SOLAR ECLIPSE, A NATIONAL DISASTER? Port-a-potty shortages. Cellular blackout zones. Ambulances stuck in gridlock. These are the conditions emergency managers across the USA are expecting the week of August 21 when millions of people converge on the narrow path of totality of the Great American Solar Eclipse. Get the full story from Newsweek.
THE PERSEID METEOR SHOWER BEGINS NOW: This week, Earth is entering a stream of debris from huge comet 109P/Swift/Tuttle, source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Specks of dusty debris hitting the top of Earth's atmosphere at 110,000 mph are burning up in the night sky, producing a spray of shooting stars from the constellation Perseus. On July 31st James W. Young photographed a green Perseid fireball skimming the coast off Cannon Beach in western Oregon:
"The Needles (rock outcroppings) to the right are just south of Haystack Rock," says Young. "The fireball was a pleasant surprise!"
In the last three nights (July 30-Aug. 1), NASA cameras have detected more than 2 dozen Perseid fireballs streaking over the USA. These numbers are small, however, compared to what is in store. Forecasters expect Perseid meteor rates to increase 10-fold as Earth plunges deeper into the comet debris stream. By the time the shower peaks on Aug. 11th-13th, sky watchers could see dozens of Perseids per hour despite the interfering glare of a bright gibbous Moon. Sprawl out in a moon shadow between midnight and dawn and enjoy the show! Sky maps: Aug. 11, 12, 13. Free: Meteor Alerts
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
SOLAR ECLIPSE VIEWING GLASSES: Get ready for the Great American Solar Eclipse on Aug. 21st! Earth to Sky's safe solar glasses will allow you to view any phase of the upcoming eclipse without fear of damage to your eyes. The Family Pack includes 3 pairs of glasses and costs only $29.95. And there's a bonus. They have all been to the edge of space:
On June 23, 2017, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew a payload-full of solar glasses to the stratosphere onboard a high-altitude space weather balloon. The glasses ascended more than 95,000 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California before parachuting back to Earth.
Each Family Pack of solar eclipse glasses comes with a unique gift card showing the glasses floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that these items have been to the edge of space and back again.
More items from the edge of space may be found in the Earth to Sky Store. All proceeds support our Solar Eclipse Balloon Network and hands-on STEM education.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education
QUARTER MOON, QUARTER EARTH: On July 30th, photographer Peter Lowenstein of Mutare, Zimbabwe, was outside at the exact moment of the First Quarter Moon (15.23 UT) and he took its picture. "The terminator between lunar day and night was so straight, it made me wonder, how did the Earth look from the Moon at the same instant?" Here is the answer:
"I combined my moonshot with a Fourmilab simulation of the Earth as viewed from the Moon at the same time," he says. "The illumination on the First Quarter Moon viewed from Earth is the same as that on the Last Quarter Earth viewed from the Moon."
Fun activity: Use the Fourmilab simulator to view the Earth from the Moon during the Perseid meteor shower on August 12th and the Great American Solar Eclipse on August 21st. Warning, this activity can be addictive.
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery