SpaceWeather.com Archive — Sat, Sep 14, 2024

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STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM PREDICTED: A CME hurled into space by today's X4.5-class solar flare will graze Earth on Sept. 16th, according to a NASA model. NOAA forecasters are predicting a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm when the CME arrives. During G3 storms, auroras can sometimes be seen with the naked eye from mid-latitudes--e.g., as far south as California, Missouri and Colorado in the USA. Pro tip: Get away from city lights! Aurora alerts: SMS Tex t

SIGNIFICANT X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: New sunspot AR3825 erupted again today, producing a very strong X4.5-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

Click to view a movie of the flare

Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a deep shortwave radio blackout over South America and the mid-Atlantic Ocean: map. Ham radio operators and mariners may have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 30 MHz for as much as 30 minutes after the flare's peak (1529 UTC).

The explosion also hurled a CME into space, and a NASA model confirms that it has an Earth-directed component. Strong G3-class geomagnetic storms are possible when the CME grazes Earth on Sept. 16th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Tex t

more images: from Warren Spreng of Mason, Ohio; from Thierry Legault of Paris, France; from Steve Godbout of Quebec City, Quebec

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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EARTH'S RING CURRENT IS LEAKING: During the strong (G3) geomagnetic storm of Sept. 12th, Jeffery Dixon looked up from the Agawa Bay in Ontario, Canada, and saw a red band stretching across the sky. It was a sign that Earth's ring current had sprung a leak:

"I'm not sure if it was aurora, STEVE or airglow," says Dixon.

Actually, none of the above. Dixon photographed an SAR arc. SAR arcs were discovered in 1956 at the beginning of the Space Age. At first, researchers didn’t know what they were and unwittingly gave them a misleading name: "Stable Auroral Red arcs." However, they are not auroras; the red glow comes from Earth's ring current system.

Yes, Earth has rings. Unlike Saturn's rings, which are vast disks of glittering ice, Earth's rings are made of electricity--a donut-shaped circuit carrying millions of amps around our planet.During strong geomagnetic storms, thermal energy from the rings can leak onto the atmosphere below, imprinting a red glow among the auroras.

On Sept. 12th, SAR arcs were seen from many locations including Pennsylvania, Germany, California and Colorado. Browse the gallery for more.

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"HAND OF APOLLO" STAR TREK CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT: You can't buy this on Amazon. The Hand of Apollo Christmas Ornament is only available from the Earth to Sky Store. On Aug. 15, 2024, it flew to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:

You can have it for $127.95. This ornament depicts the iconic opening scene from original Star Trek series episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" first aired in 1967. Near the planet Pollux III, the Enterprise was held immobile by an energy field shaped as a human hand. It belonged to a being claiming to be the Greek god Apollo. This will look far out on your Christmas tree this December.

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