2011 ozone hole was ninth-largest on record
FROM TODAY'S PRINT EDITIONS:
It’s spring in the Antarctic, and time to measure the ozone hole.
This gap in the natural layer of stratospheric ozone that protects the surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation forms each spring. It’s a consequence of pollution by manmade chemicals called CFCs.
Levels of long-lived CFCs have been in slow decline since phase-in of a 1987 ban. But scientists don’t expect the ozone hole to heal until mid-century.
This year’s was the ninth largest on record, at 10 million square miles.
(NASA IMAGE: Ozone hole Oct. 21, 2011)
Posted by Frank Roylance at 12:01 AM | Permalink
| Comments (1)
Categories: From the Sun's print edition, Sky Notes
Categories: From the Sun's print edition, Sky Notes
Comments
Frank, what's with the aurora display last night I've been reading about? Did anyone in Maryland see it and will it be back again tonight?
FR REPLIES: Yes, observers across the US and as far south as New Mexico and North Carolina have reported seeing portions of the predominantly red auroral display triggered yesterday by a coronal mass ejection from the sun over the weekend. A Maryland observer posted these photos. http://bsun.md/rSpzks The geomagnetic storm triggered by the CME is subsiding, but it might be worth a look tonight, if skies remain clear.
Posted by: Ralph | October 25, 2011 8:32 AM