Solar and Aurora Activity Chat

[Polar Maritime]

CHANCE OF MINOR STORMS: NOAA forecasters estimate a 25% to 35% chance of minor geomagnetic storms on March 8-9 when a solar wind stream is expected to brush against Earth's magnetic field. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.http://www.spaceweather.com/

[gigabite]

This is a well put together essay about current solar activity and cooling in Europe.

[karyo]

It long last the sun is much quieter!

 

Karyo

[Polar Maritime]

 

CONTINUED CHANCE OF MINOR STORMS: NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of minor geomagnetic storms on March 9th when a solar wind stream is expected to brush against Earth's magnetic field. http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Polar Maritime]

 

CRACKLING SUNSPOT: The eastern limb of the sun is crackling with M-class flares. http://www.spaceweather.com/

Edited March 11, 2014 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

 

GROWING CHANCE OF FLARES: Sunspot AR2002 poses a growing threat for solar flares. Since the week began, the active region has more than tripled in size. It now has more than a dozen dark cores and sprawls across 100,000 km of solar terrain. http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Crepuscular Ray]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

 

Not sure how much it adds to any understanding, but it's an interesting watch nonetheless. 

[Polar Maritime]

M9.3 solar flare this evening around sunspot 1996 near the west limb.

 

[Polar Maritime]

 

ALMOST-X FLARE: Departing sunspot AR1996 erupted on March 12th at 2234 UT, producing an M9-category blast that almost crossed into X-territory. http://www.spaceweather.com/

Edited March 13, 2014 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

[Polar Maritime]

 

Also..

 

SOLAR 'SUPERSTORM' NARROWLY MISSES EARTH: The heliophysics communitty is buzzing today in response to an article in Nature Communications, which describes an intense solar storm that narrowly missed Earth almost two years ago. On July 23, 2012, a CME rocketed away from the sun at 2000 km/s, almost four times faster than a typical eruption. The storm tore through Earth orbit, but fortunately Earth wasn't there. Instead it hit the STEREO-A spacecraft, which experienced the most intense solar proton storm since 1976. Researchers have been analyzing the data ever since, and they have concluded that the storm was akin to the Carrington Event of 1859. "Had it hit Earth, it probably would have been like the big one in 1859," says Janet Luhmann of UC Berkeley, a co-author of the paper. "The effect today [on] our modern technologies would have been tremendous."  http://www.spaceweather.com/

Edited March 20, 2014 by Polar Maritime

[Crepuscular Ray]

Anyone in Shetland or Orkney got clear skies? According to NOAA via spaceweather.com there might be something visible.

[Polar Maritime]

 

SOLAR FLARE CAUSES RARE 'MAGNETIC CROCHET': On March 29th at 17:52 UT, the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR1890 erupted, producing a brief but intense X1-class solar flare. http://www.spaceweather.com/

Edited March 30, 2014 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

[Polar Maritime]

[Polar Maritime]

 

M6-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Northern sunspot AR2027 erupted on April 2nd at 14:05 UT, producing a significant M6-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet blast:http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Polar Maritime]

INCOMING CMEs: A pair of CMEs that left the sun on April 1st and 2nd have probably merged and will deliver a combined glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field late on April 4th. NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of geomagnetic storms in reponse to the impact. http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Polar Maritime]

Just some auroras in Iceland..

 

http://vimeo.com/90536368

Edited April 4, 2014 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

QUIETING SUN: When the weekend began, several sunspots had tension-filled magnetic fields that posed a threat for Earth-directed eruptions. Now, however, those magnetic fields have relaxed, and the chance of flares is dropping. Solar activity should remain low for the next 24 hours. http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Polar Maritime]

[Polar Maritime]

Northern UK have a good chance of sightings tonight, Bz well South..

 

[Polar Maritime]

M7.3 solar flare this morning around region 2036.

 

[Polar Maritime]

[Polar Maritime]

CHANCE OF STORMS: A CME propelled toward Earth by the M7-class solar flare of April 18th is still en route to our planet. Forecast models predict an arrival on April 20th with a 75% chance of polar geomagnetic storms after it hits. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory captured this image of the storm cloud billowigg away from the sun at ~1000 km/s (2.2 million mph):

 

 

http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Polar Maritime]

Talmine Bay (Sutherland) Scotland last night (21/04/14), faint aurora on the left.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Polar Maritime