THE FORECAST CALLS FOR QUIET: There are three sunspots on the sun today, but all three have stable magnetic fields that pose little threat for strong solar flares. Solar activity is low and likely to remain so for the next 24 to 48 hours. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
ONE WEEK UNTIL THE LUNAR ECLIPSE: Next Friday, Nov. 19th, the full Moon will glide through the shadow of Earth, producing an almost-total lunar eclipse. All but a tiny sliver of the full Moon will turn sunset red during the 3 1/2 hour event:
More time zones: EST, CST, MST, PST, HST. Credit: ShadowandSubstance.com
Most of the globe will experience at least a touch of the eclipse. Check out your own location in this visibility map. North America and islands in the Pacific are favored. From those locations, the entire eclipse will be visible from beginning to end.
Technically, this is a partial eclipse, but it will be exquisitely close to total. Eclipse expert Fred Espenak writing for EarthSky.org notes that "at the instant of greatest eclipse ... the Moon’s southern limb will lie only 0.8 arcminutes outside the edge of Earth's umbral shadow. This is an extraordinary test case for a marginally partial eclipse."
Photographs taken at that moment may have a "diamond ring" quality, with a sliver of full-Moon brightness shining from only one side of the shadowed disk. We'll find out in one week. Stay tuned.
Realtime Eclipse Photo Gallery
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STRANGE SUNSET: Two days ago, a cold front swept through Hong Kong. Photographer Schindler Leung knew just what to do: Go to the beach. This is what he saw when he got there:
"The shape of the setting sun was very strange," says Leung.
Blame the cold front. When the weather system swept through the area, cold air was pressed against warmer air hugging the water's surface. At the interface, a sharp gradient in temperature produced an inferior mirage. This is sometimes called an "omega sunset," for obvious reasons.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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HUMMINGBIRD-SUNFLOWER PENDANT: This pendant has a secret compartment--and it has touched the edge of space. On Nov. 4, 2021, our Sterling Silver Hummingbird-Sunflower Pendant flew to the stratosphere on board an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon:
You can have it for $133.95. Inscribed on the back with "Always on my mind, Forever in my heart," each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space. These make great Christmas gifts.
Bonus: The pendant contains a tiny chamber, which you may fill with the ashes of a loved one or anything else you wish to keep close to your heart.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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