SOLAR WIND, INCOMING: A southern hole in the sun's atmosphere is spewing a stream of solar wind toward Earth. Estimated time of arrival: April 4th. Minor geomagnetic storms and Arctic auroras are possible when the gaseous material arrives. Aurora alerts: SMS text, email.
APRIL IS THE BEST MONTH FOR ZODIACAL LIGHTS: Tonight, when the sun does down and the glow of sunset fades away, another glow may take its place--the Zodiacal Light. It stretches upward from the western horizon forming a pale luminous triangle visible from places with exceptionally dark skies. Satu Juvonen photographed the phenomenon from eastern Finland:
"I drove to the Russian border, an uninhabited region where there is a really dark sky," says Juvonen. "There I witnessed the brightest Zodiacal LIght I have ever seen."
When you see the Zodiacal Light, you've seen the backbone of our solar system. Zodiacal Light is sunlight reflected from interplanetary dust. The pale glow traces the dusty plane through which all planets orbit, known to astronomers as the ecliptic plane. April is a good month to see Zodiacal Light because the ecliptic plane juts over the evening horizon almost vertically.
Because Zodiacal Light is faint, moonlight easily overwhelms it. Nights around the New Moon favor their visibility. With the next New Moon due on April 5th, now is a great time to look.
Realtime Zodiacal Light Photo Gallery
A GIFT FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: On August 16, 2018, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere. This laser-etched Moon cube went along for the ride, ascending to an altitude of 101,140 feet:
You can have it for $119.95. The students are selling these cubes as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray ballooning program. It's an authentic representation of the Moon, with all of the craters, mountains and lava plains accurately portrayed.
Each Moon-cube comes with a unique gift card showing the item floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery