INCOMING SOLAR WIND STREAM: A narrow stream of solar wind is approaching Earth. Estimated time of arrival: Jan. 25th. The gaseous material is flowing from a small hole in the sun's atmosphere. Its impact could spark a brief (one night only) episode of Arctic auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
JUPITER AND SATURN CONVERGE ON THE SUN (UPDATED): Remember last month's Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn? The two gas giants are still close together, but don't look for them now. It will hurt your eyes:
Jupiter and Saturn are converging on the sun, overhead in the blue sky at noon. Human eyes cannot see them, but SOHO can. The image, above, was taken by SOHO coronagraphs on Jan. 22nd.
A coronagraph is a telescope that uses an opaque disk to cover the sun, creating an artificial eclipse. SOHO coronagraphs were designed to track coronal mass ejections (CMEs); they are also good at finding stars, planets and comets very close to the sun.
Saturn will be less than half a degree from the sun on Jan. 24th, followed by Jupiter 4 days later. Join SOHO for a ringside seat.
*UPDATE* Spaceweather.com reader Marian Urbaník of Čadca, Slovak republic, noticed something extra in the coronagraph images: A dive-bombing comet! Watch the movie.
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THE *BIG* SPACE BOUQUET: Just in time for Valentine's Day--the biggest batch of crystal roses ever flown to space! On Jan. 13, 2021, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this 4-flower bouquet to the stratosphere. Floating on a cosmic ray balloon, it rose (no pun intended) to an altitude 109,252 feet above the Sierra Nevada of central California:
You can have them for $169.95. The students are selling space roses to fund their cosmic ray ballooning program. The flowers, stems and base are all made of Borosilicate Crown Crystal, the kind used in high-quality lenses and prisms. That's why the flowers glitter so colorfully in sunlight at the edge of space.
Each purchase comes with a greeting card showing the bouquet 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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