RADIATION CLOUDS AT AVIATION ALTITUDES: A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Space Weather reports the discovery of radiation "clouds" at aviation altitudes. When airplanes fly through these clouds, dose rates of cosmic radiation normally absorbed by air travelers can double or more. [full story]
NEW SUNSPOTS MATERIALIZE: Reversing the recent trend of crashing sunspot numbers, two new active regions emerged over the weekend: AR2527 and AR2528. A 48-hour movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory shows their surprise emergence. The dark cores have grown so large, they are now visible in photos of the sunset, like this one captured on Sunday evening by Enrico Finotto of Treviso, Italy:
"I caught the new sunspots just as a plane was passing by--perfect timing," says Finotto.
The sunspots announced themselves on Saturday with a flurry of minor C-class solar flares. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded this one (C9.3) on Jan 21st at 0726 UT:
During Solar Maximum, such a puny flare would not be mentioned as busy space weather forecasters tracked explosions 100x more potent. But now, with sunspot counts so low and flares so seldom, a C9 event is noteworthy.
If these sunspots continue to grow, solar flare activity could intensify. NOAA forecasters have boosted the of odds of moderately strong M-flares to 25%. Stay tuned for updates.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
SUNSET IN THE STRATOSPHERE: Nothing says "I love you" like a bear from space. To raise money for their cosmic ray research program, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have flown a payload-full of Valentine's bears to the edge of space. This was a special flight, timed to photograph the bears at sunset in the stratosphere, wrapped in the romantic light of the fading sun 98,000 feet above Earth's surface:
You can have one for $49.95. Each bear comes with a Valentine's card showing the bears in flight and telling the story of their trip to the stratosphere.
More far-out Valentine's gifts may be found in the Earth to Sky store. All proceeds support cosmic ray balloon flights and STEM education.
Realtime Airglow Photo Gallery