Feb 23 - Moon and Star

February 23 Moon and Star by:

Tonight … Moon near Aldebaran Not just near. In fact, the moon occults (covers over) Aldebaran tonight. We're in the midst of a series of 49 monthly occultations of Aldebaran that began in 2015 and will conclude this September 3.  Violent blast from Sinabung volcano Mount Sinabung on the Indonesian island of Sumatra erupted violently on February 19. See video of the dramatic first moments of the eruption. Watch an octopus get spiky Octopuses and cuttlefish have an amazing defense tactic. They can erect 3D spikes from their skin, hold them for an hour, then retract them and swim away. Mars rover finds possible rock stripes The long-lived Opportunity Mars rover keeps finding surprises, including these possible stone stripes. On Earth, similar features result from repeated freezing and thawing of wet soil.

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Tonight … Moon near Aldebaran Bright star Aldebaran on the moon’s dark edge, just before the moon passed in front of this star on last March. Photo by Michael Caruso in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Violent blast from Sinabung volcano  On February 19, Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung volcano erupted violently. NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the eruption just a few hours after it began. See video of the dramatic first moments of the eruption here. Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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