QUIET WEEKEND: The solar disk is peppered with sunspot groups. All eight of them have stable magnetic fields unlikely to explode. Solar flare activity should therefore remain low this weekend. Free: Space Weather Newsletter
AIRGLOW DUNES: You may have heard of "aurora dunes" -- a recently identified form of Northern Lights named after their resemblence to ripples in desert sand. Researchers led by Minna Palmroth (University of Helsinki) first explained them in a paper published only a few years ago.
Now, let us introduce you to "airglow dunes":
Zdenek Bardon took this picture from the European Southern Observatory in Paranal, Chile, on April 17th. "I was photographing the Milky Way and caught some rippling green airglow at the same time."
The dunes are a "mesospheric bore," a type of atmospheric gravity wave that springs up from Earth's surface and gets caught in a thermal waveguide ~100 km high. Although auroras and airglow are formed in completely different ways (solar activity vs. terrestrial photochemistry) mesospheric bores can modulate them both.
Realtime Airglow Photo Gallery
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COMET PANSTARRS IS THRIVING: Following its late April close encounter with the sun, Comet PanSTARRS (C/2025 R3) is emerging from the glare in the evening twilight sky. The sun-heated comet is thriving:
Gerald Rhemann and Michael Jäger took the picture on May 1st using a remote-controlled telescope in Farm Tivoli, Namibia. "This is an LRGB exposure of 240/140/140/140 sec. through a 12.5-inch Astrograph," they explain.
The comet is currently shining like a 5th-to-6th magnitude star in the constellation Eridanus, best seen from the southern hemisphere. Point your optics here.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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MOTHER'S DAY IS ONLY ONE WEEK AWAY: Are you looking for an out-of-this world Mother's Day gift? Consider this: Every time the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch a cosmic ray balloon, they include something extra in the payload--something Mom will love:
Every item in the Earth to Sky Store has flown to the edge of space and comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight. The interior of the card tells the story of the gift's journey from launch to landing. Mom-satisfaction guaranteed!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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