STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM UNDERWAY: A strong G3-class geomagnetic storm is underway following the impact of a CME on March 20th. High latitide sky watchers should be alert for auroras! Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
SUNSET UNDER THE HEAT DOME: A record-setting heat dome over the US West Coast is so extreme, it's squashing the sun. Mila Zinkova recorded the phenomenon on March 17th from San Francisco, California
"The sun looked like a stack of pancakes," says Zinkova.
This is caused by the onset of June temperatures while it is still March. Right now, the ocean is winter cold, while the air is summer hot. The mismatch sets up unusually strong temperature gradients and inversions, which refract the rays of the sun, bending the solar disk into strange shapes.
"Pancakes" are a sign of ducting. In an atmospheric duct, the air is sliced into layers of different temperature, with cold air sandwiched between warm air. The layers act like a wave guide. Very long ducts give the rare Novaya Zemlya effect with a whole shimmering stack of narrow stripes.
"I have seen quite a few Novaya Zemlya sunsets, but the one I saw on March 17 was special," says Zinkova. "The refraction was so strong that the sunset was delayed for 14 minutes! At times, it felt as the universe was standing still."
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THE METEOR CRATER PENDANT: Have you heard of Moissanite? It's a very rare mineral discovered by 19th-century chemist Henri Moissan in Arizona's Meteor Crater. At first, he thought it was diamond, but later realized it was even more rare. It's a diamond lookalike that, until the 1950s, was found naturally only in meteorites.
On Aug. 2, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this Moissanite pendant to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $169.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever," the sterling silver frame bends around the Moissanite in a heart-shaped curve--all highlighted by glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets.
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
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