ALL QUIET ALERT: Yesterday's weak CME impact barely disturbed Earth's magnetic field. Today, quiet has resumed. No geomagnetic storms are expected for the next 3 days. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
NOCTILUCENT CLOUD SEASON IS GETTING LONGER: No it's not your imagination. Noctilucent cloud (NLC) season is getting longer. New data from NASA's AIM spacecraft show the first NLCs of summer have been trending earlier since the spacecraft was launched in 2007. This plot prepared by Cora Randall of the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics shows the change:
Each little blue box shows the day of year when AIM's CIPS sensor detected the first NLC of northern summer. "The season appears to be starting earlier, which is making it longer by about 5 days," says Randall.
Interestingly, the season is not also ending later; it still stops in early August. Nevertheless, the early start is giving sky watchers an extra 5 days a year of noctilucent clouds.
The first NLCs of the season typically appear inside the Arctic Circle. Then, they spin outward to lower latitudes--a process which is underway now:
Above: 12 days of NLCs (May 21-June 1, 2021). Credit: AIM/CIPS
In recent years, NLCs have spilled as far south as Los Angeles and Las Vegas, setting records for low-latitude sightings. Mid-June to July is when the clouds are are most widespread. Observing tip: Look west 30+ minutes after sunset. If you see luminous blue-white tendrils spreading across the sky, you may have spotted a noctilucent cloud.
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
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WHISKEY STONES FROM SPACE: It's the gift for the person who has everything: Whisky Stones from Space. These granite cubes have experienced the cold of the stratosphere, more than 50 degrees below zero! Put them in your cup for an truly out of this world drink:
You can have a set of 9 cubes for $99.95 (glass not included). The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling whiskey stones to support their cosmic ray monitoring program. The ones picture above flew to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon on April 23, 2021, reaching an altitude of 97,543 feet.
Refrigerated whiskey stones cool a drink without diluting it, solving the problem of ordinary melting ice cubes. They make great Father's Day and birthday gifts. All stones come with a greeting card showing the cubes in flight.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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