SpaceWeather.com Archive — Sat, Sep 7, 2024

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NEAR-MISS CME PREDICTED: A CME left the sun today, propelled by the eruption of a magnetic filament connected to sunspot complex AR3815. The bulk of the CME is heading south of Earth, but it could graze our planet's magnetic field on Sept. 11th (01h UTC), according to a NASA model. A glancing blow or even a near miss could spark equinox auroras around the Arctic Circle. CME impact alerts: SMS Tex t

STARLINER'S PERFECTLY FIERY RE-ENTRY: Score one for Boeing. After much analysis and skepticism, the aerospace giant's Starliner capsule left the ISS and performed a flawless landng in New Mexico last night. David Blanchard witnessed the re-entry from Mormon Lake, Arizona:

"NASA's groundtrack indicated that northern Arizona might be too far north to see the reentry. I tried anyway--and was successful," says Blanchard. "The hills in the distance are less than 2° in elevation."

At the time of the photo, Starliner's heat shield was fending off temperatures almost 3000 F, while keeping the crew compartment inside a comfortable 70 F. Similar heat shields were used on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft.

Last night's success could have broader implications for the future of the often-delayed Starliner program. Already, Boeing has lost more than a billion dollars correcting issues with the vehicle. It is not yet clear whether NASA will require Boeing to repeat this test flight — or if the space agency will consider certifying the spacecraft for regular flight.

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"HAND OF APOLLO" STAR TREK CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT: You can't buy this on Amazon. The Hand of Apollo Christmas Ornament is only available from the Earth to Sky Store. On Aug. 15, 2024, it flew to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:

You can have it for $127.95. This ornament depicts the iconic opening scene from original Star Trek series episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" first aired in 1967. Near the planet Pollux III, the Enterprise was held immobile by an energy field shaped as a human hand. It belonged to a being claiming to be the Greek god Apollo. This will look far out on your Christmas tree this December.

The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space ornaments to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Don't wait for Christmas--get yours now!