SpaceWeather.com Archive — Sun, Sep 8, 2024

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SATURN AT OPPOSITION: This is the weekend of Saturn. On Sunday, Saturn 8th, the ringed planet will be at its closest to Earth for the entire year, and a marvelous sight through small telescopes. Look for it shining about as brightly as a 1st magnitude star high in the sky at midnight in the constellation Aquarius.

A PUFF OF DARK PLASMA IS HEADING FOR EARTH: A filament of magnetism erupted on the Sun Sept 8th. The blast hurled a coil of cool dark plasma toward Earth:

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the explosion. The departing plume ripped a hole in the sun's atmosphere and formed the core of a coronal mass ejection (CME). NOAA models suggest that the CME will reach Earth late on Sept. 10th, potentially sparking a G2-class geomagnetic storm.

During such storms, auroras can typically be seen (naked-eye) in northern-tier US states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin. Cameras (including smartphone cameras) can detect them even farther south in rural areas of states like Nebraska, Colorado and Missouri. CME impact alerts: SMS Tex t

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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!