SOLAR MINIMUM CONDITIONS ARE IN EFFECT: The solar disk has been blank (without sunspots) for 15 straight days. The sun's X-ray output has flatlined and geomagnetic activity is low. For now, Solar Minimum conditions are in effect. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
A CUPCAKE SUNSET WITH SPRINKLES: On Sept. 2nd, Gadi Eidelheit of Israel witnessed one sweet sunset. "It looked lake a cupcake with a green sprinkle on top," says Eidelheit, who took this picture moments before the sun vanished below the horizon:
This is a mock mirage, caused by multiple temperature inversions sandwiching layers of cool air between layers of warm. Horizontal slices within the cupcake outline the ray-bending layers. Mock mirage sunsets often end with a green flash--hence the "sprinkles."
The display didn't end with a cupcake, however. "After the cupcake, the sun briefly transformed into a rectangle and then a triangle," says Eidelheit. "It was a strange way to end the day"
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SPACE STATION SCINTILLATION: Stars twinkle. It turns out, so do spaceships. Ralf Vandebergh captured the phenomenon in this short video of the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 3rd:
"This is one of my best-ever recordings of the ISS," says Vandebergh. "I recorded the video using a 10-inch telescope in the Netherlands while manually tracking the space station across the sky."
In the video, the space station seems to be performing a dance. This is a result of scintillation--a phenomenon caused by thermal irregularities in Earth's atmosphere. As packets of relatively warm and cool air drift in front of the space station, the station's image is bent and refracted. The same air packets cause stars to twinkle.
Scintillation is a key challenge in photographing the ISS from beneath Earth's atmosphere. All of the zigs and zags tend to smear photographic exposures. Nevertheless, many astronomers have managed to do it. Browse the gallery for examples:
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CAPT. KIRK BOBBLEHEAD (COLLECTOR'S ITEM): To support their crowdfunded research program, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have launched James T. Kirk 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 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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