POLAR MAGNETIC STORMS: Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are underway today, Oct. 25th, in response to a stream of solar wind buffeting our planet's magnetic field. So far the action is restricted to polar regions. However, NOAA forecasters say there is a chance the storm will intensify to G2-class as Earth moves deeper into the stream. If so, auroras could descend into northern-tier US states along a line from Maine to Washington. Free: Aurora Alerts.
FIRST CONTACT WITH THE SOLAR WIND: The solar wind stream instigating today's magnetic storm is flowing from a large canyon-like hole in the sun's atmosphere. First contact with the stream during the late hours of Oct. 24th turned the nighttime Arctic Circle green. Alan Dyer sends this picture from Tromsø, Norway:
"The arrival of enhanced solar wind from a coronal hole gave us a superb aurora display," Dyer says. "I took the picture from the ferry ship Nordlys (well-named for chasing the Northern Lights) operated by the Hurtigruten ship line."
In Lofoten, Norway, citizen scientist Rob Stammes of the Polarlightcenter experienced first contact in a different way. Electricity began to flow through the ground and Stammes' magnetic sensors went haywire:
"Last evening the expected solar wind arrived as a kind of shockwave on my instruments just before local midnight." says Stammes. In his plot, the green curve shows ground currents induced by the sudden storminess of the local magnetic field. "From that moment of high activity, I waited with eagerness for darkness to fall so I could see the auroras."
OPALITE CRYSTAL SPACE PENDANT: On Oct. 15, 2017, the students Earth to Sky Calculus launched a space weather balloon from the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California. Its mission: to measure cosmic rays at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The payload carried an array of X-ray/gamma-ray detectors, GPS trackers, temperature/pressure sensors and, for fundraising, opalite crystals:
With a soothing blue glow that matches the otherworldly color of Earth's upper atmosphere, these crystals ascended to an altitude of 32 km (105,000 feet) where the balloon exploded. The payload parachuted back to Earth, landing in the Eureka Valley on the outskirts of Death Valley National Park.
You can have one for $119.95. Each necklace comes with a unique gift card showing the pendant 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
WANTED: TALES OF SPOOKY SPACE WEATHER: Have you ever been spooked by something you saw in the night sky? Maybe it was a ghoulish form in the aurora borealis, or the haunting glow of a rocket fuel dump--or something you couldn't figure out at all! In the spirit of Halloween, Spaceweather.com is reaching out to you, our readers, to share a spooky story about the night sky. Fill out this short survey, and your tale could end up on the front page of our web site as Halloween approaches. (Note: Image and audio files are accepted by the survey form.)