kilometers = 92,955,807 miles.

Earth & Space Weather

July 19 moon waxing toward another supermoon

Earthsky.org, 7/19/13

It’s a large waxing gibbous moon that lights up the evening sky on the night of July 19. The moon is moving toward full phase, to usher in the year’s third and final “super” full moon – another supermoon – on July 22, 2013.

Another supermoon coming up on July 22

The July 2013 full moon will be the second full moon after the June solstice. There are usually three full moons in between a solstice and an equinox, or vice versa. Seven times in 19 years, however, four full moons fall in a single season. In that case, the third of a season’s four full moons is sometimes called a Blue Moon. The next Blue Moon by this definition will happen next month, on August 21, 2013

Earth & Space Weather

Astronomer Discovers New Comet With Short-end Telescope In Ukraine

Theweatherspace.com, 7/15,13

During a star party on the night of July 8th, Astronomer Gennady Borisov discovered a new comet near Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga.

The comet was confirmed on July 13, bearing the final name C/2013 N4 (Borisov). The telescope used was an 8-inch telescope with a CCD camera. Comets are extremely hard to discover now-a-days due to projects like LINEAR and PANSTARRS. These projects are robotic, automated systems that scan the sky and take photos. When an object is shown to move in these scans, astronomers are then alerted to look it over and see if it is a new discovery.

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Earth & Space Weather

NCDC June 2013 Global Climate Report

Ncdc.noa.gov, 7/19/13

According to NOAA scientists, the globally averaged temperature for June 2013 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest June since record keeping began in 1880. It also marked the 37th consecutive June and 340th consecutive month (more than 28 years) with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average June temperature was June 1976 and the last below-average temperature for any month was February 1985.

Many areas of the world experienced higher-than-average monthly temperatures, including north-central Canada, most of Alaska and the western United States, much of northern and eastern Europe, western Russia, part of northern Siberia, and north-central Australia. Meanwhile, northeastern Canada, much of western and southern Europe, central Asia, Far East Russia, and most of India were notably cooler than average

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