X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Surprising forecasters, today the sun produced a dramatic X1.1-class solar flare (March 28th @ 1520 UTC) with a shortwave radio blackout over the Americas. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed massive plumes of plasma emerging from the blast site:
The source of the flare is a new sunspot emerging over the sun's eastern limb. This sunspot will turn toward Earth in the days ahead, putting our planet in the crosshairs of future eruptions. Stay tuned! Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
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SOLAR ECLIPSE ON MARCH 29TH: The New Moon is about to pass in front of the sun, almost completely covering the solar disk on March 29th. The best places to watch this partial eclipse are eastern Canada and Greenland where coverage will exceed 80%:
At maximum eclipse around 10:50 UTC, the solar disk will be transformed into a skinny crescent. Some reporters call this a "devil horn eclipse," but the view will be heavenly. If you're in the eclipse zone, check NASA's web page for a city-by-city timetable of when to look. (Be sure to use safe solar filters and/or eclipse glasses.)
Longtime space weather contributor Eliot Herman is in Greenland now, and he will be sending us photos of the event. You can too! Submit your photos here.
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THE SOLAR WIND STORM IS SUBSIDING: After peaking near 800 km/s on March 27th, solar wind speeds are subsiding today to 600 km/s--still fast, but not like yesterday's gale. The gaseous material is flowing from a giant hole in the sun's atmosphere. Minor (G1) geomagnetic storms are possible on March 28th as the solar wind continues to blow. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
During the peak of yesterday's solar wind storm, Kenneith Hui captured an aurora selfie from Kálfafellsstaður, Iceland:
"Around 11 p.m. local time in Iceland, we were captivated by the swirling lights spiraling above us," says Hui. "A brief break in our cloudy and rainy weather revealed a stunning aurora."
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"ALWAYS AND FOREVER" RUBY HEART PENDANT: Are you looking for a far out gift? Consider the Always and Forever Space Pendent. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $219.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever", this sterling silver pendant has a heart-shaped ruby crystal in the middle surrouunded by a ring of glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets. It is a visually striking necklace perfect for anniversaries and romantic birthdays.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
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