SpaceWeather.com Archive — Fri, Jul 5, 2019

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A STREAM OF SOLAR WIND: Earth is entering a stream of solar wind flowing from a hole in the sun's atmosphere. Wind speeds could reach 550 km/s (1.2 million mph) on July 5th, according to NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft, which encountered the stream last week. High latitude sky watchers should be alert for auoras, especially in the southern hemisphere where winter darkness favors visibility. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.

SOLAR ECLIPSE PHOTOGRAPHED FROM THE MOON: While millions of people enjoyed a spectacular view of Tuesday's total eclipse in Chile and Argentina, only one lonely satellite watched it from the Moon. China's Longjiang-2 microsat was flying over the farside of the Moon when the eclipse began. Earth popped over the horizon just in time for these remarkable shots:

The circular dark spot is the Moon's shadow, plunging the ground below into the kind of cool, otherworldly darkness that only happens during a solar eclipse. People on the outskirts of the shadow witnessed a partial eclipse. People in the inky-black core experienced totality.

Built at the Harbin Institute of Technology in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the 47-kg microsatellite was sent into space on May 21, 2018, together with the Chang'e-4 lunar probe's relay satellite "Queqiao." Longjiang-2's main camera, a tiny CMOS device weighing only 20 grams, has been photographing the farside of the Moon ever since. These rare photos of the eclipse are bringing an end to its mission, however. Chinese controllers plan to de-orbit Longjiang-2 at the end of the month, crashing it into the Moon.

Realtime Solar Eclipse Photo Gallery
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APOLLO 11 PROOF SILVER DOLLAR To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, the United States Mint has created a commemorative 2019 Proof Silver Dollar. We decided to celebrate even more by flying the coins to the edge of space. On June 23rd, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this 99.9% silver dollar 102,034 feet above Earth's surface:

You can have it for $197.95. The students are selling the coins to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. The silver dollar is curved and reproduces the helmet of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Reflected in Buzz's visor are Neil Armstrong, the United States flag, and the lunar lander. The opposite side of the coin shows Neil's iconic footprint on the Moon. Each of these coins comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and a certificate of authenticity.