GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G1): A geomagnetic storm watch remains in effect this weekend as we wait for an incoming CME to graze Earth's magnetic field. A glancing blow on Sept. 24th could spark minor G1-class geomagnetic storms with auroras around the Arctic Circle. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
OSIRIS-REX PHOTO BALLOON: Success! NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule, carrying pieces of asteroid Bennu, safely landed at the Utah Test and Training Range today at 8:52 a.m. MDT. Just before the capsule re-entered Earth's atmosphere, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a high-altitude balloon equipped with cameras to photograph the re-entry:
The balloon traveled to the stratosphere above the capsule's ground track in eastern Nevada, and it was aloft when the blazing hot capsule streaked overhead. There's no guarantee we caught the fireball. So much depends on lucky camera angles and the uncertain brightness of the capsule's glowing heat shield. It may take a few days to find out. The payload landed in a remote mountainous area that is non-trivial to access. A recovery team is planning the route now. Stay tuned.
A NEW SOURCE OF FLARES (UPDATED): Suddenly, AR3445 is crackling with activity. The mixed-polarity sunspot has produced multiple M-class flares this weekend, including this M4-category explosion on Sept.24th (0328 UT):
A flash of extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout over Australia: map. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 25 MHz for as much as 30 minutes after the flare.
Update: Newly-arriving SOHO coronagraph images show no significant CME resulting from this event. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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SOLAR ECLIPSE PENDANT: The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are about to try something never done before--to photograph the shadow of an annular solar eclipse from the stratosphere. On Oct. 14th, they'll launch a cosmic ray research balloon equipped with cameras to photograph the shadow zone of an eclipse over Nevada. You can support the flight by buying a Solar Eclipse Pendant:
It's yours for $99.95. The students launched this pendant on July 17th. Floating at an altitude 105,000 feet above Earth’s surface, it made contact with space, experiencing temperatures as low as -63 C.
Buy the pendent now and for no additional charge we will fly it back to the stratosphere during the annular eclipse. Just make a note in the COMMENTS BOX of your shopping cart: "Fly my pendant again!"
Note: We have photographed the shadow of an eclipse before. Here's what the total eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, looked like from the stratosphere over the Nebraska-Wyoming border:
Total eclipses make deep black shadows, in this case blacking out more than 70 miles of terrain. What does the shadow of an *annular* eclipse look like? We hope to find out. It should be fuzzier around the edges, and not nearly as dark in the middle. An overview from the stratosphere could provide a unique picture.
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