ARTEMIS I LAUNCH SCRUBBED: Today's launch of Artemis I has been scrubbed due to an issue with one of the engines: In the last seconds of the launch countdown, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen were diverted to flow around the four engines, cooling them in preparation for ignition. One of the hydrogen lines did not fully open. NASA hopes to figure out what went wrong in time for the next launch window, which opens on Sept. 2nd.
A 'CANYON OF FIRE' JUST OPENED ON THE SUN (UPDATED): Earlier today (Aug. 29 @ 1400 UT), a magnetic filament near sunspot AR3089 became unstable and erupted. Debris cut through the sun's atmosphere, forming a "canyon of fire."
The walls of the canyon are 20,000 km high and 5 times as long--a chasm big enough to swallow Earth with ease. Update: We expected a CME to emerge from the blast site. However, a first look at SOHO coronagraph data suggests that the explosion might not have produced one. False alarm? Stay tuned.
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CME IMPACT SPARKS AURORAS, BUT NO STORM: As predicted, a CME grazed Earth's magnetic field during the early hours of Aug. 29th. The weak impact did not cause a geomagnetic storm, but it did shake things up enough to spark auroras around the Arctic Circle:
"I drove out as soon as I noticed the arrival of the glancing CME," reports photographer Gunjan Sinha of Saskatoon, SK, Canada. "I travelled ~20km away from the city lights, stopped and waited with my camera ready to go. Soon after that, almost the entire north half of the sky exploded with colourful auroras."
Thomas McCarty saw the display from Fairbanks, Alaska: "It was the first good show I have seen this season," he says. Pilots flying commercial jets over the North Atlantic got an eyeful as well.
There is still a slim chance that G1-class storms will develop as Earth passes through the CME's wake. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
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"I LOVE YOU MORE" OPAL: Nothing says "I love you" like jewelry from space. On June 3, 2022, this sterling silver opal pendant hitched a ride on an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight it floated 101,326 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $142.95. The opal's infinity wrap is engraved with "I Love You More." It's the perfect birthday, anniversary or (never too early!) Christmas gift for that special someone who loves space. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back.
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