THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER (UPDATED): There is a smiley face on the sun today. Take a look. Formed by holes in the sun's atmosphere, the cheerful mein is spewing a triple stream of solar wind toward Earth. First contact, with auroras, could occur on Oct. 29th. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
THE TAURID SWARM IS COMING: Have you ever heard of the "Halloween Fireballs?" Astronomers call them Taurid meteors. They appear every year from late October through early November when Earth passes through a stream of debris associated with Comet 2P/Encke. Last night, Dan Bush photographed this one exploding over Albany, Missouri:
"Fireball season has arrived," says Bush. "I have caught many with my meteor camera system including this morning's Taurid Fireball above the clouds."
We're about to see a lot more of these. Forecasters believe that a swarm of Taurid meteoroids is approaching Earth, and it could double the usual rate of Halloween Fireballs.
Taurid meteors are debris from a giant comet that broke apart in the inner Solar System 10 to 20 thousand years ago. The breakup produced a mixture of dust and larger bodies that are still present today. Comet 2P/Encke itself may be just one of the fragments.
An infrared image of Comet 2P/Encke riding a trail of dusty debris from the breakup of its progenitor comet. [more]
Over the years, Jupiter's gravity has shepherded some of these meteoroids into a well-defined cloud known as the "Taurid Swarm." It visits Earth every 3 or 7 years. Previous encounters with the Swarm in 2005 and 2015 produced showers of fireballs observed around the world. In 1975 the Swarm contacted the Moon, making Apollo seismic sensors ring with evidence of objects hitting the lunar surface.
The last outburst was 7 years ago, which means 2022 could be a Swarm year. The shower peaks on Nov. 5th, but it is not a sharp maximum. The window of activity can be 2 or 3 weeks long. Watch for Taurid fireballs during the hours around local midnight. You can expect to see a few fireballs per hour streaking from the horns of Taurus--and many more if the Swarm arrives.
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AMBER BUMBLEBEE SPACE PENDANT: Bumblebees don't usually fly so high. On Oct 15, 2022, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this one to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. Here it is floating 115,158 feet above California's Sierra Nevada:
You can have it for $159.95. This bee is made of genuine Baltic Amber with a sterling silver exoskeleton. The rich Cognac-colored pendant measures 3/4 inch and comes with a matching 18-inch sterling silver chain.
The students are selling these unique pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the bumblebee 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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