SUNSPOT UPDATE: Huge sunspot AR2673, which materialized with shocking speed over the weekend, is seething with activity. Today in Romania, solar photographer Maximilian Teodorescu captured this snapshot of plasma currents surging inside the sunspot's magnetic canopy--apparently on the verge of an explosion:
"It's magnetic madness!" says Teodorescu. "What a complex and beautiful sunspot group!"
AR2673 has already produced two M1-class solar flares on Sept.4th and a bigger explosion may be in the offing. Stay tuned. Free: Solar Flare Alerts
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SUNSPOT SURPRISE: What a difference a day can make. On Saturday, Sept. 2nd, sunspot AR2673 was an unremarkable speck largely ignored by forecasters. On Sunday, Sept. 3rd, it underwent a furious transformation. Play this movie and watch what happens to the tiny sunspot:
AR2673 expanded more than 10-fold in a single day, suddenly becoming one of the largest sunspots of the year. It has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong M-class solar flares. Any such explosion today would be geoeffective as the active region is directly facing Earth. Possible outcomes include moderately-strong shortwave radio blackouts, Earth-directed CMEs and geomagnetic storms later this week.
Amateur astronomers with safely-filtered solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.
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ROSE AMETHYST CRYSTAL ECLIPSE PENDANTS: On Aug. 21st during the Great American Solar Eclipse, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched 11 space weather balloons from the path of totality. They aimed to photograph the Moon's shadow from the stratosphere--and they succeeded. As a fundraiser, some of the balloons carried jewelry. Here is a rose amethyst crystal pendant entering the Moon's shadow more than 90,000 feet above the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon:
During the 2.5 hour flight, the pendants were wrapped in the Moon's shadow for more than two minutes, experiencing a spooky darkness colder than -50 C.
You can have one for $149.95. Each crystal pendant comes with a unique gift card showing the jewelry passing through the Moon's shadow and floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education
AURORAS VS. TWILIGHT: Sky watchers around the Arctic Circle are noticing a mix of colors that they haven't seen in a while: twilight blue plus aurora green. As summer comes to an end and the midnight sun sets, Northern Lights are back. B.Art Braafhart sends this picture taken last night from Salla in the Lapland of northern Finland:
"Very bright auroras appeared around midnight," says Braafhart. "They remained visible even later when the sun began to come up again. Superb displays!"
There was no geomagnetic storm underway when Braafhart took this picture. Auroras appeared anyway. This is because we are only weeks away from the northern autumnal equinox and auroras love equinoxes. At this time of year even a gentle gust of solar wind can spark a fine display. Free: Aurora Alerts
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