Solar Eclipse this Weekend

On Saturday, Aug. 11th, the New Moon will pass in front of the sun producing a partial solar eclipse visible from parts of Canada, Iceland, Scandinavia and much of Asia. As much as 73% of the solar disk will be covered. Selected cities in the eclipse zone include Moscow (2.1%), Oslo (4.8%), Raykjavik (20%), Tromso (29%), and Seoul (35%). Watch this movie for a preview.

‘COMMON’ RED SPRITES: In the Czech Republic, photographer  Daniel Ščerba has spent much of the summer training his cameras on passing thunderstorms, hoping to catch strange forms of upward-directed lightning. On August 7th he recorded a huge cluster of red sprites (image top)

“They sprang up from a mesoscale convective system (MCS) that was passing through southern Austria,” says Ščerba. “I observed 7 groups like these over a 35 minute period.”

The instigating thunderstorm was located about 380 km from Ščerba’s camera, denoted by a white star in this regional lightning map:

380 km may sound like a great distance, but a bit of separation helps when it comes to observing sprites over the tops of towering thunderheads. Here’s why.

As spectacular as the display was, Ščerba says he has seen many like it this summer. “This is a common occurrence,” he remarks. “I have taken many pictures of sprites like these.”

Solar minimum (happening now) may be boosting sprites. During this phase of the solar cycle, cosmic rays from deep space penetrate the sun’s weakening magnetic defenses and enter Earth’s atmosphere in greater numbers than usual. Some researchers believe that cosmic rays may provide the ionizing “spark” that triggers many sprites. If so, stay tuned for more as solar minimum deepens.

Read more at www.spaceweather.com

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