They came from outer space--and you can have one! Genuine meteorites are now on sale in the Space Weather Store. | | |
AURORA WATCH: NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% - 40% chance of geomagnetic activity on July 2nd when a solar wind stream is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. High-latitude sky watchers, particularly those in the winter-dark southern hemisphere, should be alert for auroras.
UPDATE: The solar wind stream has not arrived yet. Nevertheless, geomagnetic disturbances are already sparking auroras around the Arctic circle.
4TH OF JULY SKY SHOW: Perfectly timed for the 4th of July holiday weekend, the International Space Station is beginning a series of evening flybys over the USA. Last night in Utah, hundreds of onlookers at the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival watched the brilliant spaceship bisect the Milky Way:
"The ISS made a bright appearance over the star party," says photographer John Stetson, "and it was well regarded. More than 750 are attending this year. Among the 40 telescopes available for public viewing, there was a 9" 1902 Alvin Clark refractor, a handmade 16' dobsonian, and a 24" dob. The festival and the star parties will continue on Friday and Saturday nights."
The ISS flybys will continue, too, all the way through the fireworks on Monday. Your cell phone can tell you exactly when to look. Also recommended: the Simple Satellite Tracker. Happy 4th of July!
more images: from Christopher Calubaquib of El Sobrante, California; from Paul Vladuchick of Mars, Pennsylvania;
INSTEAD OF THE ECLIPSE: "I could not make it to today's partial solar eclipse off the coast of Antarctica, but only 26 hours before the event I witnessed something just as beautiful," reports Jan Hattenbach from the Canary Islands. "On June 30th, the slender 1.4% crescent Moon met Venus for a wonderful conjunction in the early morning sky." (continued below)
Photo details: Canon EOS 450Da, 800 ASA, 1/3s exposure.
"At 7:00 am local time, the two bright celestial objects were seperated by just 0.31°," adds Hattenbach. "It was an stunning view, seen from the Roque de los Muchachos (2426m), home of the 'European Northern Observatory' on the island of La Palma, Spain!"
more Venus-Moonshots: from Pete Lawrence of Selsey, West Sussex, UK; from Imad Mojahed of Amman, Jordan
NEW: 2011 Noctilucent Cloud Gallery
[previous years: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009]
June 2011 Aurora Gallery
[Aurora alerts: text, voice] [previous Junes: 2010, 2008, 2001]
June 15th Lunar Eclipse Gallery