TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE THIS WEEKEND: For more than an hour on Sept. 7th, the full Moon will pass through Earth's shadow, turning the lunar disk blood red. It's a total lunar eclipse. No one in the Americas will be able to see it, but everyone else can. The zone of visibility includes Asia, Australia, Africa, and most of Europe. Maximum eclipse occurs at 1811 UTC. Submit your photos here.
A SIGMOID ERUPTION ON THE SUN: When you see an "S" on the sun, it usually means something is about to explode. On Sept. 4th, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a textbook sigmoid eruption:
Researchers have long known that sigmoid structures in the sun's atmosphere herald strong explosions. Their magnetic field lines are twisted like a slinky. When enough tension builds up, they un-twist explosively.
This sigmoid hurled a dark plume of plasma more than 700,000 km long into space. The plume is dark because the plasma inside is relatively cool and dense--two qualities that can make potent CMEs.
The explosion hurled a CME directly toward Earth. NOAA and NASA models agree that it will reach our planet on Sept. 7th. The impact could spark a G1 to G2-class geomagnetic storm with high-latitude auroras visible during the lunar eclipse. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
LEONARD NIMOY'S MR. SPOCK COFFEE CUP: It's the logical way to wake up in the morning: Coffee in a Mr. Spock Cup. It has pointy ears, holds 20 oz. of brew, and comes from the edge of space. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew the cup to the stratosphere on Aug. 25th onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $99.95. The students are selling Spock cups to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with greeting card showing the heavy-duty ceramic cup in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. Fascinating!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter