SOLAR WIND BUFFETS EARTH: Earth is inside a stream of solar wind flowing from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. This is causing geomagnetic unrest (albeit not full-fledged storms) around the poles. Arctic sky watchers should remain alert for auroras on Feb. 13th and 14th. Aurora Alerts: SMS text, email.
A SNOWSTORM HITS HAWAII: On Monday, an historic winter storm pounded Hawaii with hurricane force winds, massive waves, and snow in some unusual places. Maui was blanketed in snow at altitudes as low as 6200 feet--the lowest snowfall since 1952. At the 10,023-foot summit of Maui's Haleakala volcano, many world-class telescopes were frozen solid:
"We were finally allowed into Haleakala National Park to get to the Haleakala Observatory," reports Rob Ratkowski, who photographed the scene. "About a foot of snow fell creating black ice that was a danger to vehicles. When we arrived today we saw much ice attached to buildings, observatories and fences."
The Haleakala Observatory was Hawaii's first astronomical research and development facility. Managed by the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, the summit is home to the ATLAS asteroid impact early warning system, the Air Force's Maui Space Surveillance Complex, the Pan-STARRS asteroid and comet survey telescope, and (under construction) the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope--the most powerful solar telescope in the world, capable of studying the sun's surface, corona, and magnetic fields in unprecedented detail.
These and other telescopes on the summit may not thaw out until next week. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Haleakala that does not expire until Friday: "A mix of wintry weather is expected early Wednesday, and then again on Thursday, making travel to Haleakala Summit extremely dangerous." Be careful, Rob Ratkowski!
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
VALENTINE'S GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Valentine's Day is tomorrow. Nothing says "I love you" like a gift from the edge of space. Everything in the Earth to Sky Store is 10% off from now until Feb. 14th:
Everything in the store has been flown to the stratosphere onboard cosmic ray balloons, which the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch approximately once a week to monitor atmospheric radiation. All sales support our cosmic ray ballooning program and help launch young scientists into research careers through hands-on STEM education.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
AURORAS VS. THE MOON: Some photographers rue the Moon. Its glare can overwhelm the delicate beauty of the night sky. That's not what happened, though, this week in Ylläs, Finland:
"Exactly one minute past midnight on Feb. 11th, Lady Aurora swept me off my feet," says photographer Thomas Kast. "Look at her dance with the moonlight!"
The unexpected outbreak of geomagnetic activity produced a green glow that rivaled the waxing crescent Moon with glittering moonlit snow to frame the scene.
"If this is the calm before the storm, I can't wait for the geomagnetic unrest ahead of us on Feb. 14th!" says Kast, who is ready for a new round of auroras vs. the Moon.