Good luck, kat! Hope you get a chance to see it.

I camped the past few days, and Sunday evening had a pretty impressive view of the sky, especially to the east. The Milky Way was high and spectacular, and a few meteors were seen. (It's finally getting dark before 10 pm!) And I always like to hear the barred owls call at night.

Monday and Tuesday mornings I was treated to the same sight jo enjoys on her morning walks: Orion rising in the southeast, this year graced with bright Jupiter and Venus nearby. The crescent moon got in on the action too this weekend, with earthshine prominently displayed. And the best part of all is that I could sit in my camping chair enjoying the view without mosquitoes - or having to wear a coat.

Tuesday was hot (97F) and very windy, but the sky that night was still pretty good, and the temperature cooled off quickly at dusk. I saw a few more meteors as well as Mars and Saturn low in the southwest right after sunset. They're getting harder to see now as they get closer to the sun.

Upcoming events include the equinox (September 22; autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern) and Harvest Moon (shine on!) September 29.

And mark your calendars for a very close approach of Venus to the star Regulus on the morning of October 2. More details as the date approaches.

One week from tomorrow, Endeavour is taking off for it's new home in California. They are actually bringing it through Houston!!!!!!!!!!! If I can figure out how to get there, I'm going.

How very cool, kat! Are you able to get there?

stargazer, your camping trip sounds so lovely! Owls calling under the night sky. Can't get much better than that!

I saw a few more meteors as well as Mars and Saturn low in the southwest right after sunset.

Ah, I've been wanting to get a glimpse of these too, but the timeframe is fading fast.

about seeing the pre-dawn sights in the sky, 'gazer. The other morning Venus, the Moon, Jupiter, and then the Pleiades were all in a straight line from the eastern sky way up to the high southern sky, with Orion hunting just below them all. Beautiful!

Thanks for the upcoming events, stargazer! I've always loved the term "Harvest Moon".

And now, for a very cool, very short, clip of the impact on Jupiter a few days ago: object.

Your comments on the early-morning alignment of the moon and planets leads me to believe we were watching them on the same morning, jo! Were you observing last Monday or Tuesday morning, perchance?

The Jupiter impact video is very cool.

Speaking of impacts, last night I was enjoying a pleasant evening campfire with friends over at Ryadian's house (including a fun discussion on Norse and Greek mythology).

Around 9 pm I stepped away from the fire to catch a pass of the Chinese Tiangong 1 space station. I didn't see it, but I did see one of the most spectacular fireballs I've ever seen! (This on top of some pretty nice meteors during last week's camping trip).

My view was hindered by trees to the southwest, but it began brighter than Venus (perhaps -5) but quickly brightened as it moved toward the horizon. After several seconds and about 40 degrees it ended with a bright white and emerald flash of at least -9 or -10 (brighter than a half-moon). The trees limited my view so I couldn't see if it exploded or not.

I wasn't the only one to see it around here: American Meteor Society fireball reports.

One week from tomorrow, Endeavour is taking off for it's new home in California. They are actually bringing it through Houston!!!!!!!!!!! If I can figure out how to get there, I'm going.

How very cool, kat! Are you able to get there?

Going to do my best. It's been delayed due to weather though. I'll be making the trip to Ellington on Tuesday.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/home/endeavour_visit.html

I think I was viewing that alignment Monday morning, stargazer.

A fireball! Whoa. What a sight that must have been! I love those unexpected sky treats.

I saw from FB that you made it, starkat. Do tell ... and pics, please!

This morning was a glorious walk. I stepped outside to a stunning sky in the cool, crisp air (7C/44F) pre-dawn hours. Again, Venus and Jupiter were blazing around Orion, and it's always fun seeing Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, in comparison to the two aforementioned planets, both of which are more radiant, Venus, in particular. Pleiades was leading the pack high in the SW. Then, as I turned north, a surprise ISS pass (-2.4, as I found out later) greeted me. As I followed it towards the eastern sky, I thought it might have been -3.1 magnitude or so, but the very clear sky made it appear brighter. 'Twas beautiful!

Looking forward to the official start of Autumn this Saturday morning at 10:49 EDT—the fall equinox.

I arrived just as the first flyover at Ellington was taking place. This picture was from my parking spot. As you can see the weather was a bit gray at the start. Driving from my side of town, I knew it wouldn't last long as the clouds were clearing out. I thought the gray was fitting because it was kind of a bittersweet day.

Right before touchdown, two F-16s took off which was a treat. The Coast Guard helicopter also landed and they had several Apache helicopters out (I listened to what several people around me were saying which is why I know what all the aircraft around me were.). As the SCA (Shuttle Carrier Aircraft) turned towards us, we could see the Texas flag out the window of the aircraft. I thought that was a nice touch.

They literally took the barriers and picked them up and moved them in about 500 feet from the aircraft. I still wish I had a better lens, but I still was able to get pictures like this:

I have to admit, these are slightly edited pictures (I tweaked the contrast and the color saturation), but they are not cropped in any way.

I am beyond thankful I got there when I did. When I left, people were parking about a mile or more away and just walking in as there were so many people in line to get to Ellington. I wish I could go back and get night pictures, but I'm thankful I got the chance to go. I had an incredible day.

Great pics, kat! I'm officially jealous.

The shuttle's Houston layover not only made the NBC national news this evening, but the local affiliate mentioned it as well.

I quite enjoyed your description of the early-morning sky, jo. Seeing Orion and Co. in the autumn mornings is one of my favorite views - and I can enjoy it without shivering.

Estimates are that over 100,000 people (one station said 20,000) went to see her. She's beautiful lit up at night. I watched the evening news. I wanted to see it for myself at night, but I wanted to see the actual landing more than I wanted to see anything else and that I got to see. NASA TV is covering the flyovers and the local news has said they are covering her departure in the morning. It will be sad to see her go, but I'm glad they kept the stopover here in Houston.

Edit: Endeavour set off for the west about 7:05 a.m. this morning. Farewell Endeavour and we thank you.

I still wish I had a better lens, but I still was able to get pictures ... I had an incredible day.

Excellent shots. Strange seeing this and the stories, then remembering watching Columbia go up live as STS-1 on April 21, 1981.

The other morning Venus, the Moon, Jupiter, and then the Pleiades were all in a straight line from the eastern sky way up to the high southern sky, with Orion hunting just below them all.

Indeed. Made for a loverly morning.

From Spaceweather.com:

Astronomy forums are buzzing with speculation about newly-discovered Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON). Currently located beyond the orbit of Jupiter, Comet ISON is heading for a very close encounter with the sun next year. In Nov. 2013, it will pass less than 0.012 AU (1.8 million km) from the solar surface. The fierce heating it experiences then could turn the comet into a bright naked-eye object.

Much about this comet--and its ultimate fate--remains unknown. "At this stage we're just throwing darts at the board," says Karl Battams of the NASA-supported Sungrazer Comet Project, who lays out two possibilities:

"In the best case, the comet is big, bright, and skirts the sun next November. It would be extremely bright -- negative magnitudes maybe -- and naked-eye visible for observers in the Northern Hemisphere for at least a couple of months."

"Alternately, comets can and often do fizzle out! Comet Elenin springs to mind as a recent example, but there are more famous examples of comets that got the astronomy community seriously worked up, only to fizzle. This is quite possibly a 'new' comet coming in from the Oort cloud, meaning this could be its first-ever encounter with the Sun. If so, with all those icy volatiles intact and never having been truly stressed (thermally and gravitationally), the comet could well disrupt and dissipate weeks or months before reaching the sun."

"Either of the above scenarios is possible, as is anything in between," Battams says. "There's no doubt that Comet ISON will be closely watched. Because the comet is so far away, however, our knowledge probably won't develop much for at least a few more months."

Meanwhile, noted comet researcher John Bortle has pointed out a curious similarity between the orbit of Comet ISON and that of the Great Comet of 1680. "Purely as speculation," he says, "perhaps the two bodies could have been one a few revolutions ago."

I just thought that this would be absolutely AWESOME to see, especially if it ends up being as nice as it could be, and if it really could last for MONTHS.

I've never really seen a comet before. I was too young to remember that last passing of Hallie's comet. This would be a really neat thing to see (especially with other NarniaWebbers ).

At any rate, thought y'all might wanna see.

And in case you want to see the comet:

I know. . . mind blown right

Thanks for sharing this, Digs! It's been a while since we've had a spectacular comet here in the Northern Hemisphere (Hale-Bopp in the 90s).

(You didn't miss much with Halley, I'm afraid. It wasn't much more than a fuzzball - still, seeing such a historical object was special.)

My earliest comet experience was actually Kohoutek, predicted to be a spectacular comet around Christmas 1973. There was a lot of hype, but it wasn't very easily seen and it's since become synonymous with astronomical duds. Never did see it. Hopefully this one will put on a good show for us next year.

I stepped out the other night to see the moon and decided to take a picture. I was quite pleased with how it turned out and decided to share it with you guys. EDIT: Photo removed.

Yes, they would have been. (Sorry for the late response!) It's just that the morning of the 12th was the peak, but I think Perseid meteors were to be seen until the end of August or so ... which is today. But less and less as each night passes. (Correct me if I'm mistaken there, stargazer.)

I looked out for them the next night and didn't see anything, then gave up. Oh well. There's plenty more things to see, I suppose. xD

I'll be looking forward to Venus and Regulus in October! If they're distinguishable, I'll try and get a picture.

Every morning as I leave for classes, Orion is readily visible in the night sky. The fiery eye of Venus is also staring down at me.

I just love this time of year. Clear, crisp mornings are so wonderful for star watching.

It really takes you away from your problems.

Too true, Digs, too true. Well said!

And that's a very nice Moon picture, Aitb.

Speaking of the Moon, today's Twins baseball game ended shortly before sunset, and while riding the train back home I had a great view of tonight's big bright Harvest Moon on the rise in one direction, and the twilit Minneapolis skyline on the other. It was hard to beat!

Double posting to remind everyone to check out Venus within about 0.2 degree of Regulus in Leo tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

I checked out the view this morning; Venus was about 1 degree to the upper right of the star. With Orion in the south and Jupiter high overhead, the sky was quite impressive.