Space Weather

[Jherrith]

MARTIAN GREEN FLASH: Mars is approaching Earth for a 15-year close encounter on July 27th. The Red Planet now outshines every object in the sky except the sun, Moon, and Venus. Mars is doing things only very luminous objects can do--like produce a green flash. Watch this video taken by Peter Rosén of Stockholm, Sweden, on July 12th:





"Mars was shining brightly in the early morning sky," he says. "At an altitude of only 6.5° above the horizon, the turbulence was extreme, sometimes splitting the planet's disc in 2 or 3 slices and displaying a green and blue flash resembling those usually seen on the sun."

That's not all. Mars is also making its own glitter paths. Last night, Alan Dyer photographed this specimen from Driftwood Beach at Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta:

A glitter path is a band of light in the water. It is caused by reflections from the troughs and crest of tiny waves. Normally, only the sun and Moon (and sometimes Venus and Jupiter) produce glitter paths. Now Mars is doing it too.

Dyer notes that Mars was "bright yellow"--a hue caused in part by the massive global dust storm in progress there. Think about it: A dust storm on another planet that you can see with your naked eye. Mars is close.

Still two weeks before closest approach, Mars is almost 3 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and 30% brighter than the giant planet Jupiter. In other words, you can't miss it. Look south at midnight and remember, the best is yet to come

[Aelin]

I can see Mars from the hill where we are in town, but I'm sure even with an instrument I couldn't see that.
And when I see the capture of the sky, sure we miss a lot of details in the sky Very amazing!

Mars can be seen since 10:30PM here if I'm exact - tonight I can't confirm like we have clouds.

[thelufias]

That is one great shot.  Hope to be able to see the close up on the 27th.....at least I think that's the date LOLOL

[sidherose]

Making it's own glitter-path? Whoa!

That is just mesmerizing to watch - the little video. You CAN see it split up and the flash very well. It's been awhile since Mars was this close.

[sidherose]

It's funny, I keep thinking back to some lines in a Mesopotamian myth about the Lord and Lady of the Underworld and how they came to be together. The Lord is Nergal, who is the Mesopotamian version of Mars/Ares. He is described by Namtar, the vizier of the Lady of the Underworld (Ereshkigal) as:

"My lady, there was only one god who sat
 bareheaded, blinking and cringing at the
 assembly of all the gods."

"Go, seize that god and bring him to me!
(I expect) Ea, his father sprinkled him with spring
water."

I always found this wording very odd as applied to (presumably) a planet. Maybe we are seeing that here and this is how they described it. We do actually have 'an assembly of gods' in progress, as all the planets are now pretty close to all being lined up on one side of the sun. Well, here:

[thelufias]

Now that's very interesting.....I went over to You Tube to subscribe but I see I already have....but just forgot that I had....which NEVER EVER HAPPENS......and if you believe that....I've got a Star I want to sell you   

[Jherrith]

NGC6175 is not for sale I already own it

[thelufias]

I got one for my Niece in Florida when she turned 16....I'll have to look and see what her Star is.....in this cluster I have LOLOL

[sidherose]

Now that's very interesting.....I went over to You Tube to subscribe but I see I already have....but just forgot that I had....which NEVER EVER HAPPENS......and if you believe that....I've got a Star I want to sell you   

He has some other videos made this year about it, where he's showing a correlation between increased volcanism and seismic events due to the (I guess) pull the planets are exerting in the configuration. Interestingly, Jupiter is the furthest away, but it also has (save for the Sun itself) the greatest gravitational pull on the planets that does reach all the way to Earth. We are fortunate it's not closer, imo.

[sidherose]

Here's one from yesterday: