HALLOWEEN FIREBALLS: Did you see a meteor last night? It was probably a Taurid--a.k.a., a "Halloween Fireball." Every year around this time, Earth passes through a stream of debris from Comet Encke, and the resulting meteors are seen by Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween. If you missed the show, don't worry. This broad shower will continue for the next two weeks, spraying a few bright fireballs across the sky every hour while the constellation Taurus is overhead. [more]
ANOTHER X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE, BUT NO CME: Active sunspot AR3878 erupted again on Oct. 31st (2120 UTC), producing an X2-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a spray of hot plasma emerging from the blast site:
A pulse of extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean. Ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal below 25 MHz for as much as 45 minutes after the flare.
Update: This explosion did not produce a CME. Not all flares do. In fact, AR3878 has a habit of flaring without CMEs. As a result, no geomagnetic storms will result from this event. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
SPOOKY AURORAS: It was a good night for trick or treaters in Arctic Norway. "A possible minor brush with a CME filled the Halloween skies over Tromso last night," reports Terence Murtagh. "An exotic spooky ghost, a witch, and banshee-shaped auroras danced and squirmed their way across the heavens."
"The whole landscape was filled with their eerie green light--a very happy Halloween for all sky watchers!"
Murtagh is right about the CME. One was due to arrive during the early hours of Nov. 1st following the eruption of a magnetic filament on Oct. 29th. Solar wind data suggest a glancing blow may indeed have summoned the spirits of Tromso.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
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
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter