Oct 17 - River Relic on Mars

October 17 River Relic on Mars by:

See another view. | Nirgal Vallis, a dried-up river valley on Mars. This oblique perspective view was generated using a digital terrain model and Mars Express data, gathered in November 2018 during the spacecraft's orbit #18818. Image via ESA/DLR/FU Berlin.

Spacecraft spies river relic on Mars New images from the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft show an ancient, dried-up river system - called Nirgal Vallis by Earth's space scientists - stretching for nearly 435 miles (700 km) across Mars' surface. It's one of the longest valley networks on this neighboring world. The area lies just south of the planet’s equator, and scientists think it was shaped by a mix of flowing water and impacts by rocks from space smashing into the Martian surface. See images and read more. Watch 1st all-female spacewalk tomorrow Watch 2 NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station make history on Friday as they perform the first-ever all-female spacewalk. NASA TV's live coverage will begin Friday at 10:30 UTC (6:30 a.m. EDT). The spacewalk itself is scheduled to start at 11:50 UTC (7:50 a.m. EDT). Translate UTC to your time. Read more.  What we're reading Beautiful fall color emerged over Alaska’s tundra after strange summer From the awesome Capital Weather Gang at the Washington Post … It was a strange summer in Alaska. July finished as the state’s hottest month ever recorded. And with erratic precipitation patterns, it was also the driest July on record. The hot, dry weather fueled an extremely active fire season that extended into fall. One rite of passage remained unchanged, though: the September equinox, which signaled the annual start of a dramatic decrease in sun duration and intensity and coincided with magnificent fall color. Check out these photos.  Correction: In yesterday's newsletter, we incorrectly stated that the Orionid meteor shower would peak this weekend on the mornings of October 21 and 22. We meant to say the shower would peak early next week on those mornings. We regret the confusion. Read more about the Orionids.

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.

Summer triangle and galactic equator Tonight, use the Summer Triangle to locate the galactic equator – the great circle on the celestial sphere that bisects the Milky Way. Sure, it’s autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere, but the 3 brilliant stars that make up the Summer Triangle still shine in our sky. You’ll find Vega, Deneb and Altair high in the sky on October nights. Read more.

Feed me! View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Our friend Swami Krishnananda in India captured a whole series of photos of a pair of Paradise fly-catcher birds at close quarters. If you click in, you'll see these beautiful birds building a nest and going on to lay eggs and feed the little ones … Swami Krishnananda wrote: "These birds are a rare beauty seen in Himachal Pradesh, and they are difficult to photograph as they are always on the move to catch flies. You will notice in these photos how they build the nest using cobwebs as the thread binding the pine-needles together. You will also see how the female bird sits in the nest again and again to make it take its own shape." Thank you, Swami Krishnananda.  Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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