SpaceWeather.com Archive — Thu, Sep 26, 2024

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A CME MIGHT GRAZE EARTH TODAY: A CME hurled into space by an M3.4-class solar flare on Sept. 22nd might graze Earth today. According to NOAA forecasters, the impact could spark a G1-class geomagnetic storm. The odds of the storm are improved by autumnal cracks now opening in Earth's magnetic field--see below. Aurora alerts: SMS Tex t

AUTUMNAL CRACKS IN EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD: How do you know it's autumn? Cracks are opening in Earth's magnetic field. Researchers call it the "Russell-McPherron effect." Solar wind flows through the gaps to fuel geomagnetic storms even without a CME impact. On Sept. 22nd, such a crack was responsible for this display 35,000 ft over Nunavut, Canada:

Pilot Matt Melnyk took the picture from the cockpit of an international flight. "Our route took us up to the 70th degree parallel of latitude--so far north that we were seeing auroras directly to our south!" he says.

"The bright half Moon lit up the landscape below the plane, which made for really interesting photos," Melnyk adds. Indeed, some of his shots look like they were taken from space:

All of this happened without a solar storm. The Russell-McPherron effect combined with ordinary solar wind to spark the display. More "autumnal cracks" are opening now, and they could set the stage for even brighter auroras if, as expected, a CME grazes Earth's magnetic field on Sept. 26th. Aurora alerts: SMS Tex t

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STERLING SILVER MOONCAT: This cat has experienced a severe geomagnetic storm. A CME hit Earth's magnetic field during on Sept. 16th. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus quickly launched a cosmic ray balloon into the resulting storm, with the Sterling Silver Mooncat hitching a ride:

You can have it for $199.95. Curled around a genuine blue moonstone, the sterling silver cat 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!