NEW SUNSPOT GROUP: A moderately large sunspot group is rotating into view over the sun's northeastern limb. So far it appears to be stable and quiet like every other sunspot this year. Its potential for solar flares will become better known in the days ahead as it turns to face Earth and provides a clearer view of its magnetic topology. See the sunspot!
PLANET-SIZED MAGNETIC LOOP: Astronomers are monitoring a beautiful solar prominence today. It's emerging from a new sunspot group rotating over the sun's eastern limb. This picture, taken on Feb. 19th by Giampaolo Salvato of Padova, Italy, shows the prominence with Earth side-by-side for comparison. Croquet anyone?
Prominences are magnetic loops filled with hot-glowing gas. They're often seen when sunspots are near the edge of the solar disk. Magnetic loops form a canopy above sunspot groups, and it is within this canopy that solar flares sometimes explode. Will this loop be a blast? Amateur astronomers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
GREEN MOUNTAINS IN NORWAY: During an outburst of Northern Lights, most people stare at the sky. Sometimes, however, it pays to look at the ground. "On Feb. 18th, the mountains around us turned green," reports Didier Van Hellemojt from Tromsø, Norway, more than 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. "The snowy slopes reflected the color of the green auroras overhead."
Green terrain could become a common sight in the nights ahead. Earth is inside a wide stream of solar wind that will influence our planet, off and on, for the rest of the month. Activity could reach a crescendo at the end of February when, according to NOAA analysts, G2-class geomagnetic storms could erupt around the Arctic Circle. Stay tuned for updates. Free: Aurora Alerts
AN UNUSUAL FLYBY: On Feb. 11th, green Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova flew past our planet in one of the closest Earth-comet encounters of the Space Age. It was a disappointment, though, as the fizzling comet was too dim to see with the unaided eye. A week later, the comet executed a much more satisfying flyby--of two distant galaxies. Michael Jäger of Stixendorf, Austria, photographed the event on Feb. 18th:
Located 25 million light years away, these two galaxies have been nicknamed by astronomers "The Whale and the Hockey Stick." The strange shape of the Hockey Stick is thought to result from a long-ago encounter with the Whale. No one can say exactly what happened. Probably the Whale's gravity probably pulled a plume of star forming gas from the body of the other galaxy, transforming the starry disk into something akin to a bent stick. The official names of these star systems are NGC4656 and NGC4631.
More photos of this unusual flyby may be found in the Realtime Comet Photo Gallery. Enjoy!