WANTED: WHITE LIGHT IMAGES OF THE SUN: A wildfire in California has cut off electricity to Stanford University, home of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) data center. As a result, we are not receiving images from SDO. You can help! Readers are encouraged to submit their own full-disk white light images of the sun so we can see what the sun looks like today. Submit your images here.
THE CLOUDS ABOVE THE CLOUDS: On June 22, pilot Jon Drake steered his Boeing 777 above the cloud deck en route from New York to London. At 37,000 feet, he found the clouds above the clouds:
"Noctilucent clouds (NLCs) were shining above us as we crossed the Atlantic," says Drake who took the picture using his iPhone 12. "We had aurora borealis to our left, the Moon and three bright planets ahead, and these NLCs above. It was one of the best night skies I have seen in many years of flying."
NLCs are Earth's highest clouds. Seeded by meteoroids, they float at the edge of space more than 80 km above the ground. NLCs form when summertime wisps of water vapor rise up to the mesosphere, allowing water to crystallize around specks of meteor smoke. In the northern hemisphere, noctilucent cloud season typically ranges from mid-May through mid-August.
NASA's AIM spacecraft is monitoring a mass of NLCs swirling around the North Pole:
Since the onset of summer on June 21st, the clouds have been spilling across the Arctic Circle, reaching latitudes as far south as +47N. Mid-latitude sky watchers should therefore be alert for NLCs. Peak viewing time is now.
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
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"I LOVE YOU FOREVER" MOONSTONE PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the "I Love You Forever" Moonstone. This one hitched a ride to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon on May 13, 2022:
You can have it for $162.95. The moonstone's sterling silver infinity wrap is inscribed with the words "I love you forever." It makes a great anniversary or birthday gift. The moonstone comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight, telling the story of its trip to the edge of space and back again.
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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