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]
SOLAR PROMINENCE: A giant cloud of plasma is dancing over the sun's western limb today. Shown here in a snapshot from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, the structure is more than 80,000 km tall and could swallow our planet more than 50 times with room to spare:
Solar physicists call this a "hedgerow prominence." Hot glowing plasma inside the structure is held aloft by unstable solar magnetic fields. NASA and Japanese space telescopes have taken high resolution images of of similar prominences and seen some amazing things such as (1) tadpole-shaped plumes that float up from the base of the prominence; (2) narrow streams of plasma that descend from the top like waterfalls; and (3) swirls and vortices that resemble van Gogh's Starry Night.
Got a solar telescope? Take a look!
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
CORONAL HOLE TURNS TOWARD EARTH: A hole has opened in the sun's atmosphere, and it is spewing a stream of solar wind into space. An extreme ultraviolet telescope onboard NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the structure turning to face Earth on Jan. 23rd:
This is a "coronal hole" (CH)--a region in the sun's atmosphere where the magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape to escape. A gaseous stream emerging from this coronal hole should reach Earth on or about Jan. 27th. Arctic sky watchers, mark your calendars. Auroras are in the offing later this week. Free: Aurora alerts.
FAR-OUT VALENTINE'S GIFT: To raise money for their cosmic ray ballooning program, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have flown a payload-full of Valentine's pendants to the edge of space--and you can have one for $89.95. Buy one this week and we will include a space rose free of charge.
Each glittering pendant comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and certifying that it has been to the stratosphere and back again.
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