SpaceWeather.com Archive — Fri, Apr 19, 2024

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MORE CMES ARE COMING: Today's CME strike may be the first of several. Multiple faint CMEs that left the sun earlier this week are on an approximate collision course with Earth. None is especially fast or potent, but their collective effect could cause more geomagnetic storms starting April 21st. Aurora alerts: SMS Tex t

STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM (G3): Earth's magnetic field is reverberating from a CME strike on April 19th (0500 UT), which produced an unexpectedly strong geomagnetic storm. First contact with the CME was unimpressive; the storm didn't start right away. Later, however, solar magnetic fields in the CME's wake connected to Earth's magnetic field; the storm commenced and quickly intensified. Storm levels reached G3 around 1900 UT.

This brief but intense event produced red auroras at mid-latitudes. Dan Bush photographed the lights from Albany, Missouri (latitude +40N):

"The display lasted more than an hour centered around 10:00 UT," says Bush. "The red color was not visible to the naked eye, but it was an easy catch for my sky surveillance camera."

Bush wondered if these were red auroras or, instead, an SAR arc. Red SAR arcs are caused by heat energy leaking into the atmosphere from Earth's ring current system. Answer: They are genuine red auroras. The form and dynamics of the display are conclusive.

The storm is subsiding now. Minor G1-class storming remains possible tonight as Earth exits the CME's wake. Then, there should be a day of relative quiet before more CMEs might arrive on Sunday April 21st. CME impact alerts: SMS Tex t

more images: from Tyler Schlitt of Washington, Missouri (+39N); from Sacha Layos of Fairbanks, Alaska (+65N)

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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A COMET MOVIE FROM SPACE: In only two days, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will make its closest approach to the sun (0.78 AU). NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft is monitoring the devil comet's progress. On April 12th it captured 12P passing by Jupiter just as a CME billowed into space:

Note the kink in the comet's tail. This is a "disconnection event" caused by a CME impact or sharp gust of solar wind. The full movie shows the kink rippling away from the comet's core.

Stay tuned for new movies as 12P nears perihelion on April 21st. STEREO-A's heliospheric imager may capture additional examples of the comet's tail responding to solar activity at point blank range.

Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
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18K GOLD TOTAL ECLIPSE PENDANT: This pendant has touched the shadow of the Moon. On April 8, 2024, during a total eclipse of the sun in Texas, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. Floating more than 118,110 feet high, the locket spent 3 minutes and 45 seconds wrapped in lunar shadow:

You can have it for $199.95. The 18K gold-plated locket is inscribed with the words "I love you to the Moon and back," and opens to hold a personal photo or other small item. It comes with a greeting card showing the locket in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space during the total eclipse.