FARSIDE EXPLOSION TOUCHES EARTH: Protons are raining down on Earth's atmosphere today due to an explosion on the farside of the sun. The source of the blast was old sunspot AR3664. Earth is connected to the sunspot via the Parker spiral, which can guide energetic protons from the farside to Earth. This "proton rain" is on the verge of becoming an S1-class radiation storm. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS MOVE SOUTH: Noctilucent clouds (NLCs) are spilling out of the Arctic to lower latitudes. Marek Nikodem spotted the electric-blue clouds at midnight (June 11-12) over Szubin, Poland (+53N):
"These are our first noctilucent clouds of the season here in Poland," says Nikodem. "It was a very nice display."
2024 is supposed to be a bad year for NLCs. High solar activity is warming Earth's upper atmosphere and breaking apart water molecules required to form noctilucent ices. However, for reasons researchers don't fully understand, Solar Max doesn't always extinquish the clouds. The descent of NLCs to Poland suggests that 2024 may be a year when the night-shining clouds defy the sun.
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
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MERCURY, VENUS, AND A FARSIDE CME: This morning (the early UT hours of June 12th), the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observed a farside CME bracketed by Venus and Mercury. Click to set the scene in motion:
The CME was expelled by old sunspot AR3664, and is responsible for the fusillade of protons now raining down on Earth.
Play the movie again and note how Mercury is racing left to catch Venus. The two planets will converge for a close encounter on June 17th, less than 1 degree apart. Astronomers on Earth won't be able to see the conjunction because of the sun's glare. SOHO coronagraphs will have no such trouble. Stay tuned.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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STERLING SILVER GEOMAGNETIC CAT: On May 10, 2024, a CME slammed into Earth's magnetic field, sparking the biggest geomagnetic storm in 35 years. Moments later, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon directly into the storm. The Geomagnetic Cat Pendant went along for the ride:
This sterling silver feline floated through the stratosphere for 3 hours during the storm, gathering radiation data for the students' monitoring program. Later, when the sun set and the sky grew dark, red and green auroras danced above the Sierra Nevada mountains of California where the balloon was launched.
You can have it for $219.95. The pendant comes with a greeting card showing the cat in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime gift.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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