GOOD NEWS, IT'S MARCH: Look at these data. March is the most geomagnetically active month of the year. (October is a close second.) Why? It's the Russell-McPherron effect. During weeks around equinoxes, cracks open in Earth's magnetic field. Solar wind pours in to fuel geomagnetic storms. Today is March 1st and, right on cue, the strongest storm of the year erupted. Read on....
GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Surprising forecasters, a moderate G2-class geomagnetic storm occured during the early hours of March 1st. "The sky literally exploded over me with a gyrating green ribbon of color," reports Harlan Thomas, who sends this picture from Kananaskis Country, Alberta:
"I also caught the conjunction of Mars and the Pleiades," says Thomas. "They're converging for a close encounter on March 3rd." Note: They are right here.
What caused this storm? A significant crack opened in Earth's magnetic field, and remained open for more than 5 hours. Bright auroras spread across much of Canada and Alaska as solar wind surged through the opening. According to our records, this was the strongest geomagnetic storm since a G3 event in May 2019.
More auroras are in the offing. Earth is entering a high-speed stream of solar wind flowing from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. This should unsettle the geomagnetic field and ring the Arctic Circle with green lights for another day or two. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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THIS IS *REAL* MONEY FROM SPACE: The US Mint has released a reverse-proof dollar coin honoring the Hubble Space Telescope. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus took it one step further, flying a whole roll of Hubble coins to the edge of space. Here they are floating 35.3 km (115,814 ft) above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have one for $39.95. The students are selling Hubble coins to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each coin comes with a greeting card showing the money in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere. Best of all, this is real money! You can actually spend it. All sales support hands-on STEM research.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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