GEOMAGNETIC UNREST POSSIBLE THIS WEEK: Solar wind flowing from a weakly-organized hole in the sun's atmosphere is expected to buffet Earth's magnetic field this week. This will cause geomagnetic unrest, but probably not geomagnetic storms, on May 21st through 23rd. Photographic auroras mixed with moonlight are possible at high latitudes. Aurora Alerts: SMS Text.
WHAT POLLEN DOES TO MOONLIGHT: Last night, Marek Nikodem went outside to observe a bright conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter over Szubin, Poland. "To my surprise, I noticed a very intense pollen corona around the Moon," he says. He recorded the phenomenon in this self portrait:
Most coronas are caused by droplets of water or crystals of ice, which diffract the light of the sun and moon to create soft rings of color in the sky. Pollen grains do even better, creating tight, extra-colorful rings.
"Pine is strongly flowering now in the Poland. Evening storms with strong winds created perfect conditions for tiny pollen grains to be lifted and carried in the air," notes Nikodem. "So while people suffering from hay fever are having a bad time, some sky watchers, for example me, are actually enjoying themselves."
Above: Mickey mouse-shaped pine pollen seen through a microscope. ref.
Unlike water droplets, pollens are non-spherical--and this adds to their magic. Many pollen grains have air sacs to help carry them in the wind. These align the grains so that their coronas are elliptical with "bumps" caused by the air sacs. This effect may be seen in Nikodem's photo, above.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
FATHER'S DAY FISHING LURE: Father's Day is less than 3 weeks away. Just in time for giftgiving, we present the first fishing lure in space. This unique hook, inscribed with the message "I love you more than you love fishing," hitched a ride onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon on May 17, 2019, reaching an altitude of 117,454 feet:
You can have it for $119.95. The students are selling these lures to support their cosmic ray ballooning program--an increasing necessity because of the worldwide helium shortage. Balloon flights are becoming expensive!
Each hook comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education