ARCTIC AURORA WATCH: Arctic sky watchers should be alert for auroras on Feb. 22nd. A minor stream of solar wind is buffeting Earth's magnetic field. The gas pressure is not strong enough to cause a full-fledged geomagnetic storm, but photographic auroras could appear around local midnight. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
CARIBBEAN BOLIDE: On Feb. 21st, a small space rock hit Earth's atmosphere and exploded over the Caribbean. Although the impact did not occur directly over Puerto Rico, cameras there had no trouble seeing the explosion. Frankie Lucena recorded this footage from Cabo Rojo, PR:
"The sky lit up brightly when the meteor hit," says Lucena. "The flash came from the direction of the Dominican Republic."
Indeed, he continues, "the GOES16 Group Energy Density image shows that it exploded over the Dominican Republic at 07:30 UTC (Feb. 21st):
"There is a good chance of finding some meteorites on land in the Dominican Republic," says Lucena.
If more information about this event becomes available, we will post it here. Stay tuned.
Update: The fireball was so bright, many cameras recorded the flash. "One of our hurricane Nest cams in St. John USVI also captured the event," report Mark Sudduth and Brent Lynn from the US Virgin Islands. An all-sky camera operated by the Sociedad de Astronomia del Caribe in Puerto Rico also saw it.
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A GIFT FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Every time the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch cosmic ray sensors to the stratosphere, they send a little something extra along for the ride. For example, this Northern Lights pendant:
On Dec. 6, 2019, it flew 107,612 feet above the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains of central California.
You can have it for $129.95. The students are selling these pendants as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray monitoring program. They make great anniversary, birthday and Mother's Day gifts. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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