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Cassiopaea

Superluminous supernova discovered


Sci News
Mon, 24 Jul 2017 01:55 UTC
At a distance of 10 billion light-years, DES15E2mlf - a Type I superluminous supernova (SLSN-I) spotted by the Dark Energy Survey collaboration - is the most distant superluminous supernova confirmed to date. It also has one of the most massive host galaxies discovered for a SLSN-I.
DES15E2mlf Supernova
© D. Gerdes/S. Jouvel.This image of the superluminous supernova DES15E2mlf was taken with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) gri-band filters mounted on the Blanco 4-m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile on December 28, 2015, around the time when DES15E2mlf reached its peak luminosity.
Superluminous supernovae are 10 to 100 times brighter than a typical supernova resulting from the collapse of a massive star. But scientists still don't know exactly what kinds of stars give rise to their luminosity or what physical processes are involved.

DES15E2mlf is unusual even among the small number of superluminous supernovae astronomers have detected so far.

The explosion occurred about 3.5 billion years after the Big Bang at a period known as 'cosmic high noon,' when the rate of star formation in the Universe reached its peak.

It was more than three times as bright as the 100 billion stars of our Milky Way Galaxy combined.

Previous observations of superluminous supernovae found they typically reside in low-mass or dwarf galaxies, which tend to be less enriched in metals than more massive galaxies.
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Camera

Huge red sprite captured over Austria (PHOTO)


Sott.net
Sun, 23 Jul 2017 06:45 UTC
Red sprites over Austria
© Martin PopekRed sprites over Austria
On July 21 photographer Martin Popek of Nýdek, Czechia recorded a magnificent display of sprites leaping up from a thunderstorm in neighboring Austria. "The storm was about 390km away," says Popek, "and the sprite was huge. It stretched 50 km to 90 km above the ground below."

Sometimes called "space lightning," sprites are a true space weather phenomenon. They inhabit the upper atmosphere alongside auroras, meteors and noctilucent clouds. Some researchers believe they are linked to cosmic rays: subatomic particles from deep space striking the top of Earth's atmosphere produce secondary electrons that, in turn, could provide the spark that triggers sprites.

According to the website SpaceWeather the link to cosmic rays is particularly interesting at this time. Despite a brief reduction in cosmic rays last week caused by the sweeping action of a passing CME, cosmic rays are intensifying. For the past two years, space weather balloons have observed a steady increase in deep space radiation penetrating our atmosphere.


Comment: Cosmic rays reaching Earth increased 13% since 2015


Comment: See also: Electric universe: Lightning strength and frequency increasing

The Electric Universe model is clearly explained, with a lot more relevant information, in the book Earth Changes and the Human Cosmic Connection by Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk.

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Telescope

Amateur astronomer films extremely rare space lightning over Australia

Fiona Connor
Daily Mail
Fri, 21 Jul 2017 18:48 UTC
A novice astronomer from New South Wales couldn't contain his delight when he captured a rare space lightning phenomenon on camera
A novice astronomer from New South Wales couldn't contain his delight when he captured a rare space lightning phenomenon on camera
A novice astronomer from New South Wales couldn't contain his delight when he captured a rare space lightning phenomenon on camera.

David Finlay, 44, believes he is the first to film one of the only instances of the breathtaking red flashes, known as 'lightning sprites', could be seen from earth in Australia.

'I set my camera up, and literally within minutes - almost no time at all - I started to see the sprites flashing on the horizon,' he said.

'I couldn't believe it. I thought I would be lucky to capture one or two, which would have been fantastic, but they just kept happening.

'I lost count, but it must have been at least 30. It could be the first time they have been captured from the ground on video in Australia, and I don't think anyone else has ever captured so many at once in one go anywhere.'

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Sun

Solar halo seen over Zhejiang, Anhui provinces in China


Guangming Online
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 18:40 UTC
Solar halo in China
© Chen Dengke/GuangmingNingbo City, China's Zhejiang Province
Solar halo is an atmospheric optical phenomenon caused by refraction of sunlight by tiny ice crystals in clouds.

In folk culture, people believe if a solar halo view appears in day, rain will come at night. So we can regard solar halo as a basis of the weather changes.
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Question

Plasma event? Nigerian residents stirred up after strange event of "deafening sound" and bright light

Oluwole Ige
Nigerian Tribune
Tue, 18 Jul 2017 18:27 UTC
Strange lightning in Nigeria
© stock photo
There was panic in some parts of Osogbo, Osun State capital, when strange lightening suddenly appeared in the sky, creating higher degree of illumination, which forced some residents to scamper for safety.

Tribune Online reliably gathered that most of the affected areas where the lightening appeared Tuesday night, include Alekuwodo, Oke-Fia, Olaiya roundabout and parts of Estate.

The incident, which occurred around 9.30pm created fear as some people residing in these areas, who also claimed they heard deafening sound similar to resounding explosion ran outside their houses to ascertain the cause of the strange development.

A resident of Peter Ajibola Street, identified as Titilayo Adekunle said: "We don't know what really happened. We just saw the light suddenly and it appeared in the sky, thus submerging the prevailing darkness, which had hitherto enveloped the environment because we were already in the night."

According to her, "we also heard some continuous sound, like when an electric transformer is humming at a frenetic pace.

Some people were saying 'maybe Jesus had come. 'However, not quite five minutes later, the great lightening fizzled away and darkness resurfaced."
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Rainbow

'Rare' cloud phenomenon seen over Bournemouth, UK

Katie Clark
Daily Echo
Tue, 18 Jul 2017 16:22 UTC
Circumzenithal arc over Bournemmouth
© Hellyhorro@Twitter
A rare cloud 'phenomenon' was spotted over Bournemouth last week.

The rainbow coloured haze in the cloudy sky led a string of enquiries on social media.

And while many put the colourful sight down to cloud iridescence, some said it could also be a circumhorizontal arc. Cloud iridescence happens when light is diffracted by ice crystals in the clouds, producing a rainbow effect.

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Camera

Purple aurora, noctilucent clouds seen over Germany

Laura Kranich
Space Weather
Tue, 18 Jul 2017 19:23 UTC
Some nice space weather duet last night on the north German island Fehmarn.
Auroras and NLCs over Germany
© Laura Kranich
We could only see the bright noctilucent clouds which lasted for about 3 hours through midnight. When I reviewed the ~3000 images I had taken, I saw the purple aurora above the NLCs.

It was probably too weak to be seen in the midnight twilight but strong enough for the camera to capture some of its color. We didn't notice a thing with our bare eyes.
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Die

Sun halo in Pattaya, Thailand taken as omen for national lottery

Keng Na Songkhla
Pattaya Mail
Fri, 07 Jul 2017 17:41 UTC
Sun halo in Thailand
© Pattaya MailA rare “sun halo” had Pattaya looking skyward, with gamblers, as usual, taking it as a lottery omen.
A rare "sun halo" had Pattaya looking skyward, with gamblers, as usual, taking it as a lottery omen.

The circular rainbow - caused by pollution mixed with heavy moisture content in the atmosphere - was easily seen and many people took photos and posted it to social media.

Some saw the halo as a good sign given its timing close to the national lottery drawing. They somehow managed to divine numbers from the numberless sky show.

The sun halo phenomenon occurs in the troposphere, the lowest region of the atmosphere. Cirrus clouds in the troposphere form no more than 10 kilometers from the surface and are extremely cold.
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Cloud Grey

Enchanting noctilucent clouds filmed over northern Alberta, Canada

Deborah Byrd
Earth Sky
Fri, 07 Jul 2017 16:44 UTC
Noctilucent clouds over Alberta
© Adrien Mauduit
Photographer and videographer Adrien Mauduit posted this video at EarthSky Facebook this week. He's been working with Project PoSSUM - a research, training and education program supported by NASA - whose goal is the study of noctilucent clouds, also called NLCs or night-shining clouds.

In other words, these clouds are seen at night, shining in the darkness. PoSSUM's 2017 noctilucent cloud airborne campaign recently kicked off, based in the remote town of High Level in northern Alberta, Canada. Mauduit, who is based in Denmark, is also in Alberta, helping the project by acquiring ground imagery.

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Bizarro Earth

Auckland city hit by more than 700 lightning strikes in fierce thunderstorm


NZ Herald
Fri, 07 Jul 2017 00:54 UTC
Lighting Strikes Sky Tower, Auckland
© Screen Capture/YouTube
More than 700 lightning strikes lit up the stormy sky over Auckland during a violent thunderstorm yesterday evening.

MetService duty forecaster Tuporo Marsters said the city was struck by 701 flashes and rocked by loud, rolling thunderclaps.

The dangerous storm swept across the city at rush hour, grounding flights, flooding homes and shops, and leaving roads knee-deep in water.

Spectacular footage has also emerged on social media capturing the moment a lightning fork struck the top of the city's tallest building.
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