Monday, January 7, 2019

Jan 7 - So Long, Iridium Flares

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So long, Iridium flares

And hello, Iridium NEXT. The final launch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites is targeted for tomorrow. Meanwhile, the beloved glints of Iridium flares are disappearing from Earth's night skies. Read more and see photos.

Lengths of lunar months in 2019  

Yesterday's new moon started the longest lunar month of 2019. It'll last 29 days 19 hours and 35 minutes. Read more.

More East Antarctica glaciers are waking up

Researchers have said that Totten Glacier, a behemoth with enough ice to raise sea levels by 11 feet (3.4 meters), appears to be melting. Now, they say 4 glaciers west of Totten, and a handful farther east, are also losing ice. Read more.

A group of 4 glaciers in East Antarctica's Vincennes Bay, west of the massive Totten Glacier, have lowered their surface height by about 9 feet (2.7 meters) since 2008. Illustration via NASA.

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After sunset … go young moon hunting

Monday's moon will be near the sunset. You'll need an unobstructed horizon. Bring binoculars, just in case. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the slim crescent will be farther from the sunset. All very beautiful. Read more.

A few photos of 2019 Quadrantids

The Quadrantid meteor shower - which peaked on the night of January 3-4 - has a very narrow peak. Still, the EarthSky community caught some photos. Joel Coombs of Las Vegas, Nevada, caught this Quadrantid meteor (solid line) and an airplane (dashed line, due to blinking lights) near midnight on the peak night. Click in for more photos.
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