GEMAGNETIC STORM IN PROGRESS: A G1-class (Minor) geomagnetic storm is in progress on Jan. 31st, and according to NOAA forecasters it could soon intensify to G2-class (Moderate). This is in response to a high-speed stream of solar wind now buffeting Earth's magnetic field. In Abisko, Sweden, Chad Blakely has just witnessed a bright outburst of green auroras:
"Words cannot describe what we are seeing!" he reports--which is impressive considering that Chad is an award-winning tour guide who has spent years describing auroras. It takes a special display to stump him.
The solar wind is flowing from a large hole in the sun's atmosphere. Because the hole is unusually wide, we could remain inside the stream of gas for some days to come. Stay tuned for more auroras. 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
A SUNDOG FALLS THROUGH A HOLE IN THE CLOUDS: Jan. 28th was a cloudy day in Lynden, Washington. Suddenly, a hole formed in the cloud deck--and a sundog fell through. Ben Ellis was out for a run and photographed the phenomenon with his iPhone:
What happened? Ellis witnessed a "fallstreak hole." These can form in high altitude clouds when the temperature drops below 0o C-- but water droplets in the cloud do not freeze. They remain in a supercooled liquid state, delicate and unstable. Suddenly, a disturbance occurs; perhaps a plane flies by. The sub-zero water droplets begin to crystallize in a wave expanding outward from the point of the disturbance. Ice crystals billow from the resulting "hole."
As ice crystals fell from this fallstreak hole, they caught the rays of the nearby sun, forming a rainbow-colored sundog.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery