THE CME HAS ARRIVED--STORM IN PROGRESS: As predicted, a CME hit Earth on Aug 2nd around 1229 UTC. The impact sparked a G1 (Minor) and now a G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storm. High-latitude observers should be alert for auroras. CME impact alerts: SMS Text.
ITALIAN VOLCANO VS THE SUN: On July 30th, Giovanni Passalacqua photographed Mount Etna throwing incandescent lava into the night sky. The glowing arcs remind of us something--post-flare loops on the sun:
Mt Etna is on the left, post-flare loops on the right. The shapes are the same, but the physics is completely different.
The ballistic loops above Mt Etna are made of glowing lava. Temperature: ~2000 F. Composition: Mainly oxygen, silicon and iron.
The magnetic loops above the edge of the sun are made of plasma. Temperature: ~20,000 F. Composition: Mainly hydrogen.
We call them "post-flare loops" because they usually appear in the aftermath of powerful solar flares. It takes an explosion equal to a billion atom bombs to make them.
The blasts at the mouth of Mt. Etna are about 100 million times less energetic. That's very good news for Passalacqua, who frequently photographs the volcano at close range.
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VOYAGER GOLDEN RECORD: Carl Sagan himself picked the music and organized the tracks. We're talking about The Voyager Golden Record. On Oct. 31, 2023, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this replica to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $99.95. The 3-inch aluminum disk is imprinted with instructions intended for extraterrestrials, telling them how to play the phonograph now sailing through interstellar space onboard NASA's Voyager probes. Having touched the edge of space, it's the closest thing on Earth to an actual Golden Record.
The students are selling these unique ornaments to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the ornament in flight and extra materials decoding the markings on the disk.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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