THE STORM IS NOT OVER: The storm is subsiding, but it's not over. The Russell-McPherron effect is still active, linking the magnetic fields of the sun and Earth to produce an ongoing G1/G2 geomagnetic storm. High-latitude auroras remain likely on Sept. 30-Oct. 1, less intense than the auroras of Sept. 29th, but still gorgeous around the Arctic Circle. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Last night, a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm erupted, sparking a display of Northern Lights visible as far south in the USA as New Mexico. "It felt like we were flying right through the auroras," reports pilot Matt Melnyk, who snapped this picture from the cockpit of a Dreamliner cruising 39,000 feet over the Hudson Bay:
"I saw so many different colors! Reds, purples, greens, and even blue aurora! " says Melnyk. "What an amazing sight to see from my office."
Not all the lights in the sky were auroras. Many observers also witnessed STEVE -- a bright mauve ribbon of light caused by hot plasma currents in the upper atmosphere. Daryl Pederson saw STEVE making a majestic 'X' with the Milky Way over Sterling, Alaska:
"After shooting the northern lights for 40 years, it's fairly rare to come up with something new, but last night STEVE showed up and did the trick. Score!" says Pederson.
STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) was discovered by sky watchers in Alberta only about 10 years ago, although the phenomenon was surely active long before it was documented in scientific literature. STEVE is tricky, because it looks so much like an aurora. However, studies show that STEVE is not lit up by the same downward rain of electrons that causes ordinary Northern Lights. STEVE is its own thing.
This was a complicated storm. In addition to auroras and STEVE, some sky watchers also saw SAR arcs. These are deep red arcs caused by heat energy leaking into Earth's upper atmosphere from our planet's Saturn-like ring current system. In Michigan, Quinn Keon photographed a beautiful example of an SAR arc. In Finland, Matti Helin saw all three phenomena at the same time.
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SUNFLOWER SKY PENDANT: This pendant has touched the edge of space. On Aug. 26th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. The flight soared to an altitude of 107,400 feet (above 99.5% of Earth's atmosphere) before returning safely to the ground:
You can have it for $142.95. The pendant itself is a heart-shaped rose quartz, wrapped in sterling silver filigree with a sunflower motif, and suspended from a matching 16-inch chain.
The students are selling space pendants to support their high-altitude balloon prpgram. (You would not believe the tariffs on helium.) Each pendant comes with a greeting card featuring a photo of the jewelry floating high above our planet, along with the story of its journey to the edge of space.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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