ALMOST NO CHANCE OF FLARES TODAY: Big sunspot AR2916 is turning away from Earth as it sets off on a 2-week trip around the farside of the sun. With its exit, the chance of solar flares has plummeted. NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% chance of M-class flares today, dropping to no more than 1% tomorrow. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
AN ECSTATIC SOLAR ECLIPSE: One month ago today, there was a solar eclipse over Antarctica. The penguins enjoyed it. Annie Schmidt, Antarctica Program Director for Point Blue Conservation Science, sends this picture from the Adélie penguin colony on Cape Crozier:
"I caught an Adélie penguin performing an 'Ecstatic Vocalization' in front of the eclipse," explains Schmidt. "The Ecstatic Vocalization is a special display that males perform to claim their territory and advertise their condition."
"We observed the eclipse from Cape Crozier, one of the largest Adélie penguin colonies in the world," she continues. "Researchers from Point Blue have been studying this colony for more than 25 years. We're learning how climate change may affect penguin nesting habitat and how individuals vary in their response to these changes."
"While this penguin was posing nicely in front of the eclipse, another research team collected space weather measurements near McMurdo, South Pole," says Schmidt. "All the work was conducted with funding from the National Science Foundation and support from the US Antarctic Program."
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INFERIOR CONJUNCTION OF VENUS: Venus is about to pass almost directly between Earth and the sun--an event astronomers call "inferior conjunction." This is turning Venus into an incredibly thin crescent. Bum-Suk Yeom photographed the transformation in broad daylight from Iksan, South Korea:
Venus looks like a crescent because it is turning its night side toward us. The dark disk of the planet is outlined by a narrow fringe of sunlight filtering through the edge of Venus's atmosphere.
At closest approach on Saturday, Jan. 8th, Venus and the sun will be separated by almost 5 degrees. This relatively wide gap will allow careful daytime photography. Anthony J. Cook, recently retired from the Griffith Observatory, offers some observing tips: "Find a tall building to shade your telescope at noon. This should make finding and observing Venus relatively easy and safe to do from the northern hemisphere. Just be sure the telescope is entirely inside the building's shadow and observe within 15 minutes of local noon." Please be careful! Any sunlight straying into unshadowed optics can cause potentially serious eye damage.
When Venus is very close to the sun, the crescent can close upon itself, making a complete circle. That probably won't happen this year; the 5 degree sun-Venus separation is a bit too wide. To see what to expect, look at this photo of Venus taken during a similar conjunction in 2018.
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MR SPOCK IN THE STRATOSPHERE (COLLECTOR'S ITEM): He's back by popular demand: Mr. Spock Bobblehead. On Dec. 12, 2021, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew the green-blooded science officer to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight he was 107,341 ft high:
You can have it for $170.10 (the serial number of the Enterprise divided by 10). The bobblehead is made of high-quality resin and hand-painted. It cannot be purchased from Amazon; this rare collector's item is available only from the Earth to Sky Store.
The students are selling Mr. Spock bobbleheads to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing Spock in flight and telling the story of his journey to the edge of space and back.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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