GEOMAGNETIC STORMS: Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are disturbing Earth's polar magnetic field today as a fast-moving stream of solar wind swirls around our planet. The gaseous material is flowing from an equatorial hole in the sun's atmosphere. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras, especially in the southern hemisphere where autumn darkness favors visibility. Free: Aurora Alerts.
'STEVE' SPOTTED IN CANADA: Last night as Earth was entering a stream of high-speed solar wind, hot currents of plasma began to flow through the upper atmosphere. When this happens, STEVE appears. Matthew Wheeler saw the purple ribbon of light from Robson Valley, British Columbia:
"It was visible to the naked eye despite bright moonlight," says Wheeler, who, on darker nights, has taken some incredible videos of the STEVE phenomenon.
This particular stream of solar wind has a knack for summoning STEVE. One solar rotation ago, in early May, the same stream lashed Earth's magnetic field. STEVE was then sighted not only in Canada (its usual habitat) but also in multiple US states. Bright moonlight this time is making the mysterious ribbon more difficult to see, and will probably reduce the number of sightings.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS SEEN FROM THE GROUND: Only a few days after NASA's AIM spacecraft began to see noctilucent clouds (NLCs) forming over Earth's northern hemisphere, people on the ground are beginning to see them, too. "They are back!" reports Ruslan Merzlyakov of Hjørring, Denmark. "I saw the NLCs during the early hours of May 31st." In this picture, they are silvery ripples beaming through the orange glow of sunrise:
Early-season sightings of NLCs are always like this--faint and silvery, with a rippling structure that distinguishes them from ordinary clouds. They may not remain faint for long. Previous data from AIM have shown that NLCs are like a great "geophysical light bulb." They turn on every year in late spring, reaching almost full intensity over a period of 5 to 10 days. Soon the silvery ripples Merzlyakov spotted should intensify and spread, forming electric-blue waves that glow deep into the night.
What are NLCs? You can think of them as frosted meteoroids. Noctilucent clouds form when summertime wisps of water vapor waft up to the top of Earth's atmosphere and crystallize around specks of meteor smoke. The resulting swarms of tiny ice crystals glow electric blue when struck by high altitude sunlight.
A FATHER'S DAY GIFT FROM SPACE: Father's Day is this month. Are you thinking of buying Dad a tie? We have something even better. A space tie:
To support their cosmic ray ballooning program, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have flown a payload of psychedelic blue bow ties to the stratosphere, 29 km (91,000 feet) above Earth's surface. You can have one for $79.95.
Each bow tie comes with a unique gift card showing the neckwear 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. All proceeds support high-altitude balloon launches and student space weather research.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education