A sharp gust of solar wind hit Earth's magnetic field at approximately 20:30 UTC on June 4, 2011. High-latitude sky watchers in both hemispheres should be alert for auroras. Solar windspeed: 495.9 km/secdensity: 2.6 protons/cm3 Planetary K-indexNow: Kp= 5…
Small asteroid 2009 BD is flying through the Earth-moon system today about 215,000 miles from Earth. The 10m wide space rock poses no threat to our planet, but it is of acute scientific interest.”It’s notable because it remains close to Earth for months at a time and
A team of NASA-funded researchers has measured for the first time water from the moon in the form of tiny globules of molten rock, which have turned to glass-like material trapped within crystals. Data from these newly-discovered lunar melt inclusions indicate the
A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth’s magnetic field, sparking Southern Lights around the Antarctic Circle. Ian Stewart sends this picture to SpaceWeather.com from a jetty near Hobart, Tasmania:”Not long after sunset a friend rang to ask whether a faint arc of
Have you ever wondered, what’s orbiting over your head right now? A new satellite-tracking tool called WhatSat can answer that question for you. It’s an app for Android phones
Another day, another alignment of planets. “This morning, May 14th, the ‘planetary triangle’ created by Venus, Jupiter and Mercury adorned the eastern sky behind my nearby mosque,” reports Shahrin Ahmad, who snapped this picture from his rooftop observatory of Sri
A comet dove into the sun on May 11th and seemed to trigger a massive eruption. Watch the movie, then scroll down for further discussion.
A comet goes in; a CME comes out. Coincidence? Probably, yes, the sequence was coincidental. The comet disintegrated
A comet just discovered by amateur astronomer Sergey Shurpakov is diving past the sun today, and it will probably not survive. Click here to view a movie of the death plunge recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory–and check back for updates in the hours
A sunspot located just behind the sun’s eastern limb erupted during the waning hours of May 9th, hurling a spectacular coronal mass ejection into space: movie. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed hot magnetic loops towering over the edge of the sun in the
Bits and pieces of the famous Halley’s Comet will light up the overnight sky in a promising meteor shower, weather permitting, skywatching experts say.The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower will peak early tomorrow morning (May 6) and is expected to put on a
