LEONID METEOR SHOWER THIS WEEKEND: Earth is entering a stream of debris from Comet 55/Tempel-Tuttle, source of the annual Leonid meteor shower. Peak rates of 10 to 15 meteors/hour are expected overnight from Nov. 17th to 18th. This is a far cry from the Leonid meteor storms of 1966 and 1999-2002 when hundreds to thousands of meteors appeared. 2023 is not a great year for Leonid meteors. [Observing tips]
GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G1): A magnetic filament on the sun erupted yesterday, Nov. 16th, hurling a CME almost directly toward Earth:
NOAA forecasters say that G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible when the CME arrives on Nov. 19th. During such storms, naked-eye auroras typically fill the Arctic Circle. Fainter photographic auroras (best seen using cameras) may cross the US-Canadian border, dipping into states from New York to Washington. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
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THE COMET REPORT: Ice volcanoes on Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks erupted again this week, brightening the comet 100-fold. Previous eruptions in July and October caused the comet to sprout horns--but not this time. The expanding debris has formed a nearly perfect sphere:
"The beautiful blue/green coma developing around this exploding comet looks very similar to the 17P/Holmes event in October 2007," says photographer David Strange of Salcombe Regis, Devon, UK.
Indeed, it looks a lot like 17P/Holmes. Sixteen years ago, a cavern of ice beneath the surface of that comet abruptly sublimated, brightening it a million-fold. Comet 17P/Holmes was visible to the naked eye for months. 12P isn't there yet--and may never be--but at 9th magnitude it is an easy target for backyard telescopes. Monitoring is encouraged! [sky map]
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OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD STOCKING STUFFER: This Christmas stocking stuffer has touched space. Make it Soap! Scented like Earl Grey tea, this bar of soap flew 117,749 feet above the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains of central California onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon:
You can have it for $49.95. The students of Earth to Sky are selling space soap to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each bar comes with a greeting card showing the soap in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. Spock soap is available, too!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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