Terry's Astronomy Thread.

[Bluearrowll]

Meteorite Explosion Update:
FOR LIVE UPDATES: http://rt.com/news/russia-meteor-met...elyabinsk-291/
Over 1,200 people have now been reported injured due to the shockwave of the explosion - mostly from shattered glass.

A picture of a crater of the supposed landing site has now been released to the internet.



Weather satellite Meteosat-10 Captured an image of the meteorite before enterring the atmosphere:



The mass of the meteorite is expected to be anywhere between 10-50 tonnes. Early reports say the meteorite was approximately 5-10 meters in diameter.

What's in the sky tonight?
February 15, 2013

-Comet PanSTARRS update: The incoming comet that we hoped would make a fine showing in March has been weakening. It may not even reach naked-eye visibility, what with its low altitude in the evening twilight.

-Close flyby of asteroid 2012 DA14: This gymnasium-sized asteroid will miss Earth by just 18,000 miles (28,500 km) around 19:25 Universal Time today. It will then be as bright as 8th magnitude, moving across the stars by 0.8° per minute — and it will be in nighttime view from easternmost Europe (in late evening) across Asia to Australia (before dawn on the 16th local date). By the time it's visible in Western Europe it will be a little fainter, and by its visibility in North America it will be down to 11th to 13th magnitude, receding into the distance near the Little Dipper. Click here to find more information about tonight's asteroid fly by.

-The Clay Center Observatory will be streaming the fly by at 6pm EST for those interested in watching.

-After dark, look right of the crescent Moon by roughly a fist-width at arm's length for the two or three leading stars of Aries, lined up almost vertically.

-Algol should be at minimum light for a couple hours centered on 8:12 p.m. EST.

News Posted Today:
February 15, 2012
Lessons from Today’s Russia Meteor Impact


Astro Picture of the Day:
February 15, 2013

Source:
Two dark shadows loom across the banded and mottled cloud tops of Jupiter in this sharp telescopic view. In fact, captured on January 3rd, about a month after the ruling gas giant appeared at opposition in planet Earth's sky, the scene includes the shadow casters. Visible in remarkable detail at the left are the large Galilean moons Ganymede (top) and Io. With the two moon shadows still in transit, Jupiter's rapid rotation has almost carried its famous Great Red Spot (GRS) around the planet's limb from the right. The pale GRS was preceded by the smaller but similar hued Oval BA, dubbed Red Spot Jr., near top center. North is down in the inverted image.