IS THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY SPLITTING IN TWO? Earth's magnetic field has a weak spot: The South Atlantic Anomaly, where space radiation comes closer than usual to our planet's surface. New data from Europe's Swarm spacecraft shows that the Anomaly might be splitting in two, creating a new weak spot near Africa in addition to the original over South America. FULL STORY.
NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS ARE INTENSIFYING: On May 17th, NASA's AIM spacecraft detected the first noctilucent clouds (NLCs) of summer over the north pole. Those first electric-blue smudges were barely visible. Since then, however, the clouds have rapidly intensified. Recent images from orbit show a growing bank of NLCs pinwheeling just inside the Arctic Circle:
NLCs are Earth's highest clouds. Seeded by meteoroids, they float at the edge of space more than 80 km above the ground. The clouds form when summertime wisps of water vapor rise up to the mesosphere, allowing water to crystallize around specks of meteor smoke. Last summer, they spread as far south as Los Angeles and Las Vegas, setting records for low-latitude sightings.
It's early in the 2020 season, so the clouds are still concentrated around the north pole. Nevertheless, people in northern Europe are starting to see them. Johny Krahbichler sends this picture taken last night (May 26th) from Ängelholm, Sweden:
"These night glowing clouds are pretty common during the summer here in Sweden," says Krahbichler. "But it's rare that they glow this brightly over such a large area. As soon as I saw them I ran to get my camera. The glow from the clouds ended up matching the glow of my LED strip inside!"
Noctilucent clouds have been likened to a great "geophysical light bulb" because they turn on abruptly, reaching almost full intensity over a period of ~10 days. By early June, therefore, we can expect the clouds to spread farther south with a significant increase in brightness. The circular rhythm of the pinwheel motion (caused by a 5-day planetary wave) may even allow us to start issuing predictions of latitude ranges where the clouds are most likely to appear.
Stay tuned for updates--and be alert for electric blue!
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
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THE INFINITY BLACK PEARL: It came from Tahiti--and now it's been to the edge of space. On April 15, 2020, this genuine Black Tahitian South Sea Cultured Pearl flew to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon, soaring 107,611 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $249.95. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling these exotic space pearls to fund their cosmic ray monitoring program.
Measuring 9 mm in diameter, the pearl is mounted on a 925 sterling silver infinity twist and suspended on a matching 17 inch long sterling silver chain. Each pearl comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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