CHANCE OF MAGNETIC STORMS: NOAA forecasters say there is a 55% chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms today as Earth moves through the wake of a passing CME. Boosting the odds of geomagnetic activity is an incoming stream of solar wind. Estimated time of arrival: Feb. 16-17. Arctic sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. Free: Aurora Alerts
CME IMPACT SPARKS POLAR AURORAS: Yesterday, a CME struck Earth's magnetic field. "Right from the minute it got dark, our skies were alive with dancing aurora," reports tour guide Marianne Bergli of Tromsø, Norway. This is one of dozens of pictures she took between sunset and 3:30 the next morning:
"What an amazing night,' she says. "The CME arrived as predicted by Spaceweather.com, and something tells me there is much more to come."
Indeed, there is more. A stream of high-speed solar wind flowing from a wide hole in the sun's atmosphere is following close on the heels of the CME. It could produce a new round of geomagnetic activity and polar auroras when it arrives on Feb. 16th or 17th. Free: Aurora Alerts
A NEW DISTANCE RECORD FOR STARMAN: For the past week, astronomers around the world have been racing to set a very unlikely record: Who can take the most distant photo of a cherry red Tesla Roadster? At the moment, the record stands at 2.5 million km. Riccardo Furgoni and Giancarlo Favero set the mark on Feb. 15th when they used using a 0.8 m reflecting telescope at the Celado Astronomical Observatory in Italy to take these pictures:
"The object was only 16 degrees above our horizon shining feebly like a magnitude 19.3 star," they say.
Launched on Feb. 6, 2018, by a Falcon Heavy Rocket at Cape Canaveral, Elon Musk's Roadster is traveling around the sun on an elliptical orbit that will take it beyond the orbit of Mars. Every day it is getting farther from Earth. For comparison, 2.5 million km is about 6.5 times farther away than the Moon.
Other amateur astronomers around the world have also been photographing the distant electric car, piloted by a space-suited mannequin named "Starman." At the moment, Furgoni and Favero hold the distance record. But stay tuned, because records are meant to be broken!
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
VALENTINE'S DAY WAS ... WEDNESDAY: Oops. Did you forget to buy a Valentine's gift? Your sweetheart might forgive you if she receives this:
Nothing says "I love you" like a space pendant, and you can have one for $199.95.
The students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew a payload-full of these heart-shaped Venus pendants to the stratosphere onboard a high-altitude helium balloon. The one pictured above is floating 110,550 ft above the Sierra of Centrl California.
With a sterling silver backface that says "I Love You to the Moon and Back," these blue jewels make great Valentine's, Mother's Day, and birthday gifts. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. Sales of this pendant support the Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray ballooning program and hands-on STEM research.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education