EXITING THE SOLAR WIND STREAM: Earth is exiting a stream of solar wind that sparked brief G1-class geomagnetic storms when it arrived on Feb. 27th. The odds of additional storms, according to NOAA, are waning to 25% on March 1st and only 15% on March 2nd. A new stream of solar wind could arrive as early as March 3rd, bringing renewed magnetic unrest. Free: Aurora Alerts
MARCH HAS TWO FULL MOONS: Most months only have one full Moon. This month has two: March 2nd and March 31st. According to modern folklore, the second is a Blue Moon. Don't expect the Moon to turn blue, however. A Blue Moon is the second full Moon in a calendar month and, except on rare occasions, it looks as pale-gray as any other lunar disk:
Above: The Blue Moon of Jan. 31 2018 with the ISS flying by. Credit: Andrzej Sienko of Old Bridge, NJ
If this is giving you a sense of déjà vu, that's because you heard the same news in January 2018. January also had two full Moons, punctuated by a Blue Moon. Two Blue Moons in three months? The last time this happened was almost 20 years ago. In 1999, January and March had two full Moons, separated by a February with no full Moons at all--just like 2018.
Enjoy the full Moon on March 2nd. But if you miss it, don't worry, March will give you a second chance.
SUMMER SUN HALOS: Yesterday's high temperature in Florianópolis, Brazil, topped 90 degrees F, typical of the region's warm summer days. Nevertheless, when Cristiano Andujar looked up from the steps of the City Cathedral, he saw definite signs of freezing air. "There were two beautiful ice halos around the sun," he says. "People on the sidewalk were stopping and pointing."
In this photo, which Andujar took, the big ring around the sun is a common 22-degree halo, caused by sunlight shining through hexagonal ice crystals in cirrus clouds. Floating almost 10 km high, these clouds were freezing despite scorching temperatures on the streets of Florianópolis.
Just below the 22-degree halo, Andujar's camera captured an intensely colorful band of light called a circumhorizon arc, also caused by ice crystals in the clouds. Summer is the season for circumhorizon arcs because they appear only when the sun is high in the sky--more than 58o above the horizon. The arc's enormous size and pure spectral colors make it one of the most beautiful of all ice halos.
Are you sweating under a summer sun? Look up anyway. You might see something very cool.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
CROWD-FUNDING SPACE WEATHER RESEARCH: Did you know that cosmic rays in Earth's atmosphere are intensifying? It's true, and we are monitoring the phenomenon with regular space weather balloon flights to the stratosphere. This student science program is not supported by any government grant or corporate sponsorship. Instead, we raise our research funds by selling these:
This pendant, and others like it, have touched the edge of space. We fly them to the stratosphere alongside our cosmic ray sensors for fundraising.
You can have one for $199.95. With a sterling silver backface that says "I Love You to the Moon and Back," these blue jewels make great Valentine's, Mother's Day, and birthday gifts. All sales 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