A RADIATION STORM IS BREWING: Protons are raining down on Earth, and the downpour may soon be intense enough for NOAA to declare an S1-class (Minor) radiation storm. The particles were accelerated by today's X-class solar flare and are being guided to Earth by the Parker Spiral--a magnetic structure that links our planet to the sun's western limb. So far this is only a minor event, posing no threat to astronauts or air travelers. Radiation storm alerts: SMS Text
X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE (UPDATED): Unlikely things do happen. Despite an official 1% chance of X-flares on May 13th (1538 UTC), new sunspot produced an eruption of category X1.2. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:
An X1.2-class solar flare on May 13, 2025. Credit: NASA/SDO
The flare caused a brief shortwave blackout over the Americas and it hurled a double-lobed CME into space. A preliminary model from NASA shows the CME hitting Mercury, grazing Venus, and completely missing Earth later this week. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
"METEOR CRATER" CRYSTAL PENDANT: Have you heard of Moissanite? It's a very rare mineral discovered in Arizona's Meteor Crater by 19th-century chemist Henri Moissan. At first, he thought it was diamond, but later realized it was even more rare. It came from meteorites! On March 4, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a Moissanite pendant to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $299.95. Almost indistinguishable from natural diamond, the 3-carat crystal is held by a sterling silver frame with the words "I Love You" engraved on the back. It's a truly out of this world gift.
The students are selling space jewelry to pay the helium bill for their high altitude ballooning program. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter