GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G1/G2): A new NOAA forecast model predicts that a CME will hit Earth on Aug. 12th. The impact could produce a G1 or G2-class geomagnetic storm with high-latitude auroras during the Perseid meteor shower. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
RARE 'POINT METEOR': The Perseid meteor shower is underway, but this was no Perseid. On Aug. 9th, Dan Bush's night-sky camera in Albany, Missouri, recorded a rare 'point meteor':
"This was a first for me in my 45 years of meteor watching," says Bush. "This meteor was coming directly at me! Notice how the meteor doesn't appear to be moving in any direction except straight at the camera."
This is by definition a 'point meteor': A rare visual phenomenon where a meteor appears as a stationary flash instead of a long streak. The path of the disintegrating meteoroid is, by chance, aligned perfectly with the observer.
"It came from the constellation Aquarius and was about as bright as a quarter Moon," says Bush.
It's origin in Aquarius probably means this was a 'sporadic' meteor--a random meteoroid not associated with any organized comet debris stream like the Perseids.
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CAMPO DEL CIELO METEORITE PENDANT: This meteorite came from space. We sent it back again. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon, more than 109,620 feet above the Sierra Nevada near Bishop, CA:
You can have it for $299.95. Encased in a sterling silver cage, this is a genuine iron-nickel Campo del Cielo meteorite from Argentina. It landed on Earth 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, and made the return trip on Aug. 1, 2026. This pendant comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight.
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.
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