SpaceWeather.com Archive — Thu, Aug 8, 2024

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GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH--UPDATED: A new NOAA model of yesterday's CME activity shows two CMEs striking Earth -- one during the late UT hours of Aug. 9th and another late on Aug. 10th. The double blow could spark G2-class geomagnetic storms on Aug. 9th, 10th and 11th. CME Impact alerts: SMS Tex t

X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE AND RADIO BLACKOUT: Active sunspot AR3777 just produced its most powerful solar flare yet--an X1.3-class explosion on Aug. 8th (1935 UT). NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere and caused a shortwave radio blackout from North America to the Hawaiian islands. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal below 30 MHz for as much as an hour after the flare.

Of greater interest is a possible CME. The US Air Force is reporting a strong Type II radio burst. This type of natural radio emission comes from shock waves at the leading edge of a fast CME. Confirmation awaits fresh data from SOHO coronaraphs. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Tex t

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SOLAR ECLIPSE CRYSTAL PYRAMID: On Aug. 21, 2017, during the Great American Solar Eclipse, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched 11 space weather balloons from the path of totality. The armada soared into the stratosphere, touching the shadow of the Moon more than 100,000 feet above Earth's surface. This crystal pyramid hitched a ride:

You can have it for $159.95. With the sun, Earth, and Moon perfectly aligned, the faces of the 5-sided crystal caught the reflection of the eclipsed sun. Watch the video!

The pyramid comes with a gift card showing the crystal floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere and passing through the Moon's shadow. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.