MOON-MARS CONJUNCTION: Mark your calendar. On Oct. 2nd, the nearly-full Moon will join Mars in the midnight sky for a bright conjunction. The get-together happens only 4 days before Mars' decade-class close approach to Earth, so it will be extra red and luminous. Don't miss it! [sky map]
GEOMAGNETIC STORM WARNING: For the 4th day in a row, Earth's magnetic field is pulsing with the ebb and flow of solar wind, producing spectacular auroras around the Arctic Circle. Geir Svendsen of Lofoten, Norway, photographed this outburst during a G1-class geomagnetic storm on Sept. 26th:
"It was very colorful," he says. "Streamers of pink descended from overhead like a rainstorm of light."
Pink is significant. It means that particles from space are descending lower than usual in Earth's atmosphere. Most auroras are green--the color of oxygen atoms struck by electrons 100 km to 300 km above Earth's surface. Pink appears when electrons burrow deeper, striking nitrogen molecules at the 100 km level and below.
The light show is about to get even better. A large hole in the sun's atmosphere is facing Earth, spewing a stream of solar wind in our direction:
NOAA forecasters say G2-class geomagnetic storms are likely when the gaseous material arrives on Sept. 29th. If the storm unfolds as predicted, it would be the strongest since Aug. 30-31, 2019, when a similar G2-class event sparked auroras in northern-tier US states such as Wisconsin and Michigan.
This is a good time of year for geomagnetic activity. During weeks around equinoxes, cracks form in Earth's magnetic field--a phenomenon called "the Russell-McPherron effect." Solar wind streams like the one approaching Earth now can flow through these cracks, fueling bright auroras. The stage is set! Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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C-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Solar activity is picking up. Sunspot AR2773 erupted during the early hours of Sept. 26th, producing a C1-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:
A pulse of radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere. This caused a minor radio blackout across the Pacifc Ocean: blackout map. Frequencies affected were mainly below 10 MHz.
This flare is one of the strongest of young Solar Cycle 25, and it breaks a 35-day string of deep quiet and almost complete spotlessness. It may have signaled the end of sunspot group AR2773, however, as the active region has begun to decay in the aftermath of the explosion. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
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THE WOLFSONG SPACE PENDANT: Even during wildfire season, cosmic ray measurements must go on. On Sept. 10th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon through the smokey plume of the massive Creek Fire burning many miles away in California's Sierra National Forest. This pendant hitched a ride to the stratosphere, flying 118,800 feet above Earth's surface:
You can have it for $99.95. The students are selling wolfsong pendants to fund their cosmic ray monitoring program. Each piece of lupine jewelry comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space.
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