Looking Up!

Robot looks upAn Exceptional Solar Flare:  Typical solar flares are finished in a matter of minutes. On Oct. 22nd, a solar flare in the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR2434 lasted for more than 3 hours. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the eruption.

The CME is not heading directly for Earth. Nevertheless, it does have an Earth-directed component. NOAA forecast models suggest that the cloud will deliver a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field on Oct. 25th. There is a 50% chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms when it arrives, so watch for potential auroras on the weekend.  More information, including video of the flare: http://spaceweather.com/

Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) are space rocks larger than approximately 100m that can come closer to Earth than 0.05 AU. None of the known PHAs is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time. On October 23, 2015 there were 1630 potentially hazardous asteroids.

The Moon is at perigee, Monday, October 26, 9 a.m. EDT.  The Moon will be at its closest to the Earth this month. Expect high tides for the next four days.  Full moon, Tuesday, October 27, 8:05 a.m. EDT. The October Full Moon is known as the Hunter’s Moon.  Thursday, October 29, 8:30 p.m, the Moon passes close to Aldebaran, the eye of the bull, Taurus.

Urthecast and NASA bring you live, high definition video from the ISS. Perched 250 miles (400 km) above Earth’s surface are four high-definition cameras that capture video of our planet from four unique angles. You’ll see storms swirl over the oceans, watch the sun rise and set 16 times a day, and experience the blue marble as it rolls beneath the ISS.   https://www.urthecast.com/live  

You have to be patient–bookmark the site and check in often because when the ISS is on the night side, the screen of course is black. That’s a good time to view the gallery.