A HOLE IN THE SUN'S ATMOSPHERE: Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible on March 1st when a stream of solar wind is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. The gaseous material is flowing from a large hole in the sun's atmosphere, now squarely facing Earth. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
ISS CAPTURES A 'GIGANTIC JET' LIGHTNING BOLT: Most bolts of lightning go down toward the Earth. But, sometimes, they go in the other direction, too. On Nov. 19, 2024, astronauts onboard the ISS watched a Gigantic Jet rocket up from the Gulf of Mexico:
Puerto Rican sprite chaser Frankie Lucena noticed the rare bolt while he was browsing NASA's Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. "I checked the ISS database for pictures before and after the event, and found that there were 4 photos in all," says Lucena. "I've animated them here."
Sometimes called "Earth's tallest lightning," because they reach the ionosphere more than 50 miles high, Gigantic Jets were discovered near Taiwan and Puerto Rico in 2001-2002. Since then, only dozens have been photographed. They seem to love storms over water and are famous for surprising passengers onboard commercial aircraft.
The nature of gigantic jets and their possible association with other types of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) such as blue jets and red sprites remains an active topic of research.
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STERLING SILVER HUMMINGBIRD PENDANT: This hummingbird has touched space. On Sept. 22nd, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the sterling silver pendant to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon, more than 117,710 feet high:
You can have it for $169.95. The students are selling hummingbird pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the bird and red lily in flight, and telling the story of their trip to the stratosphere and back again.
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