TIANGONG-1 RE-ENTERS OVER THE PACIFIC: China's Tiangong-1 space station re-entered Earth's atmosphere on April 2nd at 00:16 UTC. The spacecraft disintegrated over an uninhabited stretch of the central Pacific Ocean near 13.6 S, 164.3 W, some 4000 km south of Hawaii. So far no sightings or pictures of the fireball are available.
SOLAR WIND FORECAST: A hole in the sun's atmosphere that lashed Earth with high-speed solar wind in mid-March is turning to face our planet again. It is emerging over the sun's eastern limb following a two-week transit around the farside of the sun. This extreme ultraviolet image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the leading edge of the hole coming into view:
This hole is particularly geoeffective because it straddles the sun's equator, allowing it to squarely target Earth with a stream of solar plasma. The last time its gaseous material interacted with our planet's magnetic field, spectacular auroras were observed around the Arctic Circle. Similar displays are possible on April 8th or 9th when the solar wind is expected to return. Free: Aurora Alerts.
BLUE MOONLIGHT MIXES WITH AURORAS: Some photographers say there's nothing better than a mixture of auroras and moonlight to produce a gorgeous shot. Photographer Chris Hodges suggests adding one more ingredient--a snow-capped fjord:
"I was in Norway on March 31st, visiting the Isle of Senja just north of the Lofotens," he says. "The auroras dancing through the moonlit sky were unexpectedly beautiful--and having the Blue Moon light up the landscape really added to the beauty of the fjords."
The auroras were caused by a stream of solar wind brushing against Earth's magnetic field. The gaseous material came from a northern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Next weekend, April 8th, another stream of solar wind is expected reach Earth, hitting our planet more squarely. Once again the fjords of Norway will be illuminated by a mix of moonlight and auroras--perhaps for the last time this season as Arctic night wanes with the unfolding of Spring. Stay tuned.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
MOTHER'S DAY IS ONLY 6 WEEKS AWAY:On March 5, 2018, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere, more than 94,000 feet above Earth's surface. This sterling silver Mother's Day pendant went along for the ride:
You can have it for $119.95. The students are selling these pendants as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray monitoring program. All proceeds support atmospheric radiation measurements and hands-on STEM education.
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. Mom-satisfaction guaranteed.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education