NEW FAST-GROWING SUNSPOT: Yesterday, sunspot AR3315 was almost invisible. Today it is four times wider than Earth. The fast-growing sunspot is breaching the surface of the sun's southern hemisphere. Its rapid development could lead to explosive instabilities and solar flares. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
THE SUPERNOVA HAS REACHED ITS PEAK: If Lebron James can slow down, so can a supernova. Less than a week after it exploded into view near the Big Dipper, "new supernova SN 2023ixf in the Pinwheel Galaxy may have stopped brightening," reports Eliot Herman, who photographed the plateauing fireball on May 24th:
"Observations posted to the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) have not changed for more than 36 hours, indicating a peak magnitude of +11 +/- 0.2," he says.
Initially, experts thought this supernova might become as bright as magnitude +10 (or even better). The shortfall will tell researchers something about the star's environment, which can slow the expansion of the fireball if the star system is choked with gas.
SN 2023ixf is a Type II supernova caused by the core collapse of a massive star. A shock wave escaped the dying star on May 19th (Earth time), creating a fireball first noticed by Koichi Itagaki of Yamagata, Japan.
Magnitude +11 is far too dim to see with the unaided eye. However, it is an easy target for backyard telescopes. Considering that the supernova is 21 million light years away, it's actually pretty bright. Take a look!
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A SOLAR STORM AND THE PLEIADES: Before the launch of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 1995, astronomers had never seen anything like this. Behold, a solar storm passing directly in front of the Pleiades:
SOHO recorded this rare conjunction on May 21st. An erupting filament of magnetism near the sun's north pole propelled the CME into space just as the Seven Sisters were passing by. Electra, Taygete, Maia, Celaeno, Alcyone, Sterope, and Merope spent nearly three hours shining through the translucent solar storm.
When SOHO left Earth almost 30 years ago, it carried the first realtime coronagraph into space. Coronagraphs are devices that create an artificial eclipse, blocking the glare of the sun to reveal nearby stars, planets, and comets. No telescope on Earth could see something as faint as the Pleiades only a few degrees from the sun, but SOHO does it all the time.
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SIERRA MOONRISE PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the Sierra Moonrise Pendant. It flew to the edge of space on April 15, 2023, floating on a cosmic ray balloon 117,400 feet above the historically-snowy Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $142.95. The sterling silver pendant shows the craggy Sierra range with a full Moonstone rising overhead. It makes a great birthday, anniversary or Mother's Day gift.
The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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