POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT SUNSPOT GROUP: Amateur astronomers, if you have a safely-filtered telescope, point it at the sun's southeastern limb. A potentially significant sunspot group is emerging there. This sunspot group produced two big farside CMEs in the past week, and now it turning toward Earth. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
TRIPLE SUPERIOR CONJUNCTION OF PLANETS: A rare conjunction of three planets is underway. Don't look, though. It's happening around the sun. This SOHO coronagraph image shows Venus, Mars and Mercury clustered around the solar disk on Jan. 12th:
Note: Mars is just behind the edge of the occulting disk
Astronomers call this a "triple superior solar conjunction." It's "superior" because all three planets are on the farside of the sun, as seen from Earth.
This event resets the visibility of the three planets. When the conjunction breaks up later this month, Venus and Mercury will become "Evening Stars," shining in the end-of-day twilight, while Mars shifts to the dawn as a red morning planet.
Two dates of special significance: Jan. 18th when Mars is less than 1 degree from Mercury, and Jan. 29th when Venus and Mercury are only 2/3rd of a degree apart. These mini-conjunctions won't be easy to see, however, because of the glare of the sun.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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VALENTINE'S CRYSTAL BEAR CRUSH: Valentine’s Day is coming. Do you have a truly far-out gift? Consider the Crystal Bear Crush. On Jan. 2nd, it flew to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $129.95. The two bears, plus heart and flower, are made of genuine high-quality K9 crystal, which shines beautifully in high-altitude sunlight. You'll also receive a unique keepsake card showing the bears at the top of Earth's atmosphere. Inside, the card tells the story of the flight and certifies that the item has been to the edge of space.
Earth to Sky Valentine's 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. And, best of all, all sales support student science projects and STEM education.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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