SOLAR SECTOR BOUNDARY CROSSING: On Nov. 6th, Earth will cross a fold in the heliospheric current sheet--a vast wavy structure in interplanetary space separating regions of opposite magnetic polarity. This is called a "solar sector boundary crossing," and it could trigger geomagnetic activity around Earth's poles. Arctic sky watchers should be alert for auroras when the crossing occurs. Free: Aurora Alerts.
GEOMAGNETIC STORM PREDICTED (G1-CLASS): Earth's crossing of the heliospheric current sheet on Nov. 6th sets the stage for even more action on Nov. 7th. That's when a high-speed solar wind stream is expected to reach our planet. Its source is a large northern hole in the sun's atmosphere:
This is a "coronal hole"--a region where the sun's magnetic field peels back and allows solar wind to escape. NOAA forecasters say there is a 45% chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms on Nov. 7th when the emerging wind reaches Earth. There is a similar chance of storms on Nov. 8th.
This is going to be a high-latitude event. Arctic sky watchers will almost certainly see auroras mixed with moonlight on Nov. 7th and 8th. Faint auroras may be seen as well from the northernmost tier of US states--e.g., Maine, the northern tip of Michigan, and Washington. Free: Aurora Alerts.
GLOBAL RADIATION MONITORING: Since 2015, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have conducted an ambitious, ongoing campaign to measure atmospheric radiation around our planet. So far we have flown more than 200 space weather balloons in four countries and a dozen US states. This plot shows sample atmospheric radiation profiles from Norway, Chile, California, Oregon and Washington:
The horizontal axis is altitude. Typical profiles range from ~sea level to more than 100,000 feet, deep inside the stratosphere. The vertical axis is X-ray/gamma-ray dose rate between 10 keV and 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners.
Most of the radiation we detect comes from deep space in the form of cosmic rays--but we are always on the alert for other sources, too, such as atmospheric nuclear tests or leaks from power plants. Frequent flights allow us to not only map the geographical distribution of radiation, but also to monitor how it changes with time.
We're about to add a new country to our network: Mexico. On Nov. 8th we will travel to Mexico City to launch space weather balloons in collaboration with Prof. Juan Sumaya and students from the Universidad Autonoma del Estado de México. Stay tuned for reports from Mexico later this week.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
THIS WATCH FLEW TO SPACE ... AND KEPT ON TICKING: On Aug. 21, 2017, during the Great American Solar Eclipse, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched 11 space weather balloons from the path of totality. They soared into the stratosphere, photographing the shadow of the Moon more than 100,000 feet above Earth's surface. As a fundraiser, one of the balloons carried this wristwatch:
With the sun, Earth, and Moon perfectly aligned, the watch entered the space-cold shadow of the Moon … and kept on ticking! Watch the video. It survived temperatures lower than -49 C and cosmic ray dose rates more than 100 times sea level.
You can have one for $99.95. Each timepiece comes with a unique gift card showing the watch floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere and touching the shadow of the Moon. 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