ALL QUIET FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK: No CMEs are heading for Earth. This means geomagnetic activity should remain low for the next 3 days--unless a filament erupts. Keep reading. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
THIS FILAMENT IS ABOUT TO BLOW: A filament of magnetism more than 400,000 km long is snaking across the sun's southern hemisphere, writhing with activity. The enormous structure could blow at any moment:
Solar filaments like these are notoriously unstable. Two things can happen when they snap: (1) Debris can fall back to the surface of the sun, producing a type of explosion called a "Hyder Flare." (2) Debris can fly away from the sun, forming the core of a massive CME. Either way, Earth could be affected by the blast. Stay tuned to see what happens. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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VENUS AND JUPITER CONVERGE: If this were happening in the night sky, it would be headline astronomy news. The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, are converging for a tight conjunction. Tomorrow, they will be just a fraction of a degree apart--like a Christmas star in May. Unfortunately, it's happening in broad daylight:
The planets are converging next to the sun where the glare is blindingly bright. Only SOHO can see the show. Coronagraphs onboard the spacecraft create an artificial eclipse, revealing stars, planets and CMEs. In addition to Venus and Jupiter, the Pleiades are nearby, too.
There's a good chance the sun will emit a CME during the planets' closest approach on May 23rd. If so, we'll create a movie from the coronagraph frames. Stay tuned!
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18K GOLD TOTAL ECLIPSE PENDANT: This pendant has touched the shadow of the Moon. On April 8, 2024, during a total eclipse of the sun in Texas, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. Floating more than 118,110 feet high, the locket spent 3 minutes and 45 seconds wrapped in lunar shadow:
You can have it for $199.95. The 18K gold-plated locket is inscribed with the words "I love you to the Moon and back," and opens to hold a personal photo or other small item. It comes with a greeting card showing the locket in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space during the total eclipse.
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