QUIET SUN: Today, solar activity is low. The solar disk is peppered with sunspots, but all of them have stable magnetic fields unlikely to explode. NOAA forecasters say there is a 5% chance of M-class flares and no more than a 1% chance of X-flares on Sept. 9th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
STARLINK AURORAS: In the interior of Alaska, aurora tour guide Ronn Murray has been longing for high-speed Starlink internet. He still doesn't have the internet, but the satellites have arrived. On Sept. 2nd a bright train of Starlinks glided through the auroras outside Fairbanks:
"We saw this while taking some guests out on our aurora tour," says Murray. "It was really beautiful."
The Starlink satellites--49 of them--were launched on Aug. 31st from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. They flew over Alaska on Sept. 1st at 11 pm local time, then returned two hours later on Sept. 2nd at 1 am. "We saw them both times," says Marketa Murray, Ronn's wife and business partner. "The video is of the second flyby."
Starlink satellites are normally invisible to the naked eye. These, however, were very bright. Because the satellites had just been launched, they were still in a low orbit only 320 km high. At that altitude a Starlink can easily outshine a 1st magnitude star. Eventually the swarm will maneuver up to almost 600 km (their operational altitude) and dim accordingly.
SpaceX is launching Starlinks at a frenetic pace. A new batch of 51 just left Cape Canaveral on Sept. 5th, and another batch is set to launch on Sept. 10th. Check Heavens Above for flyby times; a bright train might be coming to your backyard.
Realtime Starlink Photo Gallery
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A PEARL FROM THE STRATOSPHERE: On Aug. 19th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the edge of space, 104,002 ft high. This sterling silver pearl necklace went along for the ride:
You can have it for $169.95. The students are selling these pearls to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each cultured "space pearl" comes with greeting card showing the necklace in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again. These make great birthday and Christmas gifts.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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