QUIET WEEKEND: No CMEs are heading for Earth. Barring an unexpected impact from a stealthy storm cloud, geomagnetic activity should remain low for the next 3 days with few auroras outside the Arctic Circle. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
PRISMATIC MIRAGE OF VENUS: This weekend, when the sun sets, go outside and look southwest. Venus is shining high in the twilight sky. The best time to see Venus, however, may be an hour later when the planet is just about to set. This is what it looked like near the horizon on Dec. 26th:
"Venus experienced a green and blue flash," says photographer Kuli Zoltán of Piszkesteto, Hungary, who witnessed the colorful display through his 80 mm refracting telescope.
Venus does this all the time when it is sinking toward the horizon. The low atmosphere acts like a prism, splitting the planet into red, green, and blue colors. In the animation Zoltán recorded, there is evidence of atmospheric ducts: Pancaked layers of warm and cold air miraged Venus, creating three or four stacked disks, each with its own slice of the rainbow.
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POLAR STRATOSPHERIC CLOUD SIGHTINGS: Observers are now seeing polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) around the clock. Karsten Berger sends these Christmas day and night photos from the Finnish Lapland:
"Polar night is not as dark as people might think," says Berger. "These clouds were shining brightly in the twilight glow of Christmas in the Finnish Lapland."
PSCs are a very rare type of cloud. They form in the Arctic stratosphere for a few days each year, usually near the winter solstice when the temperature drops to a staggeringly low -85 C. Sunlight touching the ice crystals inside PSCs cause them to blossom with pastel color.
Although PSCs normally appear only a few times each winter, sky watchers have been seeing them regularly since Dec. 10th, when they were first noticed over Norway. This means the polar cold spell is lasting longer than usual. Until further notice, Arctic photographers should remain alert for PSCs and, please, submit your photos here.
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CHRISTMAS GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Christmas is here! Are you looking for a far-out gift? Check out the Earth to Sky Store. It's filled with unique items that have flown to the edge of space onboard cosmic ray research balloons.
Carried aloft by giant helium balloons, these unique gifts have flown above 99.7% of Earth's atmosphere, experiencing space-like blasts of cosmic rays, extreme cold, and a wild ride parachuting back to Earth after the balloon explodes. Even Amazon doesn't carry items this far out.
Don't forget to enter coupon code "BLACKCAT" at checkout for a 10% holiday discount.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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