GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are likely on Oct. 1st when a CME is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. The incoming CME was hurled in our direction by a C1.6-class solar flare from decaying sunspot AR2871 on Sept. 28th. There is a chance that the CME will sweep up another, less massive CME en route to Earth. The combined impact could boost storm levels to category G2. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
STEVE SIGHTED IN ALASKA: Monday night near Fairbanks, Alaska, aurora photographer Marketa S. Murray was waiting for the CME to arrive when something else appeared instead. "I think it was STEVE," she says.
Indeed it was. The narrow purple arc she photographed is a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement--"STEVE" for short. The phenomenon is caused by hot (3000°C) ribbons of gas flowing through Earth’s magnetosphere at speeds exceeding 6 km/s (13,000 mph). Observers used to think STEVE was a type of aurora, but new research shows that it is not.
STEVE tends to appear most often during weeks around equinoxes--that is, now. Photographers, if you catch one, submit your picture here.
Realtime STEVE Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
STAR TREK WINE STOPPER: It's the most far-out wine stopper ever! On Sept. 9, 2021, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the USS Enterprise to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. Here is the starship-shaped stopper floating 105,563 feet above the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $99.95. The students are selling these must-have bar accessories to support their cosmic ray research program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the stopper in flight, telling the story of its trip to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter