Signs 38 – Beta Taurids Stowaway Alert #2
Most asteroid stories are one-trick ponies. They come, make a splash and go. This is a story with legs because it is about a clear and present danger. Namely, the stowaways in the Beta Taurid stream, some of which could be as big as ~100m.
In our previous alert, Signs 37 – Beta Taurid Stowaway Alert we began by raising the question, “There is no doubt that there are stowaways in the Beta Taurids’ stream. However, the question is, how did they get there?” The answer is that we’re seeing a merging of the Nemesis cloud and the Beta Taurid swarm. Consequently, Earth is being pummeled by an unusually large amount of “asteroid dust” as the astronomers call it which is forcing noctilucent clouds below the Artic into regions where we should not be seeing these clouds.
If you’re new to this, please read the article and listen to my interview with Rex Bear, host of the Leak Project.
Leak Project, June 14, 2019
Huge Increase in NEO’s, Asteroids & Comets, Space Force Activated, Marshall Masters
After bringing out the article, Barbara Townsend, our magnificent PlanetXtownhall.com adminstrator has been tracking the front page of the spaceweather.com web site. Since this content changes daily, we’ll post the last two days.
More Stowaway Tracking Articles
This spaceweather.com home page lead stories from June 13, 2019 not only address unusual noctilucent clouds sightings in place like San Francisco, Seattle and Europe. It also mentions a highly unusual sprite storm over China.
Spaceweather.com, June 13, 2019
Home PageLOW-LATITUDE NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: The record-setting outburst of June 8th and 9th has subsided, but low latitude observers continue to report noctilucent clouds. The latest sightings come from Ohio and Indiana on June 11th. Because noctilucent clouds are mostly unpredictable, we can’t say when the next outburst might occur. Advice: Keep an eye on the western horizon 30 to 60 minutes after sunset. If you see electric blue ripples in the twilight, you might have caught a noctilucent cloud.
SPRITE STORM OVER CHINA: Every night, the Chinese Meteor Monitoring Organization (CMMO) runs an automated camera in Shandong Province, monitoring meteor activity above the Yellow Sea. On June 9th, meteors were the least of what the optics recorded. “It’s crazy,” says Wang Lei of the CMMO. “We picked up a spectacular outbreak of red sprites.”
“Its crazy. I cant express it in words,” Wang Lei said. In the early morning of June 9, the Chinese Meteor Monitoring Organization (CMMO), sponsored by the Aishan Observatory in Qingdao, recorded a spectacular outbreak of red elves at Linzi Station in Shandong Province. The outbreak of red elves in different shapes is very representative and there are meteors appearing together, which is very spectacular.
Sprites are an exotic form of lightning. Unlike normal lightning bolts, which zigzag down to the ground, sprites shoot up.
“Our cameras caught the sprites flashing alongside a number of meteors,” says Lei. “I can’t express in words our amazement.” The image, above, stacks all of the meteors and sprites captured during the several-hour storm. There are many overlapping events.
Here is a cluster of sprites singled-out for inspection:
“This type pf sprite is a ‘jellyfish’ with a halo from which short, bright elements grow down nicely branched tentacles,” says lightning scientist Oscar van der Velde of the Technical University of Catalonia, Spain. “These are produced by stronger, more impulsive lightning strikes.”
Solar Minimum 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.
The Solar Minimum explanation reminds me of that scene in Casablanca (1942) when Bogart playing Rick shoots and kills a Nazi officer. When the police arrive, sympathetic Inspector Renault orders them to “round up the usual suspects.”
Conversely, what really caught my attention in the post above was “The outbreak of red elves in different shapes is very representative, and there are meteors appearing together, which is very spectacular.” What Barbara found today on the site continues to focus on the stowaway concerns.
Spaceweather.com, June 14, 2019
Home PageELECTRIC BLUE SUNRISE: You know something unusual is happening when you wake up in the morning and the sunrise is … electric blue. This morning’s sunrise in Saxony, Germany, was unusual indeed. “The dawn sky was filled with the brightest noctilucent clouds I have ever seen,” reports Heiko Ulbricht, who took this picture from the town of Börnchen:
“The electric-blue ripples extended 25° over the horizon,” he says. “2019 is the best year for noctilucent clouds (NLCs)!”
NLCs are Earth’s highest clouds. Seeded by meteoroids, they float at the edge of space more than 80 km above the planet’s surface. The clouds are very cold and filled with tiny ice crystals. When sunbeams hit those crystals, they glow electric-blue.
Noctilucent clouds used to be a polar phenomenon. In recent years, however, researchers have noticed their electric-blue forms creeping south– a trend which has accelerated in 2019. Just last weekend a record-setting outbreak of NLCs produced sightings as far south as California, Utah, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
What’s happening? Previous studies have shown that noctilucent clouds sometimes intensify during solar minimum. Solar minimum conditions are in effect now as the sun has been without spots for 26 consecutive days–a situation that may favor the frosting of meteor smoke high above Earth.
The one chilling statement in this post was, “Noctilucent clouds used to be a polar phenomenon. In recent years, however, researchers have noticed their electric-blue forms creeping south– a trend which has accelerated in 2019.” This is consistent with the continual uptick in post-Mayan Calendar, fireball observations we’ve tracked in this Signs series from the outset. So, what to do about it?
This is Not a Drill
You need to watch Duck and Cover staring Bert the Turtle. It is a Cold War Civil Defense Film from 1951, because when a superbolide or an atomic bomb detonates, the flash is not your cue to run to the windows. It’s your cue to go to ground. Watch and remember.
Remember, the Tunguska Event happened on June 30, 1908, and it released energy nearly equivalent to a hydrogen bomb, and there could be more of these nasty surprises lurking the Beta Taurid swarm. Therefore, between now and mid-July, we all need to be especially mindful of our daily surroundings. When you enter a room, note the windows and where you can duck for cover. Outside, look for duck and cover possibilities as well. Then if you are unfortunate enough to see a flash many times brighter than the Sun, go to ground ASAP!
Category: Signs
