A NEW-CYCLE SUNSPOT IS FORMING: Today, a new sunspot is emerging in the sun's southern hemisphere, right here. Its magnetic polarity identifies it as a member of Solar Cycle 25, the long-awaited next solar cycle. Although solar activity remains low, this new-cycle spot continues the recent trend of intensifying Solar Cycle 25 sunspot formation. Apparently, Solar Minimum won't last forever....
SOLAR WIND SPARKS AURORAS AND GROUND CURRENTS: A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field on Feb. 6th. The stream's arrival was expected, but its power was not. Wind speeds topped 600 km/s--the fastest of the year so far. First contact with the gaseous material produced this outburst of auroras over Rovaniemi, Finland:
"The sky just exploded with all the different colours!" says photographer Alexander Kuznetsov. "I've rarely seen the auroras move so fast. It was an amazing show."
In Norway, citizen scientist Rob Stammes of Lofoten's PolarLightCenter was surprised when his magnetometer suddenly went crazy:
"This evening around 20.35 UTC, a magnetic shockwave registered on my instruments," says Stammes. "There was also a strong surge of electrical current through the ground outside. Locally, we experienced a geomagnetic storm of magnitude K6."
The solar wind stream causing this action is flowing from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. It could continue to buffet Earth's magnetic field for another ~24 hours, sparking more Arctic auroras on Feb. 7th and 8th. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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BIG SOLAR PROMINENCE: It's a good thing the sun is 93 million miles away. Otherwise our planet might be in trouble. A large prominence is dancing along the sun's eastern limb today, and as this photo from Philippe Tosi of Nîmes, France, shows, it is big enough to swallow our entire planet:
"This prominence was very easy to see through my safely-filtered 228 mm (9-inch) telescope," says Tosi. "I inserted an image of Earth for comparison. The prominence is 5 times taller."
Prominences are clouds of plasma held above the sun's surface by magnetic fields. The way this prominence is moving suggests the underlying magnetic field may be unstable. It could erupt in the hours ahead. Solar observers are encouraged to monitor developments.
Realtime Spaceweather Photo Gallery
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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.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education