NEW CYCLE PROTO-SUNSPOT (UPDATE): That didn't last long. A new-cycle sunspot in the sun's northern hemisphere (right here) is decaying only hours after it appeared. This is typical of sunspots during Solar Minimum. They tend to be short-lived with many, like this one, not persisting long enough to receive an official number. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
COMET NEOWISE MEETS A NOCTILUCENT CLOUD: When European astronomers woke up Monday morning to photograph Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3), they saw something they didn't expect. The sunrise comet was surrounded by noctilucent clouds. Robert Barsa video-recorded the encounter from Lubietova, Slovakia:
Talk about perfect timing. Barsa chose to photograph Comet NEOWISE during a major outbreak of noctilucent clouds. "The comet was drowning in them," says Barsa. "I could easily see the comet with my naked eye as it rose over Dumbier Peak in the Low Tatras Mountains. It was stunning."
The silvery ripples in Barsa's video are tendrils of frosted meteor smoke. Many of the meteoroids that seed noctilucent clouds come from comets. Barsa captured both phenomena in a single, very rare timelapse. (Remarkably, Michael Jaeger recorded a similar video from Jauerling, Austria, on the same morning.)
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
THE TAIL OF COMET NEOWISE: "Today (July 7) is my 4th day of observing and photographing Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3)," reports Fred Espenak of Portal, Arizona. "In spite of the thin haze along the horizon, the comet shown though and displayed a dust tail stretching 3 degrees in 7x40 binoculars." He took this picture from a neighbor's ranch:
"Today was the first day that I can truly say that the comet was visible to the naked eye 100% of the time even though the sky and landscape were illuminated by a bright, nearly full Moon," he adds.
Chris Schur saw even more of the comet's tail from Payson, Arizona. "I was able to see at least 5 degrees of tail through my binoculars," says Schur. "The comet was super easy to see, with maybe 3 degrees of tail visible to the naked eye." For comparison, the bowl of the Big Dipper is about 10 degrees wide.
Comet NEOWISE is now a worldwide sensation. It will remain a morning comet for the next ~week, then, by mid-month, shift to evening skies where casual star gazers can see it without waking at the crack of dawn. Sky maps: July 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
Realtime Comet NEOWISE Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
THE INFINITY BLACK PEARL: It came from Tahiti--and now it's been to the edge of space. On April 15, 2020, this genuine Black Tahitian South Sea Cultured Pearl flew to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon, soaring 107,611 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $249.95. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling these exotic space pearls to fund their cosmic ray monitoring program.
Measuring 9 mm in diameter, the pearl is mounted on a 925 sterling silver infinity twist and suspended on a matching 17 inch long sterling silver chain. Each pearl comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter