INCREASING CHANCE OF FLARES: Don't be surprised if there's an X-flare today. Two sunspots (3961 and 3964) have unstable delta-class magnetic fields that harbor energy for strong explosions. Any flares will be geoeffective because the sunspots (especially 3961) are almost directly facing Earth. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
EXTREME COLD IN THE ARCTIC STRATOSPHERE: A rare and potentially record-breaking outbreak of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) is underway inside the Arctic Circle. Janne Kukkola photographed the display from Rovaniemi, Finland:
"The colors were amazing to the naked eye," says Kukkola. "These clouds were appearing all over Finland, and even made the news. This is very rare."
Rare indeed. Normally, Earth's stratosphere has no clouds at all. Only when the temperature drops to a staggeringly-low -85 C can widely-spaced water molecules assemble into icy polar stratospheric clouds. With colors that rival auroras, PSCs are considered to be the most beautiful clouds on Earth.
Right now, NASA climate models are saying that the temperature of the polar stratosphere is at its lowest point since 1978. This super-cold air is directly responsible for the formation of PSCs. It is no coincidence that the polar vortex is now much stronger than average. The fast-moving vortex is keeping cold air bottled up over the Arctic. It's the "perfect storm" for PSCs. Stay tuned!
more images: from Fredrik Broms of Kvaløya, Norway; from Marianne Bergli of Tromsø, Norway; from Ville Puoskari of Kuopio, Finland; from Antti-Jussi Kaikuru of Autti, Rovaniemi, Finland
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COMET ATLAS ENTERS THE SOUTHERN SKY: Comet ATLAS (C/2024 G3) is changing hemispheres. "The comet has finally arrived in the southern sky!" says Yuri Beletsky, who sends this picture from the ESO Paranal Observatory in Chile:
"It's clearly visible as a very bright object shortly after sunset," he says. "Although the tail is still quite short, the comet is truly beautiful."
The southern shift is shown in this visibility plot from Nick James of the British Astronomical Association. Latitudes below -10o are sharply favored for the rest of January. This sets the stage for many beautiful photos from the southern hemisphere in the nights to come.
more images: from Gerald Rhemann and Michael Jäger of Farm Tivoli, Namibia; from Ian Cooper of Glen Oroua, Manawatu, New Zealand; from Ben Levis of Perth, Western Australia; from Mariano Ribas of Buenos Aires, Argentina
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"I LOVE YOU MORE" MOONSTONE PENDANT: Valentine's Day is coming! Nothing says "I love you" like a moonstone from space. This one hitched a ride on an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon, floating 112,201 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $162.95. The students are selling these sterling silver infinity-wrapped moonstone pendants to support their ballooning program. Engraved with "I Love You More," it makes a romantic Valentine's gift. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the moonstone in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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