SOLAR CYCLE UPDATE: Solar Maximum might arrive sooner than expected. Recent sunspot counts suggest that new Solar Cycle 25 is over-performing compared to official forecasts, and could peak in 2024 instead of 2025: Full Story.
SOMETHING FLARE-Y THIS WAY COMES: An active region located just behind the sun's southeastern limb exploded yesterday. Coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) saw the debris flying into space:
This coronal mass ejection (CME) will not hit Earth. However, future CMEs might. The underlying blast site (probably an unstable sunspot) will rotate into view ~36 hours from now. By mid-week Earth could be in the strike zone. Stay tuned.
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AURORAS ON FIRE: Earth is inside a stream of solar wind blowing as fast as 600 km/s. Last night, the buffeting ignited intense auroras over Alaska. "They were on fire!" says Todd Salat, who photographed the display from the Brooks Range:
"These dazzling lights were so bright that I had to dial back my exposure time to a fraction of a second," says Salat, "and they were expanding so quickly that all three shots were taken within a 13-second time span. This is above the Arctic Circle so it’s no longer getting completely dark, but twilight was good enough."
The solar wind stream is flowing from a broad southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Earth is expected to remain inside the stream through April 19th, so high-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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MOTHER'S DAY IS MAY 9TH: Are you looking for an out-of-this world Mother's Day gift? Consider this: Every time the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch a cosmic ray balloon, they include something extra in the payload--something Mom will love:
Every item in the Earth to Sky Store has flown to the edge of space and comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight. The interior of the card tells the story of the gift's journey from launch to landing. Mom-satisfaction guaranteed!
Mother's Day Special: Use coupon code "SPACEMOM" at checkout for a 10% discount. Offer valid from now until Mother's Day (May 9, 2021) .
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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