GEOMAGNETIC STORMS IN THE OFFING: A large hole in the sun's atmosphere is facing Earth, and it is spewing solar wind toward our planet. ETA: Nov. 10th. NOAA forecasters say there is a 55% to 60% chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms when the gaseous material arrives. Free: Aurora Alerts.
A RADIO TRANSMISSION FROM THE SUN: The Parker Solar Probe has just radioed NASA with good news. The spacecraft survived its close approach to the sun on Nov. 5th. Because the sun is a giant natural source of broadband radio noise, Parker cannot transmit complicated data streams through the interference. Images and data won't arrive until early December when the probe has reached a sufficient distance from the sun again. For now, mission controllers are happy to have received a simple beacon saying the spacecraft is okay.
Earlier this week, Parker screamed around the sun at 213,200 mph only 15 million miles from the stellar surface--shattering old records for both speed and distance. Intense sunlight raised the temperature of the probe's heat shield to about 820 degrees Fahrenheit. All the while, instruments and systems behind the shield kept cool in the mid-80s F.
Mission controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab received the status beacon at 4:46 p.m. EST on Nov. 7, 2018. It indicated, simply, "A" — the best of all four possible status signals, meaning that the probe is operating well with all instruments running and collecting science data and, if there were any minor issues, they were resolved autonomously by the spacecraft. Stay tuned for "first light" science results about one month from now.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
THE GREEN BETWEEN STORMS: There was no geomagnetic storm on Nov. 7th. Abisko, Sweden, turned green anyway. "Massive auroras danced across the sky," reports Chad Blakley of Lights over Lapland, whose automated webcam snapped this picture:
"It was a great night!" he says. "We could see the green glow even through clouds."
This display occurred not during, but between two geomagnetic storms--one on Nov. 5th and another, predicted, on Nov. 10th. What happened? An hours-long crack in Earth's magnetic field formed on Nov. 7th. Solar wind poured in to fuel the display--no geomagnetic storm required.
PURPLE HEART SPACE PENDANT: Nothing says "I Love You" like a heart-shaped pendant from the edge of space. Last week, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew an array of cosmic ray sensors to the stratosphere onboard a giant helium balloon. This purple heart 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