SET YOUR ALARM FOR DAWN: On Monday morning, Nov. 13th, Venus and Jupiter will converge in the pre-dawn sky only 1/3rd of a degree apart. Look low and to the east about 30 minutes before sunrise. It's definitely worth waking up for! Sky maps: Nov. 12, 13, 14.
David Blanchard took this picture of Venus and Jupiter converging over Flagstaff, Arizona, just before sunrise on Nov.12th:
"Clear skies resulted in a very nice view of Venus and Jupiter in the eastern sky on Sunday morning," says Blanchard. "The two planets will be even closer together on Monday!"
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
HERE COMES THE SOLAR WIND (AGAIN): A wedge-shaped hole in the sun's atmosphere has opened and it is spewing solar wind into space. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is monitoring the gap, shown here facing Earth on Nov. 12th:
This a a coronal hole--a region where the sun's magnetic field peels back and allows solar wind to escape. An emerging stream of gaseous material is expected to reach Earth on Nov. 14th or 15th.
Fun fact: This coronal hole is connected to another coronal hole that lashed Earth with solar wind on Nov. 7th, sparking Northern Lights in the USA as far south as Nebraska. Could it happen again? NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of polar geomagnetic storms when the solar wind arrives. Auroras will probably be confined to the Arctic, but the events of Nov. 7th show that pleasant surprises are possible. Free: Aurora Alerts.
CRAZY CHRISTMAS GIFT: Are you looking for a far-out Christmas gift? Consider the Incredible Solar Eclipse Wristwatch. On Aug. 21, 2017, this timepiece flew to the stratosphere on board a space weather balloon during the Great American Solar Eclipse:
With the sun, Earth, and Moon perfectly aligned, the watch entered the space-cold shadow of the Moon … and kept on ticking! Watch the video.
You can have one for $99.95. Each timepiece comes with a unique gift card showing the watch floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere and touching the shadow of the Moon. 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
HEDGEROW PROMINENCE: On the northeastern edge of the sun, a wall of hot plasma has sprung up, towering more than 40,000 km above the stellar surface. Randy Shivak photographed the enormous structure from his backyard observatory in Estero, Florida:
"Even though the sun is blank (no sunspots) there are still some impressive things to see," says Shival. "I captured this prominence using my Astro-Physics 152mm refracting telescope and a Daystar Quantum PE 0.5 angstrom filter. It's a big one!"
This is a "hedgerow prominence" -- a massive cloud of plasma held aloft by solar magnetic fields. NASA and Japanese space telescopes have taken high resolution images of similar prominences and seen some amazing things such as (1) tadpole-shaped plumes that float up from the base of the prominence; (2) narrow streams of plasma that descend from the top like waterfalls; and (3) swirls and vortices that resemble van Gogh's Starry Night. Got a solar telescope? Take a look!
