CME IMPACT: An interplanetary shock wave (probably the leading edge of a CME) hit Earth’s magnetic field on Nov. 12th at approximately 2300 UT, filling skies over northern Scandinavia with bright auroras. Oskar Pettersson sends this picture from Luleå, Sweden:
“Half of the sky was green and I stayed out for 5 hours observing the dancing light befor heading home,” says Pettersson.
from: spaceweather.com
MINOR CME IMPACT: A minor CME hit Earth’s magnetic field on Oct. 31st around 1500 UT. Polar geomagnetic storms are possible in the hours ahead.
fr/spaceweather.com
SLOW ERUPTION: The magnetic canopy of a sunspot group just over the sun’s southwestern limb slowly erupted on Oct. 28th. When the hours-long eruption was over, this bright arcade formed over the blast site, marking the location where the explosion occured:
Arcade loops appear after many solar flares. It is how the magnetic fields of sunspots settle down after a significant eruption. This particular eruption hurled a massive CME into space, but Earth was not in the line of fire.
fr/spaceweather.com
MAGNETIC FROTH: Sunspot AR1598 has quieted down since unleashing an X1-class solar flare on Oct. 23rd. It might be the calm before the storm. The sunspot is still large and apparently potent, as shown in this image captured by amateur astronomer Sergio Castillo of Inglewood,California:
Castillo used a telescope capped with a “Calcium K” filter tuned to the light of ionized calcium atoms in the sun’s lower atmosphere. Calcium K filters highlight the bright magnetic froth that sometimes forms around a sunspot’s dark core. AR1598 is very frothy indeed.
Magnetic froth does not necessarily herald an explosion, but it does guarantee a photogenic sunspot
fr/spaceweather.com
ALMOST-X FLARE: Today at 1814 UT, Earth-orbiting satellites detected an impulsive M9-class solar flare. The source was an active region just behind the sun’s southeastern limb. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash: image. Radio blackouts and ionization waves in the upper atmosphere are possible on the dayside of Earth as a result of this event. Stay tuned for updates.
from: spaceweather.com
LIGHTBULB ERUPTION: Sunspot AR1593, now emerging over the sun’s northeastern limb, doesn’t look very impressive. Yet two days ago it unleashed a very impressive eruption. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a glowing bulb of plasma more than 100,000 miles across on Oct. 14th:
The eruption occurred while AR1593 was still on the farside of the sun, so Earth was not in the line of fire. Next time could be different. AR1593 will spend the next ~12 days facing our planet, setting the stage for geoeffective blasts if the sunspot erupts again.
fr/spaceweather.com
ADVANCING SUNSPOTS: For the past two weeks, solar activity has been relatively low. Now, a change is in the offing. The farside of the sun is peppered with sunspots, and some of them are beginning to turn toward Earth. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed this pair of active regions advancing over the eastern limb during the early hours of Oct. 11th:
Underlying each nest of glowing magnetic loops is a dark sunspot that poses a threat for solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of M-class solar flares and a 5% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.
fr/spaceweather.com
ACTIVE SUNSPOT: A sunspot, currently located on the farside of the sun, is about to emerge over the sun’s southeastern limb. It is crackling with M-class solar flares and could bring a significant uptick in solar activity.
fr/spaceweather.com
EARTH-DIRECTED CME: Magnetic fields near sunspot AR1582 slowly erupted on Oct 5th sparking a B7-class solar flare and hurling a CME toward Earth. The Solar and Heliosphere Observatory (SOHO) captured this image of the expanding cloud:
Although Earth is in the line of fire, it won’t be a direct hit. Instead, the CME will deliver a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of polar geomagnetic storms when the cloud arrives on Oct. 8th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras especially during the hours around local midnight.
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