FARSIDE SUNSPOTS: NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft is monitoring three ultraviolet hotspots on the farside of the sun. At least one of them is probably an active sunspot, the source of a farside CME observed on June 18th. Dark cores could start rotating into view over the sun's eastern limb within ~48 hours. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
MAJOR OUTBREAK OF NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS (UPDATED): A week ago, noctilucent clouds (NLCs) were stuck inside the Arctic Circle. Suddenly, they have broken free. Over the weekend, people saw the clouds through the city lights of Paris, Madrid, Berlin and other European capitals. On June 20th, Francisco Gil photographed NLCs as far south as Valencia, Spain:
"It is pretty strange to observe noctilucent clouds from these latitudes," says Gil.
Indeed it is. Valencia is at +39N, a latitude where NLCs are almost never seen. For most of their history (NLCs were discovered in the 19th century), the clouds have been found mainly near the Arctic Circle. Now they are spreading. The record low latitude, to date, was set in June 2019 when the clouds appeared near Los Angeles (+34 N). Gil's sighting shows that they are in the 30s again.
This just in: Cameras at the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain recorded the clouds at an even lower altitude (+37.5N):
"I enjoyed installing the camera myself in 2007," says Dr. Gerd Baumgarten of the Leibniz-Institute of Atmospheric Physics. "It took five years to capture the first NLC from that location, however since 2018 we're getting about 2 events every year."
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. When you see one, you're literally seeing a cloud of frosted meteor smoke.
Observing tips: Look west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset (or before sunrise) when the sun is just below the horizon. 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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LIMITED EDITION MIRROR KIRK: There are 1000 of these somewhere on Earth ... but only this one has been to the stratosphere. On June 16, 2021, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a limited edition Mirror Kirk onboard their cosmic ray research balloon. Here he is floating 97,234 feet above Mono Lake in central California:
You can have him for $170.10 (the serial number of the Enterprise divided by 10). Modeled after the evil Kirk seen in the classic "Mirror, Mirror" episode of Star Trek (the original series), this 8" statue is made of high-quality polystone resin and expertly painted. It comes with a greeting card showing Kirk in flight and a certificate of authenticity.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, 1000 Mirror Kirk statues were manufactured and sold at sci-fi conventions in 2016. We've collected a few of these rarities to fly to the stratosphere. Get yours now.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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