GIANT SUNSPOT ALERT: A few days ago, sunspot 4366 didn't exist. Now it is a behemoth almost half the size of the great Carrington sunspot. Rapid growth is making the sunspot unstable. Indeed, it has already unleashed dozens of solar flares in the past 24 hours, including a powerful X8-class flare described below. More explosions are almost certain on Feb. 2nd. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
X8-CLASS SOLAR FLARE AND CME (UPDATED): Giant sunspot 4366 is a solar flare factory. In the past 24 hours, it has produced 23 M-class solar flares and 4 X-class flares. The most intense so far was yesterday's X8-class flare, shown here in a movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
This X8-class solar flare peaked on Feb. 1st at 23:57 UTC.
Extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere. This, in turn, caused a shortwave radio blackout across the South Pacific Ocean: blackout map. Ham radio operators in Australia and New Zealand may have experienced loss of signal below 30 MHz for hours after the flare's peak.
Update: SOHO and NOAA coronagraph images confirm that several CMEs emerged from yesterday's collection of flares. None of them appears to be either potent or squarely Earth-directed. Glancing blows expected on Feb.4-6 could spark G1 (Minor) to G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storms. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
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"BEST WIFE EVER" TEA CUP FOR VALENTINE'S DAY: Tell your wife what you think of her with the "Best Wife Ever" Tea Cup from Space. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $134.95. The crystal glass cup is decorated with 3D pink and purple daisies. There's also a matching teaspoon! This romantic Valentine's gift comes with a greeting card showing the cup in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere. See also: The High Tea Cup.
Earth to Sky Valentine's gifts have flown above 99.7% of Earth's atmosphere, experiencing space-like blasts of cosmic rays, extreme cold, and a wild ride parachuting back to Earth after the balloon explodes. Even Amazon doesn't carry items this far out. And, best of all, all sales support student science projects and STEM education.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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