A CME JUST HIT EARTH, WEAKLY: A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field on May 7th at 1544 UT. The weak impact did not cause a geomagnetic storm. This might not be the CME we've been waiting for. Its arrival was early and its impact weaker than expected. Stay tuned for a possible second CME later today or even on May 8th. CME alerts: SMS Text.
M-CLASS SOLAR FLARE AND RADIO BLACKOUT: Reversed-polarity sunspot AR3296 just did it again. The backwards active region exploded on May 7th (2234 UT), producing a long-lasting M1.5-class solar flare. The blast was squarely Earth-directed:
Extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, producing a minor shortwave radio blackout over the western USA and the Pacific Ocean: map. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 20 MHz for as much as an hour.
This explosion almost certainly hurled a CME toward Earth. Confirmation awaits fresh coronagraph images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
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NASA'S SUPERBIT BALLOON: Could the Hubble Space Telescope be replaced by a balloon? NASA is testing a new kind of telescope that floats through the stratosphere--the Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT)--and it is taking Hubble-quality images. Yesterday, Erwin Enrique Sandoval watched the giant orb float over Coyhaique in southern Chile:
"We could see it high in the afternoon sky," says Sandoval. "It was very large."
Indeed, the helium-filled balloon is wider than a football field. Floating 107,000 feet high above 99.2% of Earth's atmosphere, it has a clear view of the cosmos with jet-black skies even when it is daylight on the ground below. SuperBIT's primary science goal is to look for signs of dark matter in galaxy clusters. Researchers say the quality of its data is similar to that of Hubble itself.
SuperBIT was launched from from Wānaka, New Zealand, on April 16, 2023. Since then it has been slowly circling the far-southern hemisphere taking amazing pictures. Anyone can track the position of the balloon here. Let us know if you see it!
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STERLING SILVER SIERRA MOONRISE PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out Mother's Day gift? Consider the Sierra Moonrise Pendant. It flew to the edge of space on April 15, 2023, floating on a cosmic ray balloon 117,400 feet above the historically-snowy Sierra Nevada mountains of California:
You can have it for $142.95. The sterling silver pendant shows the craggy Sierra range with a full Moonstone rising overhead. It makes a great birthday, anniversary or Mother's Day gift.
The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space 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 journey to the stratosphere and back again
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
"A auroral corona of this magnitude is very rare for our latitude," says Thomas. "It extended from the eastern to western horizon, and I was in complete awe!"
NOAA analysts believe the CME may have come from a previously disregarded solar explosion on May 2nd. Although its arrival was a surprise, subscribers to our Space Weather Alert Service still received a text alert within minutes of impact. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
more images: from Thomas Bensenhaver of Walpole, New Hampshire; from Sam C. of Ogdensburg, New York; from Jason G. of Caledon East, Ontario Canada
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter