PERSEID METEOR UPDATE: Earth is exiting the debris zone of Comet Swift-Tuttle, source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Despite bright moonlight, observers witnessed many Perseid fireballs when the shower peaked on Aug. 12-13. Amateur radio operators also detected unusual ionization of Earth's upper atmosphere. Perseid activity will continue at sharply diminishing levels for the next few nights. Browse: Photo Gallery.
EXPLOSION INTERRUPTS SOLAR MINIMUM: Yesterday, Aug. 13th, a completely unexpected explosion occurred on the spotless sun. Coronagraphs onboard the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) recorded a cloud of debris billowing away from the blast site:
The slow-moving cloud is *not* heading for Earth. It will sail wide of our planet and not cause a geomagnetic storm. If the blast site had been facing Earth, the story might be different. Coils of strong magnetism evident in the structure of the cloud could cause strong auroras and other effects if they made contact with Earth's magnetosphere.
Explosions like this can happen at any time--even during Solar Minimum--when magnetic fields in the sun's atmosphere occasionally become unstable and reorganize themselves. No sunspots are required. Good thing, because the sun has been without spots for 7 straight days and altogether more than 150 days so far in 2019. Solar Minimum continues, with a chance of interruptions.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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APOLLO 11 PROOF SILVER DOLLARS: The students of Earth to Sky Calculus weren't even born when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon in 1969 years ago. Nevertheless, they "get it." On July 20th, the students launched 50 Apollo 11 silver dollars to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray balloon. The coins touched the edge of space 50 years to the day after Neil and Buzz made footprints in the Sea of Tranquillity:
You can have one for $197.95. The students are selling these coins to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Quantities are limited and more than half have already been sold. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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A GREEN FRAGMENT BREAKS OFF THE SUN (NOT REALLY): On August 11th, photographer Thom Peck was watching the sun set over the hills west of Poway, California, when a green fragment broke away from the solar disk. He recorded the split using his Canon Rebel T6i digital camera snapping pictures as fast as 1/4000s:
Appearances notwithstanding, the sun is still intact. What happened? The green color of the eruption is the key clue.
"It was a green flash," explains Peck, "caused by refraction in the atmosphere."
Just on the other side of that hill lies the Pacific Ocean--and the Pacific Ocean is a great place to find green flashes. Temperature gradients in the air above the sea surface magnify tiny differences in the atmospheric refraction of red and green light, creating a verdant mirage.
Realtime Green Flash Photo Gallery
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