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About Higher
Horizons
Higher Horizons Observatory is located in Wasilla, Alaska, U.S.A.
Under the dome is an equatorially mounted 10" Newtonian reflector that is used for nighttime observing and star parties.
The observatory also operates a 5" refractor that is equipped for observing and photographing the Sun.
Projects
Higher Horizons Observatory participates in solar research projects. Data is gathered, analyzed, and then submitted to the CV-Helios Worldwide Solar Observation Network and the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers Solar Section.
Each spring, I take the solar telescope into the Anchorage Museum on International Astronomy Day to share views of the Sun with everyone there.
Solar and
Spaceweather links
Tools
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Here's a little something just for fun. Heavens Above hosts a website where you can find information about when a given satellite will pass overhead at your particular location. Most satellites are bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye and look like moving stars.
You can use this site to see when the International Space Station will be visible from your back yard for example. Have fun with it!
Higher Horizons Observatory is located in Wasilla, Alaska, U.S.A.
Under the dome is an equatorially mounted 10" Newtonian reflector that is used for nighttime observing and star parties.
The observatory also operates a 5" refractor that is equipped for observing and photographing the Sun.
The last family member is an 8" Schmidt-Cass that is used for solar and nighttime observing when high maginification is required.
Here's something just for fun: Most Earth-orbiting satellites are visible to the unaided eye as moving stars. The Heavens Above website has information about when any particular satellite will be visible from your backyard. You can watch the International Space Station pass overhead for example.
Check it out:
Higher Horizons Observatory participates in solar research projects. Data is gathered, analyzed, and then submitted to the CV-Helios Worldwide Solar Observation Network and the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers Solar Section.
Tom is a NASA Solar System Ambassador. The Solar System Ambassadors (SSA) program is run by NASA/JPL/Caltech. It is comprised of dedicated, trained volunteers across the nation that share the latest science and discoveries of NASA's missions through a variety of events designed to inspire their communities.
There is more about the Solar System Ambassador program on the PUBLIC OUTREACH button at the top of this page.
CV-Helios World Wide Solar Observing Network
Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers
Current space weather conditions
Space Weather Enthusiasts Dashboard | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center
Real time solar wind
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/real-time-solar-wind
Current Active Regions (Sunspots)
Solar activity | SpaceWeatherLive.com
Big Bear Solar Observatory
National Solar Observatory
NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory
NASA Parker Solar Probe
http://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/
Southcentral Alaska Astronomical Society
Current Solar Conditions
There are nine sunspot groups on the Earth-facing side of the Sun today. Please click on "THE SOLAR CYCLE" button in the header for more information regarding sunspots and the solar cycle.
As of 6:35 AM Alaska Time 06/07/2023
Solar wind: Planetary K-index: Interplanetary Magnetic Field:
- 328.9 km/sec (734,104.8 mi/hr) - Current Kp= 2 (quiet) - Bt = 4.68 nT
- 1.64 protons per cubic cm - Max over last 24 hrs = 2 (quiet) - Bz = -0.01 nT south
The photos below are from the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The SDO is in an inclined geosynchronous orbit that allows continuous viewing of the Sun with a continuous science data downlink rate of 130 Megabits per second (Mbps).
The HMI camera is the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. HMI provides four main types of data: dopplergrams (maps of solar surface velocity), continuum filtergrams (broad-wavelength photographs of the solar photosphere), and both line-of-sight and vector magnetograms (maps of the photospheric magnetic field).
AR3327 has a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares.
β-γ-δ – Beta-Gamma-Delta: A sunspot group with a beta-gamma magnetic configuration but contains one (or more) delta sunspots.
β-γ – Beta-Gamma: A bipolar sunspot group but complex enough so that no line can be drawn between spots of opposite polarity.
δ – Delta: The umbrae of opposite polarity in a single penumbra.
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The photo to the right was taken by the AIA camera aboard the SDO. The AIA camera is the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. AIA images the solar atmosphere in multiple wavelengths to link changes in the surface to changes in the interior. Data includes images of the Sun in 10 wavelengths every 10 seconds.
The dark areas in this image are called "coronal holes". Coronal holes are areas where the Sun's magnetic field opens up and allows "solar wind" - charged particles - to escape into space.
The University of Oulu's Neutron Monitor Database website: https://cosmisrays.oulu.fi/
CONTACT HIGHER HORIZONS OBSERVATORY
Higher Horizons Observatory
Wasilla, Alaska, U.S.A.