NEW AND IMPROVED: Turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a field-tested global satellite tracker. The Satellite Flybys app now works in all countries. | | | SUNSET SKY SHOW: For the second night in a row, Venus and the crescent Moon are in conjunction. Look west at the end of the day for a pair of heavenly lights beaming through the sunset. [sky map] DEPARTING SUNSPOT: Sunspot 1081, the source of several picturesque solar flares over the weekend, is exiting stage right. The active region is rotating over the sun's western limb where it will soon be completely invisible from Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this parting shot: The active region's dramatic profile is highlighted by loops of unstable magnetism filled with surging, hot solar plasma. Black space beyond the edge of the sun provides a velvety backdrop for what could be some lively action in the hours ahead. Readers with solar telescopes, catch it before it goes! more images: from Robert Arnold of Isle of Skye, Scotland; from P-M Hedén of Vallentuna, Sweden; from Stephen Ames of Hodgenville, KY; from Gianfranco Meregalli of Milano Italy; AURORAS AT THE SOUTH POLE: On June 10th, a solar wind gust hit Earth's magnetic field, causing the skies over Antarctica to turn green. Research scientist J. Dana Hrubes snapped this picture of a backlit weather station at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station: The temperature reading? "-90 degrees F," says Hrubes. "It was cold," he allows, "but the skies were crystal clear and the auroras were very bright. It was a great time to be outside." June 16th or 17th could be another great time. That's when a solar wind stream is due to hit Earth, possibly sparking a new round of high-latitude geomagnetic storms. Stay tuned for more scenes from the South Pole. May 2010 Aurora Gallery [previous Mays: 2008, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002] [aurora alerts] |