GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G1): NOAA forecasters say there is a chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms on Feb. 10-11 when a stream of solar wind is expecte to hit Earth's magnetic field. The gaseous material is flowing from a crescent-shaped hole in the sun's atmosphere. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
DIAMOND DUST SKI HALOS: Ski resorts are not only good places to ski. They're great places to see exotic ice halos. Mike Conlan photographed these at the Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Canada:
"We were skiing in Revelstoke on Jan. 25th," says Conlan. "It was a clear day with many ice crystals in the air."
Snow cannons were key to this display. Revelstoke uses them to make artificial snow for the lower slopes. Snow-making machines create a special type of ice crystal called "diamond dust." These man-made crystals tend to be more optically perfect than natural crystals in clouds, producing extra-bright and unusual ice halos. Conlan captured a sundog, a subsun, and a sub-sundog. They're labeled here.
Right: A snow cannon at Revelstoke.
A closer look at Conlan's picture shows specks of light in the air. Those are the glittering crystals of diamond dust.
Everything is now explained, right? Not quite. Conlan is a longtime observer of diamond dust ski halos, and he noticed something peculiar about these. "The halo adjacent to the subsun was curved backwards," he explains. "I can't seem to identify this phenomenon." Neither can we. Best idea so far: It may be a "trompe l'oeil" caused by an uneven distribution of diamond dust in the air.
Are you skiing this weekend? Keep an eye out for diamond dust ski halos, and submit your photos here.
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24K SPACE ROSE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY: On Jan. 24, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere. This 24K Space Rose went along for the ride:
You can have it for $127.75. At the apex of the flight, the gold-dipped and gilded bloom was 115,823 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California, touching the edge of space. It comes with a greeting card showing the flower in flight, and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
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