QUIET, WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF FLARES: Solar activity is low, and it is likely to stay that way through the weekend. NOAA forecasters say there is a slight 15% chance of M-class solar flares for the next 3 days. Free: Solar Flare Alerts
SOLAR ECLIPSE IN THE STRATOSPHERE (UPDATED): During the Great American Solar Eclipse on August 21st, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus and Spaceweather.com launched 11 high-altitude balloons from 5 states in the path of totality. We hoped to catch the Moon's shadow sweeping across the landscape from a vantage point in the stratosphere--and we succeeded. These pictures show the inky-black shadow of the Moon darkening a 70 mile-wide patch of Wyoming/Nebraska:
The camera, a Panasonic GH4, belonged to professional photographer Josh Stansfield. He helped students launch the balloon from Ft. Laramie, Wyoming, and later processed these unique images after the payload was recovered from its landing site in Nebraska.
Another Earth to Sky balloon launched from Wyoming captured a complete HD video of the Moon's shadow racing across the landscape. The launch team is processing it now, and it will be posted soon.
Photography was just one reason for launching so many balloons. We also flew cosmic ray sensors that sampled atmospheric radiation over 7 states (Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois) while temperature and pressure sensors measured the effect of the Moon's shadow on the thermal structure of the atmosphere. A first look at the data suggests that the Moon's space-cold shadow might have the power to make helium balloons explode! Processing all of the data may take days or weeks; right now we're just scratching the surface. Stay tuned for more results.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education
THE GREAT AMERICAN SOLAR ECLIPSE ... IN EUROPE: Americans weren't the only ones who witnessed an eclipse on August 21st. Some Europeans saw it too. In Portugal, Spain, the UK, Norway and Iceland, the Moon took a bite out of the sun at sunset. Diego González sends this picture from Oviedo, Spain:
"The Aug. 21st eclipse was visible from northern Spain, but only as a shallow partial eclipse starting around 25 minutes before sunset," says photographer Diego González. "It wasn't the same as totality, but it was still beautiful."
UNEXPECTED GEOMAGNETIC STORM: With little warning, an unexpected geomagnetic storm occurred on Aug. 23rd, ringing Earth's poles with the luminous glow of auroras. Peter Sayers photographed the display from the banks of the Forth River in Tasmania, Australia:
"These fantastic auroras came out of left field while I was watching the southern horizon," says Sayers. "There were beams like search lights for hours--a beautiful naked eye display."
What happened? The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) near Earth tipped south, opening a crack in our planet's magnetosphere. Solar wind blew in through the opening and fueled the display.