THREE PLANETS IN THE SUNSET SKY: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Venus and Jupiter are converging in the twilight sky -- noticably closer together every night as they head for a tight conjunction on June 8-9. Soon, Mercury will join the show, too, forming a trio. Browse the sky maps for coming attractions: May 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, June 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Free: Space Weather Newsletter
EXTREMELY DUCTED SUNSET: Veteran sky watcher Jan Koeman has seen it all from his home in the Netherlands: noctilucent clouds, solar eclipses, Northern Lights. "But I have never seen this before," he says. "The sunset on May 24th was truly remarkable."
Koeman witnessed a ducted sunset.
"At the moment I took the pictures, the temperature of the North Sea was around 10 degrees C, while the air temperature was a much warmer 25 degrees C," he says.
Those temperatures explain what happened. An extreme temperature inversion above the sea surface created a stack of atmospheric waveguides or "ducts," which sliced the solar into a stack of warped mirages.
"First, the sun changed from circular to square, and then the curvature of the sun went completely upside down," he says.
With its cold ocean currents overlaid by warm winds from nearby land, the North Sea Coast is ideal for seeing sights like these. If you see a strange sunset, submit your photos here!
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NEED BABY YODA, YOU DO: Grogu has been to the stratosphere. The future Jedi left Earth May 21st onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon. Here he is, floating Force-free 107,611 feet above Earth's surface:
You can have him for $99.95. The students are selling Star Wars bobbleheads to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. The Mandalorian is also available. They make great birthday and graduation gifts. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the bobblehead in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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