NEW SUNSPOT: A new sunspot is rotating over the sun's southeastern limb, right here. This could be the first of several sunspots approaching from the farside of the sun. NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft has been monitoring a sprawling active region just beyond the sun's horizon, and it is finally turning to face Earth. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
INFERIOR MIRAGE OF JUPITER: If you want to see a planet do something weird, photograph it just before it sets. On Jan. 12th, Juan Manuel Perez Rayego did exactly that, training his camera on Jupiter as it was sinking into the waves of the Atlantic Ocean off the shore of Melides, Portugal. Watch what happened in this 2-minute time-lapse animation:
The prismatic action of the low atmosphere spread Jupiter into a colorful blob that stetched, split, and rejoined itself multiple times. At one point, an image of Jupiter rises *up* from the waves to meet the actual planet descending from above. This is an inferior mirage caused by a temperature inversion in the air just above the sea surface. There is also a hint of a green flash.
During the same photo session, Rayego observed similar distortions in the sun, Mercury, and a ship at sea. "It was a great way to end the day," he says.
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LOVE BIRDS IN THE STRATOSPHERE: Valentine's Day is coming. To get ready for the most romantic day of the year, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a pair of crystal love birds to the stratosphere on Jan. 1, 2021. Here they are floating on a cosmic ray balloon 102,690 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have them for $129.95. The students are selling love birds to fund their cosmic ray ballooning program. Made of high-quality Borosilicate Crown Crystal often used in lenses and prisms, the birds glitter colorfully in sunlight, even at the edge of space. Each purchase comes with a greeting card showing the birds in flight and telling the story of their 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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