THE SOLAR WIND IS HERE: A high-speed stream of solar wind is buffeting Earth's magnetic field on Feb. 7th, sparking G1-class geomagnetic storms and auroras around both poles--north and south. The gaseous material is flowing faster than 500 km/s from an equatorial hole in the sun's atmosphere. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
"Tonight, after months of relative inactivity the Aurora Australis burst into life," reports Ian Griffin, who sends this picture froom Smails Beach, Otago Peninsula, New Zealand:
"For a few brief minutes, the aurora displayed beams and fast moving activity which were a delight!" he says.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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SUNSET SUN PILLAR: Not all colors in the sky are auroras. "Just before dusk on Feb. 5th, the sun emitted a light beam up into the cold clouds over St. Louis, which caused a cloud above it to glow red," reports photographer Glen Wolf. "A long exposure captured all of the colors changing into warm hues, with cloud drag in high winds above the Mississippi River behind the Gateway Arch."
Wolf captured a sunset sun pillar--caused by airborne ice crystals reflecting the rays of the setting sun.
Ice crystals in the air can take many shapes. The ones that cause sun pillars are flat hexagonal prisms, resembling a six-sided stop sign. (Real stop signs have eight sides.) These crystals flutter down to Earth from high wintry clouds--a bit like leaves falling from trees. As they descend, air resistance causes them to lie flat, positioning them just right to reflect the rays of the sun upward into a pillar.
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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
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