What's in the sky tonight?
December 16, 2013
-Full Moon tonight (exact at 4:28 a.m. Tuesday morning EST). As the Moon climbs the eastern sky this evening, look for Aldebaran to its upper right, Aldebaran-colored Betelgeuse to its lower right, Capella farther to its upper left, and Jupiter far to its lower left.
-A pair of Earth-facing sunspots, AR1917 and AR1918, have 'beta-gamma' magnetic fields that harbor energy for moderately strong solar flares. Any eruptions from the duo in the days ahead would likely be geoeffective. NOAA forecasters estimate a 25% chance of M-class flares during the next 24 hours.
-On Dec. 15, 2013, the network reported 52 fireballs. ( 30 Geminids, 20 sporadics, 2 December Leonis Minorids)
News Posted Today:
December 16, 2013
Argon Found in The Crab
Astro Picture of the Day:
December 16, 2013
Source:
A new desk-sized rover has begun exploring the Moon. Launched two weeks ago by the Chinese National Space Administration, the Chang'e 3 spacecraft landed on the Moon yesterday and deployed the robotic rover. Yutu, named for a folklore lunar Jade Rabbit, has a scheduled three-month mission to explore several kilometers inside the Sinus Iridum (Latin for "Bay of Rainbows") impact crater. Yutu's cameras and spectrometers will investigate surface features and composition while ground penetrating radar will investigate deep soil structure. Chang'e 3 achieved the first soft Moon landing since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and Yutu is the first lunar rover deployed since the USSR's Lunokhod 2 in 1973. Pictured above, Yutu was imaged from its lander yesterday soon after rolling onto the Moon.