POSSIBLE EARTH-DIRECTED CME (UPDATED): Yesterday, April 15th around 10:30 UT, a magnetic filament on the sun exploded. The twisting blast hurled a CME into space which, at first, looked like it might be heading for Earth. However, NOAA analysts have determined that it will miss. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
A BLUE SPIRAL OVER ALASKA: Longtime aurora hunter Todd Salat is no stranger to fantastic displays in the night skies of Alaska. But even he was not prepared for what happened after local midnight on Saturday, April 15th.
"I was utterly surprised and mystified when I first spotted a distant bright light coming toward me from the northern horizon," says Salat. "At first I thought it was a jet airliner flying through some clouds. Then it took on the spiral shape and grew big fast!" This is what he saw:
"I was shooting frantically with two camera/tripod set-ups knowing that this was a unique event and within about seven minutes the 'apparition' swept by and disappeared. It was spellbinding! For the past two nights I had been photographing auroras over this dome (Donnelly Dome) and hoping to catch something special. I got my wish!"
Salat witnessed a "SpaceX spiral." Three hours earlier (Saturday, April 15th at 0648 UT), SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base. It carried 51 small satellites to Earth-orbit, a mission known as Transporter-7. When the rocket's discarded upper stage passed over Alaska, it vented its unused fuel. A bit of spin turned the harmless cloud into a spectacular spiral.
An all-sky camera at the University of Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range also recorded the phenomenon:
The spiral appears about halfway through the video at the 09:50 UT mark. Even though you know it's coming, it's still a shock when it zooms through the field of view.
As strange and rare as it appears, the spiral is a routine by-product of SpaceX operations. Similar blue swirls have been seen after many Falcon 9 launches including this one over New Zealand, another over east Africa, and two more above Hawaii. One could soon come to a sky near you.
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STORM TROOPER WHISKEY GLASS: If you like your drink cold--really cold--this glass is for you. It has flown to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight (117,109 ft), the temperature was a frosty -63C:
You can have it for $99.95. This double-walled whiskey glass is cast from one of the original molds for Storm Trooper helmets used in Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977. Made of high quality borosilicate, the glass is thin, hard and lead-free. It makes a great Christmas gift for Star Wars fans.
The glass comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight, and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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