MERCURY AND THE PLEIADES: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Mercury is in conjunction with the Pleiades star cluster. Observers using a 589 nm sodium filter may be able to photograph Mercury's comet-like tail, which is unusually bright right now. Sky maps: May 1, May 2
X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Perfect. Timing. "A first glance through my solar telescope yesterday provided a stunning suprise - a huge eruption," says Alan Friedman of Buffalo, New York. "I inserted a camera quickly and caught this remnant of an X-class solar flare."
Friedman's observing session coincided with one of the biggest flares in years--an X1-category explosion on April 30th @ 1347UT. The source was departing sunspot AR2994; it blew its top shortly after it rotated onto the farside of the sun.
Even with the sunspot completely hidden, the explosion still produced enough radiation for a strong shortwave radio blackout over the mid-Atlantic Ocean and Europe: map. Signals below 30 MHz were attentuated for nearly an hour.
Coronagraph images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) confirm that the explosion hurled a CME into space: movie. The CME will not hit Earth--a result of the sunspot's farside location. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
PARTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: Yesterday, the new Moon passed in front of the sun over South America, producing a partial solar eclipse. Joerg Schoppmeyer watched the crescent-shaped sun set into the Pacific Ocean from Vina del Mar, Chile:
The shape of the sun was altered not only by the eclipse, but also by temperature inversions near the sea surface, which created strange mirages. "The eclipsed sunset was incredible!" says Schoppmeyer.
more images: from Esmeralda Sosa of Rosario, Argentina; from Patricio Leon of Santiago, Chile; from Erwin Enrique Sandoval of Coyhaique,Chile; from Petr Horálek at San Pedro de Atacama, Chile;
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
MOTHER'S DAY IS MAY 8TH: 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 8, 2022) .
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter