SUBSIDING CHANCE OF FLARES: Dangerous sunspot AR3315 became less dangerous today. Its magnetic field has decayed, losing the delta configuration that gave it potential energy for X-class solar flares. Lesser M-class flares are still possible, though, with NOAA estimating a 40%-chance of M-flares on May 30th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
RARE FULL PARHELIC CIRCLE: A parhelic circle is an unforgettable sight. Thin and pale, it circles the zenith in a majestic arc, always keeping the same distance above the horizon. Two days ago, R. J Cobain saw this one over Conlig, Northern Ireland:
"I was shaking as I took as many photos as I could," says Corbin. "By combining 11 photos I was able to capture the full circle."
This was part of a great display of ice halos widely seen and reported across Northern Ireland and Northern England on May 28th. A weather system blanketed the region with a rare mixture of gem-like ice crystals in wispy cirrus clouds. Sunlight shining through the crystals produced a stunning variety of forms.
A full parhelic circle is among the rarest of ice halos. It requires as many as five internal reflections from millions of individual ice crytals, all catching sunbeams simultaneously. "This was by far the best display of atmospheric optics I have ever seen," Corbin says.
more images: from Alan Fitzsimmons of Belfast, Northern Ireland; from Mike Devenport of Gateshead, UK; from Ian Lee of Carlisle, Cumbria, UK
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A SUNSPOT MADE IN CHINA: For a split second on May 26th, the sunspot number increased by 1. The extra sunspot was made in China. "It was the Tiangong space station," explains Ali Rahimi, who watched the winged silhouette cross the sun from Esfahan, Iran:
"The transit path was only 140 meters wide," says Rahimi, "so it was very important where to settle in this area. We set up our telescope at 11 am, and waited for time to pass. The transit was predicted at 12:01:46 local time. Exactly at this time the passage happened and, for the first time in Iran, the Chinese space station was recorded crossing the sun."
Tiangong is in the news today because just hours ago China launched a new crew to the space station. Three astronauts blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center onboard the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft. They will take over from the Shenzhou-15 astronauts, who have been living in orbit since November, to start their own five-month stint aboard the station.
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FOR FATHER'S DAY--THE MR. SPOCK COFFEE CUP: Father's Day is coming. Give dad the gift of coffee in a Mr. Spock Cup. It has pointy ears, holds 20 oz. of brew, and comes from the edge of space. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew this cup to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $99.95. The students are selling Spock cups to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with greeting card showing the heavy-duty ceramic cup in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
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