METEORS FROM HALLEY'S COMET: Today, Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on May 5-6 with 10 to 20 meteors per hour--10 in the northern hemisphere and 20 in the south. The best time to look is during the hours before local sunrise when the constellation Aquarius is high in the sky. Browse: Meteor Photo Gallery.
WAITING FOR NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: It's time. Earth's north pole is about to light up with noctilucent clouds (NLCs). NASA's AIM spacecraft is scanning the Arctic Circle for the first signs of electric blue, but so far the images are blank:
When the season gets started, AIM images will look more like this.
NLCs are Earth's highest clouds. They form when summertime wisps of water vapor rise up from the poles to the edge of space. Water crystallizing around specks of meteor dust 83 km (~50 miles) above Earth's surface creates beautiful electric-blue structures, typically visible from May to August in the northern hemisphere.
This could be a good year for NLCs. To form, the clouds require cold temperatures in the mesosphere. Really cold. "At the moment, 2021 is one of the coldest years since AIM was launched 14 years ago," says Cora Randall of the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. Note the red line in this plot created by Randall's colleague Lynn Harvey:
Only 2 previous years rival the current chill of 2021--a good omen for NLCs. "If these low temperature trends continue, we might expect a relatively early onset this year," says Randall. "May 15th is the earliest we've seen before."
When will the first clouds appear? You might be the first to know. Daily images from AIM are posted right here on Spaceweather.com. Stay tuned!
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MOTHER'S DAY IS MAY 9TH: Are you looking for an out-of-this world Mother's Day gift? Consider this: Every time the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch a cosmic ray balloon, they include something extra in the payload--something Mom will love:
Every item in the Earth to Sky Store has flown to the edge of space and comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight. The interior of the card tells the story of the gift's journey from launch to landing. Mom-satisfaction guaranteed!
Mother's Day Special: Use coupon code "SPACEMOM" at checkout for a 10% discount. Offer valid from now until Mother's Day (May 9, 2021) .
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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