NO CMES ARE COMING: Giant sunspot AR3590 has exploded often in the past week, producing 3 X-flares and more than half a dozen M-class flares. Strangely, not one of those eruptions produced a coronal mass ejection (CME). The lack of CMEs heading for Earth means geomagnetic storms are unlikely for the next few days. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
AN UNUSUAL ALIGNMENT OF SUNSPOTS: Like almost everyone else in the world with a solar filter, Alan Friedman of Buffalo, NY, has been watching giant sunspot AR3590. "It's wonderful, as expected," says Friedman, "but yesterday I was surprised to see an unusual line up of sunspots to the left." Note the red box in his Feb. 26th photo of the sun:
Sunspots usually travel along lines of latitude, creating horizontal bands parallel to the sun's equator. Today's line-up is perpendicular to that arrangement. Does it mean anything? Probably not. However, the vertical line might signal something offbeat in the sun's inner magnetic dynamo--the ultimate source of all space weather. Like AR3590, it merits watching. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
more images: from Philip Smith of Manorville, NY; from Martin Wise of Trenton, Florida; from Howard Eskildsen of Ocala, Florida; from Mike Borman of Evansville, Indiana
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THE TAIL OF COMET 12P: Cryovolcanic comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is approaching the sun for a close encounter in April, and solar activity is having an effect on the comet's tail. Consider these two photos taken by amateur astronomer Michael Jaeger of Austria and Nick James of the British Astronomical Association:
Jaeger's close-up image shows a wild spray of gaseous plumes emerging from the comet's nucleus. These may be exhaust plumes from ice geysers on the comet's surface, which are opening in response to increasing solar heat. James's broader view of the comet shows a sharp bend in the comet's tail (circled). This is almost certainly caused by a gust of solar wind or, perhaps, a passing CME.
Comet 12P is brightening every night as it falls toward the sun. Right now it is 7th magnitude and a relatively easy target for backyard telescopes. Point your optics here.
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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.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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