NORTHERN LIGHTS SPILL DEEP INTO THE USA: On May 27th, a solar coronal mass ejection (CME) swept past Earth. At first, for several hours, the seemingly weak impact barely disturbed our planet's magnetic environment. Then the storms began. As Earth passed through the CME's wake, energetic particles poured through a crack in Earth's magnetosphere, sparking a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm.
At the height of the storm on May 28th, auroras were sighted in more than 20 US states. Mark Urwiller took this picture from the countryside near O'Neill, Nebraska:
"Auroras were in progress as the sun set on Saturday, and their visibility improved as the twilight deepened," says Urwiller. "There were a couple nice dynamic veils that moved like a dying florescent light tubes. I had to dodge the lights of cars on the highway, but it was a fun evening!"
The show did not stop at Nebraska. Northern Lights descended even farther south to Colorado, California and even Arizona. "After midnight the sky turned pink and a green ray extended up from the horizon," reports Chris Schur of Payson AZ. " This is the best aurora here in Arizona in over a decade!"
The storms are subsiding now. Earth is exiting the CME's wake, and our planet's magnetic field is quieting. NOAA forecasters say there is no more than a 15% chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms on May 29th. Free: Aurora Alerts
TARDIGRADES AT THE EDGE OF SPACE: On May 27th, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus conducted an experiment in astrobiology, launching a sample of tardigrades to the stratosphere during a geomagnetic storm. Here they are at the apex of the flight 34.6 km (113,500 ft) above the Sierra Nevadas of central California:
Also known as "water bears," tardigrades are near-microscopic creatures that can survive high doses of ionizing radiation, temperatures almost as low as absolute zero, and pressures six times higher than deep ocean trenches. Can they survive a trip onboard a space weather balloon? That's the question Earth to Sky student Makayla McDevitt is trying to answer for her end-of-term AP Environmental Sciences project.
This photomicrograph shows one of the creatures floating in its watery habitat prior to launch:
The tardigrades traveled to the stratosphere alongside an array of X-ray/gamma-ray sensors that we use to monitor cosmic rays in the atmosphere. Flying these sensors during geomagnetic storms is important because it helps us understand our radiation environment during the full range of space weather conditions. Stay tuned for updates from this flight.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
THIS PENDANT HAS TOUCHED SPACE: The radiation monitoring program of Earth to Sky Calculus receives no support from corporate sponsors or government grants. Instead, we are crowd-funded. Or, to be more precise, bling-funded:
To raise money for more cosmic ray balloon flights, on May 6th the students launched a payload of these Northern Lights pendants to the top of Earth's atmosphere. You can have one for $79.95. Each piece of space jewelry comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back. They make great birthday and belated Mother's Day gifts.
More far-out gifts may be found in the Earth to Sky Store. All proceeds support atmospheric radiation monitoring and hands-on STEM education.