DOES STORMY SPACE WEATHER CONFUSE WHALES? Mass strandings of whales have often been documented, but their causes remain unclear. Researchers from Europe have just published a study in the International Journal of Astrobiology suggesting that some strandings are triggered by strong geomagnetic storms. Whales' magnetic sense can play an important role in orientation and migration, and this sense may become confused by geomagnetic disturbances at high latitudes. Read the original research (open access) from Cambridge University Press.
A SOLAR STORM IS COMING: Yesterday during a flurry of M-class eruptions, sunspot AR2673 hurled a CME toward Earth. NOAA forecasters say the cloud is likely to arrive late on Sept. 6th, causing moderately-strong G2-class geomagnetic storms with isolated periods of strong G3-class storming on Sept. 6th and 7th. Click to play a movie of the incoming storm cloud recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory:
After the CME arrives, auroras will likely appear over places such as Alaska, Scandinavia, Iceland, and Greenland, and perhaps even northern-tier US states from Maine to Washington. Glare from the full Moon will mitigate visibility to some degree. If the storms are strong enough, however, auroras could pierce the moonlight. Monitor the realtime aurora gallery for sightings and stay tuned for updates. Free: Aurora Alerts
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
ROSE QUARTZ 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 quartz 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
SURPRISE GEOMAGNETIC STORM: With the Moon glaring brightly and an incoming CME still two days away from Earth, last night's aurora forecast was not promising. In Tromsø, Norway, the forecast was wrong. Photographer Bernt Olsen looked up on the evening of Sept.4th and saw a fountain of green and purple lights directly overhead:
"I witnessed three 'coronas' like this one in just 10 minutes," says Olsen. "It was a good display."
What happened? Just before the luminous outburst, magnetic fields in the solar wind tipped south, opening a crack in Earth's magnetosphere. Solar wind poured to fuel a G1-class geomagnetic storm--a pleasant surprise, indeed. This display could herald an even bigger one later this week when the CME arrives. Free: Aurora Alerts
