SUNSET CONJUNCTION, TONIGHT! When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. If you have a clear view of the horizon, you'll see Venus and Mercury beaming together through the twilight. And that's not all. For one night only, March 18th, the slender crescent Moon is joining them for a beautiful 3-way conjunction. Submit your photos here. [sky map]
SOLAR WIND SPARKS AURORAS: For the fourth day in a row, Earth is inside a stream of solar wind flowing from a wide hole in the sun's atmosphere. Last night, March 17th, Marianne Bergli saw the resulting auroras shining through clouds over Kilpisjervi, Findland:
"The weather was horrible in Norway, so we drove to Finland to find a thin spot in the clouds," says Bergli, who operates a successful aurora tour service. "Just when everyone was ready to take pictures, there was a beautiful outburst in the sky with many shapes, some like a phoenix."
More auroras are in the offing as Earth continues to move through this fan-shaped stream of solar wind, length-wise. Equinox cracks in our planet's magnetic field will admit the solar wind, allowing the light show to continue even without a full-fledged geomagnetic storm. Free: Aurora Alerts
THESE PENDANTS HAVE TOUCHED SPACE: On Dec. 31, 2017, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew a payload full of heart-shaped pendants to the stratosphere. Here's one 115,158 feet above the Sierras of central California:
You can have one for $119.95. These jewels make great birthday and anniversary gifts. 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
MUST-SEE AURORA MOVIE: On March 14th, deep inside the Arctic Circle, photographer Oliver Wright stood outside in the cold waiting for the solar wind to arrive. Suddenly, the sky erupted in a swirling cauldron of color--"possibly the best I've ever seen," says Wright, who has been leading aurora tours for years in Abisko, Sweden. Turn up the volume and listen to the cries of delight in Wright's 3 minute video:
"My fingers got so cold taking this video," he says, "but it was worth it."
Watch the video again and pay special attention to the moments after 1:30. Those dynamic swirls of pink are caused by energetic particles reaching unusually deep into Earth's atmosphere, interacting with nitrogen molecules to produce a pink glow so intense that it sometimes appeared white.
This outburst was caused by a crack forming in Earth's magnetic field. Ambient solar wind (not the high-speed stream Wright was waiting for) poured in to fuel the display. Magnetic cracks occur more frequently than usual during weeks around equinoxes, which make this a great time of year for Arctic lights. Free: Aurora Alerts
