A SUNSPOT IN THE OFFING: A new sunspot is struggling to emerge in the sun's southern hemisphere, right here. Its magnetic polarity is ambiguous. We cannot yet tell if it belongs to old Solar Cycle 24 or new Solar Cycle 25. Amateur astronomers may wish to monitor the region in case it turns into a fully-formed sunspot. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.

CARIBBEAN BOLIDE: Last night, a small space rock hit Earth's atmosphere and exploded over the Caribbean. Although the impact did not occur directly over Puerto Rico, cameras there had no trouble seeing the explosion. Frankie Lucena recorded this footage from Cabo Rojo, PR:

"The sky lit up brightly when the meteor hit," says Lucena. "The flash came from the direction of the Dominican Republic."

Indeed, he continues, "the GOES16 Group Energy Density image shows that it exploded over the Dominican Republic at 07:30 UTC (Feb. 21st):

"There is a good chance of finding some meteorites on land in the Dominican Republic," says Lucena.

If more information about this event becomes available, we will post it here. Stay tuned.

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A GIFT FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Every time the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch cosmic ray sensors to the stratosphere, they send a little something extra along for the ride. For example, this Northern Lights pendant:

On Dec. 6, 2019, it flew 107,612 feet above the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains of central California.

You can have it for $129.95. The students are selling these pendants as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray monitoring program. They make great anniversary, birthday and Mother's Day gifts. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.

Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education

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