SET YOUR ALARM FOR DAWN: Awake before sunrise? Step outside and look southeast. The crescent Moon and Venus are converging for a beautiful conjunction on Thursday morning, Jan. 31st--little more than 1o apart. Jupiter and the red giant star Antares are nearby as well. It's a great way to begin the day. More: sky map, photo gallery
This morning (Jan. 30th) in frigid Cody, Wyoming, Dewey Vanderhoff photographed the planets converging:
"The Moon and planet show was worth braving the bitter cold of high altitude Wyoming to observe," says Vanderhoff. "I took this picture at ~6AM civil time."
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
SOLAR WIND, INCOMING: During solar minimum, long-lasting holes open in the sun's atmosphere, releasing streams of solar wind into space. One of those holes is facing Earth now, and it's a big one:
We've seen this hole before. It opened in the summer of 2018 and has been spinning around as the sun rotates, lashing Earth with solar wind approximately once a month. The last time our planet felt its gaseous emissions, on Dec. 27-28, 2018, Alaska skies exploded in green and "the best auroras of the season" were observed over Iceland.
The solar wind will return on Jan. 31st or (more likely) Feb. 1st, bringing with it a chance of G1-glass geomagnetic storms. Arctic sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Visibility should be good as the waning crescent Moon provides dark skies for both photography and naked-eye observing. Aurora Alerts: SMS text, email.
FAR OUT VALENTINE'S GIFT: Valentine's Day is barely two weeks away. Nothing says "I love you" like a rose quartz heart from the edge of space. On Jan. 26, 2019, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew this pendant 101,908 feet above the snow-capped Sierras of central California:
You can have it for $99.95. The students are selling the pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the rose-colored heart in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space. All sales support Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray measurements and hands-on STEM research.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education