What's Up in Space -- 7 Jun 2003
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SUNSPOT WATCH: Sunspot 375 has grown impressively during the past 24 hours. It now has a twisted "beta-gamma-delta" magnetic field, which poses a threat for powerful X-class solar flares.
Growing sunspot 375, June 2nd - 7th. Image credit: SOHO
This large active region stretches nearly ten Earth-diameters from side to side, so it's easy to see. But never look directly at the sun. Use safe solar projection methods instead.
DAYLIGHT METEORS: The annual Arietid meteor shower, which peaks this year on June 8th, is a strange one: it happens during the day rather than at night. This makes the shower remarkably hard to see. Nevertheless, sky watchers sometimes spot bright Arietids skimming Earth's atmosphere at dawn--a rare but beautiful sight. Be alert for such meteors for the next few mornings. [sky map] [more information]
AURORA OUTLOOK: Earth is inside a high-speed solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on the sun. Sky watchers should be alert in case gusts trigger auroras tonight. The best observing sites will be at high latitudes: e.g., southern parts of Australia and New Zealand, Canada, and northern US states like Michigan and Wisconsin.
Above: Jean-Christophe Dalouzy photographed these blood-red auroras over Normandy, France, on May 29th after a coronal mass ejection struck Earth's magnetic field. [more]
SOLAR ECLIPSE: Last weekend sky watchers enjoyed a partial solar eclipse. The event was visible across four continents, but there was no better place to be than northern Scotland where the eclipse was deep and annular. Photographer Nick Francis captured this picture of the crescent sun rising over Durness, Scotland:
More images: Solar Eclipse Gallery