SOLAR WIND STORM, SUBSIDING: The solar wind blowing around Earth is beginning to slow, dipping below 600 km/s. This is still a fast wind, but given the low density and weak magnetization of the gaseous material, it is not enough to spark geomagnetic storms. The chances for auroras tonight are decreasing. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
RED AURORAS OVER NEW ZEALAND: Auroras are usually green. However, when a geomagnetic storm crested over New Zealand on August 5th, a completely different color filled the sky. "It was amazingly red," reports Minoru Yoneto, who sends this picture from Queenstown, NZ:
"I was conducting a stargazing tour, showing my clients the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds, when the aurora australis appeared," says Yoneto. "A quick 15s exposure with my digital camera captured the magnificent colors."
What made these auroras red? Ordinary green auroras come from oxygen atoms excited by geomagnetic activity about 150 km above Earth's surface. Red auroras are also caused by oxygen, but at a much higher altitude: Between 150 km and 500 km, the temperature and density of the atmosphere favors atomic transitions that emit red photons instead of green. For some reason, yesterday's geomagnetic storm excited the upper reaches of the atmosphere more than usual, producing a red glow over both hemispheres. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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MIDSUMMER AURORAS OVER THE USA: As a rule, northern summer is a bad time to see auroras. August 5th was the exception to the rule. A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field, sparking a G1-class geomagnetic storm. Auroras blossomed over Canada, then spilled across the 49th parallel to the United States. Rocky Raybell photographed the display from Keller, Washington:
"The show started around 2 am Pacific Time then lasted until daylight, with red columns turning purple just before dawn," says Raybell. Elsewhere in the USA, the lights were seen from Kalispell, Montana and the Olympic National Park.
The solar wind stream came from a large hole in the sun's atmosphere. That hole is turning away from Earth now, but another is rotating into geoeffective position. We expect a new stream of solar wind to arrive on August 10th, possibly sparking a new round of midsummer auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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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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