VENUS-MOON CONJUNCTION: Set your alarm for dawn. When the sun comes up on Saturday morning, Venus and the crescent Moon will be in conjunction, only a few degrees apart in the eastern sky. If you can, catch them just before the sun appears. A Venus-Moon conjunction framed by morning twilight is extra beautiful. Sky map: Aug. 15. Browse: Photo Gallery.
SOLAR PROMINENCE: Solar Cycle 25 is coming to life. As a result, amateur astronomers are noticing increasing numbers of prominences springing up around the edge of the sun. Martin Wise of Trenton, Florida, photographed this one yesterday:
Note: A picture of the Earth has been inserted for scale.
Prominences are clouds of hydrogen held up by solar magnetic force fields. They come in all shapes and sizes. The hole at the base of this arch is big enough for Earth to fit through. Croquet, anyone?
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NOCTILUCENT CLOUD SITUATION UPDATE: Electric-blue clouds are still circling the north pole. Looking down from Earth orbit, NASA's AIM spacecraft took this picture of the glowing ring on August 12th:
These are noctilucent clouds (NLCs). Seeded by meteor dust, NLCs form every summer when wisps of water vapor rise to the edge of space. They typically appear in late May, become widespread in June and July, then fade away in August.
The August fade is well underway. At their peak this summer, NLCs were sighted in US states as far south as Oregon, Utah, and California. Now they are mainly confined to latitudes above +70 degrees. Sky watchers in northern Europe might still catch some parting shots in the week ahead, but after that.... No one has ever seen a natural noctilucent cloud in September.
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NEED BABY YODA, YOU DO: Baby Yoda has been to the stratosphere. The future Jedi left Earth May 21st onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon. Here he is floating Force-free 107,611 feet above Earth's surface:
You can have Baby Yoda for $119.95. The students are selling these adorable bobbleheads to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. They make great birthday, Christmas, and graduation gifts. Each one comes with a greeting card showing Yoda in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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