GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY PREDICTED: A stream of solar wind is about to hit Earth's magnetic field. Estimated time of arrival: Feb. 20th or 21st. The gaseous material is flowing from a canyon-shaped hole in the sun's atmosphere. Arctic sky watchers can expect minor geomagnetic storms and auroras mixed with bright moonlight when the fast-moving stream arrives. Aurora Alerts: SMS text, email.
MOLTEN SNOW MOON: According to folklore, last night's full Moon was the "Snow Moon." When it rose over Lake Superior, however, it looked more like molten lava. Thomas Spence of Tofte, MN, photographed the moonrise:
"There was great atmospheric distortion," says Spence. "Ice piles and open water added to the fantastic scene."
This is an 'inferior mirage', caused by a layer of relatively warm air just above the lake's surface. A temperature gradient in the air--warmer near the open water and cooler above--created an upside-down image of the Moon below the actual Moon. The two images, reddened by the filtering effect of the low atmosphere, merged into a molten shape.
The mirage is also known as an 'Etruscan vase mirage,' so-called by Jules Verne, and an 'omega mirage' after its resemblance to the last letter of the Greek alphabet.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
MERCURY AT SUNSET: Tonight, right after the sun goes down, step outside and look west into the sunset. "Mercury is returning to the evening sky!" reports Piotr Majewski of Piwnice, Poland. He took this picture of the innermost planet shining just above the 32-meter radio telescope at the Toruń Centre for Astronomy:
Mercury is normally overwhelmed by the sun, but as February comes to a close, Mercury is emerging from the glare. The view will improve every night for the rest of the month as the planet climbs higher in the sunset sky, reaching a maximum elongation (distance from the sun) of 18 degrees on Feb. 27-28.
The best time to look is 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. Mercury often has a pink or orange hue, as it is filtered by the same low atmosphere that gives the sunset its colors. Scanning the horizon with binoculars can help you locate it. Once found, Mercury is easy to see with the unaided eye.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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.
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