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SOUTH
PACIFIC ECLIPSE: Yearning to visit the South
Pacific? Now is the time to set sail. On July 11th, the Moon
will pass directly in front off the sun, producing a total
solar eclipse. The path
of totality stretches across the south Pacific Ocean,
making landfall in only a few places: Mangaia in the Cook
Islands, Easter Island, and the southern
tip of South America. Get the
details from NASA.
EMERGING
ACTIVE REGION: An active region is emerging
over the sun's northeastern limb. It appears to be the remains
of old sunspot 1082, but unlike a genuine corpse, these remains
are animated. The region is crackling with low-level solar
flares. Click on the image to view a C-class eruption:
movie formats: 0.6
MB mpeg; 0.5
MB iPad; 0.5
MB iPhone
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the movie around
2200 UT on July 8th. The blast produced not only an ultraviolet
flash of light, but also a coronal mass ejection (CME). The
cloud is not heading for Earth, however, so we will experience
no effects from the event.
Stay tuned for more flares and a better view as the active
region turns toward our planet in the days ahead. Readers
with solar
telescopes, monitor the limb!
more images: from
Andreas Murner of Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany; from
Cai-Uso Wohler of Bispingen, Germany
WHITE
RAINBOW, GOOD OMEN: Waking up early on a foggy
morning can have surprising rewards. Consider the tale of
Artur T. Grodz of
Elblag, Poland: "July 4th was election day in Poland,
and I woke up early to get to my polling station. I was pedalling
my bike along the Vistula river when I witnessed an extraordinary
white rainbow."
Actually, it's a fogbow,
caused by sunlight reflected from tiny
droplets of fog hanging by the river's edge. They're often
called "white rainbows" because of their rainbow-shape
and pale colors, but rain is not involved.
"As I was stood contemplating the phenomenon, I noticed
the broad arc setting as the sun rose behind me," recalls
Grodz. "The show was over! It was so beautiful, I took
it as a good omen for my presidental candidate." (Indeed,
it proved to be so, becase his candidate won.)
Readers, to see your own white rainbow, follow these instructions:
Wake up early, find some morning fog, face away from the low-hanging
sun. Apparently, it's a lucky way to begin the day.
May
2010 Aurora Gallery
[previous Mays: 2008,
2005, 2004,
2003, 2002]
[aurora alerts]
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