CRACKS IN EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD: Minor cracks are opening in Earth's magnetic field on Feb. 6th as the interplanetary magnetic field near our planet tips south. A solar wind stream due to arrive on Feb. 7th could flow through the gaps, igniting polar auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
A "FLUX ROPE CME" AND JUPITER: On Feb. 4th, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) watched a flux rope CME sail into space almost directly in front of Jupiter. Click to set the scene in motion:
It's called a "flux rope CME" because this CME is literally a rope--a helical twist of magnetic fields hundreds of thousands of kilometers long. When flux ropes are viewed from the side, they look like a coiled lasso. This lariat did not snare anything, though. The CME is going to miss both Earth and Jupiter.
Realtime Spaceweather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
SPARKLING LOWER SUN PILLAR: Last Wednesday, the sun rose over the mountains of Rjukan, Norway--as usual. Then it did something strange. "The sun stretched into a column of light reaching almost down to the valley floor," reports Torstein Sandvik, who saw the display while walking on a steep slope across the valley:
"There were lots of slowly falling snow crystals in the air, which seemed to be reflecting the sunlight," he says. "It was literally sparkling."
Sandvik witnessed a lower sun pillar. It is caused by plate-shaped crystals of ice floating below the sun. They mirror the sun's rays. Because the crystals wobble as they fall through the air, they smear the sun's reflection into a vertical line. A bright spot near the bottom of the pillar is called a "subsun."
Realtime Spaceweather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
VALENTINE'S GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Does someone in your life love space? Shop the Earth to Sky Store for their perfect Valentine's gift. All items in the store have flown to the stratosphere on board cosmic ray research balloons--and from now until Feb. 14th, everything is 10% off:
Each purchase comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. Don't forget to enter the coupon code "ILOVESPACE" for your Valentine's discount!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter