Solar and Aurora Activity Chat

[kar999]

_{Damn... Missed the alerts from Aurora UK... for some reason they only came in by email rather than Text and I was already zzzzzzzzzzzzz..}

_{Good show in N Ireland and Cumbria... as posted above}

Edited April 24, 2012 by kar999

[shuggee]

Scottish magnetometer went off the scale around 1am - aurora overhead. Like you PM - clouded out here, and no access to a car last night

[shuggee]

Same again this evening - worth a look north if you have clear skies from northern England northward. Thick cloud here.

[Polar Maritime]

Same here again Shuggee, just to cloudy.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Earth is passing through the wake of a CME, and this is causing geomagnetic storms at high latitudes. Last night, auroras were spotted in more than a dozen US states including Michigan, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, and Colorado. Here is what the sky looked like over Grand Portage, Minnesota:

"The auroras were incredible!" says photographer Travis Novitsky.

Europeans witnessed a good show, too: "My girlfriend and I were on the Co. Antrim coast of Northern Ireland, and the auroras we saw were sublime!" reports Martin McKenna. "It's the best I've seen here since 2005, with vertical green pillars of light some 60 degrees high accompanied by amazing pulsating motions like the beating of a heart. We could even see the beams reflecting on the ocean forming their own glitter paths - what a night!"

The storm is subsiding now. Nevertheless, high-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras as a fast solar wind stream continues to buffet Earth's magnetic field. http://www.spaceweather.com/

Jon Cooper Image taken: Apr. 24, 2012 Location: Hardendale, near Shap, Cumbria, United Kingdom Details: The cloud eventually cleared to give me part two of tonight's aurora. The stratus just made the sky look bigger with the aurora behind it. Fairly faint to the naked eye, but the pillars of light were often very easy to see - they just kept coming. Pentax K-r iso 3200 20s 18mm

Paul Kerr Image taken: Apr. 23, 2012 Location: Ballyliffin Co. Donegal, Ireland Details: Paul Kerr and Mark Doherty Taken with a canon 500d 50 seconds @f3.5 iso 800 around 10.30 the auroras really picked up. we could see pillars of white light

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuqvvBKf1Rg

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=maDXw2oKhNs

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsCF_Y61UTI

Edited April 25, 2012 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

The Kp index has been increasing and NOAA currently has it at 6. This may be the result of Monday's CME. NOAA has the geomagnetic storm level at G1 but it might now be G2. If you are out in higher latitudes keep an eye out for aurora. Here is the current aurora oval prediction. Aurora could be observable down to the red line tonight, if sky's clear....

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A mild (Kp=5) geomagnetic storm is underway. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. The source of this activity is a high-speed solar wind stream buffeting Earth's magnetic field. Aurora alerts: text, phone.

This is the third day in a row that geomagnetic storms have circled the poles. On April 23-24, auroras were spotted in more than a dozen US states including Michigan, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Colorado. In Anchorage, Alaska, even the midnight sun could not completely overwhelm the Northern Lights:

"I didn't think I would get another glimpse of the auroras this season because of the increasing daylight," says photographer Ryan Delos Reyes, "but this was a spectacular show."

More auroras may be in the offing. A minor CME is en route to Earth, due to arrive on April 26th. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% to 30% chance of geomagnetic storms. http://www.spaceweather.com/

Edited April 26, 2012 by Polar Maritime

[pottyprof]

Some stunning video from the last few days of geomagnetic storms.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/41065458

Brilliant soundtrack too.

[Polar Maritime]

Thanks for posting, fantastic show and yes the music choice was spot on to!

AURORA WATCH: Earth's magnetic field is reverberating from three days of buffeting by a high-speed solar wind stream. Since April 23rd, auroras have been photographed in more than a dozen US states including Michigan, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, Washington, and of course Alaska. Kameron Barge sends this picture from the North Fork of the Flathead River in Glacier National Park, Montana:

More auroras may be in the offing. A minor CME is en route to Earth, due to arrive on April 26th. The impact of the cloud will add to the ongoing effect of the solar wind, boosting the chances of another display. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% to 30% chance of geomagnetic storms during the next 24 hours. Aurora alerts: text, phone.

more images: from Zoltan Kenwell east of Edmonton, Alberta Canada; from Stephan Hoglund of Grand Marais Minesota; from Janusz Jakub Kuc of Horn Head, Co. Donegal, Ireland; from Tyler Scholle of Point no Point, Washington; from Kari Zoellner of Wasilla, Alaska

FARSIDE BLAST: For more than a week, solar activity has been low. Today, around 0600 UT, an active region on the farside of the sun broke the calm with a powerful eruption. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a massive cloud of plasma flying over the southwestern limb:

A coronal mass ejection emerging from the blast site will certainly miss Earth, but it might hit Mercury. Stay tuned for further analysis of the cloud's trajectory. http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Polar Maritime]

CHANCE OF FLARES: Sunspot AR1465 has developed a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of M-class eruptions during the next 24 hours. Because the active region is located on the Earthside of the sun, any flares from AR1465 will likely be geoeffective.

Even without a strong eruption from AR1465, ionization waves are already rippling through Earth's upper atmosphere. Dave Gradwell of Birr, Ireland, recorded a series of sudden ionospheric disturbances (SIDs) on April 27th:

Low-level flares from several sunspot groups (especially 1465, 1466 and 1467) are strobing the atmosphere with ionizing radiation. Using a VLF receiver, Gradwell detected their effect on the propagation of radio signals transmitted from France. So far the disturbances have been relatively weak, but this could change if AR1465 unleashes a more potent eruption over the weekend. http://www.spaceweather.com/

Edited April 28, 2012 by Polar Maritime

[cooling climate]

Solar activity continues at low levels even very low levels at times with just the occasional spike

in activity. I would not be surprised to see a blank sun at some point later in the year.

As far as solar max is concerned I think we will see another three or four spikes and that will be it

for cycle 24.

Pure conjecture of course but the sun is no where near as active as it should be so close to

max so who knows.

[karyo]

Solar activity continues at low levels even very low levels at times with just the occasional spike

in activity. I would not be surprised to see a blank sun at some point later in the year.

As far as solar max is concerned I think we will see another three or four spikes and that will be it

for cycle 24.

Pure conjecture of course but the sun is no where near as active as it should be so close to

max so who knows.

Yes, I am surprised about how quiet it is. There is not much difference to last year although we are closer to the maximum for this cycle.

Karyo

[Polar Maritime]

The Kp index is quiet, But solar activity is certainly not with 5 active sunspots , and a new one emerging and growing. Cycle 24 is not expected to peak untill May 2013.

I would be very surprised to see a spotless sun this year.

Also with the suns magnetic disturbance at the moment, this has also got to have some effect on activity? maybe a lag effect..

[cooling climate]

We have come very close to a spotless sun three times already this year. See graph below.

Also solar activity reported to be low to very low week in week out on solar cycle 24.com

(solar ham.com) with only B and low level C flares taking place.The solar flux which gives

a better guide to how active solar activity is has since early February been mostly around

the 100-120 range with it dipping recently down to below a 100 although a recent spike

has seen it up to the 170 range before dipping again as you will see from the graph.

[Polar Maritime]

[Scorcher]

Spotless Days

Current Stretch: 0 days

2012 total: 0 days (0%)

2011 total: 2 days (<1%)

2010 total: 51 days (14%)

2009 total: 260 days (71%)

Since 2004: 821 days

Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Data from SpaceWeather.com

No spotless days at all so far this year and currently 99 sunspots. I don't check very often but this seems to be more than the other times I've checked this year.

[Polar Maritime]

MARS-DIRECTED CME: A minor CME that left the sun during the late hours of April 28th is heading for Mars. En route, it will sweep past the Mars Science Lab spacecraft, which is carrying Curiosity to the Red Planet. According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the GSFC, the cloud will reach the rover on May 4th. Fortunately, Curiosity is equipped to sense and study solar storms:

.

http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Polar Maritime]

[Polar Maritime]

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2qax0vdAyM&list=UUIp0KTgnQNZJIOQZqrVDw1g&index=1&feature=plcp

Edited May 1, 2012 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

[Polar Maritime]

SUNSPOT MIRAGE: Yesterday, May 1st, when the sun rose over Veszprem, Hungary, big sunspot AR1471 split into three pieces. "It was a mirage--the strongest I I have ever seen!" says Monika Landy-Gyebnar, who photographed the apparition:

Landy-Gyebnar explains how she arranged this photo-op: "We had a nice, clear and windless morning. I set up my camera where I could see the sun rising over a cold valley where fog often collects; it is a location colder then its surroundings. I hoped the inversion layer at the valley would provide some distortion--and indeed it did. The image I saw when sun appeared was incredible!"

The entire event lasted no more than a few minutes, "but it seemed to be a century to me!" she says. A short animation of the mirage may be found here. http://www.spaceweather.com/

[jonboy]

Spotless Days

Current Stretch: 0 days

2012 total: 0 days (0%)

2011 total: 2 days (<1%)

2010 total: 51 days (14%)

2009 total: 260 days (71%)

Since 2004: 821 days

Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Data from SpaceWeather.com

No spotless days at all so far this year and currently 99 sunspots. I don't check very often but this seems to be more than the other times I've checked this year.

However if you look at the layman's sunspot count which mirrors the methods used during the last minimum then you will see there has been 3 spotlees daays in the last two months. The sun is very quiet especially as we are surposed to be in the active phase of the cycle. I to would expect even spaceweather.com to record a spotless day this year.

[Polar Maritime]

Here is the latest.

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL8AUTzjXoQ&list=UUIp0KTgnQNZJIOQZqrVDw1g&index=1&feature=plcp

And i thought i would throw this in from NASA.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrh51o4a704&list=UUIp0KTgnQNZJIOQZqrVDw1g&index=1&feature=plcp

Coronal Holes: 03 May 12

Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole should reach Earth on or about May 9th. Credit: SDO/AIA.

Edited May 3, 2012 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

Hare is todays jazzy update, with some info on the super moon this weekend to...

Edited May 4, 2012 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

Interesting days ahead !

Edited May 5, 2012 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]