I ought to update the AGW list one of these days. I am procrastinating because it is quite a chore. It is getting so long that it takes a while to cross reference any new headlines with the past ones to make sure there is no duplication. Well… one of these days, but not today.

Also, in case you haven’t checked it out lately, I have been recording a longer weather show for our webchannel. Check it out here: Let me know what you think.

How about a little space news to start out. The Cassini spacecraft is still orbiting Saturn and still returning interesting scientific information. Yesterday it made another dive through the plumes of ice (and water?) emanating from the south pole of Enceladus (a moon of Saturn). Here is a JPL blog post about it and an article from Newscientist. So why did mission planners send Cassini through the geysers once again? They are trying to get closer to see if they can detect any organic molecules. Some scientists think there could be liquid water in the interior and where there is water there is at least a slim chance of life – anyway, the carbon based life we are familiar with. If you polled astrobiologists or any astronomer 10 years ago, Enceladus would be one of the last places anyone would have suggested that life exists outside of earth. Now it is the object of intense study and gives a little hope that there might be liquid water present on other moons and planets as well.

In private space news SpaceX has set a launch date for the debut of its Falcon 9 rocket. It is scheduled to launch on February 2nd of next year- not written in stone though because you know how schedules can change depending on the weather or other launches occurring near that date. SpaceX hopes to get new contracts from NASA to launch payloads including future crew capsules. If you remember, SpaceX had quite a bit of trouble in prior years getting their Falcon1 off the ground. It seems they have worked out the kinks and I am happy to see them moving forward with the Falcon9. If regular folks are ever going to have a chance of exploring space, we will need to see continued success with private space companies.

The Leonid meteor shower coming up this month might be particularly strong on November 17th. The bad news is that Asia will be in night/dark during the expected peak of the meteor shower. Here in North America we will get the tail end of the peak but you might still be able to see some of the falling stars early in the morning if the skies are clear. Sometimes you can see a few meteors the night before or the night after as well – you just have to be a bit more patient.

When you are looking at the sky for meteors, you might also notice the milky way. If the view with your naked eye is not so great then you might want to take a look at the latest detailed panorama view stitched together by Axel Mellinger. You can click on the image and pan and zoom to see millions of stars that were not visible in past panoramic views of the Milky Way, check it out.

Lastly, the future of spaceflight could involve wings. Here are a couple of stories about secretive recent tests of supposed space vehicles. One occurred back on October 15th at Spaceport America in New Mexico and the craft was built by Lockheed Martin. They aren’t saying who or what it is for, but I wonder if it is related to the secret Air Force project, the X-37B. The “military space plane” will supposedly make it first trip to space on April 10th of next year.

Have a good Tuesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Space