SpaceWeather.com Archive — Tue, Sep 3, 2024

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A NEW SOURCE OF FLARES: Big new sunspot group AR3813 is turning toward Earth and crackling with M-class solar flares. This potent sunspot has already hurled multiple CMEs toward Venus. Earth will soon be in the line of fire as the active region turns toward our planet this week. CME impact alerts: SMS Tex t

MAJOR FARSIDE EXPLOSION: Earlier today (0800 UT on Sept. 3rd), something exploded on the farside of the sun. It was a big one. SOHO coronagraphs detected a bright halo CME flying almost directly away from Earth:

Although the blast site was hidden, and the CME is not coming toward us, the explosion nevertheless touched our planet. Earth-orbiting satellites detected a surge in energetic particles striking our atmosphere. The particles were scooped up and accelerated throughout the Solar System by shock waves in the expanding CME. A shortwave radio blackout is underway inside the Arctic Circle as a result of their ionizing effect.

The true target of this explosion: Europe's Solar Orbiter (SolO). SolO is on the opposite side of the sun and squarely in the crosshairs of the CME. A NASA model predicts the CME will wash over the spacecraft on Sept. 4th around 1200 UT. SolO's sensors have already detected a 100-fold increase in energetic particles, a value that could increase even more as the CME approaches.

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STERLING SILVER MOONCAT: This cat has experienced a geomagnetic storm. Multiple CMEs hit Earth's magnetic field during the weekend of August 10-11. Students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon into the resulting severe geomagnetic storm. The Sterling Silver Mooncat went along for the ride.:

You can have it for $169.95. Supported by a sterling silver frame, the black cat is curled around a genuine blue moonstone. It floated through the stratosphere for almost 3 hours during the storm, gathering radiation data for the students' monitoring program. The Mooncat comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and explaining the radiation experiment.

The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space jewelry to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Don't wait for Christmas--get yours now!