WHY DOESN'T JUPITER HAVE RINGS LIKE SATURN? Because it's bigger, Jupiter ought to have larger, more spectacular rings than Saturn. The giant planet's rings should be among the very brightest objects in the night sky of Earth. New research explains what went wrong. Jupiter's Galilean satellites destroy significant rings as soon as they form: press release.
AURORAS IN THE USA: Photographer Andrew Harvey has been wondering if he could see auroras from Oregon. The answer is "yes." On July 23rd, a CME struck Earth's magnetic field, allowing Harvey to take this picture from Mount Hood:
"It was a great show!" says Harvey. "I watched the auroras from Cooper Spur on Mt. Hood at 6813 ft elevation. Lights from the Hood River and The Dalles (the largest city in Wasco County) interfered, but during the peak of the display around midnight, I had no trouble photographing the auroras above the light pollution."
The CME's impact sparked a G1-class geomagnetic storm with photographic auroras in the USA as far south as Shenandoah National Park in Virgina. Subscribers to our Space Weather Alert Service received a "heads-up" text message 30 minutes before the CME struck, giving photographers time to dash outside and position their cameras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
more images: from Heather Tianen of Corbett, Oregon; from Marcin Grzybowski of Great Falls, Montana; from MaryBeth Kiczenski of Frankfort, Michigan; from Stephanie Graudons of Monroe, New Hampshire; from Peter Forister in theShenandoah National Park, Virginia; from Rocky Raybell at Mud Lake, Washington; from Sujay Singh of Raquette Lake, NY
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
COSMIC RAY BALLOON PHOTOGRAPHS PYROCUMULOUS CLOUDS: An extreme wildfire is burning out of control on the edge of California's Sierra National Forest. On Saturday morning, we (Spaceweather.com and Earth to Sky Calculus) photographed it from the stratosphere:
This image shows the "Oak Fire" from an altitude of 98,540 feet. At the epicenter, a pyrocumulous cloud can be seen rising more than 10,000 feet in the air. From there, a wedge of dense smoke stretches more than 60 miles across the Sierra, blanketing Mono Lake in the lower right corner.
The photo was taken by a camera onboard a cosmic ray research balloon, which we launched on July 23rd to investigate that morning's geomagnetic storm. The Oak Fire was an unexpected catch. Stay tuned for the radiation data.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
"I LOVE YOU MORE" MOONSTONE PENDANT: Nothing says "I love you" like a moonstone from space. On May 26th, this sterling silver moonstone pendant hitched a ride to the stratosphere on an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon. Here it is floating 112,201 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $142.95. The students are selling these pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Engraved with "I Love You More," it makes a great anniversary, birthday or (never too early!) Christmas gift. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the moonstone 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
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter