Category Archives: Astronomy News

Video of yesterday’s CME

Space Weather News for June 13, 2022
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MAGNIFICENT CME: Earlier today, an unusually slow solar flare hurled a magnificent CME into space. The explosion and its afterglow lasted nearly 8 hours. The CME could sideswipe Earth’s magnetosphere later this week, producing minor geomagnetic storms. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

Don’t miss the next solar flare: Subscribers to our Space Weather Alert Service receive instant text messages when strong solar flares are underway.
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Above: Visit Spaceweather.com to watch a movie of today’s CME

 

METEOR OUTBURST POSSIBLE MAY 31

Space Weather News for May 24, 2022
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METEOR OUTBURST POSSIBLE NEXT WEEK: Debris from a shattered comet is approaching Earth, and it could cause a meteor outburst on May 31st. Experts caution that this is an uncertain forecast. The shower could be a great storm, a complete dud, or almost anything in between. Whatever happens, sky watchers in North America will be in the right place to see it; the shower is expected to peak almost directly above southern California. Sky maps and more @ Spaceweather.com.

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Above: Broken Comet 7P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, the source of next week’s possible meteor outburst.

 

A CME might be heading our way

Space Weather News for May 10, 2022
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X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: An unusually-magnetized sunspot exploded on May 10th, producing an intense X1.5-class solar flare. Shortwave radio signals were blacked out around the Atlantic Ocean for as much as an hour, and now there’s a chance a CME is heading our way. Updates @ Spaceweather.com.

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Above: The extreme ultraviolet flash from today’s X-class solar flare. Credit: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Blood Moon: Lunar Eclipse Sunday!

Lunar Eclipse Sunday!

 From CTV:

The best views will be in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, where the moon will be already above the horizon by the time the eclipse is set to begin.

Click here to read full article, including how to view the eclipse if the sky is clouded over. 

From Astronomy Magazine:

Late on May 15, observers across the U.S. will be greeted with a total eclipse of the Moon, the first of two this year (the second one occurs early on the morning of Nov. 8). The Full Moon is two days from perigee, spanning nearly 33′ as it crosses the central part of Earth’s shadow, resulting in a longer-than-average 85-minute period of totality. The eclipse occurs with the Moon located in Libra the Balance; the later evening hours reveal the orange glow of Antares in neighboring Scorpius, providing a lovely complement to the orange-hued eclipsed Moon.

The visibility of the eclipse is time zone dependent. East Coast observers will see the whole eclipse in a dark sky. In the Midwest, the Full Moon rises in the eastern sky with the penumbral stages underway, enhancing the effect of the subtly progressing shadow. Observers in the Mountain time zone see the partial eclipse already underway in twilight. From the West Coast, the onset of totality occurs in twilight and the later stages of the eclipse are visible in a dark sky.

The lunar eclipse begins with the penumbral shadow — a subtle shading barely visible on the Moon’s lower limb — at 9:32 P.M. EDT. The Moon reaches the dark edge of the deep umbral shadow at 10:27 P.M. EDT. Dusky gray first creeps across the lunar surface and, as more of the Moon sinks into the shadow, an orange coloring will become noticeable, particularly through a telescope.

Potentially Very Active Sunspot Group

An active sunspot group often means we are in for aurora displays. –CPL
Space Weather News for May 3, 2022
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GET READY FOR MORE FLARES: A new and potentially very active sunspot group emerged today. It announced itself with an X1-class solar flare, which caused a strong shortwave radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean and Europe. More flares may be in the offing as the sunspot turns toward Earth. Developing story @ Spaceweather.com.

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Above: The extreme ultraviolet flash from today’s X-class solar flare. Credit: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Solar Activity: Watch for Auroras!

Space Weather News for April 20, 2022
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INTENSIFYING SOLAR ACTIVITY: The sun unleashed another X-class solar flare today, causing a deep shortwave radio blackout over southeast Asia and Australia.  Intensifying solar activity has resulted in more than 19 flares during the past 24 hours alone. Even farside sunspots are getting in on the act. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

Don’t miss another solar flare: Subscribers to our Space Weather Alert Service received a text message about today’s X-flare while it was happening.
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Above: An X2.2-class solar flare on April 20, 2022. Credit: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

 

NAKED-EYE SUNSPOTS: Yesterday in Poland, a flock of cranes flew across the setting sun. Among them were sunspots. “Active sunspot complex AR2993-94 is so big that it was easily visible to the naked eye,” says Marek Nikodem, who photographed the flyby:

It’s true. The primary dark cores of AR2993-94 are twice as wide as Earth. Technically, this makes them “naked-eye” objects. Be careful, though. Looking at the sun can damage your eyes. Safe solar filters are strongly recommended.

Earth itself provided the filter for Nikodem’s photo. Low-hanging clouds and haze dimmed the sun enough for photography. Just to be on the safe side, though, he pointed his camera using the electronic viewscreen–not the optical viewfinder.

more images: from Carlos Stehli of Lima, Peru; from Thom Peck of Poway, California; from Daisuke Tomiyasu of Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan; from David Kriegler of Gulf Shores, Alabama; from Paolo Bardelli of Sumirago (Varese), Italy

EARTH-DIRECTED CME

Space Weather News for April 11, 2022
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EARTH-DIRECTED CME: A dead sunspot exploded today. The corpse of AR2987, which decayed days ago, erupted, and the debris is heading straight for Earth. A CME expected to arrive on April 14th could spark moderately-strong G2-class geomagnetic storms. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

CME Alerts: Subscribers to our Space Weather Alert Service receive instant text messages when significant CMEs hit Earth’s magnetic field.
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Above: Old sunspot AR2987 erupting on April 11, 2022. Credit: NASA/SDO

 

Virtual Event Hosted by McGill

If you have an interest in astronomy, you may want to register for this virtual event:

https://www.mcgill.ca/library/channels/event/talking-telescopes-338521

Virtual event description:

Telescopes then and now. We have been watching the stars for centuries and our tools have changed dramatically since the time of Ptolemy and early astronomers. This panel will explore how tools and practices have changed over time.

Sajjad Nikfahm-Khubravan will trace the history of tools and ideas down from Greek astronomers to Islamic observers, and from the golden age of Islamic astronomy to European observers. Dallas Wulf will balance this historical tour with a talk on the powerful tools used by astronomers today. Join ROAAr and the McGill Space Institute for this special collaborative panel, and get a peek at some of the history of astronomy treasures in the McGill Library’s rare and special collections with librarian Lauren Williams.

 

Class X1.3 Flare causes shortwave radio blackout

Space Weather News for March 30, 2022
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X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Earth-orbiting satellites have just detected a powerful explosion on the sun. The X1.3-class flare on March 30th (1737 UT) caused a shortwave radio blackout over the Americas and has almost certainly hurled a CME toward Earth. Follow this developing story @ Spaceweather.com.

Don’t miss another solar flare: Subscribers to our Space Weather Alert Service received a text message about this X-flare while it was happening. Such prompt notifications allow ham radio operators, amateur astronomers and others to react to flares before they fade away.
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Above: The extreme ultraviolet flash from today’s X-flare. Credit: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

A ‘CANNIBAL CME’ IS APPROACHING EARTH

Space Weather News for March 29, 2022
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A ‘CANNIBAL CME’ IS APPROACHING EARTH: A strong G3-class geomagnetic storm is possible later this week when a ‘Cannibal CME’ hits Earth’s magnetic field. It’s a ‘cannibal’ because it ate one of its own kind en route to our planet. The mash-up of two CMEs could spark naked-eye auroras visible from northern-tier US states. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

Aurora Alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts and get instant text notifications when geomagnetic storms are underway.
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Above: This frame from a NASA animation shows one CME overtaking another. The resulting merger is called a ‘Cannibal CME.’