ANOTHER STRONG SOLAR FLARE: Active sunspot AR2975 just did it again, producing another very strong solar flare: movie. The almost-X flare (magnitude M9.6) peaked at 1835 UT on March 31st. Type II solar radio emissions recorded by the US Air Force suggest that a CME will soon emerge emerge from the blast site traveling faster than 1600 km/s. Will it hit Earth? Stay tuned for answers. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
CME IMPACT SPARKS MID-LATITUDE AURORAS (UPDATED): As predicted, a Cannibal CME hit Earth's magnetic field on March 31st (0210 UT). The impact caused a G1-class geomagnetic storm--weaker than the G3 storm that was expected, but still enough to spark auroras across multiple northern-tier US states. "Last night we saw some amazing auroras in North Dakota," reports Elon Gane who sends this picture from the shore of Lake Darling:
Remarkably, this picture was taken using a cell phone---"my Samsung S22 Ultra," says Gane. "I was interested in how it would do and I'm pleasantly surprised by the result."
At the apex of the storm, which lasted 6 hours, auroras descended into the USA as far south as Nebraska and Colorado. Troy Michael Bryan saw the lights outside the town of Scottsbluff NE at latitude +42N:
"The red glow was visible albeit faint," says Bryan. "My camera really captured it well."
George Dunham photographed red auroras at an even lower latitude: +38N over Crawford, Colorado. "They were just at the threshold of naked-eye visibility," he says.
If the storm had reached the G3 intensity forecasters thought possible, auroras might have been sighted in almost every US state. Maybe next time. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
more images: from Ash Hanson-Steen of Ritzville, Washington; from Rocky Raybell of Keller, Washington; from Zach Schierl of Yakima, Washington; from Jan Curtis of Cheyenne, Wyoming; from Matthew Edwards of Big Horn National Forest, Wyoming; from Michael Kenney of Dubois, Wyoming; from Matt Moffet of Billings, Montana; from Sacha Layos of Fairbanks, AK;
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THE NEXT CME MIGHT BE A DUD: Yesterday's X1-class solar flare produced a CME with an apparently Earth-directed component: movie. NOAA analysts think it might be a dud: "The CME associated with the X1 flare was modeled and is unlikely to have any significant Earth impacts," they say. Nevertheless, we encourage aurora watchers to be alert for geomagnetic activity on April 2nd when the arriving CME might defy expectations. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
STERLING SILVER RAINBOW DRAGONFLY: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Nothing says "I love you" like a rainbow dragonfly from the edge of space. 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.
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All sales support hands-on STEM education
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