Sept 29 - Looking for Lurkers

September 29 Looking for Lurkers by:

View larger. | Asteroid 2016 HO3 is a co-orbital object, or quasi-satellite, for Earth. It's a natural object whose orbit around the sun keeps it near Earth. A new study suggests it's the perfect hiding place for an extraterrestrial probe, or lurker. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/James Benford.

Astronomer probes idea of ET lurkers What would an extraterrestrial intelligence need to observe Earth, long-term, from nearby? Materials, a firm anchor, concealment? Earth's co-orbital objects, or quasi-satellites, might be the ideal place to lurk. Read more. New insights on Venus' cloud-tops and super-rotation Why does Venus' upper atmosphere circle the planet in just 4 Earth-days, while the planet itself takes 243 Earth-days to spin once? Japan's Akatsuki spacecraft probed the mysterious super-rotation of Venus' clouds. Here's what it learned. 2019 Arctic sea ice minimum 2nd lowest on record This year's Arctic sea ice minimum is believed to have come on September 18, at 1.6 million square miles (4.15 million square km). That's unless, unexpectedly, the ice cap gets smaller still. If September 18 was indeed the minimum for 2019, it's in a 3-way tie - with 2007 and 2016 - for 2nd-lowest minimum since modern record-keeping began. Watch a video.

EarthSky lunar calendars are back in stock We're guaranteed to sell out, get one while you can! Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep going. Purchase here.

Tonight … Watch for a young moon after sunset The chances of catching the young moon after sunset on Sunday vary around the globe. It's difficult to catch a young moon that's so near the sun, less than one day (24 hours) old. Read more.

Venus and Mercury are up after sunset, too View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mercury and Venus also sit low in the west after sunset now. They're tough to spot, especially from the Northern Hemisphere. Peter Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe captured this series of images on September 27, 2019. In the top image, Mercury is above, Venus below. The bottom 2 images just show Venus, setting behind a mountain rim. Both planets very quickly follow the sun below the western horizon. Venus is lower in the sky and much brighter than Mercury. Thank you, Peter! Read more about this image. Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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