SOLAR EXPLOSION MISSES EARTH: A coronal mass ejection (CME) billowed away from the eastern limb of the sun during the late hours of March 5th. Because the explosion was so so far off the sun-Earth line, it is unlikely to affect our planet. Watch the movie, and note Mercury gliding past the sun.
INTENSE PINK AURORAS: Yesterday, the solar wind was supposed to slacken, prompting auroras around the Arctic Circle to fade. Instead, the wind quickened and there was an explosion of pink. "The display on March 5th was so intense, even the fjords changed color," reports Markus Varik, who sends this picture from Tromsø, Norway:
"The auroras were amazingly colorful, and I was able to catch their reflections in the nearly still waters of the fjord," Varik explains.
Flamboyant displays of pink were also seen in Finland and Sweden, and caused some observers to cry out in amazement--"Wow, it's pink!"
The pink color is probably a sign of nitrogen. Most auroras are green--a verdant glow caused by energetic particles from space hitting oxygen atoms 100 km to 300 km above Earth's surface. Pink appears when the energetic particles descend lower than usual, striking nitrogen molecules at the 100 km level and below. Such deep-penetrating particles are being produced by the solar wind stream now blowing around Earth.
Arctic sky watchers should remain alert for pink (and other colors) as the solar wind continues to blow faster than 600 km/s on March 6th. Free: Aurora Alerts.
ARCTIC SPACE WEATHER BALLOON LAUNCH: Spaceweather.com is going to Sweden--and we're taking a team of student researchers from Earth to Sky Calculus with us. For a week beginning on March 9th we plan to launch a series of space weather balloons equipped with cosmic ray sensors and cameras into the stratosphere above the Arctic Circle. At the same time, Earth to Sky launch teams in Chile and California will be sending up identical payloads, forming an intercontinental balloon network:
We're doing this for three reasons:
1. To understand Earth's changing radiation environment: Regular monitoring of the stratosphere over California shows that cosmic rays have intensified more than 10% since 2015. Because of a recent decline in the solar cycle, more and more cosmic rays are reaching the inner solar system and penetrating the atmosphere of our planet. Earth's magnetic field should protect us against these rays, but geomagnetism is weakening. Globally, Earth's magnetic field has declined in strength by 10% since the 19th century with changes accelerating in recent years, according to measurements by Europe's SWARM satellites. To understand Earth's global response to these changes, we must launch balloons and sample radiation from widely-spaced locations. The upcoming network launch will span three continents, more than 14,000 km of linear distance, and 90+ degrees of latitude.
Above: Satellite data show that Earth's magnetic field is changing: full story.
2. To photograph the Northern Lights: We will be launching balloons from Abisko, Sweden, 250 km inside the Arctic Circle. Abisko is famous for spectacular auroras. One of our payloads will carry a low-light camera capable of photographing these lights from the stratosphere. Even at 120,000 feet, the balloon will be well below the auroras, but we will be a lot closer than any camera on the ground.
3. To sample polar stratospheric clouds: During winter months, the stratosphere above the Arctic Circle sometimes fills with icy clouds so colorful, they are likened to the aurora borealis. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are a sign of extremely cold temperatures in the stratosphere and some types of PSCs are responsible for ozone destruction. Our space weather balloons can fly right through these clouds, sampling their temperature, pressure, and ambient levels of radiation. We can also photograph them from the inside--a possible first!
Stay tuned for daily updates beginning March 9th.
NORTHERN LIGHTS SPACE PENDANT: To raise money for their trip to the Arctic Circle, on March 2nd the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew a payload-full of Northern Lights pendants to the edge of space above California. You can have one for $69.95. Each piece of jewelry comes with a greeting card telling the story of the pendant's trip to the stratosphere and certifying its peak altitude: 112,200 feet above Earth's surface.
Bonus: Would you like your pendant to fly above the Arctic Circle as well? Make a note in the COMMENTS box at checkout and we will take your pendant to Sweden for a second trip to the stratosphere.
More far-out gifts may be found in the Earth to Sky Store. All proceeds support STEM education and high-altitude ballooning.
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