EarthSky News - Oct 16 - Groundbreaking Discovery

October 17 Groundbreaking Discovery by:

Gravitational waves, and more, from merging neutron stars The 1st detection of gravitational waves produced by colliding neutron stars. The 1st observed in both gravitational waves and visible light. "It ushers in a new era in astronomy." What are gravitational waves? If you understand how a trampoline works, you'll understand what gravitational waves are. The UK had a red sun yesterday Social media was buzzing on Monday with photos and accounts of the red sun over the UK. British weather forecasters said it was dust from the Sahara, raised via Hurricane Ophelia. Creatures raft across Pacific, thanks to tsunami Hundreds of species hitched a ride on debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami for a 4,400-mile journey across the Pacific.

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Watch for zodiacal light or false dawn Seen the moon and planets before dawn this week? Wednesday's moon will be a very slim crescent, tougher to catch, rising just before sunup. Try going outside earlier. If your sky is very dark, you might see the eerie zodiacal light about 2 hours before sunrise in the Northern Hemisphere. From the Southern Hemisphere, watch for it after sunset. Photo taken in Tibet by Jeff Dai.

Lenticular cloud over Mt. Rainier Gary Peltz in Seattle caught this spectacular image of a lenticular cloud over Mt. Rainier on October 14. Submit your photo to EarthSky here!

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