Monday, September 30, 2013

MAGNIFICENT FILAMENT ERUPTION Class C1 2 CME HD

 
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Around 21 UT, 9/29/2013 a filament erupted from the northwest quadrant of the sun. It started from the surface with a size of about 30-50 Earths or ~380,000-640,000 kilometers. By the time it left the SDO field-of-view it was easily twice that or roughly the diameter of the sun in length. The eruption produced a C1.2 solar flare as it ripped magnetic fields away from solar plasma. The 2 lines of brightening either side of where the filament lifted-off from are called two-ribbon flares. The resulting CME was first observed in the STEREO Behind Cor2 and SOHO LASCO C3 coronagraphs. The initial speed estimate was ~850 km/s or ~3 million kph. This gives the CME a NASA GSFC Space Weather Research Center (SWRC) SCORE of C-type or common.The event also produced an increase in solar energetic protons for which NOAA issued an S1 solar particle...
NOAA/The Sun Today
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Friday, August 23, 2013

Polar Magnetic Storm 2 CMEs to Impact Earth 2013 08 23 HD

  
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Two CMEs are heading for Earth. The plasma clouds were expelled from the sun on August 20-21 by a pair of erupting magnetic filaments. NOAA forecasters expect the CMEs to arrive on August 23-24, possibly sparking geomagnetic storms around the poles.

ANOTHER SUNDIVING COMET: Here we go again. Another comet is diving into the sun, the second one this week. Coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) are monitoring the death plunge:
The icy comet, which probably measures a few 10s of meters wide, is vaporizing furiously and is not expected to survive much longer.
Like the comet that came before it, this one is a member of the Kreutz family. Kreutz sungrazers are fragments from the breakup of a single giant comet many centuries ago. They get their name from 19th century German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz, who studied them in detail.
Because of their common parentage, sungrazers often come in clusters. After today's sungrazer evaporates, it wouldn't be surprising to find yet another in the offing. Stay tuned.

Monday, August 12, 2013

2013 08 12 class M1 5 Flare Streaming Towards Earth



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This weekend the 10th & 11th of August wasn't a moderate geomagnetic storm as we had expected (see previous post Geomagnetic Storm Watch 2013 08 10 11 HD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zUj3SWQQsY )  maybe because the CME had missed earth altogether or it hasn't arrived yet.
But we did get a moderate solar flare C8.4 at 21:58 UTC Sunday evening and a more intense flare class M1.5 around Sunspot 1817 in the southern hemisphere. These two solar flares are geoeffective. The M1.5 class created a wave of ionization in the upper atmosphere above Europe and might have hurled a coronal mass ejection toward Earth.
More M class flares and CMEs can be expected from the growing sunspot 1817.
Also more solar wind to inundate the earth's magnetosphere on August 16-17th is from a new gigantic coronal hole.
Thank you for watching and hope to see you again soon :)

Friday, August 9, 2013



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Filament Eruption and CME
An eruptive filament generated a partial halo coronal mass ejection on Wednesday evening. The latest analysis by the Goddard Space Flight Center is calling for an impact to our geomagnetic field by early on August 11th. The latest NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center update is calling for an indirect impact by late on August 10th. This latest plasma cloud is in addition to an earlier CME that was also somewhat directed towards Earth. Minor geomagnetic storming will be possible this weekend should the plasma clouds sweep past Earth.

Geomagnetic Storm Watch
An elevated solar wind stream flowing from a narrow Coronal Hole (CH) is currently streaming past Earth. This in itself is not expected to stir up much in the way of geomagnetic activity, but should the first of two possible CMEs deliver an expected glancing blow within the next 24 hours, minor G1 geomagnetic storming at high latitudes could unfold due to the combined effects. A second CME could deliver another glancing blow by August 11th. Both were the result of filament eruptions.

WATCH: Geomagnetic Storm Category G1 Predicted
Highest Storm Level Predicted by Day:
Aug 09: None (Below G1) Aug 10: G1 (Minor) Aug 11: G1 (Minor)
Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 60
degrees
Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Weak power grid fluctuations can occur.
Spacecraft - Minor impact on satellite operations possible.
Aurora - Aurora may be visible at high latitudes, i.e., northern tier of the U.S. such as northern Michigan and Maine.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Special Edition Impending Geomagnetic Storm HD

 
Something different and out of my comfort niche. Probably not to be repeated since I prefer just to do the science but it can be said I had given it a shot eh. Besides I have a mic that makes me sound like I have a lisp. I have no lisp or should I say lithp lol.
Once in a while would be ok but probably not all the time.

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Magnetic fields in the sun's northern hemisphere have opened up, forming a coronal hole now having turned towards earth.
Coronal holes are places in the sun's atmosphere where the magnetic field bends back and allows the solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this particular coronal hole will reach Earth on August 3-4. Its impact could spark a minor geomagnetic storm, so high-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.


A faint Coronal Mass Ejection was observed yesterday following a filament eruption in the southwest quadrant. According to the latest WSA-Enlil Solar Wind Prediction model, a glancing blow impact will be possible by August 5th. Another model released by the Goddard Space Flight Center shows the plasma cloud missing to the west. Updates will be provided when necessary.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Special Edition IRIS First Light HD

  


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As the telescope door opened on July 17, 2013, IRIS’s single instrument began to observe the sun in exceptional detail. IRIS’s first images showed a multitude of thin, fibril-like structures that have never been seen before, revealing enormous contrasts in density and temperature occur throughout this region even between neighboring loops that are only a few hundred miles apart. The images also show spots that rapidly brighten and dim, which provide clues to how energy is transported and absorbed throughout the region.

Friday, July 19, 2013

19 07 2013 Geomagnetic Storm HD

 
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A faint CME from July 16th is delivering a glancing blow to our geomagnetic field late on July 18th/19. This in itself is not expected to cause storming, however when you factor in the coronal hole solar wind stream expected to arrive at nearly the same time, this could help generate minor geomagnetic storming at high latitudes.
The solar wind carries with it the magnetic field of the Sun. This magnetic field or the IMF (interplanetary magnetic field) has a particular orientation - southward or northward. If the IMF of the solar wind is southward and the solar wind crosses the Earth for long periods of time, geomagnetic storms can be expected.

The southward IMF causes magnetic and particle energy to be injected into the Earth's magnetosphere creating storms.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

10 07 2013 CME IMPACT -- GEOMAGNETIC STORM HD

  
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A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) swept past Earth on Tuesday afternoon. The ACE Spacecraft detected an interplanetary shock at 19:58 UTC. A geomagnetic sudden impulse measuring 25nT was detected at 20:49 UTC. This signaled the passage of the IP shock past our planet. The initial impact was weak, however a south tilting solar wind / Bz component aided in raising geomagnetic activity.

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Monday, June 3, 2013

A Special Presentation Geomagnetic/Radioactive Storms - 06 03 2013 HD

  


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On June 2nd at a high-speed (700 km/s) solar wind stream buffets Earth's magnetic field. The warning comes on the heels of a lengthy G2-class geomagnetic storm on May 31- and again June 1 sparked by the arrival of an interplanetary shock wave. The source of the shock is unknown. Although I do suspect it is from the coronal holes themselves. Current speculation focuses on a corotating interaction region (CIR)--that is, a shock-like transition zone between high- and low-speed solar wind streams. Whatever it was, the impact ignited some beautiful auroras,

June 1st, Northern Lights spilled across the Canadian border into more than a dozen US states, turning the sky purple and green as far south as Colorado and Nebraska. Subscribers to the Space Weather Alert System knew the storm was coming, but others were surprised:
Aurora Over Crater Lake National Park, OR
Taken by Brad Goldpaint on June 1, 2013 @ Crater Lake National Park, OR
Aurora
Taken by Robert Farrimond on May 31, 2013 @ Vantage, Washington

As solar maximum nears its peak we are anticipating whatever our heightened imagination can visualize.

Here is a little preview of the magnetic storm, solar flares at immense speed racing towards earth we can expect.

In which this event actually happened not too long ago last year in March 2012 with a CME at class M.8.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Solar Cycle 24 Delivers a Class X3.2 CME HD

  



The most powerful flare to date - Solar Maximum does not disappoint.
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Update from yesterdays class X1.7 and class X2.8 coronal ejection.
All other visible sunspot regions appear to be stable at this time. There will remain a chance for moderate M-Class solar flares and perhaps another isolated X-Class event within the next 24-48 hours, particularly around Sunspot 11748.