NASA TRIES AGAIN TO PRODUCE ARTIFICIAL CLOUDS: On Thursday, June 15th, NASA will attempt to overcome a series of weather and hazard-related postponements to launch a sounding rocket over the east coast of the USA. The Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket will blast off between 9:05 and 9:20 p.m. EDT and release a network of red and blue-green vapors more than 100 miles high. Tracking the motions of the colorful gases will help researchers study the dynamics of Earth's ionosphere. The vapor tracers may be visible from New York to North Carolina and westward to Charlottesville, Virginia.
A HOLE IN THE SUN'S ATMOSPHERE: A large hole has opened in the sun's atmosphere and it is turning toward Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is monitoring the structure, shown here in an extreme ultraviolet image taken on June 13th:
This is a coronal hole (CH) -- a region where the sun's magnetic field peels back and allows solar wind to escape. A fast-moving stream of solar wind from this coronal hole is expected to arrive on June 16th, possibly sparking G1-class geomagnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras, especially in the southern hemisphere where autumn darkness favors visibility.
Forecasters note that this stream is unusually fast with wind speeds as high as 700 km/s. Moreover, it is threaded with "negative polarity" (south-pointing) magnetic fields. Such fields do a good job connecting to Earth's magnetosphere and energizing geomagnetic storms. Free: Aurora Alerts
ANTARCTIC MOONDOGS: At Germany's Neumayer III Research Station in Antarctica, the polar night began on May 21st and no one has seen the sun in weeks. "Hence, I could not believe my eyes on June 12th when I opened the station's weather monitor and suddenly could see a sundog," reports Stefan Christmann, who is visiting as part of a BBC film crew working on a documentary about emperor penguins. "I quickly grabbed my camera, got dressed and ran outside." This is what he saw:
"In fact," he says, "it was a moondog--the lunar equivalent of a sundog."
As the waning full Moon rose behind the station, it shone through crystals of ice floating above the frozen terrain. These crystals bent and shaped the moonbeams into moondogs, a moon pillar and even an upper tangent arc.
"In combination with a clear and starry sky, this was quite the sight," says Christmann. "Antarctica is an awesome place, full of little miracles and incredible nature - this needed to be shared with every space weather enthusiast." (Agreed!)
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
FOR THE FATHER WHO HAS EVERYTHING: Yes, that really is a Vulcan rubber duck. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew the pointy-eared water bird to the stratosphere as part of their ongoing program to monitor cosmic rays, and you can have him for $79.95. He makes a great Father's Day gift:
"Mr Squawk" hitchhiked on a helium balloon payload that carried an array of X-ray/gamma-ray sensors. By launching these sensors 3 or 4 times a month, the students have shown that cosmic rays are intensifying--a trend that affects mountain climbers, air travelers, high-altitude drones and astronauts on the International Space Station.
This research is crowd funded. Would you like to support it? Buy a duck! Mr. Squawk comes with unique Father's Day card showing the duck at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education