DRACONID METEOR SHOWER--TONIGHT: Earth is passing through a stream of debris from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, source of the notoriously unpredictable Draconid meteor shower. Some years, a Draconid storm erupts when Earth passes through a dense clump. 2020 is not expected to be such a year. Northern sky watchers will probably see no more than ~10 meteors per hour after nightfall on Oct. 7-8: sky map.
SOLAR EXPLOSION MISSES EARTH: If only this had happened one week ago. A beautifully bright coronal mass ejection (CME) lumbered away from the sun on Oct. 6th, shown here in a movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):
NOAA forecasters say the CME will miss Earth. However, if this same explosion had happened just one week ago when the blast site was facing Earth, we would now be declaring a geomagnetic storm warning. Maybe next time.
THE PINK AURORA PEARL: Inspired by the color of rare pink auroras, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a pink pearl to the stratosphere on Sept. 25th. It hitched a ride onboard the students' cosmic ray balloon, and reached an altitude 112,205 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $249.95. The students are selling space pearls to support their cosmic ray monitoring program. Measuring 9 mm in diameter, the Aurora Pearl is mounted on a 925 sterling silver infinity twist and suspended on a matching 17 inch long sterling silver chain. Each pearl comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
SOLAR EXPLOSION MISSES EARTH: If only this had happened one week ago. A beautifully bright coronal mass ejection (CME) lumbered away from the sun on Oct. 6th, shown here in a movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):
NOAA forecasters say the CME will miss Earth. However, if this same explosion had happened just one week ago when the blast site was facing Earth, we would now be declaring a geomagnetic storm warning. Maybe next time.
THE PINK AURORA PEARL: Inspired by the color of rare pink auroras, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a pink pearl to the stratosphere on Sept. 25th. It hitched a ride onboard the students' cosmic ray balloon, and reached an altitude 112,205 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $249.95. The students are selling space pearls to support their cosmic ray monitoring program. Measuring 9 mm in diameter, the Aurora Pearl is mounted on a 925 sterling silver infinity twist and suspended on a matching 17 inch long sterling silver chain. Each pearl comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
