The ozone hole continues to heal. Each year, it reaches an annual max extent. This year's extent was the seventh smallest since the ozone layer began recovery after the adoption of an international agreement phasing out use of ozone-depleting chemicals. go.nasa.gov/3YQQkwq

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, check out @NWSSWPC, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground. However — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS & communications signals travel.

Did you know that all articles in our Biographical Memoirs are free to access online? Explore the stories behind some of the greatest scientists who've ever lived: ow.ly/wGqC50Rm9La #BioMems #HistSci

MINOR RADIATION STORM IN PROGRESS: The GOES 10 MeV radiation threshold has been passed which puts us in an S1 radiation storm. The main effect is to radio communications in the polar regions and may divert some transpolar flights.

If you are a historian of earth and space science and you don't know the Astrophysics Data System, let me introduce you. It's an invaluable way to explore a vast literature. And change is always afoot.

Happy #SunDay! This week’s space weather report includes: · 4 X-class flares · 3 M-class flares · 20 coronal mass ejections · 0 geomagnetic storms NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the Sun’s activity – check out the X-class flares at 0:07, 2:38, 2:47, and 3:04!

Earth rising over the Moon 📹filmed by Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft Kaguya (timelapse)JAXA/NHK

Fully funded PhD Studentship on Caroline Herschel's Astronomical Notebooks. The student will be based @durham_uni and the @royalsociety. Further particulars and application information here: academia.edu/71074381/Celest… @BSHSNews @WSGUK @hssonline @AHAhistorians @TheCCWH @HistAstro

3am in the Eastern US and clouded over. Hope you are in a better situation for watching Aurora, here are some go to sources

IMPORTANT PSA FOR TOMORROW'S EVENTS: DO NOT use Kp for trying to find out how strong the aurora is. Kp is: 1. a three hour average (smooths over bursts of aurora) 2. a recording of PAST geomagnetic activity (tells you what happened BEFORE you look not in the moment) 3. a global, averaged measurement (aurora is not the same everywhere on Earth) Kp is literally useless for real-time monitoring of the aurora. Please refrain from posting screenshots of your app with "But the Kp is only 3 and it's overhead..." or "But the Kp is a 7 and I don't see anything..." The Kp can't keep up with an intense storm where substorms are happening causing intense bursts of aurora and spikes of geomagnetic activity, aurora might be in recovery (no visible signature even though geomagnetic activity is juiced up), there could be SAR arcs/intense reds pushing visibility equatorward... Your app is going to fail you tomorrow if all it tells you is Kp or spits out a % chance viewability based on OVATION Prime. Instead, look at: 1. Social media reports 2. Webcams: theauroraguy.com/pages/webca… 3. Aurorasaurus: aurorasaurus.org/ 4. AE Index (> 1000 nT): wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ae_re… 5. OVATION Prime (> 70 GW; not great since it's an empirical model, but it uses solar wind, so it's not AS bad): swpc.noaa.gov/products/auror… 6. Local Magnetometers (too many to list) 7. Hp30 (Kp but every 30 minutes; not great but good if you are scared to leave the Kp 1-9 paradigm): kp.gfz-potsdam.de/en/hp30-hp…

I can't wait to read all the essays. Thanks to the editors for the opportunity to contribute.

Congratulations to Virginia Trimble on receiving the Pais Prize in the Hiatory and Philosophy of Physics from the American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics!

A Carrington event WAY before Carrington.

Victor Blanco was a Puerto Rican #astrophysicist who helped forge the way for international observatories and research centers. Show your students how to spot astronomical objects in the sky with this free @AIP_History lesson plan about his life and work: aip.org/history-programs/phy…

📨Published in the August issue of @SIF_it Prima Pagina: History of physics - all over Europe. An article about #EPSHistoricSites🤩 primapagina.sif.it/article/1…

This is not my normal post, but here is Jimmy Buffett in his short time inn Jurassic Park.

I am now on a platform caught between heaven and Earth, in the clouds, under a familiar name. Find me there.

Is that site halfway between the heavens and the earth becoming the history of science gathering place? If so, I'm willing to venture.

Academics when they realize it’s August.