UPDATE (OCT. 10, 4:00 PM PDT): The storm is intensifying. A major crack has opened in Earth's magnetic field. If it stays open, storm levels could escalate to category G5 (Extreme) during the night of Oct. 10-11, bringing bright and widespread auroras to the USA. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
A SOLAR STORM JUST HIT EARTH: The CME launched by Tuesday's X-flare hit Earth today, Oct. 10th (1515 UTC), and it appears to be as potent as advertised. Geomagnetic storms are underway with intensities fluctuating between G2 (Moderate) and G4-class (Severe). If it is dark where you are, be alert for auroras! Aurora alerts: SMS Text
Update: Auroras have been observed in Virginia, Washington DC, France, Denmark, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Hungary, England, and Scotland. And India!!
ELECTRIC CURRENTS ARE FLOWING THROUGH THE GROUND: Electrical currents are flowing through rocks and soil in the United States in response to today's geomagnetic storm. Red zones in this map from NOAA show where the geoelectric voltages are highest:
Peak voltages in the US midwest are near 5 V/km, more than 100x normal values when the sun is quiet. Fortunately, today's peaks are only about 25% of what caused the Great Quebec Blackout in 1989. Power outages are therefore unlikely.
The map, above, is a snapshot from a real-time display that takes into account the 3D conductivity of the Earth and ongoing geomagnetic activity. A computer at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center crunches the data to produce minute-by-minute estimates of electricity in the ground. These estimates help managers of public ultilities safeguard the power grid and keep power flowing to customers even during intense storms.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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THE GEOMAGNETIC 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 Geomagnetic Mooncat went along for the ride.:
You can have it for $199.95. 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!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
HOW BRIGHT IS COMET TSUCHINSHAN-ATLAS? Yesterday, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS passed almost directly between Earth and the sun. Many astronomers were eagerly awaiting that moment. Why? Because sunlight forward scattered by comet dust might cause a surge in the comet's brightness. That's exactly what happened:
This is a raw image from SOHO's coronagraph in which the comet is not saturated. Italian astronomer Toni Scarmato used it to estimate the comet's brightness. "Its magnitude was -3.88 compared with Mercury at -1.09," says Scarmato. Other astronomers have reached similar conclusions.
With a magnitude near -4.0, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was just below the threshold for naked-eye visibility in the daytime sky. For comparison, daylight Comet McNaught in January 2007 had a magnitude of -5.5. So close!
more images: from Erwin Enrique Sandoval of Coyhaique,Chile
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
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Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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