THE PERSEID METEOR SHOWER DOUBLES: Last night, NASA all-sky cameras recorded 59 Perseid fireballs over the USA, doubling the total from the night before. This is a sign that Earth is moving deeper into the debris stream of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. The meteor shower is expected to peak between Aug. 11th and 13th. The best time to look is during the hours before local sunrise when the constellation Perseus is high in the sky. Sky maps: Aug. 11, 12, 13. Live: Perseid Counts.
Malcolm Park sends this report from Bloomfield, Ontario: "Last night I captured an early Perseid when, just as it was getting dark, a bright fireball flashed over the lake. My camera was pointing in the right spot!"
"It was hot and muggy even after the sun went down, with lots of haze on the horizon, but this Perseid was so bright it didn't matter," says Park. "The meteor's lovely colors ranged from blue at the start, to green, pale yellow and then red--a beauty!"
Realtime Perseid Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
SOMETHING IN THE OFFING: Amateur astronomers with solar telescopes, train your optics on the sun's southeastern limb. Something is about to happen there. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has detected an active region just over the horizon:
The magnetic loops shown in this image could be the magnetic canopy of an active sunspot. Its high southern latitude suggests it comes from new Solar Cycle 25. Whatever it is, we shall soon see. The sun's rotation will turn the region toward Earth in the next 24-48 hours. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
A BLACK PEARL IN THE STRATOSPHERE: It came from Tahiti--and now it's been to the edge of space. On Feb. 27, 2020, this genuine Black Tahitian South Sea Cultured Pearl flew to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon, soaring more than 100,000 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $199.95. The students are selling these exotic space pearls to fund their cosmic ray monitoring program. Measuring 10 mm in diameter, the pearl has an 18K white gold clasp and is suspended from a matching 925 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
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter