MINOR GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: NOAA forecasters say that minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible on May 2nd and 3rd due to the collective effect of several faint CMEs that left the sun over the weekend. They were launched into space by multiple eruptions from sunspot AR3288 and nearby magnetic filaments. A series of near misses and weak impacts could add up to high-latitude auroras in the next 48 hours. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
A MONTH OF SUNSPOTS: April 2023 was a busy month on the sun, with the average sunspot number (96) exceeding official forecasts for the 26th month in a row. To illustrate this development, Senol Sanli of Bursa, Turkey, stacked 30 daily sun images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory to create an April montage:
"This single image shows every sunspot group in April," says Sanli. "It includes every numbered active region from AR3267 to AR3292."
The profusion of sunspots reinforces a growing consensus that Solar Maximum may be coming earlier than expected--perhaps as soon as late 2023. The peak could bring 50% to 100% more sunspots than we are seeing today, cementing Solar Cycle 25 as an above-average cycle. If so, Sanli's monthly sunspot montage might become quite congested indeed. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
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MR. SPOCK SOAP (VULCAN MINT SCENTED): It's the logical way to get clean: Vulcan-mint scented Spock Soap. This bar touched space on April 29, 2023, when it hitched a ride onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon:
You can have it for $99.95. Not only does the bar smell like the mint gardens of Vulcan, but also each side of the wrapper features hilarious Spock lore. Take a look.
The students of Earth to Sky are selling space soap to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each bar comes with a greeting card showing the soap in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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