SpaceWeather.com Archive — Sat, Jun 22, 2024

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NO AURORAS THIS WEEKEND: No CMEs are heading for Earth. As a result, our planet's magnetic field should remain quiet and undisturbed for the next 48 hours. Auroras are unlikely this weekend. Aurora alerts: SMS Tex t

SUNSPOTS APPROACHING "THE DANGER ZONE": Sunspots that don't face Earth can be dangerous. Why? Because the sun is like a lawn sprinkler. It'll all make sense in a minute. First, take a look at these sunspots approaching the sun's western limb:

Photo Credit: Philip Smith of Manorville, New York

Both are turning away from Earth, yet any eruptions they produce this weekend could directly impact our planet. The sunspots are entering the "danger zone"--a region of the sun magnetically connected to Earth.

The best way to understand this is by comparing the sun's magnetic field to a lawn sprinkler:

On the left, a spinning nozzle sprays water in a backward arc. On the right, a spinning sun twists its own magnetic field into the same shape. Magnetic fields just beyond the sun's western limb (where the sunspots are heading now) curve back to touch our planet. This is called the "Parker Spiral" after solar physicist Eugene Parker, who first predicted its shape.

If either of these sunspots explodes while it is near the sun's western limb, energetic debris may be guided by the magnetic Parker Spiral right back to Earth. Indeed, this was precisely the cause of a "hard proton" storm on June 8th. Old sunspot AR3664 exploded in the danger zone and peppered our planet with energetic protons.

Could it happen again this weekend? Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Tex t

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COLLECTABLE STAR TREK ORNAMENT: No Trekkie Christmas tree is complete without The Arena Ornament. This rare Hallmark keepsake depicts the reptilian Gorn poised to deliver a death blow to Capt. James T. Kirk on the planet Cestus III. On June 14, 2024, it flew to the edge of space onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:

You can have it for $135.95. The ornament depicts a famous scene from The Original Series episode "Arena" first broadcast on January 19, 1967. Decades later, the Gorn have become main villians on the new Star Trek series Strange New Worlds, which we love!

The ornament comes with a Christmas card showing Kirk and the Gorn in flight, and certifying they have traveled to the edge of space and back again.