#solarflares
HE STRONGEST #FLARE YET: Sunspot AR3842 exploded again today, producing the strongest #solarflare of Solar Cycle 25 so far. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the #X9.1-category blast:
#Radiation from the flare ionized the top of #Earth's atmosphere and caused a deep shortwave blackout over Africa and the South Atlantic. Ham radio operators in the area may have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 30 MHz for as much as a half an hour after 12:18 UTC.
Of greater interest is the #CME. Preliminary SOHO coronagraph images show a halo CME emerging from the blast site. This CME will probably strike Earth on Oct. 6th, adding its effect to that of an earlier CME expected to arrive on Oct. 4th. #Auroras are therefore likely this weekend.
#X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: #X8 1218 UT Oct03
24-hr: X8 1218 UT Oct03
#Om namah shivaya
A preliminary NASA model predicts it will hit #Earth on Oct. 5th.
#X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M3 0538 UT Oct02
24-hr: X6 2220 UT Oct01
Göran Strand photographed a rainbow-outburst of #auroras over Östersund, #Sweden:
#X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M1 1756 UT Sep13
24-hr: M5 0656 UT Sep13
#X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M6 1443 UT Sep12
24-hr: X1 0943 UT Sep12
NEW #SUNSPOT EMITS #X-FLARE: Earth-orbiting satellites detected a strong X1.3-class solar flare today (Sept. 12th @ 0943 UTC). It came from a new and apparently large sunspot emerging over the sun's southeastern limb. The sunspot is not facing Earth now, but it will be early next week,
The number of #sunspots has been increasing at an exponential rate for the past couple of months.
FARSIDE EXPLOSION CAUSES #RADIATION STORM: Protons are raining down on #Earth today following an explosion on the farside of the sun. It's an S1-class solar radiation storm. The farside blast hurled a magnificent #CME into space, recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):
Shockwaves in the leading edge of the CME accelerated the protons and scattered them throughout the solar system--even toward Earth on the opposite side of the sun. Our planet's magnetic field is capturing the particles and funneling them toward the poles, where they are causing a polar cap absorption event
X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M3 1708 UT Sep09
24-hr: M3 1708 UT Sep09
PUFF OF DARK #PLASMA IS HEADING FOR EARTH: A filament of magnetism erupted on the Sun Sept 8th. The blast hurled a coil of cool dark plasma toward #Earth:
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the explosion. The departing plume ripped a hole in the sun's atmosphere and formed the core of a coronal mass ejection (CME). NOAA models suggest that the #CME will reach Earth late on Sept. 10th, potentially sparking a G2-class geomagnetic storm.
X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M1 1530 UT Sep08
24-hr: M1 1530 UT Sep08
BIG ONE IS HEADING FOR VENUS: Yesterday, Sept. 1st, something exploded behind the sun's southeastern limb. The source of the blast was not visible, but it hurled a magnificent CME into space:
The #CME won't hit #Earth. Instead, it is heading for #Venus.
#X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M2 1343 UT Sep02
24-hr: M2 1343 UT Sep02
#RAINBOW AT #NIGHT: Have you ever seen a rainbow after dark? On Aug. 18th, Aaron Watson of Paonia, Colorado, saw two of them:
Rainbows appear when sunlight is reflected from falling raindrops. In this case, the sun was not required. "I woke up to the sound of rain with the nearly full Moon beaming through the window," says Watson. "It was the perfect recipe for a #moonbow."
In fact, it was a double moonbow. Single moonbows are caused by single reflections inside raindrops. Double moonbows like Watson saw are caused by double reflections. "It was vibrant and colorful even to the unaided eye and lasted several more minutes as it slowly faded," says Watson.
X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M1 0000 UT Aug19
24-hr: M1 0000 UT Aug19
#X-CLASS #SOLARFLARE: As predicted, strangely-magnetized sunspot AR3784 (described below) produced an X1-class solar flare today. The explosion was directly facing #Earth:
#Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a deep shortwave radio blackout over India and the Middle East: map. The explosion might have hurled a faint halo CME toward Earth, but the jury's still out.
X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M5 1549 UT Aug14
24-hr: X1 0640 UT Aug14
https://spaceweather.com/
X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: X1 1340 UT Aug05
24-hr: X1 1340 UT Aug05
BIG SUNSPOT ALERT: A big new sunspot group is emerging over the sun's southeastern limb. Designated AR3780, the active region appears to be growing. Based on its large size alone, the sunspot probably poses a threat for strong solar flares.
#auroras over Minnesota:
"My grandson is a huge space weather enthusiast and he was thrilled to watch the beautiful Northern Lights with me tonight," says photographer Greg Ash of Ely, MN. While Ash's family watched the display from Minnesota, photographic red auroras descended as far south as Nebraska.
Minor storming is expected to continue as Earth moves through the magnetized wake of these CMEs. Storm levels could jump to category G2 if another CME arrives on Aug. 1st,
THE #SUN IS LITERALLY CRACKLING WITH #FLARES: Seldom is the sun peppered with so many unstable sunspots. Today, there are at least 7 active regions capable of producing strong Earth-directed solar flares. This time-compressed movie shows the past 24 hours of explosions:
All of these are strong M-class solar flares. An even stronger X-flare may be in the offing with radio blackouts and perhaps a CME
X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M8 0709 UT Aug01
24-hr: M8 0709 UT Aug01
https://spaceweather.com/
#SUNSPOT #SUNSET: The source of all these CMEs is massive sunspot complex AR3764-67. Jan Koeman photographed them at sunset from the beach in Domburg, the #Netherlands:
"As Solar Max comes nearer, the solar disk is peppered with amazing sunspots," says Koeman. "No filter was needed to image these, together with the windmills in the North Sea."
Caution: Even when the sun is hanging low and dimmed by haze and smoke, it is still dangerous. Sunlight magnified by optics can damage your eyes. If you want to photograph the sun without a solar filter, use the camera's LCD screen as a viewfinder. Never look through the optics!
X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M1 1920 UT Jul30
24-hr: M6 1957 UT Jul29
ANTI-TAIL OF #COMET 12P: Comet tails are supposed to point away from the sun. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks just sprung a tail in the opposite direction--an anti-tail. It's the narrow spike pointing toward the sun in this picture taken June 1st by amateur astronomers Michael Jäger, Gerald Rhemann and Lukas Demetz:
Anti-tails are an optical illusion. They appear when Earth passes through a comet's orbital plane, which, for Comet 12P, is happening this week. During the crossing, the sharp edge of the comet's fan-shaped dust tail appears to point toward the sun.
"Earth crosses the comet's orbital plane on June 6th, so we will see this 'neck-line' structure for several more days," says Jäger.
Comet 12P (magn. +7) is not visible to the naked eye, but it is an easy target for amateur telescopes. Southern hemisphere astronomers can find the comet in the constellation Lepus about 20 degrees below the celestial equator. The antitail will narrow in the days ahead, reaching maximum sharpness on June 6th.
#X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: M2 0631 UT Jun04
#X-ray #SolarFlares
6-hr max: X1 1836 UT Jun01
NOAA forecasters remain confident that a CME will graze Earth's magnetic field on June 1st. It was hurled into space by an X1.4-flare on May 29th. The glancing blow could cause G2-class geomagnetic storms.
https://spaceweather.com/
