NEXT WEEK: A LUNAR ECLIPSE! On May 26th, the full Moon will pass through the shadow of Earth, producing a total lunar eclipse visible from parts of Asia, Antarctica, Australia and the Americas. 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. In the USA, this will be a crack-of-dawn event visible from the western half of the country. Visibility maps: World, USA. How to: Photograph the Lunar Eclipse.
SLEEPING SUNSPOT WAKES UP: Interrupting almost a week of quiet, sunspot AR2824 finally erupted on May 21st at 1928 UT. The C4.8-class flare produced a flash of extreme ultraviolet radiation recorded by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
Minutes later, a pulse of UV and X-radiation ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere. This, in turn, caused a minor radio blackout over North America and parts of the Pacific Ocean: map. Ham radio operators, aviators and mariners might have noticed unusual propagation at frequencies below ~20 MHz.
We don't yet know if this explosion produced a coronal mass ejection. Stay tuned for updates as coronagraph data from SOHO arrive in the hours ahead. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
SOLAR CONJUNCTION OF THE PLEIADES: Are you looking for the Pleiades? Don't. It will only hurt your eyes. The Seven Sisters are in conjunction with the sun, high overhead at noon. This short video from SOHO (the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) shows the star cluster passing by the sun on May 21st:
The Pleiades pass by the sun every year around this time. Human eyes cannot see the close encounter, but SOHO can. Onboard coronagraphs use an opaque disk to block the glare of the sun, revealing nearby stars, asteroids, comets and, in this case, star clusters. Coronagraphs are designed to monitor coronal mass ejections (CMEs), but since the launch of SOHO in 1995 they have proven useful for so much more.
The Pleiades will be gliding by the sun for some days to come. Join SOHO for a ringside seat.
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WHISKEY STONES FROM SPACE: It's the gift for the person who has everything: Whisky Stones from Space. These granite cubes have experienced the cold of the stratosphere, more than 50 degrees below zero! Put them in your cup for an truly out of this world drink:
You can have a set of 9 cubes for $99.95 (glass not included). The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling whiskey stones to support their cosmic ray monitoring program. The ones picture above flew to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon on April 23, 2021, reaching an altitude of 97,543 feet.
Refrigerated whiskey stones cool a drink without diluting it, solving the problem of ordinary melting ice cubes. They make great Father's Day and birthday gifts. All stones come with a greeting card showing the cubes in flight.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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