SOLAR MINIMUM CONDITIONS ARE IN EFFECT: The sun has been without spots for 5 consecutive days and 58 days so far in 2019. Solar Minimum is underway. Many people think Solar Minimum is boring. Not so. This phase of the solar cycle brings extra cosmic rays, long-lasting holes in the sun's atmosphere, and strangely pink auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS text, email.
THE 2019 TRANSIT OF MERCURY: Mark your calendar: On Monday, Nov 11th, Mercury will pass directly in front the Sun. The rare transit begins at 12:35 UT (7:35 am EST) and lasts for almost six hours. Mercury's tiny disk—jet black and perfectly round—will glide slowly across the face of the sun, as shown in this movie created by science-artist Larry Koehn of ShadowandSubstance.com:
People in every continent except Australia can see at least a portion of the crossing. In the USA, the best place to be is on the Atlantic coast, where the entire transit is visible. On the Pacific coast the transit will already be in progress at sunrise.
Warning! Mercury covers only a tiny fraction of the sun's surface, so staring at the sun remains just as painful and dangerous as ever. But with a proper filter, the Transit of Mercury can be a marvelous experience.
There are many ways to safely observe the sun, e.g., using eclipse glasses or via projection. Nothing beats a telescope equipped with an H-alpha filter. H-alpha filters are narrowly tuned to the red glow of solar hydrogen. They reveal the sun as a boiling inferno, cross-crossed by dark magnetic filaments. The sight of Mercury navigating this starscape could be mind blowing.
Transits of Mercury occur only 13 times each century. The next one won't occur until Nov. 13, 2032. This is an unusual event, not to be missed, so stay tuned.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
A GIFT FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: On August 16, 2018, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere. This laser-etched Moon cube went along for the ride, ascending to an altitude of 101,140 feet:
You can have it for $119.95. The students are selling these cubes as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray ballooning program. It's an authentic representation of the Moon, with all of the craters, mountains and lava plains accurately portrayed.
Each Moon-cube comes with a unique gift card showing the item floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. 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 sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery