TODAY IS THE SOLSTICE: Whichever hemisphere you live in -- today is the solstice. For northerners, it is the summer solstice; for southerners, the winter solstice. Northern summer and southern winter begin at precisely the same time: 10:42 p.m. EDT on June 20th (02:42 UTC on June 21st). Happy Solstice!
SOLSTICE SOLAR FLARES: As the solstice sun hangs high in the skies of the northern hemisphere, our planet is getting hit by solar flares. In the past week there have been two X-class, one near-X, and dozens of lesser flares:
Each of the spikes in the graph above represents a pulse of X-radiation hitting Earth's upper atmosphere, ionizing the air at the edge of space. This has caused a rolling series of shortwave radio communication blackouts around our planet. The deepest blackouts occured on June 15th (North America), June 17th (Hawaii) and June 19-20th (Hawaii). During those events, ham radio operators would have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 25 MHz.
As northern summer begins, the flares are set to continue. Their source is unstable sunspot 4114, which will remain on the Earthside of the sun for a few more days before it disappears over the sun's western limb. Dates of special interest include June 23-24, when the sunspot will be magnetically connected to Earth via the Parker Spiral. Any flares around that time will accelerate energetic protons directly toward our planet and could spark a solar radiation storm.
Would you like an instant text message when strong flares are underway? Sign up for our Space Weather Alert Service.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
SILVER SAPPHIRE SPACE PENDANT: It has just returned from the edge of space: The Silver Sapphire Space Pendant. Using a cosmic ray research balloon, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere on June 19, 2025:
You can have it for $219.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever", this sterling silver pendant has a heart-shaped sapphire in the middle surrouunded by a ring of glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets. It is a visually striking necklace perfect for anniversaries and romantic birthdays.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip 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 Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter