MINOR GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A brief G1-class geomagnetic storm erupted on July 12th when Earth entered a stream of fast-moving solar wind. Shock-like discontinuities in the solar wind data suggest that one or more minor CMEs might have been embedded in the stream. No auroras have been reported, probably because of full moonlight. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
HUGE SOLAR FILAMENTS: The sun today is peppered with large sunspots. One look at the solar disk, however, reveals something even bigger. "There are several huge filaments of magnetism," reports Francois Rouviere, who sends this picture from Cannes, France:
These structures are irregular tubes of magnetism holding masses of plasma above the surface of the sun. They look dark because they are cooler than the underlying star. Relatively cooler. If you could pull one off the sun and hold it up in the night sky, it would glow more brightly than a full Moon.
It is no exaggeration to say they are huge. "It's crazy," says astrophotographer Martin Wise of Trenton, Florida. "This one is more than one light-second long."
Wise inserted a picture of Earth to show how the filament dwarfs our planet. From end to end it stretches about the distance from Earth to the Moon.
Solar magnetic filaments are famously unstable. However, these have held themselves together for days. If one eventually erupts, it could hurl debris toward Earth. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
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"I LOVE YOU MORE" OPAL: Nothing says "I love you" like jewelry from space. On June 3, 2022, this sterling silver opal pendant hitched a ride on an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight it floated 101,326 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $142.95. The opal's infinity wrap is engraved with "I Love You More." It's the perfect birthday, anniversary or (never too early!) Christmas gift for that special someone who loves space. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back.
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