SCRAMBLED RADIO TRANSMISSIONS: Yesterday's strong geomagnetic storm scrambled HF radio transmissions in North America. Jim Falls (K6FWT) of Eureka, CA, reports: "When the geomagnetic storm alert arrived, I went out to my Ham Shack and listened to Morse code and digital signals in the 80 meter band fighting their way through the storm. They have a particular warbly sound distinctive of trans-aurora propagation; some say it sounds like it's bubbling up through water. Very cool!" Next time, Fall says, he will make a recording for us. Stay tuned.
DEAD SUNSPOT EXPLODES (UPDATED): The corpse of old sunspot AR2987 exploded today, April 11th, hurling debris directly toward Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the eruption:
The S-shaped magnetic filament at the base of the explosion is a classic "sigmoid structure." Solar magnetic fields often assume this shape just before they explode. One study shows that sigmoid precursors are present in over 50% of CMEs.
Indeed, shortly after the explosion, a full-halo CME emerged from the blast site. Here it is. The CME is expected to reach Earth on April 14th; a new NOAA model pinpoints its arrival time at 1100 UTC. The impact could spark a G2-class geomagnetic storm. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
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STEVE APPEARS DURING GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A surprise geomagnetic storm on April 10th sparked auroras across Canada and many northern-tier US states. Upon closer inspection, not all the lights were auroras. "STEVE was there, too," reports Harlan Thomas, who sends this picture from Station Flats in Alberta, Canada:
STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) is a purple band of light that appears during some geomagnetic storms. It looks like an aurora, but it is not. The purple glow is caused by hot (3000°C) ribbons of gas flowing through Earth’s magnetosphere at speeds exceeding 6 km/s (13,000 mph).
"This was the brightest STEVE that I have seen," says Thomas. "It was so bright it overcame a 22-degree halo around the moon!"
Rocky Raybell of Keller, Washington, saw it, too.
For reasons researchers don't fully understand, STEVE comes out most often around equinoxes--that is, now. We can expect to see more of him in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned.
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OCEAN BLUE CRYSTAL DOLPHIN PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the Ocean Blue Crystal Dolphin Pendant. It flew to the stratosphere on April 8th onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $172.95. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling these crystal cetaceans to support their cosmic ray monitoring program.
The dolphin is wrapped in a sterling silver wave and suspended from a matching 18-inch chain. It contains no nickel, no lead, no cadmium; the pendant is totally hypoallergenic. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the dolphin in flight, and 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
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