Solar Activity Watch 2012

Well the Northern Lights were simply amazing last night, more than I could have wished for. In Girdwood it was beautiful, green veils of light shifting and flowing across the skies above us. We could even see them from our bedroom window lying in bed. There was still too much light pollution even in our tiny town, so my 10 year old and I drove down to the unpopulated Portage Valley. We went a few miles into the Valley and parked. Perfectly clear with a moonlit mountain ring 360 degrees around us. Not a sign of humanity to be seen in any direction save the road under our feet and even it was covered in snow. It was only 3 degrees and so silent that we could hear the cracks of frozen trees miles in the distance. We stepped out of the car and above us stretching the length of the sky a waving and flowing curtain of green, red and yellow that looked more like a movie special effect than reality. Sharp spires of light appearing and disappearing at will. Solar winds blowing and moving the light as if it were simply fabric hanging in the sky. Words could not describe how amazingly beautiful it was. It was a great experience!

No pics though I will try next time. Which could be tonight if it stays cloudless.

reply to post by SCGrits

The radiation storm wouldn't affect cell phones and I doubt they would affect broadcast TV. These both use line of sight communications. The radiation storm is the spike in proton flux and really only affects satellites. The radio blackouts which occur as a result of solar flares only really affect high frequency radio transmissions which travel through (and bounce around it) the ionosphere.

Yes, the effects of the proton storm are very apparent on SOHO images.

reply to post by Phage


Thank you, Sir. I appreciate your input, and am off to read the link.

Originally posted by Phage
The onset of a minor radiation storm was announced at 05:25 UTC.
It looks like the CME will arrive on March 8-9. Looks like it could be a strong one.
www.swpc.noaa.gov...

So why a bigger radiation storm from a smaller flare than the August/2011 one?

Originally posted by intergalactic fire

Great video but the magnetic poles did - not - flip on our sun in February like they

were suppose to. I expect to see - glancing blows - to Earth all year long.

In other words, we have nothing to worry about.

2012 will be very boring.

GOES looks to be on the uptick...
im not sure which line is the one to watch to be honest.. might be worth watching?

well that sunspot looks like its given us some big flares once again...
www.swpc.noaa.gov...

m6.2 maybe something bigger??

im not seeing it into the x range yet?
neither the red or blue line are out of m range at the point i see.
are you guessing..
im asking... just genuinely curious.

Originally posted by mandms33
im not seeing it into the x range yet?
neither the red or blue line are out of m range at the point i see.
are you guessing..
im asking... just genuinely curious.

meant to put m6.2 sorry

reply to post by steve95988

M6.2, As the chart shows.

Can't be sure but region 1429 is the likely candidate in which case a CME would likely be Earth directed. If one occurred.

ETA: yep.

At 08:51 UT
Wind Speed: 933 km/s
Proton Density: 5.72 p/cm3

933 km/s, never seen that high before.

Anyone notice this impressive dive in cosmic ray variation?

Source

reply to post by relocator


What could have caused such dive?

I think we all need to go back to college and get a degree is Heliophysics.

The textbooks are already printed.

A backhand slap from end of solar storm

xfinity.comcast.net...

A short report on what happened overnight

reply to post by relocator

Most likely a data processing "event". It's been seen before and gets corrected.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by relocator

 

Most likely a data processing "event". It's been seen before and gets corrected.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I'll have to agree with this.

The real-time magnetosphere simulation seems to be back up and running.

quote
"Scientists say that's because the magnetic part of the storm flipped direction."
unquote

Sure its not the " flip " ?

Me.

Originally posted by BobAthome
quote
"Scientists say that's because the magnetic part of the storm flipped direction."
unquote

Sure its not the " flip " ?

Me.

Spaceweather tells me all i need to know. The speed is the critical factor.

Another CME heading towards Earth . M6 - class It will take 50 hours to get here.

The Carrington Event took only 18 hours to get here.

Why the media blitz on every CME? It's almost as if they are crying wolf on purpose.

Hmmm.......

STRONG SOLAR FLARE ALERT: A strong solar flare reaching M8.4 took place at 17:44 UTC Saturday afternoon. The flare was centered around AR11429. Stay Tuned to SolarHam.com for the latest information.

Updated 3/10/2012 @ 19:40 UTC Sunspot 1429 Flares Again Sunspot 1429 is back at it again, this time with a strong M8.4 Solar Flare peaking at 17:44 UTC. This event triggered and R2 Level Radio Blackout and a Type IV Sweep Frequency Event was detected as well.

A bright Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) was produced and is most likely headed this way. Movie presentation is now below. You can also follow this website and all of the latest solar news on SolarHam Facebook by clicking "LIKE". ALERT: Type IV Radio Emission Begin Time: 2012 Mar 10 1729 UTC Description: Type IV emissions occur in association with major eruptions on the sun and are typically associated with strong coronal mass ejections and solar radiation storms. SUMMARY: 10cm Radio Burst Begin Time: 2012 Mar 10 1722 UTC Maximum Time: 2012 Mar 10 1802 UTC End Time: 2012 Mar 10 1822 UTC Duration: 60 minutes Peak Flux: 459 sfu Description: A 10cm radio burst indicates that the electromagnetic burst associated with a solar flare at the 10cm wavelength was double or greater than the initial 10cm radio background.

This can be indicative of significant radio noise in association with a solar flare. This noise is generally short-lived but can cause interference for sensitive receivers including radar, GPS, and satellite communications.

source(solarham.com...

Another one,

SOLAR FLARE ALERT: A strong solar flare reaching M7.9 is currently in progress. More information to follow.

Added 3/12/2012 @ 17:28 UTC Strong Solar Flare Detected Just when you think things are getting quiet, the Sun says not so fast.
A strong solar flare reaching M7.9 is currently in progress around Sunspot 1429. An R2 Radio Blackout resulted. Stay Tuned for more updates.
You can also follow the latest updates on SolarHam Facebook and by then clicking "LIKE".

source(solarham.com...