SOLAR WIND, INCOMING: A southern hole in the sun's atmosphere is facing Earth and spewing a stream of solar wind in our direction. Estimated time of arrival: April 3rd. Minor geomagnetic storms and Arctic auroras are possible when the gaseous material arrives. Aurora alerts: SMS text, email.
DEEP-SKY AURORAS IN THE USA: Yesterday, March 31st, a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) hit Earth's magnetic field. CIRs are like miniature CMEs. They contain shock waves and magnetic fields that often spark auroras. In this case, however, the impact was weak and the resulting auroras were barely visible to the unaided eye. Fortunately, Kevin Palmer of Lake DeSmet, Wyoming, had a camera:
"The auroras were very faint," says Palmer, "but my Nikon D750 recorded the display nicely. I used a 10 second exposure at ISO 12800."
Brendan Lawrence of Kinsey, Montana, photographed them, too. "I noticed the northern sky looking a bit brighter than usual," says Lawrance. "A 20-second exposure with my Nikon D800 confirmed that the aurora borealis was indeed visible all the way into southeastern Montana!"
These are called "deep sky auroras" because like other deep-sky objects (e.g., galaxies and nebulae) they are best seen using optics and timed exposures. More deep sky auroras could be in the offing. A solar wind stream is approaching Earth and expected to arrive on April 3rd or 4th. A nearly-new Moon on those dates will make the night sky dark enough for long exposures.
A note to Spaceweather ALERT subscribers: Deep-sky auroras occur mainly during weak geomagnetic storms. To maximize your chances of photographing the phenomenon, sign up for the Pro Plan of Space Weather Alerts. When you receive a text message saying the K-index is 4 or 5, it's time to take pictures.
A GIFT FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: On August 16, 2018, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere. This laser-etched Moon cube went along for the ride, ascending to an altitude of 101,140 feet:
You can have it for $119.95. The students are selling these cubes as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray ballooning program. It's an authentic representation of the Moon, with all of the craters, mountains and lava plains accurately portrayed.
Each Moon-cube comes with a unique gift card showing the item floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery