IS A 'CANNIBAL CME' COMING? One CME left the sun on July 14th, followed by a second faster CME on July 15th. According to a NOAA model, the second CME will sweep up the first, forming a 'cannibal CME' that hits Earth on July 18th. The impact could spark G1 to G2-class geomagnetic storms. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
A DARK ERUPTION ON THE SUN (UPDATED): One of the most visually dramatic eruptions of Solar Cycle 25 occured on July 14th, when a spray of dark plasma flew away from the sun's southern hemisphere. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the event:
The explosion started in the magnetic canopy of AR3370, a small and previously unremarkable sunspot. X-ray sensors on Earth-orbiting satellites registered a C8.8-class solar flare at 1844 UT just before the dark ejecta appeared. What made it "dark"? It's not made of dark matter. Instead, plasma hurled away from the sunspot was relatively cool and dense, so it silhouetted the glow of the underlying sun.
Update: New images from SOHO confirm that this eruption did indeed produce a CME. It is the first of two CMEs merging to form the cannibal CME described above. The second CME was launched into space on July 15th by a C-class flare from big sunspot AR3363: movie. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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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.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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