Comet A Coming

     Stargazing is one of the best parts of camping in the Boundary Waters.  Without yard lights or the lights of a city to drown out their brightness the stars shine brilliantly.  You can almost always catch a falling star as it burns through the night sky.  Satellites pass by and occasionally you’ll see a show of northern lights.  Every once in awhile there will be a special display and you don’t want to miss it.  Sign up to receive alerts from Space Weather so you won’t miss something spectacular. 

NEW COMET McNAUGHT: A fresh comet is swinging through the inner solar system, and it is brightening rapidly as it approaches Earth for a 100 million mile close encounter in mid-June. Comet McNaught (C/2009 R1) has a vivid green head and a long wispy tail that look great through small telescopes. By the end of the month it could be visible to the naked eye perhaps as bright as the stars of the Big Dipper. Because this is the comet’s first visit to the inner solar system, predictions of future brightness are necessarily uncertain; amateur astronomers should be alert for the unexpected. Visit

 

http://spaceweather.com for sky maps, photos and more information.