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A SLOW CME APPROACHES: NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of minor geomagnetic storms on July 5th when a slow-moving CME is expected to sweep languidly past Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on July 5-6. Aurora alerts: text, voice.
SUNSPOTS OF INTEREST: A massive array of sunspots has rotated over the sun's southeastern limb, sharply boosting the odds of a solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed sunspot complex AR1785-1787 during the early hours of the 4th of July:
The leading sunspot, AR1785, has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong M-class solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of such eruptions on July 4th. The fireworks will not, however, be Earth-directed because the sunspot is located near the sun's limb. This could change in the days ahead as the sun's rotation turns AR1785 toward our planet.
The largest dark cores in this sunspot complex are as wide as Earth, making the ensemble an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. Amateur astronomers are encouraged to monitor developments. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.
SPACE WEATHER BALLOON CLIFFHANGER: On July 2nd a recovery team reached the payload of a space weather balloon launched on June 30th. It was the second attempt to retrieve the balloon from its mountainous landing site in the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California. The first attempt late on July 1st was aborted due to challenging terrain and fading sunlight. This time, the team started earlier and in the full light of midday they found the landing site. It turned out to be a cliffhanger:
As shown above, the payload was dangling from a shear cliff face more than 1400 feet above the foot of the Nevahbe Ridge. Super-climber Michael White, a member of the Earth to Sky Calculus student group that launched the balloon, was able to reach the landing site and snag the payload from the safety of a small ledge just above the parachute. The shoe in the photo belongs to Michael.
This balloon was launched at the peak of a record-setting heat wave in the southwestern USA, bringing temperatures as high as 128 F to desert areas around the launch site. The goal of the curiosity-driven flight was to discover whether the heat wave extended all the up to the Edge of Space. To help answer the question, the balloon's payload was outfitted with two HD video cameras, a pair of GPS trackers, a GPS altimeter, a cryogenic thermometer and an ozone sensor.
Students are analyzing the footage and data now. Stay tuned for results!
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SOUTH POLE SKY SHOW: Summer in the north means winter in the south. The long dark winter night currently underway at the South Pole offers astronomers at that end of the Earth an unparalleled opportunity for sky watching--if they can deal with the cold. The temperature was about 85 degrees below zero F on July 1st when Robert Schwarz took this picture from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station:
"After a pretty lame June, aurora-wise, the Southern Lights are finally picking up again," reports Schwarz. "When I was out on July 1st to see the show, there was a super bright meteor, definitely the best I have seen in my 9 years down here. We don't get as many meteors here at the Pole because we kind of look out of the 'side window,' so this was a treat." (Note: Read this article to understand the 'side window' reference.)
More auroras are in the offing. NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on July 5th. Aurora alerts: text, voice.
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