SOLAR MINIMUM CONDITIONS ARE IN EFFECT: The sun has been without spots for 19 consecutive days--almost 3 full weeks. Many people think Solar Minimum is uninteresting. Not so. This phase of the solar cycle brings extra cosmic rays, long-lasting holes in the sun's atmosphere, and a possible surplus of noctilucent clouds. Aurora Alerts: SMS text, email.
WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE GREAT RED SPOT? The biggest storm in the solar system is shrinking. Since mid-May, Jupiter's Great Red Spot has contracted a startling 3000 km, reducing the size of the anti-cyclone by more than 20%. This 10-day movie created by Marco Vedovato of the JUPOS Project shows what's happening:
Enormous rivulets of red gas are streaming away from the storm as it spins. "This is something we've never seen before," says Vedovato, who assembled the animation by stitching together images from nearly a dozen amateur astronomers.
Experienced observers say the storm is "getting a new shape every day" in a "dramatic metamorphasis" as the Red Spot "appears to be unravelling."
Consider it a case of perfect timing. Jupiter is about to make its annual closest approach to Earth--"only" 641 million km away on June 12th. Proximity makes the planet big and bright, shining almost four times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Astrophotographers are therefore getting a fantastic view of the GRS.
Jupiter rising over Bluff, Utah. Photo credit: Paul Martini
"The JUPOS Project manages the largest Jupiter database in the world," says Vedovato. "So far we have collected more than 1 million measurements, including old images and drawings from the 18th century, allowing us to plot very precise trends in the Great Red Spot." This plot, for instance, shows the sudden decrease in the storm's diameter since early May.
Observing tips: Finding Jupiter is easy. Because the giant planet is at opposition, it rises in the east at sunset and stays up all night long. The best time to look is around local midnight when Jupiter is hanging relatively high in the southern sky. Even small telescopes will reveal the planet's oblate disk and stormy cloud belts. And Jupiter's 4 largest moons can be seen using no more than handheld binoculars: sky map.
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GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: What do you get the dad who has everything? Consider a gift from the edge of space! Every item in the Earth to Sky Store has flown to the top of Earth's atmosphere onboard a cosmic ray balloon, and they're all 10% off between now and Father's Day (June 16th).
Each gift comes with a unique greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. Cosmic ray data collected during the flights form a unique record of radiation in Earth's atmosphere--100% gathered and analyzed by young scientists. All sales support the students and their high-altitude ballooning program. Thanks!
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STARLINK VS. ASTRONOMY: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.... a star exploded. Light from the supernova reached Earth in May 2019 following a journey of 110 million years across the cosmos. Astronomers saw it--a tiny bloom of light on the edge of lenticular galaxy NGC5353--and immediately began to monitor its light curve. Then this happened:
Bill Williams of the Chiefland Astronomy Village in Florida created the composite image. "It shows my photo of the supernova on May 15th (left), one week before the launch of SpaceX's Starlink satellites, alongside a similar photo taken at the Lowell Observatory after the launch (right)," explains Williams. The difference is, Starlink ruined the Lowell Observatory image.
SN2019ein is a Type 1a supernova. It happened when matter from one star fell onto another--a nearby white dwarf, pushing the mass of the dwarf over the threshold for a supernova explosion. This special kind of supernova is a "standard candle," which cosmologists have used to show that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Monitoring the light curves of Type 1a supernova literally helps us understand the fate of the cosmos.
"To me, as a dedicated observer of the night sky for over 50 years and an avid underwater photographer, satellite megaconstellations such as Starlink are the equivalent of polluting our oceans with plastics," notes Williams. "I hope we take every measure possible to mitigate the effects of satellite light pollution of our night skies."
The International Astronomical Union seems to agree. Read their statement here.
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