Good news! The latest (November 29) false-color view of total ozone* over the Antarctic pole doesn't look so bad. The picture displays areas with the least amount of ozone in purple and blue colors, and displays areas with more ozone in yellow and red colors. We jest, of course. The ozone hole is as big as ever, as detailed in 2014 Antarctic Ozone Hole Holds Steady: The … [Read more...]
Bam! You’ve been hit by a solar flare
A solar flare is a sudden burst of light on the sun's surface, usually accompanied by a giant release of radiation into space. At 7:49 p.m. EST on Feb. 24, 2014, what scientists call a significant solar flare peaked. How significant is significant? The classification scale runs A, B, C, M and X, with X being the most intense. The scale is further divided into X1, X2, etc. … [Read more...]
NASA’s 2014 meteor shower schedule
Shortly before the new year, NASA released a list of the most active and easily observed meteor showers for 2014. The Quadrantids have already arrived, but there's still plenty to see: the Lyrids and the Eta Aquariids in April-May, the Southern Delta Aquariids in July-August, and of course our old friends the Geminids that Les wrote about in 2012. The Geminids are typically … [Read more...]
NASA Portrait of Global Aerosols
Have you ever wondered what climate scientists use to analyze the Earth’s atmosphere, the weather, global warming trends and climate change? Check out this amazing photo from NASA of the Earth showing global aerosols in the atmosphere. This is an image output by the Goddard Earth Observation System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5). GEOS-5 is an advanced software that runs on the … [Read more...]