INCOMING SOLAR WIND STREAM: A minor stream of solar wind is approaching Earth, and it could cause polar geomagnetic unrest when it arrives on Nov. 8th or 9th. The gaseous material is flowing from an equatorial hole in the sun's atmosphere. Auroras could appear around the Arctic Circle as the planetary K-index reaches a value of 3 or 4. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
SUNSPOT GENESIS: Yesterday, sunspot AR2895 didn't exist. Now it's bigger than Earth. This movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows sunspot genesis in action:
Each of the two dark cores is about as wide as Earth. The growing double sunspot is crackling with C-class solar flares, activity which could intensity if the region's development proceeds apace. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
WHEN IS THE NEXT VENUS-MOON CONJUNCTION? Did you miss last night's Venus-Moon conjunction? If so, mark your calendar for Dec. 6th. Here's why:
"What a beautiful sight!" says Gordon Garcia, who photographed the pair last night over Bartlett, Illinois.
Next month's conjunction will be even better. On Dec. 6th the crescent Moon will be even closer to Venus, only a fraction of a degree away, and Venus will be a crescent, too! Like the Moon, Venus has phases, and during next month's conjunction the second planet will be only 23% illuminated. Wide-field telescopic images will reveal two crescents side by side. Sky map: Dec. 6, 2021.
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VOYAGER GOLDEN RECORD ORNAMENT: This is a must-have Christmas ornament for space fans: The Voyager Golden Record. On Oct. 15th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $129.95. The 4-inch aluminum disk is imprinted with instructions intended for extraterrestrials, telling them how to play the phonographs now sailing through interstellar space onboard NASA's Voyager probes. Having touched the edge of space, it's the closest thing on Earth to an actual Golden Record.
The students are selling these unique ornaments to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the ornament in flight and extra materials decoding the markings on the disk.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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