THANKSGIVING MAGNETIC STORM: A minor G1-class geomagnetic storm is underway on Nov. 24th as Earth moves through a stream of solar wind. "The auroras put on a lovely show over Alaska early Thanksgiving morning, between 1:30 am and 5 am," reports Todd Salat from Anchorage. "I shot this 'turkey' at 4:52 am."
"I have many things to give thanks for during this American Holiday, including 2016 being my 20th year as a full-time Aurora Hunter," says Salat."Two decades of photographing spectacles like this for a living has me feeling like I scored the lucky wishbone."
The solar wind stream responsible for this display may be here throughout the holiday. Flowing from a large hole in the sun's atmosphere, the stream is broad and should take several days to cross. Arctic auroras are possible from now until at least Nov. 25-26. Free: Aurora Alerts
A FAR OUT STOCKING STUFFER: It's out of this world: the Sirius Space Pendant. To raise money for their space weather ballooning program, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have flown 3 dozen pendants to the edge of space–and you can have one for $69.95. The pendant comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and certifying that it has been to the stratosphere and back again.
The pendants flew to the edge of space on Nov. 20, 2016, alongside an array of cosmic radiation sensors. (We're reducing the data now!) After the balloon exploded, the payload parachuted back to Earth, landing in the snowy San Antonio mountains north of Tonopah, Nevada, where a student team recovered it on Nov. 22nd.
The research of Earth to Sky Calculus is not supported by government grants or corporate donations. Instead, we are entirely crowd-funded. Proceeds from the sale of items like the Sirius Pendant go right back into cutting-edge student research. More edge of space Christmas gifts may be found in the Earth to Sky Store.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery