A NEW FORM OF SPACE WEATHER--EARTH WIND: There's a new form of space weather--and it comes from our own planet. Electrified "Earth wind" is streaming through space, much like the solar wind but with some intriguing differences. A new study just published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters reports that Earth wind might actually make water on the Moon: full story.
THE SOLAR WIND IS HERE: Arriving a day earlier than expected, a solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field on Feb. 13th. The gaseous material is flowing from a gigantic triangular hole in the sun's atmosphere:
The solar wind speed could top 500 km/s this weekend as Earth moves deeper into the stream. That may not be enough to cause a full-fledged geomagnetic storm, but Arctic auroras are likely. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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INFRARED CRESCENT MOON: Can you see it? On Friday morning, Feb. 12th, Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau of Rafaela, Argentina, photographed a crescent Moon so skinny that it was practically invisible:
"It was quite a tricky task," says Poupeau. "The sun was high in the sky, and only 0.9% of the Moon's surface was illuminated." He captured the vanishingly thin crescent using an 850 nm infrared filter. This reduced the sky's overwhelming brightness relative to that of the lunar arc, which was only arcseconds thick.
"Even through the telescope, the Moon was totally invisible to the eye," he says. "I was so pleased to see it in this photographic exposure!"
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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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