THE STORM IS SUBSIDING (BUT IT'S NOT OVER): As predicted, a halo CME struck Earth's on June 1st, sparking a severe (G4) geomagnetic storm.It was one of the biggest space weather events of Solar Cyle 25. The storm is subsiding now, but it's not over. Minor (G1) to strong (G3) storms remain possible on June 2nd as Earth's magnetosphere reverberates from this significant blow. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
WIDESPREAD AURORAS: Yesterday's severe geomagnetic storm produced widespread auroras. In Alberta, Canada, Northern Lights completely filled the sky and even turned the ground green:
Even the ground is green!
"This is looking straight up in a 360º panorama, with the horizon all around and the zenith at center," says photographer Alan Dyer. "To capture the entire sky, I stitched together 8 segments, 45º apart, each a 5-second exposure taken in rapid succession."
Auroras in Canada are normal. Auroras in New Mexico are not. But on June 1st, auroras appeared in many abnornal places. Jay Shaffer photographed the display from Tres Piedras, NM, at 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. "A lucky shot!"
Other notable low-latitude sightings include California, Colorado, Missouri, Utah, and maybe Louisiana. If the Louisiana photo is real, it means the geomagnetic glow stretched all the way from Canada to the US Gulf Coast. A great storm, indeed.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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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
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
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