THE THERMOSPHERE CLIMATE INDEX: There's a new data feed on Spaceweather.com--the daily Thermosphere Climate Index (TCI). This is a number recently developed by NASA and university researchers that tells us how Earth's upper atmosphere is responding to solar activity. Monitoring TCI is a must for anyone wanting a true situational awareness of how space weather "touches" Earth. Get the full story.

TWO HOLES IN THE SUN'S ATMOSPHERE: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has detected two holes in the sun's atmosphere. One has turned to face Earth, and the other is not far behind:

These are "coronal holes"--places where the sun's magnetic field has opened up, allowing solar wind to escape. They look dark because the glowing-hot plasma normally contained there is gone.

Solar wind flowing from these holes should reach Earth in succession on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and Nov. 3-4, possibly bringing minor geomagnetic storms. This means Halloween around the Arctic Circle could be illuminated by ghostly-green skies. Stay tuned for aurora boo-realis. Free: Aurora Alerts.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

GREEN FLASH ON THE SUN: For seaside photographers, nothing beats a green flash--that sudden pulse of verdant light at sunset as the sun vanishes beneath the ocean waves. Herb Allison witnessed this one on October 22nd from Aguada, Puerto Rico:

The Caribbean is a great place to find green flashes. "I have seen a lot of them from Aguada," says Allison. Temperature gradients in the air above the sea surface magnify tiny differences in the atmospheric refraction of red and green light, creating a verdant mirage that seems to explode out of the waves.

There was a time when green flashes were thought to be fables, but now we know they are real. Jules Verne popularized the phenomenon in his 1882 novel "Le Rayon Vert" (The Green Ray). He described "a green which no artist could ever obtain on his palette, a green of which neither the varied tints of vegetation nor the shades of the most limpid sea could ever produce the like! If there is a green in Paradise, it cannot be but of this shade, which most surely is the true green of Hope." 136 years later, Allison is hoping for more.

Realtime Green Flash Photo Gallery

PURPLE HEART SPACE PENDANT: Nothing says "I Love You" like a heart-shaped pendant from the edge of space. On Dec. 31, 2017, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew an array of cosmic ray sensors to the stratosphere onboard a giant helium balloon. This far-out jewelry went along for the ride:

You can have it for $129.95. The students are selling these pendants as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray monitoring program. They make great anniversary, birthday and Christmas gifts. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.

Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education

---

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery