SUNSPOT DOUBLES IN SIZE: Northern sunspot AR2804 has doubled in size since yesterday. It is now an easy target for backyard solar telescopes and a growing threat for Earth-directed solar flares. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
MY CAMERA'S BROKEN! NO IT'S NOT: Barbara Martens is an experienced photographer, but when she looked out across Upper New York Bay early Wednesday morning, she couldn't believe her eyes. "I thought my camera was broken," says Martens. "The Moon was setting behind the Statue of Liberty, and it started to get these weird shapes."
Actually, her camera was okay; the lunar disk was genuinely distorted. Temperature inversions in the air above the bay created a multi-layered mirage, slicing and stretching the lunar disk into strange shapes. The upper edge of the Moon also displays a green rim--a classic sign of prismatic refraction in the low atmosphere.
"Although I had no clue what I was seeing, I just kept pressing the shutter," says Martens, who belongs to a group of friends who routinely photograph the Moon over landmarks in the New York City area. "Before sunrise on Feb. 24th, the Moon set beautifully over the torch and crown of the Statue of Liberty--an iconic picture. The atmospheric distortions made it doubly-worth getting up at 3 o'clock in the morning!"
Realtime Spaceweather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
NOT BAD FOR A 'WEAK IMPACT': Yesterday, inside the Arctic Circle, Chad Blakley and his family stood on the frozen surface of Sweden's Lake Tornetrask waiting for a CME to arrive. As predicted, it did. "Not bad for a weak impact!" says Blakely. Despite the CME's surprisingly feeble blow, a green ribbon of auroras appeared overhead:
"The auroras had to compete with a full Moon, but the show was still incredible," says Blakley. "A few members of our family got to see Northern Lights for the very first time."
Another episode of auroras is only days away. A stream of solar wind is approaching Earth, blowing faster than 500 km/s from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Estimated time of arrival: March 1st. Watch the show on Blakley's webcam, broadcasting live from inside the Arctic Circle 24/7.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
THIS IS *REAL* MONEY FROM SPACE: The US Mint has just released a reverse-proof dollar coin honoring the Hubble Space Telescope. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus took it one step further, flying a whole roll of Hubble coins to the edge of space. Here they are floating 35.3 km (115,814 ft) above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have one for $39.95. The students are selling Hubble coins to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each coin comes with a greeting card showing the money in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere. Best of all, this is real money! You can actually spend it. All sales support hands-on STEM research.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter