NEAR-MISS CMEs: Yesterday's two X-class solar flares hurled CMEs into space. NASA models show that both CMEs will narrowly miss Earth, one just behind our planet, and one just ahead. The close encounters during the early hours of Aug. 9th could unsettle our planet's magnetosphere, but probably won't cause full-fledged geomagnetic storms. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
STRANGE SKY PHENOMENON: A ghostly comet-like object glided above the central USA last night. "I did not see in in person," says Dan Bush of ALbany, Missouri, "but this morning upon reviewing my cameras for Perseids, discovered I had recorded this remarkable event."
"I assume is a polar-orbiting satellite fuel dump, break-up, outgassing -- or something else?" he says.
Alexander Goroshko of Westjet Airlines also saw it from a plane flying over Denver at 39,000 ft. "It looked amazing from the flight deck," he says.
Readers, do you know what this is? Let us know!
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GIANT SUNSPOT: One of the biggest sunspot groups of Solar Cycle 25 emerged over the sun's eastern limb two days ago, and is now turning toward Earth. Túlio Aguiar photographed the behemoth from Belo Horizonte, Brazil:
Designated AR3780, this large sunspot group has a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares. It already unleashed an X1.1 flare on Aug. 5th. Today, the active region has been quiet, but that could be the calm before the storm. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
more images: from Stuart Green of Preston, Lancashire, UK; from Philippe Tosi of Ariège, France
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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 $249.95. 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.
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