GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G1-CLASS): Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible on April 2nd and 3rd when CMEs from this week's strong solar flares are expected to graze Earth's magnetic field. Wednesday's X1.3-flare and Thursday's M9.6-flare both launched CMEs into space near the edge of the Earth strike zone. Glancing blows could spark a new round of high latitude auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
THE PURPLE AFTERGLOW OF A CME: A Cannibal CME hit Earth's magnetic field on March 31st. Twenty-four hours later, observers are still seeing the afterglow. Marybeth Kiczenski took this picture before sunrise on April 1st from Grassy Butte, North Dakota:
"Purple Auroras!!" exclaims Kiczenski. "I stayed up all night watching and finally noticed some purple pillars around 3:30 am."
Auroras are usually green--a color that comes from oxygen atoms peppered by energetic partcles raining down from space. Purple, on the other hand, is rare. It is a sign of a strong display seen from a distance. Molecular nitrogen ions near the top of Earth's atmosphere glow purple. Because Kiczenski was far from the auroras, she could only see the purple top of the light show, while the lower green was hidden behind the trees and horizon.
She wasn't the only one. Greg Ash of Duluth, Minnesota, saw the purple rays, too. Rocky Raybell of Keller, Washington, also photographed purple.
more images: from Marybeth Kiczenski of Sundance, WY; from Sacha Layos of Fairbanks, AK; from Lyndon Anderson near Bismarck, ND; from Kevin Palmer of Decker, MT; from John Dean of Nome, AK; from Robert Trejo of Healy, AK; from Gunjan Sinha of Saskatoon, Canada; from Wade B Clark Jr of Sapphire Village, MT; from Ash Hanson-Steen of Ritzville, WA; from Rocky Raybell of Keller, WA; from Zach Schierl of Yakima, WA; from Jan Curtis of Cheyenne, WY; from Matthew Edwards of Big Horn National Forest, WY; from Matt Moffet of Billings, MT;
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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.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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