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TWO SOLAR WIND STREAMS: The Arctic is about to get a double dose of auroras. Two solar wind streams are approaching Earth, each flowing from a distinct hole in the sun's atmosphere. The first stream is due to arrrive on Sept. 7-8 with the second following on Sept. 11-12. Neither is expected to produce a strong geomagnetic storm. Nevertheless, Arctic lights are in the offing. Free: Aurora Alerts.

EQUINOX CRACKS ARE OPENING IN EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD: The northern autumnal equinox is only 2 weeks away. That means one thing: Cracks are opening in Earth's magnetic field. Researchers have long known that during weeks around equinoxes fissures form in Earth's magnetosphere. Solar wind can pour through the gaps to fuel bright displays of Northern Lights. It just happened in Yellowknife, Canada:

"On Sept. 5-6, we could see auroras in the sky all night long, with a bright outburst of pink shortly after midnight," says photographer Yuichi Takasaka.

During the display, a weak stream of solar wind was blowing around Earth. At this time of year, that's all it takes. Even a gentle gust can breach our planet's magnetic defenses.

This is called the the "Russell-McPherron effect," named after the researchers who first explained it. The cracks are opened by the solar wind itself. South-pointing magnetic fields inside the solar wind oppose Earth's north-pointing magnetic field. North and South partially cancel one another, opening a crack. This cancellation can happen at any time of year, but it happens with greatest effect around the equinoxes. Indeed, a 75-year study shows that September is one of the most geomagnetically active months of the year–a direct result of "equinox cracks."

Stay tuned for more Arctic lights as autumn approaches.

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

LASER-ETCHED MOON CUBE: On August 16, 2018, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere. This unique laser-etched Moon cube went along for the ride, ascending to an altitude of 101,140 feet:

You can have it for $149.95. 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.

Each 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 Space Weather Photo Gallery

On Sep. 7, 2018, the network reported 26 fireballs.
(23 sporadics, 2 September epsilon Perseids, 1 alpha Aurigid)

In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). [Larger image] [movies]

Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid	Date(UT)	Miss Distance	Velocity (km/s)	Diameter (m)
2001 RQ17	2018-Sep-02	19.3 LD	8.3	107
2018 RN	2018-Sep-03	12.5 LD	9.8	62
2015 FP118	2018-Sep-03	12.3 LD	9.8	490
2018 QA	2018-Sep-03	17.5 LD	20.4	73
2018 RO	2018-Sep-05	5.8 LD	6.4	23
2018 RP	2018-Sep-05	3.8 LD	14.2	21
2018 RS	2018-Sep-05	0.3 LD	17.1	5
2018 RR	2018-Sep-06	2 LD	9	11
2018 RQ	2018-Sep-07	12.5 LD	13.3	40
2018 RF	2018-Sep-08	11.8 LD	13.3	44
2018 RC	2018-Sep-09	0.6 LD	5.3	42
2018 QU1	2018-Sep-11	10.9 LD	12.5	102
2017 SL16	2018-Sep-20	8.5 LD	6.4	25
2018 EB	2018-Oct-07	15.5 LD	15.1	155
2014 US7	2018-Oct-17	3.2 LD	8.7	19
2013 UG1	2018-Oct-18	10.4 LD	13.4	123
2016 GC221	2018-Oct-18	8.7 LD	14.4	39
475534	2018-Oct-29	7.5 LD	18.1	204
2002 VE68	2018-Nov-04	14.7 LD	8.6	282

Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach.

Cosmic Rays in the Atmosphere

SPACE WEATHER BALLOON DATA: Approximately once a week, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus fly space weather balloons to the stratosphere over California. These balloons are equipped with radiation sensors that detect cosmic rays, a surprisingly "down to Earth" form of space weather. Cosmic rays can seed clouds, trigger lightning, and penetrate commercial airplanes. Furthermore, there are studies ( #1, #2, #3, #4) linking cosmic rays with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in the general population. Our latest measurements show that cosmic rays are intensifying, with an increase of more than 18% since 2015:

The data points in the graph above correspond to the peak of the Reneger-Pfotzer maximum, which lies about 67,000 feet above central California. When cosmic rays crash into Earth's atmosphere, they produce a spray of secondary particles that is most intense at the entrance to the stratosphere. Physicists Eric Reneger and Georg Pfotzer discovered the maximum using balloons in the 1930s and it is what we are measuring today.

En route to the stratosphere, our sensors also pass through aviation altitudes:

In this plot, dose rates are expessed as multiples of sea level. For instance, we see that boarding a plane that flies at 25,000 feet exposes passengers to dose rates ~10x higher than sea level. At 40,000 feet, the multiplier is closer to 50x.

The radiation sensors onboard our helium balloons detect X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners.

Why are cosmic rays intensifying? The main reason is the sun. Solar storm clouds such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) sweep aside cosmic rays when they pass by Earth. During Solar Maximum, CMEs are abundant and cosmic rays are held at bay. Now, however, the solar cycle is swinging toward Solar Minimum, allowing cosmic rays to return. Another reason could be the weakening of Earth's magnetic field, which helps protect us from deep-space radiation.

Essential web links

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

The official U.S. government space weather bureau

Atmospheric Optics

The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena.

Solar Dynamics Observatory

Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever.

STEREO

3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.

Daily Sunspot Summaries

from the NOAA Space Environment Center

NOAA 27-Day Space Weather Forecasts

fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong.

Aurora 30 min forecast

from the NOAA Space Environment Center

Heliophysics

the underlying science of space weather

Spaceweather.com welcomes two supporters of science communication: SEO Phoenix AZ and CRAS, the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences.

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