ALL QUIET: Solar activity is low, and likely to remain so for the next 24 hours. There are two sunspots on the sun today. They both have stable magnetic fields that pose almost no threat for strong solar flares. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
MOLTEN MOON: On the coast of Taiwan, photographer Meiying Lee was watching the crescent Moon set on Nov 10th when a second Moon rose out of the waves to meet it. "It was a lovely inferior mirage," says Lee, who rapidly started taking pictures:
"The weather was good and the air was clear on Nov. 10th," says Lee. "This allowed me to see the Moon at very low elevation [as it sank into the waves of the Taiwan Straight]."
The mirage began when the Moon passed behind a layer of warm air hovering just above the sea surface. This kind of temperature anomaly is common; during the day, the sun heats the water, and at night the water returns some heat to the air just above it. Refraction in the warm air layer produces a lower (or 'inferior') image of the Moon, which rises as the actual Moon sets.
Lee took a closer look and found individual craters rising out of the waves:
"In this photo, Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises) and Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fertility) appear in the upright image and the inverted image," says Lee. "The lunar seas are connected together by the mirage."
Inferior mirages of the sun are photographed all the time. Inferior mirages of the Moon are harder to catch because there is less light to work with. "I was very lucky to catch this one," says Lee.
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HUMMINGBIRD-SUNFLOWER PENDANT: This pendant has a secret compartment--and it has touched the edge of space. On Nov. 4, 2021, our Sterling Silver Hummingbird-Sunflower Pendant flew to the stratosphere on board an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon:
You can have it for $133.95. Inscribed on the back with "Always on my mind, Forever in my heart," each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space. These make great Christmas gifts.
Bonus: The pendant contains a tiny chamber, which you may fill with the ashes of a loved one or anything else you wish to keep close to your heart.
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