METEORS FROM HALLEY'S COMET: Earth is approaching a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual eta Aquariid meteor shower. If forecasters are correct, the shower will peak on May 5th with as many as 40 meteors per hour. The best time to look is during the dark hours before sunrise on Sunday. Eta Aquariids are fast, moving at 66 km/s (148,000 mph), and often trace long bright paths across the sky. Set your alarm and enjoy the show.
THE SUN IS BOILING: The sun has been without sunspots for 12 consecutive days. Yet ... the solar disk is not featureless. On April 29th, Martin R Wise of Trenton, Florida, took a closer look and this is what he saw:
"The surface of the sun is covered with convection cells," says Wise, who used a safely-filtered 200mm telescope to resolve the structures.
The sun is so hot, it literally boils. Bumps on the boiling surface of the sun are called "convection cells" or "granules." You can find granules in your kitchen, too, in a pot of hot water boiling on the stove. One difference: While the granules on your stove are only a few centimeters across, granules on the sun are as wide as Texas.
Got it? Now you're ready for the Solar Granulation Quiz.
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A SUNSPOT IS COMING: For the past two weeks, big sunspot AR2738 has been transiting the farside of the sun. A hot spot on the sun's eastern limb today may herald its return. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image on May 3rd:
The image shows the sunspot's magnetic canopy towering over the sun's horizon. The sunspot itself will soon be visible, too, as the sun's rotation carries it over the horizon this weekend. AR2738 has produced at least one significant CME (coronal mass ejection) while it was on the sun's farside. If a similar explosion happens next week, it could be Earth directed. Stay tuned!
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
MOTHER'S DAY IS LESS THAN 2 WEEKS AWAY: Are you looking for an out-of-this world Mother's Day gift? Consider this: Every time the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch a cosmic ray balloon, they include something extra in the payload--something mom will love:
Every item in the Earth to Sky Store has flown to the edge of space and comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight. The interior of the card tells the story of the gift's journey from launch to landing. Mom-satisfaction guaranteed!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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