THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM? Giant sunspot AR3355 has a 'beta-gamma-delta' class magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares. Yet for the last 48 hours it has been strangely quiet. Is this the calm before the storm? Strong flares remain possible despite the low activity of the past two days. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
THE EVERSHED EFFECT: Giant sunspot AR3354 is so big, it's revealing things too small to see in lesser active regions. For example, today in Romania, astronomers Maximilian Teodorescu witnessed the Evershed Effect:
Note how matter streams radially out of the sunspot's core along penumbral filaments--that's the Evershed Effect. "It was fascinating to watch," says Teodorescu.
British astronomer John Evershed discovered the phenomenon in 1909 while he was working at the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory in India. The government of India later made a postage stamp to celebrate it. More than 100 years later researchers still aren't certain what causes the Evershed Effect. A leading theory holds that material is being siphoned out of the sunspot through magnetic flux tubes much like a milkshake sucked out of a straw.
The animation above is only a fraction of what Teodorescu saw. The full field of view shows the Evershed Effect happening around the entire circumference of the sunspot.
more images: from Stuart Green of Preston, Lancashire, UK; from Francisco A. Rodriguez of Vega de San Mateo, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands; from Mahdi Rahimi of Esfan, Iran; from Michael Karrer of Austria
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LASER-ETCHED MOON CUBE: Last week, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere. This unique laser-etched Moon cube went along for the ride, ascending to an altitude of 101,140 feet:
You can have it for $119.95. The students are selling these cubes as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray ballooning program. It's an authentic representation of the Moon, with all of the craters, mountains and lava plains accurately portrayed.
The Moon-cube comes with a unique gift card showing the item floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.
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All sales support hands-on STEM education
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