THE X-FLARES ARE FINISHED (FOR NOW): Sunspot 4098, which produced a surprising X1.1-class solar flare on May 25th, has lost its "delta-class" magnetic field. That means it will probably quiet down and stop Xploding. The best chance for another X-flare comes from big old sunspot 4079, which is returning after a two-week trip around the farside of the sun. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
HOW A THUNDERSTORM MADE GREEN RIPPLES OVER COLORADO: In the early hours of May 25th, photographer Aaron Watson set up his camera beneath the dark skies of Colorado and captured a silent drama triggered by distant thunderstorms. As the Milky Way rose and lightning flickered to the south, green waves began to ripple through the upper atmosphere:
"I saw flashes of lightning from a thunderstorm complex to the south and ran a timelapse sequence for about 30 minutes," says Watson. His camera revealed faint, watery-green bands flowing northward across the sky, as if emanating directly from the storm system.
Watson recorded a display of green airglow. The green light comes from the sun, while the ripples are created by thunderstorms. Strong updrafts from thunderstorms make a bullseye pattern in the airglow layer like throwing a stone into a pond.
"The ripples were invisible to the unaided eye," Watson noted. "But the sky did look brighter than usual along the horizons. North is down in my image set, so the waves were flowing from south to north, away from the storms."
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THIS IS *REAL* MONEY FROM SPACE: The US Mint has just released a new $1 coin to honor NASA's longest-serving spacecraft: The Space Shuttle. On May 25, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the coins to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have a single coin for $49.95 or an entire unbroken roll for $299.95. No longer available from the US Mint, these rare coins flew 119,343 feet above the Sierra Nevada on July 16, 2024. One side shows the space shuttle lifting off from Launch Complex 39 at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center; the other side features the Statue of Liberty in profile.
Bonus: If you need to, you can spend these coins. They're real legal tender.
The students are selling space coins to support to support their cosmic ray research program. (Helium is expensive!) Each order comes with a greeting card showing the coins in flight and telling the story of their journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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