CHINA'S SPACE STATION IS FLYING OVER THE USA: This is a great week to see China's Tiangong space station. It is making a series of bright nighttime flybys over the USA--easy to see even from urban areas. All you need to know is when to look. Sign up for our new Backyard Astronomy Alert Service to receive realtime Tiangong flyby alerts. The space station is inhabited by three taikonauts (Chinese astronauts) and sometimes glows with a red hue akin to Mars. Tonight there will be a very good flyby directly over Manhattan, and other US cities will follow in the nights ahead: photo gallery.
A SPINNING SUNSPOT: Planets spin. Moons spin. Stars spin. Is it any surprise that sunspots also spin? Maximilian-Vlad Teodorico photographed the phenomenon last week (July 7-11) when sunspot AR4482 pinwheeled across the solar disk:
"Yes, sunspots rotate," says Teodorescu. "Note the different sections rotate differently. The upper part rotates anticlockwise quite fast, while the lower part has different motions inside it."
Astronomers have reported these motions since 1910. One large survey in 2008 identified 186 spinning sunspots. Most turned only a few degrees per hour. AR4482 appears to be a rapid rotator, with parts of the sunspot completing a full turn in only a few days.
Sunspot spin is a sign of tension beneath the surface of the sun. Imagine twisting a rubber band until it becomes very tight. Let go! The rubber band explosively unwinds, releasing its tension. Magnetic fields underneath AR4482 were twisting like that rubber band, storing potential energy for a strong solar flare.
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STERLING SILVER RAINBOW DRAGONFLY: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the Rainbow Dragonfly Space Pendant. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $179.95. Made of stained glass with a sterling silver exoskeleton, the pendant has a wingspan of 1.1-inches and comes with a matching 18-inch sterling silver chain.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry 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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