WAITING FOR THE CME TO ARRIVE: NOAA forecasters said there was a 75% chance of a CME impact on March 23th. That means there was a 25% chance of no impact. Indeed, we're still waiting for the CME to arrive. The tardy arrival could mean that either (1) the CME missed or (2) it is moving more slowly than expected. Either way, the chance of storms is waning as March 24th aproaches. Aurora alerts: SMS text, email.
GOODBYE SUNSPOT AR2736: Active sunspot AR2736, which hurled a CME toward Earth on March 20th, is about to leave the face of the sun. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory took this extreme ultraviolet picture of the sunspot's seething magnetic canopy tipping over the sun's western limb on March 23th:
By Monday or Tuesday, AR2736 will vanish as it begins a 2-week trip around the farside of the sun.
Meanwhile, the sunspot still poses a threat to Earth even though it is no longer directly facing our planet. In fact, in a way, the sunspot poses a greater threat while it is near the edge of the sun. As the sun rotates, the sun's magnetic field spirals out into the solar system like water flowing from a lawn sprinkler:
Because of the sweep of this spiral, Earth is well connected, magnetically speaking, to the edge of the sun. If AR2736 flares while it is there, the ejecta could be funneled back to Earth, potentially causing a solar radiaton storm.
A GIFT FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Last month, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the starship Enterprise to the stratosphere. Riding onboard a high-altitude cosmic ray balloon, the laser-etched crystal spaceship traveled 34.7 km (113,845 feet) above Earth's surface:
You can have it for $149.95. The students are selling the Enterprise to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each starship 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 a multi-colored LED illuminated stand (shown in the picture above). This creates a colorful visual effect and allows the Enterprise to be used as a far-out night light.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery