ANOTHER CME JUST ARRIVED: Unexpectedly, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field today, Aug. 30th at 1920 UT; it was a glancing blow. This appears to be yet another CME launched by departing sunspot AR3088 near the edge of the Earth strike zone. Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible in response to its arrival. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
ARTEMIS UPDATE LATER TODAY: NASA will hold a teleconference at 6 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Aug. 30th, to discuss the upcoming launch of the Artemis I moon rocket. The first attempt on Monday was scrubbed when a hydrogen fuel line failed to fully open and properly cool one of the four main engines. NASA hopes to solve the problem in time for a new launch window on Sept. 2nd. Audio of the teleconference will stream live online at https://www.nasa.gov/live.
THE LEANING TOWER OF PLASMA: For days, astronomers around the world have been monitoring a tower of plasma sticking out of the sun's southern hemisphere. Philippe Tosi sends this Aug. 30th photo from Nîmes, France:
The structure, twisting like a tornado 20 times taller than Earth, has persisted longer than most prominences do, attracting plenty of attention. Everyone can put away their telescopes now. The sun just ejected the tower into space. Watch this movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
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EARTH JUST DODGED A LOT OF CMES: It seemed like sunspot AR3088 would never stop exploding. Over the past four days, the strangely-magnetized active region produced more than a dozen M-class solar flares:
Each X-ray peak in the graph above produced a corresponding shortwave radio blackout on Earth. No part of our planet was untouched.
More than half of the explosions also produced a coronal mass ejection (CME). Earth dodged them all. Only one and maybe two delivered glancing blows of no consequence. All the rest sailed harmlessly into space.
The simple reason why: AR3088 was never facing Earth. Most of the explosions occured while the sunspot was approaching or even rounding the sun's western limb.
This movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is a good example. It shows a flare from AR3088 on Aug. 29th partially eclipsed by the edge of the sun. The explosion registered M9 on GOES satellite X-ray sensors, but the uneclipsed flare was probably much stronger--perhaps even an X-flare.
If the sunspot had been facing us, we might now be experiencing strong geomagnetic storms with spectacular low-latitude auroras. Maybe next time...
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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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