SOLAR MINIMUM SUNSPOT: A new sunspot (AR2699) has emerged and it is crackling with B- and C-class solar flares. Such relatively minor flares would escape notice during a more active phase of the solar cycle. However, we are now on the eve of Solar Minimum. This activity is a sharp departure from months of tomb-like quiet on the solar surface. With a primary core that is larger than Earth, AR2699 is an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. Monitoring is encouraged.
SOLAR WIND GRAZES EARTH, SPARKS AURORAS: A stream of solar wind spilling from a northern hole in the sun's atmosphere is grazing Earth's magnetic field. Last night, Phil Halper witnessed the effect of the solar wind from the window seat of a flight from Pittsburgh to Iceland:
"I made sure to sit on the left hand side of the aircraft just in case of aurora," says Halper. "Before we took off I checked Spaceweather.com and saw that a coronal hole might give us some luck. Sure enough the sky exploded with light. I and several other passengers were mesmerized by this stunning display."
The grazing action of this solar wind stream will probably continue for another 24 hours. Arctic sky watchers and polar fliers should remain alert for auroras. Free: Aurora Alerts
UNIQUE VALENTINE'S GIFT: Nothing says "I Love You" like a Valentine's pendant from the edge of space. On Dec. 31, 2017, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew a payload-full of these heart-shaped pendants to the stratosphere, 35.1 km (115,158 feet) above Earth's surface:
You can have one for $119.95. Each glittering pendant comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space. Sales of this pendant support the Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray ballooning program and hands-on STEM research.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education
PARASELENIC CIRCLES: When the Moon is full and it's really cold outside, strange things can happen in the sky. Consider the following: "Jan 31st was a very chilly night about, -24 C and with a windchill about -34 C," reports Sheila Wiwchar of Kaleida, Manitoba. "Stepping outside to look at the Moon, I saw something I've never seen before: One halo circling the Moon and another one cutting right through it."
"I photographed this strange double halo using a Canon 6D with a Sigma lens at 10mm--lots of vignetting, but I was able to fit in both halos," she says.
Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley explains the apparition: "These are ice halos, formed by plate-shaped crystals in high clouds."
"The halo circling the moon is the familiar 22 degree halo," he says. "The circle through the Moon and around the sky is much more rare. It is a paraselenic circle, named after after Selene, the Greek goddess of the Moon and one of the ancient Titans. The equivalent around the sun is the parhelic circle after Helios, the personification of the sun and also a Titan."
Paraselenic circles aren't the only strange thing that happened ion Jan. 31st. Millions of people also witnessed a total eclipse of the Moon. Browse the photo gallery for moonshots.
Realtime Lunar Eclipse Photo Gallery