THE SOLAR WIND CONTINUES TO BLOW: Yesterday's strong geomagnetic storm is over, and Earth's magnetic field is quieting. However, the solar wind is still blowing around our planet faster than 550 km/s. This could stir up more geomagnetic activity on Sept. 29th. NOAA forecasters say there is a 60% chance of G1-class storms during the next 24 hours. Polar sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. Free: Aurora Alerts
NORTHERN LIGHTS IN THE USA: On Sept. 27th, a solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field. Flowing from a large hole in the sun's atmosphere, the stream was fast and potent; by the early hours of Sept. 28th a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm was underway. Northern Lights spilled across the Canadian border into nearly a dozen US states, including Washington:
Lenny Angello took this picture from Sudden Valley, WA. "Spaceweather.com was reporting a G3 storm so I set up for aurora photography," he says. "Visually, the display was mostly faint. This brief intense outburst with movement and structure took place shortly before local midnight."
Elsewhere in the USA, Northern Lights were sighted in Wyoming, Michigan, Montana, Iowa, Idaho, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, the Dakotas and, of course, Alaska. To see more auroras in unexpected places, browse the realtime photo gallery.
THE NIGHT NORWAY TURNED GREEN: You know a strong geomagnetic storm is underway when everything turns green--not only the sky, but also the landscape. Thilo Bubek of Tromsø, Norway, saw it happen on Sept. 27th:
"The green light from auroras overhead was reflected from the mountains and water," he says. "I photographed these extreme auroras using my Nikon D850."
More green reflections are possible tonight. NOAA forecasters say there is a 60% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Sept. 29th as the solar wind continues to blow faster than 600 km/s. 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, such as this rose quartz crystal pendant floating inside the Moon's shadow more than 90,000 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 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