ASTEROID FLYBY TOMORROW: On Sept. 1st, asteroid 2011 ES4 will fly through the Earth-Moon system only 72,000 miles from Earth--close, but there is no danger of a collision. The space rock is 30 meters in diameter. For comparison, that's about the same size as the famous Chelyabinsk meteor of 2013, which broke windows and knocked down parts of buildings in six Russian cities when it exploded in the atmosphere east of the Ural Mountains. Maybe next time.
GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY IS PICKING UP: For the past three days, Earth's polar magnetic field has been in a simmering state of unrest, bookended by minor G1-class geomagnetic storms on August 28th and 31st. As a result, Arctic skies are coming alive with auroras. Kristin Berg sends this picture from Tromsø, Norway:
"With the approach of autumn, our skies are growing dark enough to see auroras again," says Berg. "These were our first of the season--a beautiful display!"
The reason for the geomagnetic activity is solar wind. Since last week, Earth has been dipping in and out of windy streams blowing ~500 km/s from holes in the sun's atmosphere. The buffeting is expected to continue at least through Sept. 2nd.
Around the Arctic Circle, this is a special time, the transition from summer to autumn when aurora-green often mixes with twilight-blue. Berg's photo is a beautiful example--one of many we received over the weekend. Stay tuned for more as the change in season continues. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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CAPT. KIRK BOBBLEHEAD (COLLECTOR'S ITEM): Where Spock goes, Kirk must follow. To support their crowdfunded research program, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the Captain of the Enterprise to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray balloon. Note the moon over Kirk's shoulder in this photo taken 36 km (118,100 ft) above Earth's surface:
You can have him for $170.10. The price, in case you're wondering, is the serial number of the Enterprise, NCC1701, divided by 10. The students are selling Kirk to buy more helium! He comes with a greeting card showing the high-quality resin bobblehead in flight and telling the story of his journey to the stratosphere and back again.
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