THE UNPRECEDENTED FADING OF BETELGEUSE--UPDATE: Last year, Betelgeuse was the 10th brightest star in the sky. This year, it has plummeted to 24th. Astronomers from Villanova have just released a new update on the status of the fading red supergiant: "Betelgeuse is now ~1.0 magnitude fainter relative to observations made at the start of 2019/20 observing season. Our most recent observation on 30.15 UT, January 2020 is V = +1.614 +/-0.012 mag." Whether Betelgeuse is shrinking, dimmed by a giant sunspot, shrouded in an outburst of stardust, or about to explode, is anyone's guess. Stay tuned.
MAGNETIC FROTH ON THE SUN: Today, in the sun's southern hemisphere, a sunspot is trying to form--and failing. The struggle is marked by a planet-sized patch of "magnetic froth." Martin Wise photographed the turmoil from his backyard observatory in Trenton, Florida:
Wise used a "Calcium K" (CaK) filter that passes violet-colored light from singly-ionized calcium atoms in the sun's atmosphere. CaK filters are excellent detectors of magnetic froth--the bright, bubbly, turbulent sea of magnetism that heralds the emergence of many sunspot groups.
If eventually a sunspot does emerge here, it will belong to Solar Cycle 25, the long-awaited next solar cycle. We know this because NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has measured the magnetic polarity of the froth: +/-. This pattern corresponds to Solar Cycle 25. Break out the bubbly.
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24K SPACE ROSE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY: On Feb. 1, 2020, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere. This 24k gold foil-gilded rose went along for the ride. At the apex of the flight, the acrylic bloom was 115,823 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $156.75. The students are selling these roses to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. They make great Valentine's Day gifts. Each one comes with a romantic card showing the rose in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again.
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