Tag Archives: sunspots

Latest Solar Activity

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SOLAR ERUPTION: A teepee-shaped magnetic prominence that solar astronomers had been monitoring for days erupted this morning. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the action:

Although much of the prominence fell back to the sun, some of the structure did fly into space, producing a coronal mass ejection. SOHO coronagraphs of the CME show that it is propagating up and out of the plane of the solar system: movie. Probably no planet will be hit by the expanding cloud

ANd then, there is this to consider also:

CALM BEFORE THE STORM? Solar activity remains generally low, but the quiet is unlikely to persist with so many sunspots turning toward Earth. NOAA forecaters estimate a 30% chance of M-class solar flares during the next 24 hours.

this is all from:   spaceweather.com

10/01 Double Sunspot Eruption

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DOUBLE ERUPTION: On October 1st around 10:17 UT, widely-spaced sunspots 1302 and 1305 erupted in quick succession, revealing a long-distance entanglement which was not obvious before. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded the double blast:

Since it was launched in 2010, SDO has observed many “entangled eruptions.” Active regions far apart but linked by magnetic fields can explode one after another, with disturbances spreading around the stellar surface domino-style. Saturday’s eruption appears to be the latest example.

The part of the eruption centered on sunspot 1305 hurled a coronal mass ejection toward Earth. The relatively slow-moving (500 km/s) cloud is expected to reach our planet on Oct. 4th or 5th, possibly causing geomagnetic storms when it arrives. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

fr/spaceweather.com

Static from the Sun

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SOLAR STATIC: Active sunspot 1302 has turned the sun into a shortwave radio transmitter. Shock waves rippling from the sunspot’s exploding magnetic canopy are exciting plasma oscillations in the sun’s atmosphere. The result: Bursts of static are issuing from the loudspeakers of shortwave radios on Earth. Amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft recorded this sample from his backyard observatory in New Mexico on Sept. 24th:


Dynamic spectrum: The horizontal axis is time (h:m:s), the vertical axis is frequency (MHz). Image credit: Wes Greenman

“Saturday was a super-strong solar day with near continuous flaring and radio sweeps,” says Ashcraft. “The sound file (above) corresponds to an M3 flare at 1918 UTC. It was the strongest radio sweep of the observing day.”

“Try listening to the radio bursts in stereo,” he advises. “I was recording on two separate radios at 21.1 MHz and 21.9 MHz, and I put each one into its own channel of the audio file. This gives a spatial dimension as the bursts sweep down in frequency.”

fr/spaceweather.com

Sunspot Report

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GEOMAGNETIC STORM WARNING: A pair of closely-spaced CMEs propelled by explosions of sunspot AR1302 on Sept. 24th are heading not-quite directly toward Earth. A significant glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field is possible on Sept. 26th around 14:00 UT (+/- 7 hours). NOAA forecasters estimate a ~25% chance of geomagnetic storms when the clouds arrive. [CME forecast track] Aurora alerts:text, voice.

STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY: Having already unleashed two X-flares since Sept. 22nd, sunspot AR1302 appears ready for more. The active region has a complex “beta-gamma-delta” magnetic field that harbors energy for strong M- and X-classeruptions. Flares from AR1302 will become increasingly geoeffective as the sunspot turns toward Earth in the days ahead.

Marko Posavec of Koprivnica, Croatia, photographed the behemoth sunspot between flares on Sept. 24th:


Photo details: Olympus E-510, Sigma 50-500mm lens (at 500mm), 1/640 sec. exposure, f/18, ISO 100

“Sunspot complex 1302 is incredibly easy to spot at sunrise or sunset,” says Posavec. “Be careful, though. Even the low-hanging sun is bright enough to damage your eyes if you look at it through optics of any kind.”

New Active Sunspot

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ACTIVE SUNSPOT: New sunspot AR1295 is emerging over the sun’s northeastern limb and crackling with solar flares. The strongest so far, a C9.9-category blast, did something remarkable. Click on the arrow to watch an extreme ultraviolet movie from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory:

In the movie, the underlying explosion (marked by the flash of extreme UV radiation) hurls material upward. The ejecta crashes into a loop of magnetism above the sunspot, stretching the loop until the material breaks free. Coronagraph images from the STEREO-A spacecraft confirm that a cloud of plasma (a CME) left the scene.

This sunspot will not turn toward Earth for several days. Until then, CMEs leaving AR1295 should continue to miss our planet.

from:  http://spaceweather.com

An Eye on the Sun

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Eye-shaped sunspot group facing planet, Earth directed flares possible

Published on September 5, 2011 9:15 am PT
– By Jim Duran – Writer
– Article Editor and Approved – Ron Jackson


Click for larger image

(TheWeatherSpace.com) — The sun has a sunspot group that is facing our planet today and any large flares would be directed at us.

The field has a beta field which could harbor M-Class solar flares. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center is monitoring for changes in the field.

The interesting thing about this one is the shape of it. We know the Sun does not have eyes, but took a look at the image caught today. The sunspot group has an eyelid and eyeball shape. Pretty interesting huh!

fr/http://www.theweatherspace.com/news/TWS-09_05_2011_sunspot.html

Sunspot Morphing

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SHAPE-SHIFTING SUNSPOT: Every time you look, sunspot 1271 has a new outline. For the past two days the active region has been in a constant state of change, altering its shape on an hourly basis. Click on the image for 48 hours of shape-shifting:

These rapid changes have caused the sunspot’s magnetic field to criss-cross and tangle. The magnetic field now has a “beta-gamma” configuration that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Any such flares today would be approximately Earth-directed because the sunspot is not far from disk-center.

Sunspot 1271 is so big, it’s catching the attention of observers unaided bysolar telescopes. Sarah E. Baur of Anaconda, Montana, noticed it yesterday through the smoke of a nearby fire:

“Our small town was inundated with smoke from surrounding forest fires,” says Baur. “At 6:30 pm the sun appeared in and out through the thick smoke making a great photo op. I realized after viewing the shots on my monitor that sunspot 1271 is also visible.”

New Sunspot

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EMERGING SUNSPOT: A big new sunspot is emerging over the sun’s northeastern limb. AR1271 has at least four dark cores and it is crackling with small flares. The sunspot’s entrance was captured in this 24-hour movie from the Solar Dynamics Observatory:

NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of M-class solar flares during the next 24 hours. Because of its location near the sun’s limb, AR1271 does not yet pose a threat for Earth-directed eruptions. This could change in the days ahead, however, as the sunspot turns to face our planet.

fr/http://spaceweather.com/

Increased Potential for Sunspot Activity

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CHANCE OF FLARES: Sunspot 1260 has developed a delta-class magnetic field that harbors energy for powerful X-class solar flares. Such an eruption today would be Earth-directed as the sunspot turns to face our planet. (continued below)


Note: In yesterday’s news item, sunspot 1263 was mislabeled 1262.

Sunspot 1260 is leading a parade of big sunspots across the solar disk–one of the finest displays of solar activity in years. Even the smallest dark cores in these sunspot groups are as wide as planets, and they are crackling with C-class flares. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.

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