QUIET WEEKEND: The sun is peppered with spots--at least 9 sunspot groups). Nevertheless, solar activity is expected to be low this weekend. All of those sunspots have stable magnetic fields that are unlikely to explode. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
A RARE GATHERING OF SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS: All month long, NOAA and SOHO coronagraphs have been watching a very rare event. Mars, Venus and Mercury have gathered near the sun for a multi-planet solar conjunction. On Jan. 18th, "rare" became "unprecedented" when the Moon joined the planets and eclipsed Mars. Click to set the scene in motion:
This view is unprecedented because the CCOR-1 coronagraph on NOAA's GOES-19 satellite is the first space-based coronagraph to photograph the Moon. GOES-19 orbits Earth, so it sees the New Moon once a month when it passes between the Earth and sun. (Yes, that Moon is New. It only looks full because it is illuminated by sunlight reflected from Earth--aka Earthshine.)
In the movie, the New Moon passes directly in front of Mars before it joins the sun behind the coronagraph's occulting disk. On the left, a sungrazing comet plunges toward the sun. It disintegrated soon after the movie's end. This is indeed a rare sequence of events.
We didn't report this movie until now because our attention was distracted. Just before the Moon entered the coronagraph's field of view on Jan. 18th, a tremendous X2-class solar flare erupted and hurled a superfast CME toward Earth. The rest of the week was spent covering the subsequent severe geomagnetic storm. Better late than never!
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THE LOVE PUZZLE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY: Valentine’s Day is coming. Do you have a truly far-out gift? Consider the the Love Puzzle. On Jan. 15th, it flew to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $91.95. This acrylic puzzle piece is a love note: "Thank you for being such an important piece of my life," the inscription says. It's a durable reminder that you fit together. The Love Puzzle comes with a unique gift card showing the keepsake at the top of Earth's atmosphere.
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
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