THE STORM IS SUBSIDING: The Labor Day geomagnetic storm is subsiding as Earth exits the wake of a CME that struck Earth on Sept. 1st. Minor G1-class storms remain possible on Sept. 3rd as reverberations from the CME's impact gradually decay. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
PURPLE NITROGEN AURORAS: Earth's atmosphere is mostly nitrogen (78%), yet auroras are seldom the color of this omnipresent molecule. Usually, oxygen paints the Northern Lights with its colors--red and green. Yet during this week's geomagnetic storm, nitrogen ruled. The purple color of N2+ is everywhere in this Sept. 2nd photo from the Haukadalur hot springs in Iceland:
"The aurora display on the morning of Sept. 2nd lasted for more than 90 mintes says photographer Dieter M. Zube. "Especially the nitrogen colours came through nicely."
Similar and even more intense displays of purple were seen in Scotland, New Zealand, the UK, Quebec, Lake Superior, Ontario, and the flight deck of a Dreamliner.
What happened? We don't know. Conventional wisdom holds that nitrogen auroras appear during intense geomagnetic storms. Yet the storm on Sept 1-2, 2025, was hardly intense. It peaked at category G2, which is only moderate. Nevertheless, something in the mix of energetic protons and electrons raining down on Earth's atmosphere activated ionized molecular nitrogen and caused it to brightly glow. Consider it a beautiful mystery.
Did you see the display? Submit your photos here.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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YOUR OWN FULL MOON FROM SPACE: On Aug. 22nd, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere. This laser-etched Moon cube went along for the ride, ascending to an altitude of 101,140 feet:
You can have it for $129.95. The students are selling these cubes as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray ballooning program. It's an authentic representation of the Moon, with all of the craters, mountains and lava plains accurately portrayed. Put it on your desk, carry it in your backpack, or give it as a far-out gift!
The Moon-cube comes with a unique gift card showing the item floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
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Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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