SIGNS OF LIFE FROM SOLAR CYCLE 25: Solar Cycle 25 is coming to life. For the second time this month, a sunspot from the next solar cycle has emerged in the sun's southern hemisphere. Solar Minimum isn't finished, but the transition between Solar Cycle 24 and Solar Cycle 25 is underway: full story.
MINOR GEOMAGNETIC STORM, UNDERWAY NOW: A minor G1-class geomagnetic storm is underway as Earth's magnetic field reverberates from an unexpected CME impact on July 8th followed by the arrival of a solar wind stream on July 9th. Last night in Canada, Alan Dyer witnessed a band of green as the afterglow of the CME filled the midnight sky over Gleichen, Alberta:
"We had a fine opportunity to see a display of northern lights and noctilucent clouds together, with the auroras shining through the NLCs," reports Dyer. "Both peaked in intensity about midnight. A few rays formed in the aurora but overall it was a quiescent arc across the north, but a surprise nonetheless."
The arrival of the CME was indeed a surprise. NOAA forecasters say it could be the previously overlooked ejecta from a solar magnetic filament, which exploded on July 2nd. Wherever it came from, it set the stage for the current storm, which is being fueled by a solar wind stream blowing almost 600 km/s.
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MILLENNIUM FALCON IN THE STRATOSPHERE: It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs! On July 6, 2019, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the Millennium Falcon to the stratosphere. Riding onboard a high-altitude cosmic ray balloon, the laser-etched crystal spaceship traveled 103,018 feet above Earth's surface:
You can have it for $119.95. The students are selling the Falcon to fund the Earth to Sky ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the Falcon in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space. Also included: an LED-illuminated stand. This creates a colorful visual effect and allows the Falcon to be used as a far-out night light.
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