Skip to main content

Contributor Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

How bright and strange will the tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS become? The comet has brightened dramatically over the few weeks as it passed its closest to the Sun and, just three days ago, passed its closest to the Earth. C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) became of the brightest comets of the past century over the past few days, but was unfortunately hard to see because it was so nearly superposed on the Sun. As the comet appears to move away from the Sun, it is becoming a remarkable sight -- but may soon begin to fade. The featured animated video shows how the comet's tails have developed, as viewed from Earth, and gives one prediction about how they might further develop. As shown in the video, heavier parts of the dust tail that trails the comet have begun to appear to point in nearly the opposite direction from lighter parts of the dust tail as well as the comet's ion tail, the blue tail that is pushed directly out from the Sun by the solar wind. Growing Gallery: Comet Tsuchinsan-ATLAS in 2024

Video by Nico Lefaudeux

A Comment by Loy

Your avatar
Loy • 10/15/2024 at 09:58PM • Like • Profile

Very cool!

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Go outside at sunset tonight and see a comet! C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) has become visible in the early evening sky in northern locations to the unaided eye. To see the comet, look west through a sky with a low horizon. If the sky is clear and dark enough, you will not even need binoculars -- the faint tail of the comet should be visible just above the horizon for about an hour. Pictured, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was captured two nights ago over the Lincoln Memorial monument in Washington, DC, USA. With each passing day at sunset, the comet and its changing tail should be higher and higher in the sky, although exactly how bright and how long its tails will be can only be guessed. Growing Gallery: Comet Tsuchinsan-ATLAS in 2024

Photo by Brennan Gilmore

..."Since deer move, some experts predict 1.5 million accidents yearly. Other sources suggest that deer collision statistics are much higher" On average, 440 people die. There were over 1.8 million animal collision insurance claims in the U.S. in one year, and State Farm reported 1,288,714 deer collisions. On top of deer-vehicle accidents"..... More at the World Animal Foundation ➜

Photography Series CONTRIBUTOR

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Did you see last night's aurora? This question was relevant around much of the world a few days ago because a powerful auroral storm became visible unusually far from the Earth's poles. The cause was a giant X-class solar flare on Tuesday that launched energetic electrons and protons into the Solar System, connecting to the Earth via our planet's magnetic field. A red glow of these particles striking oxygen atoms high in Earth's atmosphere pervades the frame, while vertical streaks dance. The featured video shows a one-hour timelapse as seen from Cortina d'Ampezzo over Alps Mountain peaks in northern Italy. Stars from our Milky Way Galaxy dot the background while streaks from airplanes and satellites punctuate the foreground. The high recent activity of our Sun is likely to continue to produce picturesque auroras over Earth during the next year or so. Gallery: Global aurora during October 10/11, 2024

Video by Cristian Bigontina

"How does poverty in the US compare with what’s going on in similar economies? ... ..."The U.S. has one of the highest rates of poverty among Western industrialized nations. Whether the focus is on working-age adults,  children, people over 65 or the population as a whole, the U.S. is near the top in terms of the extent and depth of its poverty. More at The Conversation ➜

Powered by Volunteers | 360-794-7959

Hunger impacts all of us | 360-435-1631

Snohomish, Skagit and Island County