CME MINI-IMPACTS POSSIBLE THIS WEEK: The sun produced a flurry of CMEs on April 25th and 26th. None of them was Earth-directed, but one or two *might* deliver glancing blows to Earth's magnetic field later this week. The most likely date of impact would be April 30th. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
COMING SOON, A TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON: Mark your calendar. On May 26th, the full Moon will pass through the shadow of Earth producing a total lunar eclipse. For 14 and a half minutes, the disk of the Moon will turn orange--the same color as the core of our planet's shadow.
Other time zones: UT, CDT, MDT, PDT, AKDT, HDT. Credit: Larry Koehn.
The eclipse will be visible from Antarctica, Australia, parts of Asia and the Americas: World Map. In the USA, the best place to be is near the west coast, where the eclipse will unfold in its entirety before sunrise. The low-hanging Moon will look extra big and beautiful because of the Moon Illusion. On the east coast, the eclipse will not be visible at all: USA Map.
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FIRST SIGHTINGS OF VENUS: The Evening Star is back. Almost. Venus is emerging from the glare of the sun after crossing over from the morning sky earlier this month. Peter Lowenstein sends this sunset animation from Mutare, Zimbabwe:
"Venus was surrounded by bright twilight as it closely followed the sun below the horizon," says Lowenstein. "I took the pictures using a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS40 camera in sunset mode with 60x optical zoom magnification."
Soon, Venus will move all the way into the night sky. By late May, almost everyone will be able to see it in deepening twilight, and Venus will remain visible for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, check out these other first sightings from Germany, Romania, and Brazil.
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MOTHER'S DAY IS MAY 9TH: Are you looking for an out-of-this world Mother's Day gift? Consider this: Every time the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch a cosmic ray balloon, they include something extra in the payload--something Mom will love:
Every item in the Earth to Sky Store has flown to the edge of space and comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight. The interior of the card tells the story of the gift's journey from launch to landing. Mom-satisfaction guaranteed!
Mother's Day Special: Use coupon code "SPACEMOM" at checkout for a 10% discount. Offer valid from now until Mother's Day (May 9, 2021) .
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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