What's Up in Space ? (Kingdom, science)

[michel]

http://spaceweather.com

What's Up in Space -- 15 Jun 2006
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COOL VIDEO: Last month, NASA astronomers watched a meteoroid blast a hole in the Moon's Sea of Clouds (Mare Nubium). Their video of the event is a must-see: full story.
CONVERGING PLANETS: Stick up your thumb and hold it at arm's length. You can use it, thus, to cover two planets. Mars and Saturn are converging for a close encounter on June 17th, and tonight they'll be tight enough fit behind your thumb-tip. Look for them in the western sky after sunset: sky map.

Photo credit: Paco Bellido of Cordoba (SPAIN)
Got a telescope? Point it at Mars. The red planet is gliding directly in front of the Beehive star cluster. Together, the planet and the star cluster make a pretty ensemble: detail.
SPOOKY CLOUDS: "Wow, what a spooky display!" says Martin McKenna of Northern Ireland. "I have never seen anything like it in my life."
What he saw last night was a ghostly display of electric-blue noctilucent clouds:

Photo credit: Martin McKenna of Maghera, Co.Derry, Northern Ireland

This June has been a magnificent month for noctilucent clouds, especially over the islands of the United Kingdom. Why the UK? That's as mysterious as the clouds themselves. While they are known to favor high-latitudes, noctilucent clouds have been sighted in recent years as far south as Utah and Colordo, so be alert no matter where you live.