WHY IS ARTEMIS SO TRICKY TO LAUNCH? Blame the space shuttle. Anyone who ever attended a shuttle launch--only to have it scrubbed in the final minutes of countdown--may be feeling a sense of déjà vu watching Artemis try to get off the launch pad. The reason, explains Eric Berger in a new article for Ars Technica, is that NASA's Artemis rocket is largely cobbled together from pieces of the finicky shuttle program. Getting to the Moon might take a few more tries.
SOLAR WIND SPARKS GEOMAGNETIC STORM: As predicted, a stream of solar wind hit Earth on Sept. 4th, sparking a G2-class geomagnetic storm (now slowly subsiding). "The sky exploded with dancing shapes and pillars," reports Greg Ash of Ely, Minnesota, who photographed his son and daughter-in-law enjoying the light show:
"This is just a single image--not a composite," notes Ash. "The auroras were very visible to the naked eye."
In the USA, auroras stretched from New Hampshire to Michigan to Washington, highlighted by naked-eye pillars over Yellowstone National Park.
"It's been 7 years since I've seen the auroras this far south in Wisconsin," reports Tony Wilder, who sends this photo from Lacrosse:
"These lights were clear as day," he says.
The solar wind causing this storm is blowing faster than 600 km/s from a large hole in the sun's atmosphere. NOAA forecasters knew it was coming and successfully predicted a G2-class storm today. However, the storm is lasting longer than expected, and geomagnetic activity could persist through Sept. 5th. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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ROSE QUARTZ HEART PENDANT: Take a heart shaped piece of rose quartz. Wrap it in a sterling silver sunflower filigree. Then launch it to space. That's how you make an Earth to Sky Rose Quartz Heart Pendant. Here's one flying 107,400 feet above Earth on Aug. 26th:
You can have one for $142.95. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its trip to the edge of space. All sales support STEM science.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
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Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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