SOLAR WIND, INCOMING: Today, a hole in the sun's atmosphere is facing Earth. An emerging stream of solar wind could reach our planet as early as Nov. 19th, with G1-class geomagnetic storms possible on Nov. 20th when Earth moves deeper into the gaseous material. Arctic sky watchers should be alert for auroras on Sunday and Monday. Free: Aurora Alerts.
NEW ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION DATA: Last week's double launch of space weather balloons over Mexico and California was a success. The goal of our experiment was to measure cosmic rays in the atmosphere above both countries and compare the results. A first look at the data reveal big differences.
These curves show dose rate vs. altitude. They diverge rapidly above 15,000 feet, with radiation levels over central California typically 1.5 times higher than over Mexico. This means air travelers over California can expect to receive significantly greater doses of cosmic radiation compared to their counterparts flying south of the border. In both places, radiation levels reached a peak in the stratosphere. At those altitudes, dose rates were 60 times greater than sea level for Mexico, 90 times greater than sea level for California.
The reason for these differences is Earth's magnetic field which, generally speaking, provides greater shielding against cosmic rays near the equator (Mexico) than at mid-latitudes (California)
The radiation sensors onboard our helium balloons detect X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners. They trace secondary cosmic rays, the spray of debris created when primary cosmic rays from deep space hit the top of Earth's atmosphere.
Our payloads also carried neutron sensors. Stay tuned for updates next week as we continue our analysis of data from those detectors.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
ARCTIC METEOR TURNS NIGHT INTO DAY: On the evening of Nov. 16th, aurora tour guide Tony Bateman of northern Finland was indoors, warming up between auroras, when his surroundings began to vibrate. "There was a huge bang and the cottage shook violently," he reports. "At first I thought it was an earthquake. Or maybe a tree fell on the cottage roof! I walked outside and inspected the trees. Everything looked okay." A quick replay of his aurora webcam solved the mystery. "It was an incredible meteor," he says.
"It gave me goosebumps to see the night sky turn blue as the meteor exploded," he says. "Auroras and a fireball--what a night!"
This week Earth has been moving through a stream of debris from Comet Encke, source of the annual Taurid meteor shower. Taurids are rich in fireballs. However, the trajectory of this meteor suggests it was no Taurid.
It appears to have been a sporadic--that is, a random meteor from no particular comet. Every day, Earth is peppered with sporadic meteors from a diffuse swarm filling the inner solar system. NASA statistics show that sporadic fireballs as bright as Venus appear somewhere on Earth more than 100 times daily. Fireballs as bright as a quarter Moon occur once every ten days, and fireballs as bright as a full Moon once every few months or so. The Arctic fireball of Nov. 16th belongs in the rarest of those three categories--a lucky catch, indeed.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS FROM SPACE: 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, like this rose quartz pendant shown entering the Moon's shadow more than 90,000 feet above 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 $169.95. 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