THE HALLOWEEN FIREBALLS--CONTINUED: Have you seen a bright meteor recently? It was probably a Taurid--also known as a "Halloween Fireball." The annual Taurid meteor shower lasts from late October through mid-November. Most often seen on Halloween (because so many people are outside), Taurid meteors are debris from Comet Encke. Look for them spraying out of the constellation Taurus after sunset. [More]
UNEXPECTED SOUTHERN LIGHTS: This was not in the forecast. Last night, a crack opened in Earth's magnetic field. Solar wind flowed through the gap and sparked a display of auroras in the southern hemisphere. Ian Griffin sends this picture from Mount John Observatory in New Zealand:
"Strolling outside as my cameras snapped away on the telescope, I was delighted to see a lovely brightness in the southern sky," says Griffin. "It turned out to be a lovely and somewhat unexpected display of the Aurora Australis. The display was full of reds and yellows, and persisted for most of the night after midnight."
The same crack may have been responsible for a dramatic display seen hours earlier in Norway. Such "cracks" are opened by south-pointing magnetic fields in the solar wind, which cancel Earth's north-pointing field to create portals for the solar wind. Here are the data.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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LIFTOFF OF A GREAT PROMINENCE: On Oct. 29th, the biggest, greatest, most dramatic prominence of the current solar cycle lifted off the surface of the sun. Amateur astronomer Michael Karrer was watching, and he recorded a high-resolution movie of the liftoff:
"Unfortunately, I had to stop shooting before the prominence fully unfurled because of an important meeting," says Karrer. Consolation prize: "Here is a very high-resolution frame."
Two days later, the edge of this prominence reached Earth, grazing our planet's magnetic field and spooking sky watchers in Norway. In case you missed it, the solar cycle is less than half over, so it will probably happen again. Stay tuned!
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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THE GEOMAGNETIC MOONCAT: This cat has experienced a geomagnetic storm. Multiple CMEs hit Earth's magnetic field during the weekend of August 10-11. Students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon into the resulting severe geomagnetic storm. The Geomagnetic Mooncat went along for the ride:
You can have it for $199.95. Supported by a sterling silver frame, the black cat is curled around a genuine blue moonstone. It floated through the stratosphere for almost 3 hours during the storm, gathering radiation data for the students' monitoring program. The Mooncat comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and explaining the radiation experiment.
The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space jewelry to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Don't wait for Christmas--get yours now!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
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