ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY ALERT: Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is about to meet a star cluster. During the the early hours of Sept. 15th, the green comet will pass directly in front of Messier 35, a system of several thousand stars in the constellation Gemini. Astronomer Bob King writing for Sky and Telescope notes that "the binocular view should be unique with the rich cluster appearing to sprout a tail!" The passage will occur between between 7:30 and 11:30 UT. Browse: Comet Photo Gallery.
AURORA SURPRISE: No geomagnetic storm was predicted for Sept. 14th. One happened anyway. The day began with a minor G1-class storm that sparked midnight auroras over parts of Canada. Ray Majoran sends this picture from Huntsville, Ontario:
"We were out shooting the Milky Way shots on Kawagama Lake when THIS happened!" says Majoran. "It was unreal."
During the storm, faint auroras descended as far south as Michigan and Illinois in the USA. The display was caused by solar wind flowing through a crack that opened unexpectedly in Earth's magnetic field. Free: Aurora Alerts
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
A NEW HOLE IN THE SUN'S ATMOSPHERE: Get ready for more auroras. A new hole in the sun's atmosphere is turning toward Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the structure, shown here in a false-color UV image taken on Sept. 14th:
This is a "coronal hole"--a region where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. The interior of the hole is black because the hot glowing gas normally contained there is missing. It's on its way to Earth.
Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible when the gaseous material arrives on Sept. 16th or 17th. Deepening autumn darkness will favor the visibility of auroras around the Arctic Circle and possibly at lower latitudes, too, if the storm intensifies to category G2. On Sept. 11th, a similar solar wind stream sparked a G2 storm with auroras over northern-tier US states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota. It could happen again in a few days. Free: Aurora Alerts
FLY ME TO THE MOONSTONE: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Nothing says "I love you" like a moonstone from the edge of space. On Jan 27th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew this moonstone wrapped in a hand-crafted sterling silver Celtic love knot 35.1 km (115,158 feet) above Earth's surface:
You can have it for $179.95. The students are selling these pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space. All sales support the Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray ballooning program and hands-on STEM research.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education