POSSIBLE CME IMPACT THIS WEEK: A coronal mass ejection (CME) might hit Earth on Aug. 26-27. It left the sun on Aug. 23rd when a magnetic filament in the sun's northern hemisphere exploded. In SOHO images, the CME looks like a faint expanding halo--a sign that it is heading almost directly for our planet. Geomagnetic unrest, and maybe minor geomagnetic storms, are possible when the CME arrives. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
ACTIVE SUNSPOT: Sunspot AR2859 woke up today, unleashing a rapidfire pair of C-class solar flares. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the double blast:
The movie shows a shadowy wave emerging from the blast site. This could herald a coronal mass ejection (CME), possibly Earth-directed. We'll know later today when coronagraph images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) arrive. Stay tuned. Instant solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
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ARCTIC AURORA SEASON BEGINS: Last night in Oulu, Finland, just outside the Arctic Circle, Thomas Kast saw the first auroras in months. "The wait is over!" says Kast. "Lady Aurora returned graciously on Aug. 24th after the long, bright summer."
"Northern lights shared the stage with some late-season noctilucent clouds (NLCs), which were very strong and high in the sky after 3am. The wonderful scenery was lit up by the waning full Moon," says Kast. "Let's see what the next nights will bring!"
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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
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