CME STRIKE SPARKS AURORAS IN THE USA: As predicted, a CME grazed Earth's magnetic field on June 3rd (2300 UT). The glancing blow sparked a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm with a brief display of auroras over Wisconsin:
"While I was capturing images of the Milky Way I glanced to the north and saw these auroras low on the horizon," reports photographer Jim Peacock. "Sadly, they did not last long."
The storm is over now and, until the next big flare, no more CMEs are heading our way. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
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THE ANTI-TAIL OF COMET 12P (UPDATED): Comet tails are supposed to point *away* from the sun. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks just sprung a tail in the opposite direction--an anti-tail. It's the narrow spike pointing toward the sun in this picture taken June 3rd by amateur astronomers Michael Jäger, Gerald Rhemann and Lukas Demetz:
Anti-tails are an optical illusion. They appear when Earth passes through a comet's orbital plane, which, for Comet 12P, is happening this week. During the crossing, the sharp edge of the comet's fan-shaped dust tail appears to point toward the sun.
"Earth crosses the comet's orbital plane on June 6th, so we will see this 'neck-line' structure for several more days," says Jäger.
Comet 12P (magn. +7) is not visible to the naked eye, but it is an easy target for amateur telescopes. Southern hemisphere astronomers can find the comet in the constellation Lepus about 20 degrees below the celestial equator. The antitail will narrow in the days ahead, reaching maximum sharpness on June 6th. If you see it, submit your photos here.
more images: from Giovanni Pesenti of Chacras Porvenir, Uruguay; from Daelman David of Rooisand Desert Ranch, Namibia
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RARE LT. UHURA MUG (COLLECTOR'S ITEM):You can't buy this on Amazon. Only the Earth to Sky Store has the rare Lt. Uhura Coffee Mug. Like the great translator of Star Trek, it has been to space:
This 16 oz. ceramic mug featuring the face of Nichelle Nichols has flown to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon. At the apex of the flight, it floated 92,192 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California.
You can have it for $170.10 (the serial number of the Enterprise divided by 10). It comes with a greeting card showing the mug in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again.
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