AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS PHOTOGRAPH ROADSTER IN SPACE
It's official.
Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla Roadster is a spacecraft. NASA is now listing the electric car in its database of celestial objects with an ephemeris for tracking it available on JPL's Horizons web site.
Using that ephemeris, along with a remote-controlled telescope in Siding Spring, Australia, amateur astronomer Adriano Valvasori photographed the Roadster on Feb. 8th. It is the faint speck circled in red:
At the time, the car was 493,000 km (306,000) away, not far beyond the orbit of the Moon, receding from Earth about 3.7 km/s (8,300 mph). Reflecting sunlight, it shone about as brightly as a 16th magnitude star.
Another amateur astronomer, Raymond Kneip, photographed the Roadster about 3 hours before Valvasori did:
"It's the craziest thing I've ever captured with a telescope," he says. Like Valvasori, Kneip used an iTelescope at the Siding Spring Observatory to photograph the hurtling Tesla.
NASA designates the spacecraft "Tesla Roadster" with two aliases: "Starman" and "2018-017A," described in the ephemeris as follows:
Dummy payload from the first launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle [on Feb. 6, 2018]. Consists of a standard Tesla Roadster automobile and a spacesuit-wearing mannequin nicknamed "Starman". Also includes a Hot Wheels toy model Roadster on the car's dash with a mini-Starman inside. A data storage device placed inside the car contains a copy of Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" novels. A plaque on the attachment fitting between the Falcon Heavy upper stage and the Tesla is etched with the names of more than 6,000 SpaceX employees.
To see the ephemeris for yourself, launch the Horizons web interface and follow these instructions: Click "change" next to Target Body. Type in "SpaceX" and hit enter. Click "Generate Ephemeris." The celestial coordinates of the Roadster will appear on your screen.
GROWING SUNSPOT: Sunspot AR2699 continues to grow, more than doubling in size since it appeared on Feb. 4th. This movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the sunspot expanding and turning toward Earth:
An image of Earth has been inserted for scale
The sunspot has developed an unstable "beta-gamma" magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% chance of such explosions on Feb. 9th. Free: Solar Flare Alerts.
With two primary dark cores larger than Earth and a scattering of moon-sized magnetic condensations stretching more than 100,000 km across the surface of the sun, AR2699 is an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. Got images? Submit them here.
VALENTINE'S DAY IS NEXT WEEK! These pendants have touched space--and returned to Earth just in time for Valentine's Day. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew a payload-full of heart-shaped Venus pendants to the stratosphere onboard a high-altitude helium balloon. Here's one, 111,550 feet above the Sierras of central California:
With a sterling silver backface that says "I Love You to the Moon and Back," these blue jewels make great Valentine's gifts.
You have have one for $199.95. Each glittering pendant comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. Sales of this pendant support the Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray ballooning program and hands-on STEM research.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education
ROARING BEAVER APPEARS IN NORTHERN LIGHTS: Seeing animals in clouds is a physiological phenomenon called pareidolia. On Feb. 6th, Markus Varik of Tromsø, Norway, experienced auroradolia. "We saw a roaring beaver in the Northern Lights!" he says.
Things got even stranger after that. "The shapes we witnessed were unlike anything I have ever seen before as an aurora tour guide," says Varik. "For about 30 minutes the lights transformed from a beaver to Mother Theresa and many other things. Our guests were as happy as can be!" Free: Aurora Alerts
Warning: Auroradolia may be contagious. Browse the gallery for more examples.
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| All Sky Fireball Network |
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On Feb. 8, 2018, the network reported 7 fireballs.
(7 sporadics)
(7 sporadics)
In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). [Larger image] [movies]
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| Near Earth Asteroids |
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On February 9, 2018 there were 1882 potentially hazardous asteroids.
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Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach.
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
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Miss Distance
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Velocity (km/s)
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Diameter (m)
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| 2002 CB19 |
2018-Feb-03
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10.1 LD
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15.7
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36
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| 2018 CT |
2018-Feb-03
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1.7 LD
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19.1
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25
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| 2018 BN5 |
2018-Feb-03
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15.9 LD
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9.4
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23
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| 2018 BG3 |
2018-Feb-03
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11.9 LD
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14.2
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60
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| 2018 CA1 |
2018-Feb-04
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7.9 LD
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15
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33
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| 2018 AH12 |
2018-Feb-04
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5.3 LD
|
5
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15
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| 276033 |
2018-Feb-04
|
11 LD
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34
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646
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| 2018 BP6 |
2018-Feb-05
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3.7 LD
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13.7
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44
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| 2018 CL |
2018-Feb-06
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2.4 LD
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8.6
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28
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| 2018 CM |
2018-Feb-06
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2.1 LD
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9.6
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10
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| 2018 CC |
2018-Feb-06
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0.5 LD
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10.6
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17
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| 2018 CN |
2018-Feb-07
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1.3 LD
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19.9
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18
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| 2018 BL1 |
2018-Feb-09
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16.5 LD
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20.3
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76
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| 2018 CA |
2018-Feb-09
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19.9 LD
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7.6
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68
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| 511684 |
2018-Feb-09
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12.9 LD
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17.7
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257
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| 2018 CB |
2018-Feb-09
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0.2 LD
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7.3
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23
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| 1991 VG |
2018-Feb-11
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18.4 LD
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2.1
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7
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| 2018 CX |
2018-Feb-11
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5.7 LD
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11
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32
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| 2014 WQ202 |
2018-Feb-11
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15.1 LD
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19.8
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62
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| 2018 CB1 |
2018-Feb-15
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9.5 LD
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11.3
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28
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| 2018 CC1 |
2018-Feb-15
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14.1 LD
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15.4
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65
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| 2018 CJ |
2018-Feb-20
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9.3 LD
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15.3
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66
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| 2016 CO246 |
2018-Feb-22
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15.3 LD
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5.4
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21
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| 2017 DR109 |
2018-Feb-24
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3.7 LD
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7.4
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11
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| 2016 FU12 |
2018-Feb-26
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13.2 LD
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4.5
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15
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| 2014 EY24 |
2018-Feb-27
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14.8 LD
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8
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54
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| 2015 BF511 |
2018-Feb-28
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11.7 LD
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5.7
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39
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| 2003 EM1 |
2018-Mar-07
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16.6 LD
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8
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45
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| 2017 VR12 |
2018-Mar-07
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3.8 LD
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6.3
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280
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| 2015 DK200 |
2018-Mar-10
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6.9 LD
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8
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27
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| 2016 SR2 |
2018-Mar-28
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18.7 LD
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7.3
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20
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| 2010 GD35 |
2018-Mar-31
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15.5 LD
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11.6
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45
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| 2004 FG29 |
2018-Apr-02
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4 LD
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14.9
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22
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| Cosmic Rays in the Atmosphere |
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Readers, thank you for your patience while we continue to develop this new section of Spaceweather.com. We've been working to streamline our data reduction, allowing us to post results from balloon flights much more rapidly, and we have developed a new data product, shown here:
This plot displays radiation measurements not only in the stratosphere, but also at aviation altitudes. Dose rates are expessed as multiples of sea level. For instance, we see that boarding a plane that flies at 25,000 feet exposes passengers to dose rates ~10x higher than sea level. At 40,000 feet, the multiplier is closer to 50x. These measurements are made by our usual cosmic ray payload as it passes through aviation altitudes en route to the stratosphere over California.
What is this all about? Approximately once a week, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus fly space weather balloons to the stratosphere over California. These balloons are equipped with radiation sensors that detect cosmic rays, a surprisingly "down to Earth" form of space weather. Cosmic rays can seed clouds, trigger lightning, and penetrate commercial airplanes. Furthermore, there are studies ( #1, #2, #3, #4) linking cosmic rays with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in the general population. Our latest measurements show that cosmic rays are intensifying, with an increase of more than 13% since 2015:
Why are cosmic rays intensifying? The main reason is the sun. Solar storm clouds such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) sweep aside cosmic rays when they pass by Earth. During Solar Maximum, CMEs are abundant and cosmic rays are held at bay. Now, however, the solar cycle is swinging toward Solar Minimum, allowing cosmic rays to return. Another reason could be the weakening of Earth's magnetic field, which helps protect us from deep-space radiation.
The radiation sensors onboard our helium balloons detect X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners.
The data points in the graph above correspond to the peak of the Reneger-Pfotzer maximum, which lies about 67,000 feet above central California. When cosmic rays crash into Earth's atmosphere, they produce a spray of secondary particles that is most intense at the entrance to the stratosphere. Physicists Eric Reneger and Georg Pfotzer discovered the maximum using balloons in the 1930s and it is what we are measuring today.
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| Essential web links |
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 | NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center |
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| The official U.S. government space weather bureau |
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| Atmospheric Optics |
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| The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. |
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| Solar Dynamics Observatory |
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| Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever. |
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| STEREO |
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| 3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory |
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| Solar and Heliospheric Observatory |
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| Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. |
| Daily Sunspot Summaries |
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| from the NOAA Space Environment Center |
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| NOAA 27-Day Space Weather Forecasts |
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| fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong. |
| Aurora 30 min forecast |
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| from the NOAA Space Environment Center |
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Elon Musk is prepared to baffle some aliens with his space-bound supercar. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO waved goodbye to his Roadster on Tuesday, as it lifted into orbit inside a Falcon Heavy. The rocket, currently the world’s most powerful, sent Musk’s red electric car into space as part of its inaugural flight.“After that it’s just going to be out there in space for maybe millions or billions of years,” Musk told Space.com and other reporters after the launch at the Kennedy Space Center. “Maybe discovered by some future alien race thinking what the heck, what were these guys doing? Did they worship this car? Why do they have a little car in the car? And that’ll really confuse them.”
Perhaps even weirder is when the aliens look inside and see a dummy in the driver seat. “Starman,” the nickname for the passenger, is wearing the same spacesuit that SpaceX intends for use on its manned missions inside the company’s Dragon capsule. Perhaps it won’t be the only time aliens spot the suit after all.
Watch the Falcon Heavy’s big moment below: https://www.inverse.com/article/41026-elon-musk-aliens-tesla-spacex-falcon-heavy
Look closer, and the aliens will find an in-car sound system playing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” on loop. In the dashboard, a sign is labelled “Don’t Panic” as a cheeky reference to Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy. On the car’s circuit board is a little message that says “Made on Earth by humans.” Any aliens that come across this thing will find tons of tidbits to pore over.
The SpaceX mission was a big success. Although only two of the three boosters landed safely as planned, the rocket took off and sent “Starman” on their journey without a hitch.
“I had this image of a giant explosion on the pad, with a wheel bouncing down the road and the Tesla logo landing somewhere with a thud,” Musk said. “But fortunately, that’s not what happened.”
Although it seems like putting his supercar on a space rocket might give the mission a more sentimental value, prior to the launch Musk rebuffed suggestions from a reporter that the occasion was more personal this time around.
“It’s always personal,” Musk said.
