What's up in space |
SOLAR ACTIVITY: After a few days of quiet, the sun is coming alive again. Amateur astronomers around the world report a beautiful complex of prominences dancing along the eastern limb, one of them big enough to swallow Earth: Good news: The blue dot is merely a digital image of Earth inserted by photographer Jesús Carmona de Argila of Madrid, Spain, for scale. The prominence is a comfortable 93 million miles from our planet. In addition to these prominences, a large sunspot group is emerging over the eastern limb. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor the area for developments. SUMMER AURORAS: A minor solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field during the early hours of August 15th, sparking auroras around the Arctic Circle. If the impact had occured just a few weeks ago, the midnight sun would have wiped out any Northern Lights, but now August nights are darkening enough to see geomagnetic activity. Göran Strand sends this picture from Frösön, Sweden: "I was out photographing the moon when suddenly an aurora appeared," says Strand. "It lasted for about two minutes and it was quite big." Arctic sky watchers should be alert for more summer auroras tonight. NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% chance of high-latitude geomagnetic activity as the solar wind continues to blow.
On August 15, 2011 there were 1241 potentially hazardous asteroids. Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
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Space Weather News for Aug. 12, 2011
http://spaceweather.com
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