ALMOST NO CHANCE OF FLARES TODAY: All of the sunspots currently facing Earth are quiet and stable. NOAA forecasters say there is a slight 10% chance of M-class solar flares and no more than a 1% chance of X-flares on July 5-6. It's going to be a quiet weekend. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
SOHO FILMS THE DEATH OF A COMET:The solar system has one less comet. The dirty snowball melted away yesterday as it plunged into the sun's outer atmosphere. Coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) witnessed the final moments:
In the movie, an opaque disk covers the sun, blocking its glare to produce an artificial eclipse. This allowed SOHO's digital cameras to see the comet less than 500,000 km from the surface of the sun.
This comet is a Kreutz sungrazer, a family of comets which are fragments from the breakup of a single giant comet ~1000 years ago. SOHO has discovered thousands of them, almost all disintegrating near the sun.
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STERLING SILVER STARCAT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Introducing the Sterling SIlver StarCat. On June 14th, this pendant hitched a ride to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $199.95. The silver feline form is wrapped around a genuine moonstone with a matching 18 inch Italian sterling silver chain. It is 100% hypoallergenic.
The students of Earth to Sky are selling space pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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