POLAR RADIO BLACKOUT IS SUBSIDING: Inside the Arctic Circle, shortwave radios are working again as a three-day blackout triggered by Monday's extremely rare CME subsides. The blackout is called a "polar cap absorption event" or PCA. It was caused by energetic protons accelerated toward Earth by the CME. Those protons are now ebbing, so the normal propagation of shortwave radio signals can resume. CME alerts: SMS Text.
CME IMPACT SPARKS NORTHERN *AND* SOUTHERN LIGHTS: A CME struck Earth's magnetic field yesterday, March 15th. The impact was so strong, it sparked auroras over both ends of our planet. First, the south:
"Red auroras lit up the skies above Lake Ellesmere, New Zealand," reports photographer Mike White. "A strong glow persisted for an hour or so on the southern horizon with occasional periods of bright rays extending upwards."
Second, the north:
Roman Banas photographed these red auroras near Bydgoszcz, Poland, almost 18,000 km away yet remarkably similar to the display in New Zealand. "You could see the rays with the naked eye," says Banas. "It was strongest around midnight."
This is the time of year when Northern and Southern Lights can be seen at the same time. We're only days away from the March equinox. Nearly equal amounts of darkness allow sky watchers in both hemispheres equal opportunity to witness auroras. The lights themselves are caused by exactly the same physics: Particles from the sun hit Earth's upper atmosphere, causing air to glow red and green regardless of latitude.
The CME that struck Earth on March 15th was hurled into space by the eruption of a magnetic filament on the sun almost 4 days earlier. Its arrival sparked a series of alternating G1 and G2-class geomagnetic storms throughout the day. Subscribers to our Space Weather Alert service received instant text messages when the CME arrived and when the ensuring storms developed.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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"ALWAYS AND FOREVER" SPACE PENDANT: Are you looking for a romantic gift? Consider the Always and Forever Space Pendent. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $199.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever", this 18K gold-plated pendant has a heart-shaped citrine crystal in the middle surrouunded by a ring of glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets. It is a visually striking premium pendant that makes a once-in-a-lifetime anniversary or birthday gift.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry 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
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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