CHANCE OF MINOR STORMS TODAY: A fast-moving stream of solar wind is buffeting Earth's magnetic field. As a result, isolated G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible on June 16th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras, especially in the southern hemisphere where autumn darkness favors visibility. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS AT 38,000 FT: Would you like to see a cloud of frosted meteor smoke? Observing tip: Take a plane to the Arctic Circle. Brian McDonough was almost there on June 15th when he saw these NLCs from the window seat:
"I was on the overnight British Airlines flight from JFK to Heathrow,:" says McDonough. "I was trying to take a few photos of the Big Dipper when an otherworldly blue glow appeared in front of the wing. It grew into such an amazing display I could not stop watching until the sun rose."
NLCs are Earth's highest clouds. They form when summertime wisps of water vapor rise to the edge of space (~83 km high) and crystallize around disintegrated meteoroids. At the moment NLCs are mostly confined inside the Arctic Circle, but tendrils of electric-blue are starting to leak out to lower latitudes as McDonough witnessed from 38,000 feet.
"I have seen such great photos of these clouds in Spaceweather.com's Gallery and yearned to see them for myself one day," says McDonough. "Well I finally have and it was such a gift!"
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
ICE CREAM AT 102,690 FEET: When you run our own DIY space program, you can launch whatever you want. That includes strawberry ice cream. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus wanted to see what would happen, so they recently launched this cone onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
The ice cream spent more than 2 hours in the stratosphere, floating as high as 102,690 feet above Earth's surface. Meanwhile, cosmic ray sensors inside the balloon's payload gathered data for the students' atmospheric radiation monitoring program.
The upshot of their sweet experiment: Yes, ice cream can travel to space. It's no surprise. During the flight, the scoop experienced temperatures as low as -57 C. It was frozen SOLID. The ice cream flew just fine. It just couldn't stick the landing.
FATHER'S DAY GIFTS FROM SPACE: What do you get the dad who has everything? Consider a gift from the edge of space. Every item in the Earth to Sky Store has flown to the top of Earth's atmosphere onboard a cosmic ray balloon, and they're all 10% off between now and Father's Day (June 20th).
Each gift comes with a unique greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. Cosmic ray data collected during the flights form a unique record of radiation in Earth's atmosphere--100% gathered and analyzed by young scientists. Sales support the students and their high-altitude ballooning program.
Don't forget to use the coupon code LUKEIAMYOURFATHER at checkout for a 10% Father's Day discount.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter