GEOMAGNETIC STORMS ARE SUBSIDING: A series of minor G1-class geomagnetic storms erupted on March 5-6 as a stream of high-speed solar wind buffeted our planet's magnetic field. Now, Earth is exiting the stream and the storms are subsiding. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
MID-LATITUDE AURORAS: "I am so happy to see the sun getting back in action!" says Ruslan Merzlyakov. "For the second month in a row, I have witnessed beautiful auroras over Limfjord in Denmark (latitude +57N)." This is what he saw last night:
"It was a symphony of lights!" says Merzlyakov.
The display was caused by a high-speed stream of solar wind flowing from an equatorial hole in the sun's atmosphere. The gaseous material reached Earth on March 4th and sparked a series of G1-class geomagnetic storms on March 5th and 6th. At the apex of the event, auroras crossed the Canadian border into the USA as far south as Keller, Washington (latitude +48 N).
more images: from Marianne Bergli traveling in Finland; from Guntis Grandans of Latvia, eastern Europe; from Alan C Tough of Elgin, Moray, Scotland; from Pentti Arpalahti of Helsinki, Finland; from Steve Kenny of Porjus, Norrbotten, Sweden; from Marybeth Kiczenski of Banff, Alberta, Canada; from Paul D. Maley of Fairbanks, Alaska; from R. J. Cobain of Bangor, N. Ireland
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ELLERMAN BOMBS: This weekend, amateur astronomer Philippe Tosi of Nîmes, France, pointed his backyard solar telescope at sunspot AR2960. He found that it was sparkling:
"There were many point-like flashes of light around the sunspot group," says Tosi. A handful are circled for example.
The flashes are "Ellerman Bombs"--magnetic explosions about one-millionth as powerful as a true solar flare. 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.
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STERLING SILVER RAINBOW DRAGONFLY: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the Rainbow Dragonfly. On Jan 28th, this sterling silver pendant hitched a ride onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $172.95. The dragonfly's heart is a Celtic love knot, and its wings are decorated with a spray of rainbow-colored crystals. This item is 100% 925 sterling silver, lead-free, nickel-free, cadmium-free, and totally hypoallergenic.
The students are selling dragonfly pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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