GEOMAGNETIC STORM PREDICTED: NOAA forecasters say there is a 65% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Sept. 27th, increasing to 80% on Sept. 28th, as a stream of high-speed solar wind buffets our planet's magnetic field. Isolated periods of moderate G2-class storming could spark Northern Lights in US states as far south as e.g. New York, Michigan and Washington. Free: Aurora Alerts
A HOLE IN THE SUN'S ATMOSPHERE: NASA's Solar Dymanics Observatory is monitoring a large, canyon-shaped hole that has opened in the sun's atmosphere. Bisecting almost the entire Earth-facing hemisphere of the sun, the hole is 200,000 km wide and stretches a million km southward from the sun's north pole:
This is a coronal hole (CH)--a region in the sun's atmosphere where the magnetic field peels back and allows solar wind to escape. Solar wind flowing from this CH faster than 600 km/s is expected to reach our planet on Sept. 27th, sparking at least two days of polar geomagnetic storms.
Despite the impressive scale of this hole, it is nothing unusual. Coronal holes open on a regular basis. We typically see at least one each month. Solar wind streams from coronal holes keep Earth's poles glowing with auroras even during periods of low sunspot number--like now. Stay tuned for Arctic lights in the nights ahead. Free: Aurora Alerts
EQUINOX AURORAS: Data prove it: Auroras love equinoxes. At this time of year even a gentle gust of solar wind can spark bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. Dmitry Rak sends this example of the phenomenon from Murmansk, Russia:
No geomagnetic storm was in progress on Sept. 24th when Rak took the picture. Instead, a minor solar wind stream was brushing against Earth's magnetic field--barely elevating the background density and speed of gaseous material flowing around our planet. Happy Equinox!
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART 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, such as this heart-shaped pendant floating inside the Moon's shadow more than 100,000 feet above Oregon's Malheur National Forest:
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 limited-quantity 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