STRANGE ANTARCTIC WEATHER EXTENDS TO THE EDGE OF SPACE: What's happening above Antarctica? That's what researchers would like to know as a number of meteorological indices go haywire. New data from NASA's AIM spacecraft add to the mystery: Noctilucent clouds normally present at this time of year are missing. The strange weather now extends to the edge of space. FULL STORY.
THE LOPSIDED SOLAR CYCLE: Solar physicists have long known that the two hemispheres of the sun don't always operate in sync. While one hemisphere is active, the other may be utterly quiet; Solar Max in the North can be offset from Solar Max in the South by as much as two years. The sun's lopsided behavior is on display right now, as shown in this Dec. 4th photo from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
In the southern hemisphere, there are 4 times more active regions than in the north. Since the big sunspots of Solar Cycle 25 started appearing in October 2020, approximately 82% of all 'spots have been in the south. The vast majority of all solar activity is coming from just one half of the sun.
An excellent historical review of sunspot activity penned by retired NASA scientist David Hathaway shows that solar cycles often tilt one way or the other. The great Solar Cycle 19 of the 1960s, for instance, was mostly southern, an asymmetry which spilled over into Solar Cycle 20 as well:
Smoothed monthly sunspot areas for northern and southern hemispheres separately. The difference between the curves is filled in red if north dominates or blue if south dominates.
Other solar cycles have been more balanced, with only razor-thin margins separating one hemisphere from the other.
How will Solar Cycle 25 shape up? If history is any guide, the northern hemisphere of the sun will eventually catch up. For now, though, Solar Cycle 25 has a distinctly southern personality. Solar flares, y'all?
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GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Christmas is weeks away. Are you looking for a far-out gift? Check out the Earth to Sky Store. It's filled with unique items that have flown to the edge of space onboard cosmic ray research balloons. And, today only, they're 15% off:
Carried aloft by giant helium balloons, these unique gifts have flown above 99.7% of Earth's atmosphere, experiencing space-like blasts of cosmic rays, extreme cold, and a wild ride parachuting back to Earth after the balloon explodes. Even Amazon doesn't carry items this far out.
Don't forget to enter coupon code "BLACKPEARL" at checkout for a 15% Black Friday discount.
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SOUTH AMERICAN SOLAR ECLIPSE:The only total solar eclipse of 2020 is only 9 days away. On Dec. 14th, the new Moon will pass in front of the sun, blotting out the solar disk for more than 2 minutes in some places. This new video from space artist Larry Koehn shows the path of totality curring across Chile and Argentina:
At maximum, the sun will be hidden for 2 minutes and 10 seconds, revealing the sun's ghostly corona to onlookers inside the Moon's shadow. The sky will darken, a cool breeze will move across the landscape, and night birds will sing at midday. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's a million.
Spaceweather.com has local photographers on the ground in Chile who will be sending us pictures during the eclipse. Stay tuned for a live view of the greatest show on Earth!
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