POSSIBLE CME IMPACTS THIS WEEK: Yesterday, a mish-mash of overlapping CMEs billowed away from the sun. Some were faint, one was bright and possibly farsided. If any of them are Earth-directed--and that's a big IF--they would probably arrive on June 29th. Stay tuned. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Over the weekend, the crescent Moon passed by Venus in the eastern pre-dawn sky. Overslept? This is what you missed:
"The Moon rose accompanied by Venus during the early morning here in Morón de la Frontera," says photographer Jordi L. Coy of Sevilla, Spain. "The orange color is not due to light pollution, it is the first light before dawn."
The conjunction marked the apex of this month's rare morning sky show. All 5 naked-eye planets are lined up in the dawn sky in order of their distance from the sun--with the Moon snuggled up to Venus on June 26th.
more images: from Bill Williams of the Chiefland Astro Village, Florida; from Dr. Ski of Valencia, Negros Oriental, Philippines; from Ryszard Gorell of Perth, Western Australia; from Matthew Chin of Yuen Long, Hong Kong; from Fausto Lubatti of Mediglia, Lombardy, Italy
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MIDSUMMER AURORAS: Normally, summer is not a good time of year to see Northern Lights. Nights are short and barely dark enough to reveal the delicate glow of geomagnetic activity. Yet, on June 26th, there it was:
"Wow, talk about surprises!" says photographer Harlan Thomas of Calgary, Alberta. "I went out to shoot Comet C/2017 K2 Panstarrs and the Moon-Venus conjunction when these auroras appeared. The display lasted all of 5 minutes, and what a 5 min show it was as the aurora became naked eye with beautiful pillars."
What caused the display? A co-rotating interaction region (CIR) hit Earth. CIRs are transition zones between slow- and fast-moving streams of solar wind. They contain strong magnetic fields and shock waves that do a good job sparking auroras--even during summer. The impact of this CIR caused a G1-class geomagnetic storm that lasted 6 hours. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
more images: from Philip Granrud of Kalispell, Montana; from Kevin Nielsen of Twisp, Washington; from Scott Butner of Benton City, Washington
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STERLING SILVER RAINBOW DRAGONFLY (GOLDEN HEART): Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider a rainbow dragonfly from the edge of space. On June 3, 2022, this sterling silver pendant hitched a ride onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $172.95. The dragonfly's heart is a golden Celtic love knot, and its wings are decorated with a spray of rainbow-colored crystals. The students are selling dragonfly pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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