THE SOLAR WIND IS COMING: A stream of solar wind is approaching Earth. ETA: Aug. 25th. The gaseous material is flowing from a northern hole in the sun's atmosphere and could cause polar geomagnetic unrest when it arrives. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.

ACTIVE SUNSPOT: So far this weekend, new sunspot AR2859 has produced six C-class solar flares. The active region is inset in this magnetic map from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:

The mixture of magnetic polarities, particularly in the trailing region of the spot, explains why AR2859 is active. Plus (+) and minus (-) bumping together causes explosive magnetic reconnection.

So far the flares have caused only brief and minor radio blackouts affecting frequencies below ~10 MHz. Stronger explosions may be in the offing as the sunspot turns toward Earth. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter

ARCTIC WOLF SPACE PENDANT: This wolf glows in the dark--and it's been to the edge of space. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the lupine pendant to the stratosphere on board a cosmic ray research balloon. The payload of radiation sensors and jewelry traveled 107,611 feet above Earth's surface:

You can have it for $99.95. The students are selling these pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the wolf in flight and describing its journey to the stratosphere and back again.

Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education

---

Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter