THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM? Giant sunspot AR3311 has been relatively calm for the past 48 hours. It might be the calm before the storm. The sunspot has an unstable 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong X-class solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% chance of an X-flare on May 24th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
A SOLAR STORM AND THE PLEIADES: Before the launch of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 1995, astronomers had never seen anything like this. Behold, a solar storm passing directly in front of the Pleiades:
SOHO recorded this rare conjunction on May 21st. An erupting filament of magnetism near the sun's north pole propelled the CME into space just as the Seven Sisters were passing by. Electra, Taygete, Maia, Celaeno, Alcyone, Sterope, and Merope spent nearly three hours shining through the translucent solar storm.
When SOHO left Earth almost 30 years ago, it carried the first realtime coronagraph into space. Coronagraphs are devices that create an artificial eclipse, blocking the glare of the sun to reveal nearby stars, planets, and comets. No telescope on Earth could see something as faint as the Pleiades only a few degrees from the sun, but SOHO does it all the time.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
MULTIPLE FARSIDE SUNSPOTS: We can't see the farside of the sun, but we know what's happening there. The science of helioseismology allows researchers to make crude maps of the sun's hidden hemisphere. Their latest map reveals at least three large farside sunspots:
The black blobs are sunspots so large they effect the way the whole sun vibrates. Indeed, these vibrations are the data used by helioseismologists to pintpoint the unseen spots. One of the sunspots will rotate onto the Earthside of the sun later this week. The other two will remain hidden for a week to 10 days; then they will appear as well. With these regions in the offing, the sunspot number should remain high for some time to come
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
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
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter