GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: A magnetic filament erupted from the sun on Aug. 14th and hurled a CME into space. NOAA models predict a glancing blow to Earth on Aug 17th. The impact could spark a G1-class geomagnetic storm with high-latitude auroras. CME Impact Alerts: SMS Text
SUNSET CONJUNCTION: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Venus and the crescent Moon are converging in the glow of sunset:
The Moon is only three days removed from eclipsing the sun, so the crescent is very slender. Look for the ghost of the full Moon within the crescent's horns. That is caused by Earthshine--sunlight reflected from our own planet onto the Moon. Enjoy the show!
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PERSEIDS OVER UKRAINE: The Perseid meteor shower peaked this week, and dramatic pictures are arriving from all over the world. One of them stopped us cold.
It comes from Kharkiv, Ukraine. The photographer was shooting the Perseids on Aug. 12th when a thermobaric bomb exploded. Look at the orange glow on the horizon. Directly above it, a faint Perseid is slicing through the stars:
"He said it was quite loud, even though the explosion was roughly 20 miles away," reports Joshua Smick, a Ukrainian-American and close friend of the photographer, who forwarded the picture with permission.
The photographer's name and exact location are being withheld for his safety. His apartment was destroyed in the war. Men of his age are forbidden from leaving the country, so he now stays with his parents while his wife and son wait for him in Poland.
Perseids are debris from ancient Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Every year in mid-August, Earth plows through the comet's dusty trail, and meteors rain down. Chinese astronomers recorded the shower as early as AD 36. Since then, soldiers and civilians have watched the Perseids through times of conflict for almost 2000 years.
If Perseids could talk, what would they say? Perhaps that they should be the only flashes in the night sky.
"I hope that neither you nor I ever have an opportunity to take a photo like this in our lifetimes," says Smick.
The Perseids will be back in 2027.
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RAINBOW DRAGONFLY EARRINGS: If you liked the Rainbow Dragonfly Pendant, you'll love the matching earrings. On July 7, 2026, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched them to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have a pair for $149.95. Made of stained glass with a sterling silver exoskeleton, each dragonfly has a wingspan of 0.8 inches and dangles from a matching sterling silver clasp. Your order comes with a full-color greeting card showing the earrings in flight and telling the story of their journey to the stratosphere and back.
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