SOLAR CYCLE 25 CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY: A sunspot has emerged in the sun's northern hemisphere, right here. Its magnetic polarity identifies it as a member of new Solar Cycle 25. This is the second Solar Cycle 25 sunspot we've seen this month, continuing a trend of low but intensifying Cycle 25 activity. The next solar cycle is coming, after all.
SOLAR WIND SPARKS PINK & GREEN AURORAS: As predicted, a stream of solar wind grazed Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 8-9. First contact with the gaseous material sparked "a fantastic display" of auroras over Alaska. "It was the best I've seen in a very long time," reports Sacha Layos, who took this picture outside of Fairbanks:
"Our temperatures are hovering around -40, so most folks were smarter than me and stayed inside by their wood stoves," she says. "I braved the cold and it turned out to be a spectacular night!"
Both Layos and another Fairbanks photographer, Thomas McCarty, noticed a pink border fringing the bottom of the green auroras. This is the "nitrogen fringe." Most auroras are green--the color of oxygen atoms being struck by energetic particles 100 km to 300 km above Earth's surface. Pink appears when energetic particles from space descend lower than usual, striking nitrogen molecules at the 100 km level and below.
Earth is still inside the solar wind stream on Jan. 9-10. Arctic sky watchers should be alert for more pink and green in the hours ahead. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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SILK SPACE ROSE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY: Valentine's Day is coming, and nothing says "I love you" like a silk rose from the edge of space. On Jan. 4, 2020, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched their first cosmic ray balloon of 2020. This rose went along for the ride, traveling 111,424 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $116.65. The students are selling Valentine's space roses to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each silk bloom comes with a greeting card showing the rose in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. Also included are the glass dome, wooden base, and an LED light kit to make your rose glisten like the stars.
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