SOLAR MINIMUM CONDITIONS ARE IN EFFECT: The sun has been without spots for 6 straight days--a sign that Solar Minimum conditions are in effect. This phase of the solar cycle brings extra cosmic rays, long-lasting holes in the sun's atmosphere, and strangely pink auroras. Would you like a text message when those auroras are visible? Sign up for instant Space Weather Alerts.
LIGHT PILLARS: On Saturday morning, Jan. 12th, Stephanie Graudons of Lebanon, New Hampshire, woke up before dawn and went outside. To her surprise, colorful lights towered above the snowy landscape. Auroras? No, these were light pillars:
"Below zero temperatures and partially open rivers formed these light pillars just before sunrise," says Graudons. "It was a beautiful way to begin the day."
Light pillars resemble auroras, but they are not. They are are caused by ice crystals in the air, which intercept manmade lights and spread them into colorful columns. Their distinctive colors come from the underlying bulbs. High pressure sodium lamps create warm orange beams, while modern LED lamps yield blue-white. No solar activity is required for the phenomenon. The only ingredients are ice and light pollution.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
NEW! SPACE WEATHER ALERTS: Spaceweather.com is proud to announce our new and improved space weather alert system. Sign up now and you'll never miss another solar storm in 2019. Subscribers receive instant text messages when there are solar flares, geomagnetic storms, and CMEs about to strike Earth. And if you sign up for the PRO PLAN, you'll receive a type of alert available no where else--"Magnetic Crack" alerts. Keep reading after the graphic to learn more:
PRO PLAN subscribers get a text message whenever a crack is opening in Earth's magnetosphere. Magnetic cracks are caused by south-pointing magnetic fields ("BsubZ") in the solar wind, which partially cancel Earth's magnetic defenses. Solar wind pours in through these cracks to fuel bright auroras and geomagnetic storms. Veteran aurora chasers know that watching "BsubZ" is the best way to anticipate geomagnetic activity. Now your cell phone can do this job for you, alerting you when cracks are forming in the invisible magnetic field overhead.
Get started for as little as $4.95 per month.
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