In late January, HST revealed an “X” pattern of debris that appeared like comet material. The difference was that the nucleus was not inside the debris, but ahead of it. What HST showed was what scientists believe is the remnants of a collision of two asteroids.

P/2010 A2 is the name of the asteroid material and main nucleus. The material is being swept back, away from the nucleus, by the pressure of sunlight. The size of P/2010 A2 is a mere 460 feet in diameter, but it travels at 11,000 miles per hour. A collision of that intensity is extreme and spreads the debris out into the surrounding area. To read more on this amazing discovery, read the NASA article “Hubble Sees Suspected Asteroid Collision.”

27 January 2010, marks the closest point that Mars will be to Earth between 2008 and 2014. Mars can be seen as soon as skies are dark, and it is visible all night.

To find Mars this week, look to the eastern sky as soon as Sun sets. Mars will appear as an non-twinkly, orange object. The visible magnitude is -1.3 (Sirius is -1.4) and is 14 arc seconds in diameter. The brightness and apparent size make Mars an easy object to see and find.

If you need more help finding Mars, use the chart. Mars appears to be in the constellation Cancer, and on 29 January 2010, a Full Moon will appear very close to it.

Recently, reports told that the Mars Rover Spirit was stuck in the martian surface soil. Spirit has not been able to free itself and will now be used as a science platform instead of a rover.

The stationary rover will still conduct research, even if it cannot travel. The first thing Spirit has to do is to prepare for the martian winter. Scientists want to level the rover for an optimal position. Then Spirit will study the soil, track the wobble of the planet in its orbit, and conduct some experiments to try to find out if the martian core is solid or liquid.

The photo here show the last tracks that Spirit made. Scientists will be able to continue using Spirit, even though it will not be a rover.

The recent Annular Solar Eclipse was visible from Northern Sri Lanka, where the Sri Lanka Astronomical Association ran an outreach workshop which was well attended by local students, keen to view the eclipse. They chronicle their adventure (with some great photos) here.

The demise of another sungrazing comet has been captured on video of STEREO-A. The video can be seen at the Space Weather website. Recent solar activity has “sparked” the Northern Lights near the Arctic Circle. Current solar images and information on the activity can be seen at Space Weather. Photos of the recent aurora are also available for viewing.

Sunspot 1039 is still on the far side of the solar disc, as observed from Earth, but 1039 is providing scientists with promise of continued activity. NASA’s STEREO-B Spacecraft can “see” regions of Sun that are not yet visible from Earth. What STEREO-B has detected are two eruptions from the 1039 active areas.

The active regions will appear along the eastern solar limb within a week as Sunspot 1039 rotates into view. If you want to see the video of the eruptions, spaceweather.com has it and more information posted.

Observers in the line from Africa to the Indian Ocean to eastern Asia are in for a great experience tomorrow (15Jan2010) 0500 to 0900 UT. Of course you should know about this by now, so you are probably already in position and prepared to participate in the experience of the annular solar eclipse.

An annular eclipse is different from a total eclipse in this way: Viewing an annular eclipse from the center line provides a “ring of fire” as Moon and Sun line up in a direct line of sight from the observer. When Moon is at or near apogee during an eclipse, it appears smaller than Sun, hence, the lunar disc does not obscure the whole sight of the solar disc. A total solar eclipse occurs when Moon is at or near perigee, when the lunar disc appears larger and obscures the view of the whole solar disc as observed from Earth.

Any solar eclipse is an experience to have. A video preview and more information are available online.

Interesting new research from a British and an American scientist suggests that our Milky Way has two spiral arms, challenging the conventional model of a four-armed spiral galaxy. Charles Francis and Erik Anderson worked independently to reach their discovery, analysing data from sky surveys to determine how spiral patterns form. Read the rest of this post …

An asteroid of unknown origin will make a close pass to Earth on 13 Jan 2010. The asteroid, named 2010 AL30, has a 1-year orbit and will pass one-third the distance to Moon from Earth.

The asteroid may not be a natural object, but one that came from discarded materials from a Human-made craft. 2010 AL30 will appear as 14th magnitude during its close approach, and astronomers are encouraged to go out and observe the object. It will pass through Taurus, Orion, and Pisces. Ephemeris and other information.

Firstly, I’d like to wish everyone a peaceful, pleasant, and successful 2010 accompanied nightly by dark skies and excellent observing conditions! But as the weather this time of year does not lend to much observing, you may be interested in this note I received from Thilina Heenatigala of Astronomers Without Borders about an online observing session.  LL/ Read the rest of this post …