THE CME HAS ARRIVED, GEOMAGNETIC STORMS IN PROGRESS: A CME has just hit Earth's magnetic field (Sept.7th at ~2300 UT). This is the debris from Wednesday's decade-class X9 solar flare. It arrived earlier than expected, confirming that the storm cloud is both fast and potent. A strong G3-class geomagnetic storm is in progress as our planet's magnetic field reverberates from the impact. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras in bright moonlight. Free: Aurora Alerts
THE FLARES CONTINUE: Sunspot AR2673 has remained active on Sept. 7th, producing three M-class flares (M2.4, M1.4, M7.3) and another X-flare (X1.3). Unlike yesterday's monster X9-flare, however, none of today's explosions have hurled a significant CME toward Earth. Ham radio operators may be noticing the effects of these most recent flares in the form of minor shortwave blackouts and strange propagation effects. Free: Solar Flare Alerts
Above: The extreme ultraviolet flash from an M7-class flare on Sept. 7th. Credit: NASA/SDO
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
EARTH VS. SOLAR FLARE: Amateur astronomer Philippe Tosi photographed the sun on Sept. 6th, and his timing was perfect. He caught sunspot AR2673 in mid-explosion, producing the most powerful solar flare in more than a decade.
His image of the X9-category blast, with Earth inserted for comparison, highlights the advantages of being 93 million miles away from the sun. The explosion was big enough to swallow our entire planet with room to spare.
Many readers are asking about the historic context of this event. How epic is it? Answer: This is a decade-class flare. A list of the most powerful solar flares recorded since 1976 ranks the Sept 6th flare at #14, tied with a similar explosion in 1990. However, compared to the iconic Carrington Event of 1859, or even the more recent Halloween storms of 2003, this event is relatively mild. Modern power grids, telecommunications, and other sun sensitive technologies should weather the storm with ease.
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