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Lightning sprites, or red sprites, often occurring in tandem with lightning. They are short-lived electrical discharges that flash high above thunderstorms in the mesosphere layer of the atmosphere. (Photo by Stephen Hummel, McDonald Observatory, Texas, United States)

[nature-godsgardenofeden]

Green comet closest to Earth next week

On February 1 and 2, Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will reach its closest point to Earth (0.29 AU/ 27 million mi/ 44 million km). The comet might be visible to the eye alone. You'll need a dark-sky site. And you can always use binoculars or a telescope to spot this green visitor from the outer solar system. Read about the green comet.

[comtedemoney]

2020's December solstice is Monday | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky

2020’s December solstice is Monday | EarthSky.org

Late dawn. Early sunset. Short day. Long night. December solstice 2020 arrives on December 21 at 10:02 UTC. High summer for the Southern He

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-december-solstice

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Today is Asteroid Day 2019 | EarthSky.org

The 5th annual Asteroid Day is Sunday, June 30. Here's how to participate.

Recognized by the United Nations

[nature-godsgardenofeden]

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kartik Kota of Lake Wanaka, New Zealand, captured this amazing image on Sunday and wrote: “While trying to image the Milky Way arch over Lake Wanaka, I managed to capture some stunning lightning sprites or red sprites over an incoming thunderstorm. These sprites were right in front of the galactic core.”

[nature-godsgardenofeden]

By late March, Jupiter will be mostly gone from our evening twilight sky. But, on March 27-28, 2023, Mercury and Jupiter will have a conjunction, very low in the west after sunset. The planets will be a little over 1 degree apart. That’s about 2 full moon diameters. They’ll be a challenge to spot, but Venus will stand out above them, and might help you locate them. They’ll be on a line between Venus and the sunset. After these evenings, Mercury will continue to climb higher each night, as Jupiter dives into the sunset. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.

[nature-godsgardenofeden]

A rare hybrid solar eclipse on April 20

We're now counting down to the hybrid solar eclipse that'll sweep across Australia, Timor-Leste and Indonesia on April 20, 2023. Solar physicist C. Alex Young - a co-author of EarthSky's daily sun post - is traveling to Indonesia now, preparing to chase it. The eclipse will appear as total to some and as annular, or a ringeclipse, to others. See the path of this month’s solar eclipse.

[nature-godsgardenofeden]

Meet Gemini the Twins, home to 2 bright stars - Most people see the constellation Gemini as just 2 bright stars - Castor and Pollux - sometimes called the Gemini twins. These 2 stars aren't really twins, though. Pollux is brighter and more golden in color. And Castor is slightly fainter and white. But both stars are bright, and they're noticeable for being close together on the sky's dome. From time immemorial, people have thought they looked like brother stars. Read about the constellation Gemini.