Major Astronomical Night Friday

Three significant astronomical events are occurring tonight.If you are in Europe,West Asia or Africa,they may already be occurring.You must consult your local news media for exact details for your area.
First,it is the night of the Snow Moon,the first full moon of February.Native American tribes gave a name to each full moon,and this is the name they gave to February's full moon,as February is typically the snowiest month of the year in North America.They also called it the Hunger Moon,because it was rather difficult to find food in this cold winter month.It will also be visible tomorrow night.*
Second,it is the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.The Moon will be passing through Earth's outer shadow,taking on a slightly grayish appearance-not spectacular looking,but of interest nonetheless.It will be visible in Eastern North and South America;Europe;Africa;and West Asia.Again,you must check your local media for the times to look in your area.The North American times in EST are:
Begins at 5:34 pm EST;
Greatest extent at 7:44 pm EST;
Ends at 9:53 pm EST.*
Finally,Comet 45p will reach its closest point to Earth,7.4 million miles away.Best time to look in North America is 3:00 am EST in the Eastern sky.Naked eye viewing is a long shot;binoculars or a telescope are pretty much required.Even in good binoculars,it will be a blue-green hazy patch.It has a blue-green head and a tail.Do not expect to see the comet's structure.That requires a telescope with a camera attached taking a long exposure photograph.The comet may be located at various points in the night sky in the coming weeks.It will return in 2022.

Astronomy Special:Voyager I Detects Third Shock Wave

Voyager I,which was launched in 1977,has experienced its third shock wave in deep space.This wave is the longest in duration-it started in February 2014 and continues to this day.The spacecraft is still making significant discoveries more than thirty-seven years after its launch,calling home every day.The waves are created when the Sun emits a coronal mass ejection and a cloud of magnetic plasma from its surface,which results in a pressure wave that hits the interstellar plasma where Voyager I is,causing ionised gas to resonate or vibrate like a bell.
Voyager I executed flybys of Jupiter and Saturn before heading for interstellar space,finally leaving the solar system in August 2012,a study published in Science magazine reckons.It left the heliosphere,the region of the solar wind.Voyager chief scientist Ed Stone confirmed this in September 2013.It will fly past distant comets in 30,000 years and near another star in 40,000 years,traveling now at more than 38,000 miles an hour.
According to Leonard Burlaga of NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt,Maryland,this remarkable shock wave event raises questions that will stimulate new studies of the nature of shocks in the interstellar medium.Why has the third shock wave lasted so long?How fast is the wave moving?How broad a region does it cover?The first of Voyager I's shock waves was from October to November 2012;the second was from April to May 2013.
Voyager I's twin,Voyager II,was launched 16 days ahead of Voyager I on 20 August 1977;Voyager I followed on 5 September 1977.Each spacecraft weighs 722 kilograms.Voyager II will likely follow Voyager I out of the solar system in a few years-it had made a detour to fly by Uranus and Neptune,the only spacecraft ever to have visited these outer planets.

Oak Hill Golf;Perseid Meteor Shower

His nondescript appearance and deadpan manner make him a target for the Hollywood types on television,but Jason Dufner proved his high degree of competence in golf on Friday when he seized the top of the leader board at the PGA Championship in Pittsford,New York,near Rochester.The beautifully forested Oak Hill Country Club saw Dufner tie the record for lowest score in a major championship with his brilliant nine under par 63.Dufner,who is well-regarded by his peers,stood out even in the strongest field in golf,with 99 of the top 100 players in the world vying for the tournament's Wanamaker trophy,seven of them Scotsmen.*The history of the game is dear to my heart,Dufner said,and it's really neat to be part of it.You'd never think a guy from Northeast Ohio would accomplish these things.*1.Jason Dufner,USA,-9 2.Matt Kuchar,USA,-7;Adam Scott,AUS,-7;Jim Furyk,USA,-7 5.Henrik Stenson,SWE,-6;Justin Rose,ENG,-6 7.Robert Garrigus,USA,-5;Steve Stricker,USA,-5 9.Charley Hoffman,USA,-4;Marcus Fraser,AUS,-4.*The Perseid meteor shower will illuminate the night sky from August 11-13,NASA said.The best meteor display of the year may be best seen between 1am and dawn,with meteors streaking across the heavens at the rate of about 70 an hour at the peak of 11-12 August.They are bright because of their relatively large size of around a centimeter across and speed of almost 134,000 kilometers an hour.The debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle,the annual event is about as bright as the Ursa Major constellation's stars,and is better seen outside of urban areas.*Update:Veteran golfer Jim Furyk,who won the US Open in 2003,took over top spot on the leader board of the PGA Championship with his -9 in Saturday's third round at Oak Hill Country Club.Jason Dufner slipped to a close second at -8.The greens were starting to dry out and there was a breeze,making the course more difficult to manage-a trend that may only be accentuated by another dry,sunny day on Sunday.There were a lot more bogies amid the huge white oaks of the densely wooded course,as the cheers of thousands of fans livened things up for Furyk and Dufner.TV ratings must have been hurt,though,by the fact that both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson,the world numbers one and two,dropped out of contention with their multiple bogies.*It's totally unrealistic for the media to expect Mickelson to win a second major after his back to back wins in Scotland.Psychologically,that is extremely unlikely.There's a natural comedown after all that glory.As for Woods,he has apparently still not fully recovered mentally from his personal problems,not having won a major for five years now.

Moon At Its Closest Now

The moon is at its closest to the earth for 2013 this weekend.It appears about 7% larger tonight,Friday night,because of being nearer to us in its elliptical,or egg-shaped,orbit at this time.I observed this to be the case tonight.
At its peak Saturday night into Sunday morning,this perigree full moon,as it is scientifically known,will appear to be up to 14% larger and 30% brighter,some 40,000 miles closer than at its farthest point from earth.
It is said you can notice it most readily when the moon is low in the sky and in the daytime.I saw the moon fairly high in the sky at night,yet it did look a bit larger,especially noticeable with binoculars,compared to how it usually looks in them.
Some are calling it the "super moon."