A NEW SUNSPOT: Breaking a string of 4 spotless days, a new sunspot is emerging in the sun's northern hemisphere. The sunspot's magnetic polarity identifies it as a member of new Solar Cycle 25. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
VERY MYS-STEVE-IOUS: It looked like STEVE. "But I don't think it was STEVE," says Rayann Elzein of Utsjoki, Finland, who took the picture, below, on April 2nd. Readers, take a closer look and decide for yourself:
STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) is a purple ribbon of hot gas that flows through Earth's magnetosphere during some geomagnetic storms. It often appears alongside green auroras, especially the "picket fence."
Was this STEVE? We agree with Elzein. It was not. The "ribbon" is actually as much green as purple. It's probably a vertical sheet of auroras viewed edge on. The top of the sheet is purple (the color of ionized nitrogen auroras) and the bottom is green (the color of atomic oxygen auroras).
Auroras imitating STEVE... "This was something I never really observed before," says Elzein. Maybe STEVE himself will appear on April 5th or 6th, when a stream of solar wind is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. Stay tuned. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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STERLING SILVER SUNFLOWER PENDANT: Looking for a far out gift? Consider the blue sunflower. On April 1, 2021, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray research balloon to the stratosphere. This unique pendant went along for the ride:
You can have it for $138.95. The students are selling space pendants to fund their cosmic ray ballooning program. The stem of this hypoallergenic sterling silver sunflower wraps around a blue heart-shaped Swarovski crystal--all suspended from a matching 18-inch chain. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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