ANOTHER GLANCING-BLOW CME: Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible this week when another CME is expected to reach Earth. NASA models suggest a glancing blow on June 9th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
CORONAL RAIN CAPTURED IN UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL: Solar astronomers have just taken the clearest images yet of rain falling in the sun's atmosphere--a phenomenon called "coronal rain." This movie shows glowing blobs of hydrogen falling along invisible magnetic loops in streams as narrow as 20 km:
This movie shows hydrogen-alpha light emitted by plasma in the sun's outer atmosphere
Coronal rain forms when plasma in the sun's atmosphere (corona) cools, condenses, and falls — like molten rain down a magnetic rollercoaster. Coronal rain has been proposed as a mechanism for heating the sun's outer atmosphere, which is famously hotter than it is supposed to be.
This "rainfall" was detected at the Big Bear Solar Observatory in California where researchers have developed a new adaptive optics system for the sun. Their technology allows the telescope to compensate for turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere, de-blurring fine structure in the downpour.
The 1.6-meter Goode Solar Telescope in Big Bear Lake. The steady temperature of the water surface helps keep the air around the telescope calm
This study, published May 27th in Nature Astronomy, isn’t just pretty, it’s pivotal. "These observations represent an important step toward revealing the thermal and magnetic structure of the solar atmosphere," the team wrote in their paper.
The same technology will soon be installed on the giant Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii, where adaptive optics should reveal even finer details and more surprises. Stay tuned!
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SOLAR SYSTEM STUD EARRINGS: These earrings have flown to the edge of space--and all eight planets are included! On May 21, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the Solar System Stud Earrings to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight, they floated 104,655 feet high:
You can have the complete set for $149.95. Only Pluto is omitted from the collection; the dwarf planet was too small for human earlobes. The earrings come with a greeting card showing the studs in flight and telling the story of their journey to the stratosphere and back again.
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