CELL NETWORK OUTAGE EXPLAINED: A 12-hour outage of AT&T's network on Thursday interrupted cell phone service for tens of thousands of Americans. The outage coincided with a series of X-class solar flares from giant sunspot AR3590. However, the solar flares have been exonerated. AT&T did it to themselves. "Based on our initial review, we believe the outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network," the company reported. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
WHAT MAKES THIS SUNSPOT SO DANGEROUS? Don't be surprised if there's another X-flare this weekend. Giant sunspot AR3590 is directly facing Earth, and it has an unstable magnetic field that harbors energy for the strongest explosions. This magnetic map from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows what makes the sunspot so dangerous:
Most sunspots have a simple magnetic field with only two poles: + (plus) and - (minus) . Sunspot AR3590 is more like a layer cake with a whole stack of pluses and minuses. Opposite magnetic polarities pressed together in this way can lead to explosive magnetic reconnection--the mechanism behind solar flares. Indeed, only two days ago AR3590 unleashed the strongest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25 (X6.3).
NOAA forecasters say there is a 30% chance of another X-flare this weekend. If it happens, the flare will be geoeffective because the sunspot is directly facing Earth. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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18K GOLD "LOVE YOU TO THE MOON" LOCKET: This is a very special locket. It's heart-shaped, plated with 18K gold, and we will fly it again during this year's total eclipse of the sun. Keep reading...
On Jan. 26, 2024, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this locket to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight, it floated 111,535 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
Buy it now for $149.95, and we'll fly it again--FOR FREE--during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. The students will be launching multiple balloons from the path of totality in Texas. Your pendant will go along for the ride, touching the shadow of the Moon at the edge of space. (Simply type "FLY IT AGAIN" in the comments box at checkout.)
The locket, which opens to hold a personal photo or other small item, comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space.
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