GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH EXTENDED: NOAA forecasters continue to believe that minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible this week when one or more CMEs might graze Earth's magnetic field. The most likely date is Jan. 26th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras as the weekend approaches. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
A STREETMAP IN THE SKY: To understand this story, you have to understand light pillars. Here are some examples. During winter months, ice crystals in the air catch the glow of urban street lights, creating narrow beams that lance up toward the night sky.
On Jan. 16th, dozens of light pillars sprung up from downtown Jyväskylä, Finland. Resident Harri Kiiskinen was ready to photograph them, but instead of pointing his camera sideways at the pillars, as most photographers do, he pointed his camera straight up. This is what he saw:
"It was 25 degrees below zero in Jyväskylä, and light pillars were visible for several hours," says Kiiskinen. "They drew a map of street lights in the sky."
The display went on for hours as ice drifted through the frigid air. This gave Kiiskinen an opportunity to do something unusual: He captured an all-night timelapse of the phenomenon. Play the movie! If you watch the whole thing, you'll never get lost in Jyväskylä....
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THE VALENTINE'S SPACE BOUQUET: Just in time for Valentine's Day--the biggest batch of crystal roses ever flown to space! On Jan. 13th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this 4-flower bouquet to the stratosphere. Floating on a cosmic ray balloon, it rose (no pun intended) to an altitude 109,252 feet above the Sierra Nevada of central California:
You can have them for $179.95. The students are selling space roses to fund their cosmic ray ballooning program. The flowers, stems and base are all made of Borosilicate Crown Crystal, the kind used in high-quality lenses and prisms. That's why the flowers glitter so colorfully in sunlight at the edge of space.
Each purchase comes with a greeting card showing the bouquet in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
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All sales support hands-on STEM education
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