THE CARRINGTON EVENT WAS NOT UNIQUE: It might be time to rewrite the history books. New research shows that the Carrington Event--a monster solar storm that hit Earth 161 years ago this week--might not be as unique as previously thought. Historical documents from East Asia suggest that Carrington Events (plural) have happened many times before ... and probably will again. FULL STORY.
FOR THE 5TH STRAIGHT DAY, ARCTIC AURORAS: Arctic skies aren't blue anymore. They're blue-green. With the fading of the summer sun, auroras are showing themselves in the midnight sky. Eva Kristiansen photographed these last night in Tromsø, Norway:
"What a pleasure to greet Aurora again!" says Kristiansen. "Finally the sky was dark enough, and the clouds disappeared to reveal the beautiful lights."
This has been going on for 5 straight days. A magnetogram from Stuart Green in Preston, Lancashire, UK, reveals why:
"Earth's magnetic field has been rumbling since August 28th," says Green, who operates a sensitive magnetometer in his backyard to monitor geomagnetic activity. "This is a result of Earth entering and progressing through a fast flowing solar wind stream. It is always so fascinating to see the effects of solar weather directly for myself down here at ground level from my home in the UK."
Earth is still inside the stream, which is flowing from a northern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Arctic sky watchers should be alert for more blue-green on Sept. 2nd. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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CAPT. KIRK BOBBLEHEAD (COLLECTOR'S ITEM): To support their crowdfunded research program, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have launched James T. Kirk to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray balloon. Note the moon over Kirk's shoulder in this photo taken 36 km (118,100 ft) above Earth's surface:
You can have him for $170.10. The price is the serial number of the Enterprise, NCC1701, divided by 10. The students are selling Kirk to buy more helium! He comes with a greeting card showing the high-quality resin bobblehead in flight and telling the story of his journey to the stratosphere and back again.
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