BIG FARSIDE SUNSPOT: There's a sunspot on the farside of the sun large enough to affect the way the whole sun vibrates. Helioseismic images have pinpointed it just behind the sun's northeastern limb. The sunspot (or sunspot group) should turn to face Earth this week. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
A RARE ERUPTION FROM THE SOUTH POLE: Most explosions on the sun happen near the equator where sunspots tend to cluster. Yesterday, however, something blew perpendicular to the usual direction. Argentine astronomer Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau caught a jet of plasma erupting from the sun's south pole:
"On Feb. 17th, minutes before noon in my country, I was able to photograph an incredible event: An explosion that ejected a jet of plasma over 200,000 km high from the south pole of the sun," says Poupeau. "The plasma column was so large, I had to rotate the camera to fit it into the frame. It was truly a wonderful spectacle."
The polar blast propelled a bright CME straight down, out of the plane of the solar system. No planet will be struck. Although if a comet is below the sun (comets can go there) it could have its tail ripped off by the solar storm cloud.
This rare eruption appears to be linked to an unstable polar crown filament--a twisted strand of magnetism circling the sun's south pole. Solar astronomers have known about these circular filaments for more than a century. Long-term studies show that they shrink in size near Solar Maximum, like a tightening noose around their respective poles.
Indeed, that's why these events happen most often around Solar Max. Intense magnetic fields strangled together in tight spaces love to explode. Solar Max is coming soon, so stay tuned for more polar activity. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
more images: from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory; from the National Solar Observatory;
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18K GOLD "LOVE YOU TO THE MOON" LOCKET: This is a very special locket. It's heart-shaped, plated with 18K gold, and we will fly it again during this year's total eclipse of the sun. Keep reading...
On Jan. 26, 2024, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this locket to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight, it floated 111,535 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
Buy it now for $149.95, and we'll fly it again--FOR FREE--during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. The students will be launching multiple balloons from the path of totality in Texas. Your pendant will go along for the ride, touching the shadow of the Moon at the edge of space. (Simply type "FLY IT AGAIN" in the comments box at checkout.)
The locket, which opens to hold a personal photo or other small item, comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space.
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