COSMIC RAYS ARE INCREASING AT AVIATION ALTITUDES: New high-altitude balloon measurements inside the Arctic Circle show that cosmic rays are increasing at aviation altitudes. Commercial flight crews and passengers traveling over Earth's poles now experience as much as 12% more radiation than they did just a few years ago. Check out the data and get the full story right here.
COMET ATLAS IS BRIGHTENING: Three weeks ago, amateur astronomer Roman Kulesza of Ontario, Canada, tried to find Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4). "It wasn't easy," says Kulesza. "But last night--wow! The comet has really brightened." He took this picture of the emerald-green comet with a 5-inch refracting telescope:
The comet is about as bright as an 8th or 9th magnitude star. That's too dim to see with the naked eye--but consider this: The comet is hundreds of times brighter than astronomers predicted when it was discovered 4 months ago by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). And it's still beyond the orbit of Mars.
By the time Comet ATLAS approaches the sun in May, it could become quite bright, indeed. Estimates range from magnitude +1 to -10; in other words, somewhere between a 1st magnitude star and the waxing crescent Moon.
Above: Click to view an interactive 3D orbit of Comet ATLAS from JPL.
Kulesza's image is 1 degree wide. That, plus the comet's distance (1.1 AU), allows us to estimate the physical size of the comet's green atmosphere: ~300,000 km or more than twice as wide as Jupiter. It's a big target--and it's getting bigger as the comet approaches. Amateur astronomers can find Comet ATLAS in Ursa Major using this ephemeris from JPL. Got a picture? Submit it here.
Realtime Comet ATLAS Photo Gallery
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MR. SPOCK BOBBLEHEAD IN THE STRATOSPHERE: If you would like to support the Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray ballooning program, there's a logical way to do it. Puchase this Mr. Spock collector's item. Here is the green-blooded science officer floating 32.2 km (112,200 ft) above Death Valley National Park in central California:
You can have him for $170.10. The price, in case you're wondering, is the serial number of the Enterprise, NGC1701, divided by 10. The students are selling Spock to buy more helium! He comes with a greeting card showing the high-quality resin bobblehead in flight and telling the story of his journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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