METEORS FROM HALLEY'S COMET--UPDATE: Earth is exiting a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual eta Aquariid meteor shower. According to observers with the International Meteor Organization, the shower peaked on May 4th with nearly 40 meteors/hr. Because Halley's debris stream is broad, rates won't drop to zero right away. Instead, meteors will be visible at reduced rates for a few nights to come. [Live Meteor Counts]
ACTIVE SUNSPOT: Big sunspot AR2740 is turning toward Earth and crackling with low-level solar flares. The most intense so far registered C2 on the Richter Scale of Solar Flares. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the explosion on May 4th:
Although this was a relatively minor flare, it did affect Earth. Extreme ultraviolet radiation briefly ionized the top of our planet's atmosphere, producing a brownout of shortwave radio signals over the Pacific Ocean: map. Frequencies affected were mainly below 10 MHz. Ships at sea and ham radio operators may have noticed the disturbance Saturday, May 4th, around 22:43 UT.
This sunspot is a big one (especially considering that we are in a deep solar minimum). It is twice as wide as Earth, making it an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. Shahrin Ahmad of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, took this picture on May 5th:
"I was able to see this big sunspot despite bad seeing (2/5)," says Ahmad. "It's incredible for this sunspot to have survived so long!"
Indeed, this is the second time AR2740 has circled the sun. We saw it for the first time in April when it strafed Earth with loud shortwave radio bursts. Now it's back, still big and intact, following a 2-week trip around the farside of the sun.
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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!
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