CO-ROTATING INTERACTION REGION: Tomorrow, March 27th, a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. CIRs are transition zones between slow- and fast-moving streams of solar wind. They contain density gradients and compressed magnetic fields that often do a good job sparking Arctic auroras. Springtime cracks in Earth's magnetic field could amplify the CIR's effect. Aurora alerts: SMS text, email.
THE AFTERGLOW OF A CME: A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field on March 24th. The impact was weak and did not spark a geomagnetic storm. It did, however, cause these auroras:
Tour guide Marianne Bergli of Tromsø, Norway, photographed the colorful lights on March 25th as Earth was passing through the CME's gaseous wake. "It was quite a show!" she says.
CMEs contain relatively strong magnetic fields. In this case, the CME's wake was magnetized almost five times stronger than ordinary solar wind. Those fields connected to the magnetic field of Earth and pried open a crack. Solar wind poured in to fuel the display.
"The nights are growing shorter here in Tromsø," says Bergli. "Soon, aurora season will be over--but not yet! I'm looking forward to a few more good displays in the weeks ahead." Aurora alerts: SMS text, email.
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