Astronomers, both professional and amateur, have been glued to the movies and images coming from solar observing satellites the past few days, trying to determine exactly what is going on with ISON. First it dies, then a bit seems to emerge, then it dies again...

At the moment, it does appear that the surviving bits of the comet will be a show only for telescopes and astrophotographers - but until we know more it's still worth looking for over the next week (clouds permitting, which they seem to be loathe to do here).

The usual suspects are good places to keep up with developments: http://www.nasa.gov , http://www.spaceweather.com , and http://www.skyandtelescope.com

Going a ways back, I was not able to locate either LoveJoy or ISON, in spite of all my tries. Ah well.

One of our sons sent me this link to 5 Top Sky Events of 2014, which is cool to read through ... and anticipate!

Those events all sound wonderful, Jo! One can only hope that I can be with some NarniaWebbers to observe some of them!

Thanks for linking that article, jo. Looks like there are some highlights to look forward to this year. Hopefully that LINEAR meteor shower will be a good one!

For those with solar viewers/filters, there's a huge new sunspot region coming into view: AR1944. Read more here.

Also, it appears a small asteroid, dubbed 2014 AA, may have hit earth in the Atlantic on New Year's Day. More here.

Even though it is bitter cold here, the sun is out today with white fluffy clouds floating around (very deceptive ) and I just popped out with my eclipse glasses to see the sunspots. It looks like there is a large one almost dead centre, then another smaller one just off to the left. Very cool!

Thanks for those links, stargazer!

Glad you saw the sunspots, jo! Encouraged by your report (and the temperature rising above 0F for the first time in about 62 hours ) I took the solar viewer outside just now to look. However, the sun was dimmed by clouds moving in from the southwest and I couldn't even see it through the viewer (it's too thick and reflective), much less seeing the sunspots. I hope to try again when the sky is clear.

The recent cold spell has put a bit of a damper on stargazing for me...resulting in a few very brief sessions. Besides, between the ice crystal fog, water vapor smoke from all the city buildings, and the normal atmospheric turbulence (which makes the stars twinkle), the sky isn't as glorious here as one might expect given the temperature and low dewpoints.

EDIT on January 8: the sky was clear this afternoon and I had no trouble spotting AR1944 as a dark splotch near the center of the solar disk. Nice!

Although I'm probably less experienced than even the standard 'amateur' astronomer, but certainly no less keen, I'd like to report what a fantastic night it was recently on the tip of New Zealand, in the countryside of the Northlands.

I'm currently on holidays there, and as I've always got an eye to the sky I stepped outside our farm-stay at about 10pm, and witnessed a view I'd never seen so clearly (with the naked eye). The Large & Small Magenellic Cloud galaxies, I thought were real clouds in the sky. Jupiter was as bright as ever, three satellites crossed the sky in a period of 15 minutes, and although I wasn't familiar with the majority of stars/clusters that appeared (though my favourites stood out - the Orion constellation and Sirius), I'm sure I saw more than I had ever before. I felt like I was being illuminated from the light of the centre of the Milky Way, which faces this side of the world. The colours were amazing. Although it was a cold night and the insects were bad at the time, my only regret is that I wish I was better educated about what I was seeing!

Although I'm still travelling through NZ, tramping over the highest peaks, I haven't yet seen a sky like that (partly due to bad weather and/or a bright moon).

In February I'll be moving to Germany, and as interested as I am in looking at the northern sky, I think I'm really going to miss the Southern Hemisphere. It seems more exotic, less studied! Will have to invest in a good pair of binoculars when I have enough money to spare.

EDIT on January 8: the sky was clear this afternoon and I had no trouble spotting AR1944 as a dark splotch near the center of the solar disk. Nice!

Yay! Really glad it was clear for you, 'gazer.

Trusty, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. What a treat ... to view the skies of the Southern Hemisphere, and in New Zealand, no less. Sounds like an amazing time! Someday, I would dearly love to visit down there.

It seems more exotic, less studied!

Well said! Have you ever been in the Northern Hemisphere before? It will be a treat for you to see that part of the night sky as well. I am eager to hear your reflections on it, when you can.

Sadly, clouds moved in at dusk last evening, and it was impossible to see any Northern Lights. Is there anyone here who had the privilege of viewing that wonderful spectacle?

(EDIT: btw, Trusty, I really like your signature!!! One of my dreams is to visit the Kilns. )

I have been in the Northern Hemisphere! UK, Germany & America - but I haven't really paid much attention to the night sky. Will definitely do so in February though, I'll have a year to spend in Germany. I've never seen Canis Major, for a start haha.

And thank you! The photo was taken without my knowledge by one of my friends haha but she edited it up nicely and showed me! It was definitely an experience, even Oxford itself is worth the trip over.

No Northern Lights were seen here last night, due to clouds. However, I did manage to snag the year's first Iridium flare before the overcast ruled.
(spaceweather.com reports that nothing extraordinary (aurora-wise) was seen from North America last night).

Welcome to the thread, Trusty! I just loved reading your post about the Southern skies. I really hope I can see its wonders someday.

I was quite disappointed not to see the Northern Lights last night, but have a great treat this evening with a complete 360 degree around the moon halo! I'm not sure I've seen one quite like this before. None of my cameras would be able to capture it though. Bummer.

Welcome Trusty. Hope the bugs didn't leave any lasting itches while you were out.
Did you by chance have a look at the Southern Cross while you were out? I do not know what is up during what season there, but I am told it's one of the more spectacular.
stargazer. I heard something, and was wondering if you can back it up for me. someone claimed that the solar flairs, when they cause the northern lights are also re-charging the magnetic field of the Earth.Have you ever heard that

Thanks Puddleglum! The Southern Cross is always a bit vague in the sky, it's more of a landmark rather than an impressive sight - you can locate due south using its crux!

Orion seems to permanently be in our skies. Definitely the most obvious constellation. Does the northern hemisphere see it much?

Orion is a very prominent winter constellation in the Northern Hemisphere, Trusty, so it's out even as I type this. It graces our evening skies from roughly mid-November until it sinks into the sunset in May.

Puddleglum, I'd not heard about solar flares recharging the earth's magnetic field, and I wasn't able to find anything about it online. The solar wind and charged particles (especially from solar flares) do push the earth's magnetic field away from the sun, deforming its shape a bit; the auroras result when some of those charged particles get through the protective layer and are directed down the magnetic field lines near the poles. In other words, the solar flares are a bit at odds with the earth's magnetic field.

Glad you got to see the full lunar halo, Narnian_Storm. They're rather unusual in my experience as well.

Our recent warm weather (approaching 0C) means a lot of water vapor in the air this evening (haze and fog). The Moon is between Aldebaran and the Pleiades in Taurus the Bull, and while I was able to spot the star nearby, the Pleiades remained hidden in the glare.

A Hubble Telescope pic of the Tarantula Nebula:

http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/ ... edium2.jpg

I posted:

"Children guessed, but only a few / And down they forgot as up they grew..." --e.e. cummings

A child would look at the sky and just accept that there are no words, and that that's fine.

Then they learn to clarify and classify, and the universe shrinks to fit their words.

At best they grow up to be Merry and Pippin calling a thing a "hill," a hasty word for something that has stood here since the world was shaped. Or, more likely, they grow up to be William T. Riker using the Creation as a pick-up line to meet women (referring to a starry sky as "Eternity never looked so beautiful" after which Miss Vash shot him down).

Anyhow, the pic came from a website called Bad Astronomy. I haven't heard of it before ... so am unable to give an intended audience range. All I know is that Wil Wheaton and William Shatner's comments are supposedly in there somewhere.