ALL QUIET: Despite yesterday's rapid growth of a sunspot in the sun's southern hemisphere, solar activity remains low. All of the sunspots on the solar disk have simple magnetic fields that pose no threat for strong solar flares. NOAA forecasters say the chance of an X-flare today is no more than 1%. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
LUCY SIGHTINGS: NASA's Lucy spacecraft flew past Earth yesterday so close that it skimmed the top of our planet's upper atmosphere. Debra Ceravolo saw it streaking over the southern Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada:
"I caught the spacecraft just after closest approach when it emerged from Earth's shadow," she says. "Each streak is a 15-second exposure @ ISO 1600."
This was just the first of three gravity assist maneuvers Lucy will make as it gains momentum for its trip to the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter. Lucy will be back on Dec 12, 2024, for a second flyby, and on Dec 25, 2030, for a third. Repeated visits to Earth allow Lucy to visit a record-breaking number of targets (one main belt asteroid and seven Trojan asteroids) during its 12-year mission to investigate the origins of the solar system.
Did you photograph Lucy? Submit your pictures here.
more sightings: from Scott Tilley of Roberts Creek, BC; from Patrick Wiggins of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society, Utah;
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WHERE NO ORNAMENT HAS GONE BEFORE: You cannot buy a rare Capt. Kirk space ornament on Amazon. But you can get one from the Earth to Sky Store. On Oct 9, 2022, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched Capt. Kirk to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. Here he is floating 109,620 feet high:
You can have it for $119.95. The students are selling Kirk ornaments to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Made by Hallmark in the 1990s, the ornament comes with a greeting card showing the captain of the Enterprise 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
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