Sky Watch - dtewes's Blog - Victoria Advocate http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes Weather and astronomy Weather and astronomy en-us Get a glimpse of the stunning sky tonight http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9639 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9639 <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; I&rsquo;m hoping for a clear sky tonight.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Venus, Jupiter and the moon will be in conjunction, meaning they will have their least apparent separation. Should be a pretty impressive sight in the southwest sky after sunset.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://spaceweather.com/">Spaceweather.com</a> was reporting that the moon would actually eclipse Venus, but that happened earlier today and the daylight prevented people in Texas from seeing it.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Let me know what you see tonight.<br /> </font>


Title: Tonight's sky show
Caption:
Credit: Rob Carew/Melbourne, Australia


Title: Tonight's sky show
Caption:
Credit: Rob Carew/Melbourne, Australia

 Tonight's sky show Rob Carew/Melbourne, Australia The 2008 Hurricane Season http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9599 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9599 <font size="4">Here are some interesting statistics from the <a href="http://www.pciaa.net/web/sitehome.nsf/main">Property Casualty Insurers Association of America</a> as the 2008 hurricane season draws to a close:<br /> </font> <ul> <li><font size="4">Texas had the misfortune of experiencing two significant storms this year, hurricanes Ike and Dolly.</font></li> </ul> <ul> <li><font size="4">2008 is the fourth mostly costly season on record.</font></li> </ul> <ul> <li><font size="4">There were eight hurricanes that caused a combined $11 billion in insured losses.</font></li> </ul> <ul> <li><font size="4">The last hurricane of the season, Paloma, hit Cuba Nov. 9 and made 2008 the only season with major hurricanes in five separate months.</font></li> </ul> <ul> <li><font size="4">This year also has the distinction of being the first season where three Atlantic tropical storms in July (Bertha, Cristobal, and Dolly) were active on the same day. </font></li> </ul>


Title: Hurricane Dolly
Caption: Hurricane Dolly moves ashore in deep South Texas in July.
Credit: NOAA


Title: Hurricane Dolly
Caption: Hurricane Dolly moves ashore in deep South Texas in July.
Credit: NOAA

 Hurricane Dolly Hurricane Dolly moves ashore in deep South Texas in July. NOAA Venus and Jupiter easy targets tonight http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9590 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9590 <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; If you have a clear view of the southwest sky tonight, you&rsquo;ll be able to see two bright planets: Jupiter and Venus.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Jupiter will be above and to the left of Venus and both are easily visible without a telescope or binoculars right after sunset.<br /> &nbsp; The two planets will continue to move closer to each other until they appear to nearly merge on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Click <a href="http://www.space.com/spacewatch/081121-ns-jupiter-venus-moon.html">here</a> for more details on the event from www.spaceweather.com.</font>


Title: Venus and Jupiter
Caption:
Credit: University of Alabama


Title: Venus and Jupiter
Caption:
Credit: University of Alabama

 Venus and Jupiter University of Alabama What's the weather outlook for this winter? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9561 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9561 <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; Victoria could be in for a dry and warm winter.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; The <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> is predicting that South Texas will experience above-normal temperature and below-normal rainfall.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; That forecast was issued Thursday and covers December, January and February.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Normal temperatures in Victoria include 55 degrees in&nbsp; December, 53 degrees in January and 57 degrees in February.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Normal rainfall includes 2.47 inches in December, 2.44 inches&nbsp; in January and 2.04 inches in February.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; I&rsquo;ll have more information on what that means for Victoria in Friday&rsquo;s<a href="http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com"> Advocate.</a> For more details on the forecast, click <a href="http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20081120_winteroutlook.html">here</a>.</font>


Title: Temperature Outlook
Caption:
Credit: NOAA


Title: Temperature Outlook
Caption:
Credit: NOAA


Title: Precipitation Outlook
Caption:
Credit: NOAA


Title: Precipitation Outlook
Caption:
Credit: NOAA

 Temperature Outlook NOAA Precipitation Outlook NOAA Get a free rain gauge http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9546 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9546 <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; Uncle Sam wants you.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; The <a href="http://www.srh.weather.gov/crp/">National Weather Service</a> is looking for volunteers to make daily rainfall reports via the Internet. That information will be used for everything from issuing flood warnings to river forecasts to drought reports.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Forecasters particularly need volunteers in southern Victoria County, western Goliad County and northern Refugio County.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; The weather service provides a free rain gauge that can hold up to 11 inches of rain.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; If you have questions about the program, e-mail Tony Merriman with the weather service at Tony.Merriman@noaa.gov .<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Information about the program is also available at <a href="http://cocorahs.org/">www.cocorahs.org</a></font>


Title:
Caption: Rainfall observers are needed in the areas circled in red.
Credit: National Weather Service


Title:
Caption: Rainfall observers are needed in the areas circled in red.
Credit: National Weather Service


Title:
Caption: This is the type of rain gauge volunteers will be given.
Credit: CoCoRaHS


Title:
Caption: This is the type of rain gauge volunteers will be given.
Credit: CoCoRaHS

 Rainfall observers are needed in the areas circled in red. National Weather Service This is the type of rain gauge volunteers will be given. CoCoRaHS Space station and shuttle visible over Victoria http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9537 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9537 <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; It might be possible over the next few days to get a glimpse of space shuttle <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts126/index.html">Endeavour</a> docked to the International <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html">Space Station</a>.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; They will be among the brightest objects in the night sky, making it easy to spot them as they glide over the Victoria area. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; The two will come into sight about 5:51 p.m. today. The sun sets about 5:33 p.m. and hopefully it will be dark enough to see both spacecraft.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Click <a href="http://www.spaceweather.com/flybys/?PHPSESSID=fj6rmjn50t2m3h1a8s3i30nmp7">here</a> for a simple satellite tracker that gives the times and locations the International Space Station will be visible from your location.</font> The rain was nice, but not enough http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9491 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9491 <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; Other than the fact I just washed my pickup Saturday, it was nice to see the rain this week.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; I&rsquo;ve had a total of just over an inch at my house. The <a href="http://www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/">National Weather Service</a> has had just under an inch, not nearly enough to overcome the deficit.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; So far this year, the weather service has recorded 21.21 inches. That&rsquo;s nearly 15 inches below normal for the year.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Victoria had 70.12 inches by this time last year, which was the second wettest on record. Odds are against us getting more rain the rest of the week.</font><br /> <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; This <a href="http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/94qwbg.gif">map </a>gives an idea how much rain you might get if you're in the right location on Thursday.</font> NASA hunting for new meteors http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9471 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9471 <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; A <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> monitoring station scanning the night sky for unknown and unexpected meteor showers has come up with interesting results.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; The new system captured a flurry of meteors from an unknown comet. A couple of them were fireballs brighter than Jupiter and Venus.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; There was also an explosion equal to 500 pounds of TNT caused by an object from the asteroid belt.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Click <a href="http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/10nov_sentinel.htm?list64564">here</a> for more details from NASA on the monitoring system.</font>


Title:
Caption:
Credit: NASA


Title:
Caption:
Credit: NASA

 NASA Is Paloma the final tropical system of the season? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9430 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9430 <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; It&rsquo;s unusual, but certainly not unheard of for November.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; The Caribbean tropical disturbance I blogged about earlier this week has become a tropical storm named <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at2+shtml/203513.shtml?3day#contents">Paloma</a>. The <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml">National Hurricane Center</a> is predicting it will become a hurricane in about 24 hours, with sustained winds of 105 mph in 36 hours.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Thanks to the cold front we had in Victoria Thursday, Paloma shouldn&rsquo;t be a threat to Texas. The front will help sweep the storm over Cuba and into the Atlantic Ocean.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; Is anyone out there ready to concede this is the last tropical system of the year?</font>


Title: Tropical Storm Paloma
Caption: Tropical Storm Paloma's winds are forecast to strengthen to 105 mph in about 36 hours.
Credit: NASA


Title: Tropical Storm Paloma
Caption: Tropical Storm Paloma's winds are forecast to strengthen to 105 mph in about 36 hours.
Credit: NASA

 Tropical Storm Paloma Tropical Storm Paloma's winds are forecast to strengthen to 105 mph in about 36 hours. NASA Don't miss the meteor shower http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9418 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/dtewes/9418 <font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp; The Taurid meteor shower is under way as Earth passes through the debris from comet 2P/Encke.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; It should be a good show this year because this is a &ldquo;<a href="http://star.arm.ac.uk/~dja/taurid/swarmyears.html">swarm year</a>&rdquo; for the Taurids, according to <a href="http://www.spaceweather.com/">www.spaceweather.com</a>. The show continues through Nov. 12.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; While the Taurids usually don&rsquo;t produce more than about 10 meteors per hour, they are known for their fireballs. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; The shower typically produces meteors all night, <a href="http://www.amsmeteors.org/showers.html">www.amsmeteors.org</a> reports. But they are best seen near midnight when the <a href="http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/images/taurids/skymap_north.gif">radiant</a>, the area of the sky where the meteors seem to originate, is highest above the horizon.<br /> </font>


Title: Taurid Meteor Shower
Caption:
Credit: NASA


Title: Taurid Meteor Shower
Caption:
Credit: NASA

 Taurid Meteor Shower NASA