A CME IS COMING (MAYBE): A CME that left the sun three days ago might sideswipe Earth on July 1st. New modeling suggests a 30% chance of impact. The hit, if it occurs, won't be head on. The CME is traveling mostly away from our planet, so any contact would be with the CME's flank. (Wait. Did this CME already arrive? Read on...) Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
INTERPLANETARY SHOCK WAVE SPARKS AURORAS: This was not in the forecast. A low-amplitude interplanetary shock wave (data) hit Earth's magnetic field during the early hours of June 30th, sparking mid-summer auroras over Canada:
Catalin Tapardel photographed the display from the Municipal District of Opportunity (#17) in Alberta. "I caught the auroras hovering just above an expanse of noctilucent clouds," says Tapardel.
We don't know where this shock wave came from. It might be the early arrival of the June 27th CME, originally expected July 1st, or perhaps a different stealthy CME that "flew under the radar" when it left the sun. If it's the latter, another jolt could occur in the next 24 hours.
Update: Philip Granrud also saw the auroras from Kalispell, Montana. "...and a patch of noctilucent clouds, too!" he says. "It was a beautiful night in Montana."
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ELLERMAN BOMBS: Bombs are going off around sunspot AR2835. Ellerman Bombs. Philippe Tosi photographed dozens of them yesterday from his backyard observatory in Nîmes, France. Click on the image below to see the entire sunspot; a handful of the bomb-blasts are circled:
Ellerman bombs are magnetic explosions about one-millionth as powerful as true solar flares. They are named after physicist Ferdinand Ellerman who studied the tiny blasts in the early 20th century. Of course, "tiny" is relative. A single Ellerman bomb releases about 1026 ergs of energy--equal to about 100,000 World War II atomic bombs.
Why are these explosions happening? This magnetic map of AR2835 provides the answer:
Blue/green is magnetic north (+). Red/yellow is magnetic south (-). Credit: NASA/SDO
Note the ragged mixture of yellow and green around the periphery of the sunspot's primary core. These are magnetic fields of opposite polarity bumping together. Such a mixture is explosive. Ellerman bombs mark the points where magnetic reconnection is taking place. If this mixing continues, we could see a real solar flare soon. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
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LIMITED EDITION MIRROR KIRK: In 1967, a transporter accident sent James T. Kirk into a parallel universe, swapping the captain of the Enterprise with his evil twin. We just found him ... in the stratosphere. Here is "Mirror Kirk" floating 95,254 feet high onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have him for $170.10 (the serial number of the Enterprise divided by 10). Inspired by the classic "Mirror, Mirror" episode of Star Trek first broadcast on Oct. 6, 1967, this 8" statue is made of high-quality polystone resin and expertly painted. It comes with a greeting card showing Kirk in flight and a certificate of authenticity.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, only 1000 limited edition Mirror Kirk statues were manufactured and sold at sci-fi conventions in 2016. We've collected a few of these rarities to fly to the stratosphere. Get yours now.
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All sales support hands-on STEM education
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