GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible on March 4th and 5th in response to an incoming CME. Hurled into space by the M8.6-class flare of Feb. 28th, the CME is not heading directly for Earth. Instead it will deliver only a glancing blow when it arrives. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
ANOTHER X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Earth-orbiting satellites have just detected an X2-class solar flare (1752 UTC). The source is departing sunspot AR3234. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:
Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout over the Americas: map. Aviators and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal and other unusual propagation effects at frequencies below 30 MHz for as much as an hour after the flare.
Solar radio bursts now being reported by the US Air Force suggest that the explosion may have also produced a CME. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
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A HUGE AURORA, SWIRLING LIKE CRAZY: This was not in the forecast. During the early hours of March 3rd, a crack opened in Earth's magnetic field. Solar wind poured through the gap, sparking a light show over Kemi, Finland:
"I was spending the night in a cabin in the forest," says photographer Giorgio Baldi. "I went outside at 2 a.m. and saw this huge aurora swirling like crazy!"
This was an isolated episode--the kind of auroral outburst that will become more common as we move deeper into March. Researchers call it the "Russell-McPherron effect." During weeks around equinoxes, cracks form in Earth's magnetic field. Even weak streams of solar wind can penetrate to spark a good display. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
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STERLING SILVER RAINBOW DRAGONFLY (GOLDEN HEART): Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider a rainbow dragonfly from the edge of space. On June 3, 2022, 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 golden Celtic love knot, and its wings are decorated with a spray of rainbow-colored crystals. 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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