CME MISSES EARTH: A coronal mass ejection (CME) hurled into space days ago by a magnetic explosion on the sun was supposed to sideswipe Earth's magnetic field on Nov. 29th. Instead, it missed. NOAA forecasters have therefore reduced the odds of a G1-class geomagnetic storm to 30%. This remaining chance is due to a stream of solar wind crossing Earth's path on Nov. 30th. Free: Aurora Alerts.
BUT WHO NEEDS A CME? On Nov. 29th, just as the CME was missing Earth, auroras appeared in the skies over Abisko, Sweden. Photographer Oliver Wright had already gone to bed, but when he saw a ribbon of green appear on the Lights Over Lapland webcam, he dressed and headed out to the shore of Lake Torneträsk. Wright had a special shot in mind:
"Earlier in the day I found some amazing ice sculptures by the lake," he explains. "These had been caused by a huge storm whilst it was -10C. The ice here is actually covering a small tree even though it looks an alien landscape."
Without a CME, what caused the auroras? At the time of the display, Earth was making first contact with a stream of solar wind flowing from a fissure in the sun's atmosphere--a stream that may yet cause a G1-class geomagnetic storm on Nov. 30th If it does, another trip to the frozen forest of Abisko may be in the offing. Stay tuned.
CIRCULAR MAGNETIC FILAMENT: For nearly two weeks, astronomers have watched a remarkable filament of magnetism glide across the face of the sun. Most filaments on the sun are roughly linear. This one, however, is shaped like a circle more than 125,000 km in diameter. Today, the Great Round Filament is rotating over the sun's western limb, where Randy Shivak of Estero, Florida, photographed it in profile:
"Watching the filament go over the horizon is a great way to study its structure," says Shivak. "I took the picture using my Astro-Physics 152mm F8 refracting telescope, a Daystar Quantum PE .5 angstrom filter, and a ZWO asi174mm video camera."
The unusual structure of this filament may be unstable. Magnetic fields curling back on themselves in this fashion can criss, cross, and explode--a process known as "magnetic reconnection." An explosion on the sun's limb would be spectacular indeed. Monitoring is encouraged.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
THE CHRISTMAS SPACE PICKLE: The Christmas pickle is a holiday tradition in the United States. Make way for a new tradition: The Christmas Space Pickle! To raise money for their cosmic ray research, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have flown a payload full of the glass pickle ornaments to the stratosphere, and you can have one for your own tree.
Priced at $79.95, each space-faring gherkin comes with a Christmas card showing your ornament in space. The inside flap tells the story of the pickle's flight and confirms that the pickle has traveled to the edge of space and back again. It also comes with a bonus photo of the pickle in the stratosphere. Hang it on your Christmas tree alongside the pickle itself to impress holiday visitors!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education