SpaceWeather.com Archive — Fri, Aug 9, 2024

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GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G3): A series of three CMEs is now heading for Earth. The first two, launched by M-class flares on August 7th, are relatively minor. The third, launched by yesterday's X-flare (described below), is more potent. Striking Earth in succession on Aug. 9/10th, 11th, and 12th, the three CMEs could spark geomagnetic storms as strong as category G3 with mid-latitude auroras in the USA and Europe. CME Impact alerts: SMS Tex t

X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE AND HALO CME--UPDATED: 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 the coronal mass ejection (CME). Soon after the flare, SOHO coronagraphs detected a halo CME heading straight for Earth:

This CME is moving faster than 1,000 km/s (2.2 million mph) and it will likely arrive no later than Aug. 11th, adding its effect to that of two earlier CMEs already en route. (Update: NOAA says "early on Aug. 12th.")The impact could push geomagnetic storm levels to category G3 (Strong) with mid-latitude auroras in the USA and Europe. Aurora alerts: SMS Tex t

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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