FARSIDE SOLAR ACTIVITY: A partial halo CME (movie) that billowed over the sun's eastern limb earlier today may herald the approach of an active sunspot. Indeed, helioseismic echoes reveal a farside active region only 1 to 2 days behind the limb. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
THE THERMOSPHERE IS WARMING UP: When solar activity is high, Earth's upper atmosphere puffs up like a marshmallow held over a campfire. That's happening now. Since Solar Cycle 25 began, the Thermosphere Climate Index (TCI) has increased nearly 10-fold:
TCI is a number published daily by NASA, which tells us how hot Earth’s upper atmosphere is. The thermosphere, the very highest layer of our atmosphere, literally touches space and is a sort of "first responder" to solar activity.
Linda Hunt of Science Systems and Applications, Inc. created the plot, above, which shows how TCI during Solar Cycle 25 compares to other solar cycles of the past. So far, the thermosphere is about twice as warm during Solar Cycle 25 as it was at the same point in the previous solar cycle: data.
"The sun is coming more alive now and looks ready to make a run at exceeding the max TCI of Solar Cycle 24," notes Dr. Marty Mlynczak of NASA.
As the thermosphere puffs up, it increases aerodynamic drag on Earth-orbiting satellites. Indeed, this is a key reason for the loss of dozens of Starlink satellites in Feb. 2022. If current trends continue, drag will increase even more as Solar Cycle 25 reaches its peak (Solar Maximum) in 2024 or 2025.
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DISCONNECTION EVENT IN COMET ZTF: Last week, a CME hit Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) and broke the comet's tail. Yes, that's a real thing. Astronomers call it a "disconnection event." Astrophotographer Miguel Claro made a 4K video of the event from the Dark Sky® Alqueva Observatory in Portugal:
"This time lapse sequence comprising 3.5 hours of images shows a piece of the plasma tail being uprooted from the comet’s head, and then carried away by the solar wind," says Claro. "This long distance traveller not seen in 50,000 years, was moving fast against the background starry sky alsongside a few rapid greenish meteors."
CMEs hitting comets can cause magnetic reconnection in their tails, sometimes ripping them off entirely. NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft watched this happen to Comet Encke in April 2007: movie. This month, multiple CMEs have swept past Comet ZTF as a result of surging solar activity. One of them (we're not sure which) caused the disconnection event.
Comet ZTF is approaching Earth for a close encounter (0.28 AU) on Feb. 1st. CME effects will be increasingly visible as the comet approaches. Stay tuned!
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PREMIUM VALENTINE'S PENDANT: Are you looking for an unforgettable Valentine's Day gift? Consider the Always and Forever Space Pendent. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $199.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever", this 18K gold-plated pendant has a heart-shaped citrine crystal in the middle surrouunded by a ring of glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets. It is a visually striking premium pendant that makes a once-in-a-lifetime Valentine's, anniversary or birthday gift.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
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All sales support hands-on STEM education
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