THE CME HAS ARRIVED AND STORMS ARE UNDERWAY: A halo CME struck Earth's magnetic field on June 1st at 0542 UTC. The impact sparked a series of moderate (G2) to severe (G4) geomagnetic storms, which are still underway more than 18 hours later. So far, Northern Lights have been photographed as far south as latitude +30 N on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
Jay Shaffer photographed the display from Tres Piedras, New Mexico (latitude +36.6 N):
"I rolled the dice on the early arrival of the CME, and caught this on June 1st at 01:36 MDT," says Shaffer.
Other notable low-latitude sightings include California, Colorado, Missouri, Utah, and maybe Louisiana. There's no guarantee of a repeat display tonight. However, sky watchers should remain alert for auroras as the solar wind in the wake of the CME is blowing faster than 900 km/s.
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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.
For collectors: The P mint version of these coins is also available: Get the single coin ($49.95) or an entire unbroken roll ($299.95).
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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