LUCY FLYBY ADDED TO HEAVENS ABOVE: Tracking data for NASA's Lucy spacecraft has been added to Heavens Above, allowing potential observers to calculate local flyby times. People in western Australia are best positioned to catch the spacecraft's atmosphere-skimming flyby.
GEOMAGNETIC UNREST: Earth's magnetic field is disturbed today as our planet moves into a high-speed stream of solar wind. A minor G1-class geomagnetic storm broke out during the early hours of Oct. 15th, then quickly subsided. Minor storm conditions could recur throughout the day. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
SUNDIVING COMET AND CME: By the time you finish reading this, the sun will have one less comet. On Oct. 15th, SOHO coronagraohs caught a Kreutz sungrazer diving into the sun just as a bright CME was leaving. Click to set the scene in motion:
The CME was *not* caused by the comet. It was hurled into space by a magnetic filament eruption in the sun's southern hemisphere (movie) while the comet was still far away. NOAA analysts are looking at the CME now to see if it might graze Earth's magnetic field in a few days.
Kreutz sungrazers are fragments from the breakup of a single giant comet many centuries ago. They get their name from 19th century German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz, who studied them in detail. Kreutz fragments pass by the sun and disintegrate almost every day; SOHO has seen thousands of them. Most, measuring less than a few meters across, are too small to see, but occasionally a bigger fragment like this one attracts attention.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
IMPERIAL STORM TROOPER WHISKEY DECANTER: It's the perfect gift for a Star Wars fan--a Storm Trooper Whiskey Decanter from the edge of space. On Oct. 10th, it hitched a ride onboard a cosmic ray research balloon floating 106,066 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $166.95. The 750 ml decanter comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight, and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. All purchases from the Earth to Sky Store help pay the helium bill for our student ballooning program.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter