GLANCING BLOW CME POSSIBLE TODAY: NOAA forecasters say that a CME might pass close to Earth today. It is debris from a magnetic filament that erupted from the sun on March 30th. A glancing blow could spark minor geomagnetic storms and Arctic auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SUNSPOT: New sunspot AR3270 has rapidly grown into a behemoth with two primary dark cores larger than Earth and an unstable delta-class magnetic field. The sunspot is inset in this magnetic map of the sun's surface from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
The mixture of magnetic polarities shown in this map is what makes the sunspot dangerous. In the center of the spot, + and - bumping together might reconnect, causing strong explosions. NOAA forecasters say there is a 15% chance of M-class solar flares and a 5% chance of X-flares in the next 24 hours. Any eruptions will be geoeffective because the sunspot is directly facing Earth. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
32 STATES AND COUNTING: We've been keeping track of all the US states where auroras were sighted during the severe geomagnetic storm of March 23-24--a tally based on pictures submitted to Spaceweather.com. Photographer Melanie Pietras just added Illinois to the list:
"It started off as a faint glow on the horizon and suddenly exploded into dancing pillars for a good 10 minutes," says Pietras. "The cloud coverage was very heavy, but you could see the show through the cracks."
Adding Illinois brings the total number of states to 32. This map shows the distribution of aurora photos color coded by their dominant hue:
By now many readers know why the colors are separated, north vs. south. Auroras are like a layer cake with red on top and green on the bottom. This picture is a great example of the altitude structure. Green is usually brighter, so green dominates most photos taken in the north where the full display can be seen. People in the south, however, can't see the full display. Their northern horizon blocks the view of low-hanging greens, leaving only red to color the sky.
Is your state missing from this map? Send us an aurora photo and we will add it to the list. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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"I LOVE YOU FOREVER" MOONSTONE PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the "I Love You Forever" Moonstone. This one hitched a ride to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $162.95. The moonstone's sterling silver infinity wrap is inscribed with the words "I love you forever." It makes a great anniversary or birthday gift. The moonstone comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight, telling the story of its trip to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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