GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY: Intermittent G1-class geomagnetic storms are happening today as Earth enters a stream of solar wind flowing from a cheerful hole in the sun's atmosphere. Arctic sky watchers should remain alert for auroras this weekend. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
A BLUE CLOUD ON MARS: Mars is supposed to be red. But when amateur astronomer Thomas Williamson looked on Oct. 26th, he saw a different color. "The north pole was electric blue," he says.
Williamson photographed the North Polar Hood, a giant cloud of water ice that forms over the Martian north pole during winter. Why blue? That's the color of sunlight scattered from very tiny crystals of ice (smaller than the wavelength of light itself) floating in the cloud.
"Mars was amazing through my binoviewers on my 12.5-inch f/5.1 Newtonian at about 400x!" says Williamson. "I'm looking forward to the next few weeks as Mars increases in apparent size."
Indeed, the view is about to improve. Mars is approaching Earth for a close encounter on Dec. 1, 2022. Between now and then, Mars will double in brightness to magnitude -1.9 (brighter than Sirius) and increase in size to 17.2 arcseconds. Look for the Red Planet and its blue hood rising in the east after sunset in the constellation Taurus: sky map.
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ASTEROID DIMORPHOS IS MOVING NORTH: This is the moment northern astronomers have been waiting for. On Oct. 22nd, asteroid Dimorphos crossed the celestial equator, exiting the south and putting the wounded asteroid in range of northern telescopes. "I decided to check it out for myself this weekend," says Bill Williams of the Chiefland Astro Village in Florida.
Asteroid Dimorphos photographed by Bill Williams using a 14.5-inch RCOS telescope
"I almost fell off my chair as the images of the asteroid with its beautiful tail downloaded," says Williams. "It was moving so fast that I had to limit my exposures to one minute. When I stacked 23 of the exposures to enhance signal to noise, I believe I detected a bifurcation in the tail first seen by the Hubble Space Telescope weeks ago! For the first time in history, the human race has altered the appearance of a celestial object--and you can see it from your own backyard!"
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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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