POSSIBLE CME IMPACT THIS WEEK: A faint CME (movie) might sideswipe Earth's magnetic field on March 10th. It left the sun on March 7th following the eruption of a magnetic filament; no sunspots were involved. The glancing blow could spark minor G1-class geomagnetic storms later this week. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
A YEAR OF SUNSPOTS, SOUTH VS. NORTH: In late 2020, Indian amateur astronomer Soumyadeep Mukherjee decided to photograph the same sunspot for 7 days in a row. At the end of the week, he found he couldn't stop. "I kept going and photographed the sun for 365 days in a row," says Mukherjee.
"This image is a blend of all the pictures I took," he says. "It shows every sunspot that crossed the solar disk from Dec. 25, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2021. Only 6 days are missing due to complete cloud cover."
The composite image reveals two things: First, all of the sunspots are concentrated in two bands--one north and one south of the sun's equator. Second, the south seems busier than the north. The southern band is wider and there are more sunspots.
Sunspot data from the Royal Observatory of Belgium confirm the assymetry. Take a look at this plot of hemispheric sunspot numbers:
Red represents an excess of southern sunspots, while green denotes the opposite. The beginning of Solar Cycle 25 is all red, in accord with Mukherjee's photo.
Solar physicists have long known that the two hemispheres of the sun don't always operate in sync. The great Solar Cycle 19 of the 1960s, for instance, was mostly northern, an assymetry which persisted for more than 15 years. More recently, Solar Cycle 24 had a strong southern peak in the year 2014. Other cycles have been a seesaw mix of north and south with only razor-thin margins separating the two.
How will Solar Cycle 25 shape up? So far it is speaking to us with a southern accent. Stay tuned, y'all.
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STERLING SILVER CRYSTAL DOLPHIN: Dolphins from space? Believe it. On Feb. 28, 2022, this crystal dolphin pendant flew 111,101 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, hitching a ride onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon:
You can have it for $175.95. Swimming around a colorful crystal whirl, the playful dolphins are 100% 925 sterling silver with a matching 18-inch sterling silver chain. The entire pendant is lead-free, nickel-free, cadmium-free, and totally hypoallergenic.
Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the dolphins in flight, and telling the story of their trip to the edge of space and back again. All sales support the student's cosmic ray research program.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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