THE NEXT GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A large hole in the sun's atmosphere is turning toward Earth and spewing a stream of solar wind in our direction. G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible on Jan. 30th when the gaseous material arrives. Arctic sky watchers may expect bright auroras.Aurora Alerts: SMS text, email.
A SOLAR FLARE DURING SOLAR MINIMUM: Yesterday, Jan. 26th at 13:22 UT, the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR2733 exploded, producing the strongest solar flare in nearly a year. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded this extreme ultraviolet movie of the explosion:
This is a C5-class solar flare. In a matter of minutes, it released about as much energy as a billion WWII atomic bombs. That sounds intense, but... On the sun such explosions are considered to be relatively minor. X-class flares common during Solar Maximum are hundreds of times stronger. Right now, however, the sun is in the pits of a deep Solar Minimum, which makes a C5-class flare temporarily noteworthy.
The explosion did not hurl a CME toward Earth. Sorry, aurora-fans! Free: SWx News
FAR OUT VALENTINE'S GIFT: Valentine's Day is only 3 weeks away. Need a far-out gift? Consider the Valentine's Space Rose. This one flew 104,843 feet above the snow-capped Sierras of California on Jan. 19th:
You can have it for $149.95. The rose is laser-etched into a block of optical-quality borosilicate crystal with the words "I Love You" curving below the stem. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling these to support their cosmic ray ballooning program.
Each rose comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space. Also included is an LED stand that fills the bloom with 4 luminous colors.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery