We don't yet know if this flare hurled a CME into space. If it did, it could have a grazing Earth-directed component. Confirmation awaits fresh data from SOHO coronagraphs.
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Giant sunspot AR3664 unleashed another X-flare today (May 11th @ 0139 UT)--its strongest yet. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a bright ultravolet flash from the category X5.8 explosion: Radiation from the flare caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean. Ham radio operators and mariners may have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 30 MHz for as much as an hour after the flare's peak.
We don't yet know if this flare hurled a CME into space. If it did, it could have a grazing Earth-directed component. Confirmation awaits fresh data from SOHO coronagraphs. https://spaceweather.com/
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The first of six CMEs hurled toward Earth by giant sunspot AR3664 hit our planet's magnetic field today. The impact on May 10th at 1645 UT jolted magnetometers around the world and sparked a severe (G4-class) geomagnetic storm. This storm is underway now. More CMEs are following close behind and their arrival could extend the storm into the weekend. Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive instant text messages when the CMEs arrive. The ongoing storm is producing low-latitude auroras in the southern hemisphere. Ken James sends this picture from the Snake Valley Observatory in Victoria, Australia: "The red, yellow and green colours were easily visible to my naked eye," says James. Readers in the USA should note that the southern latitude of Victoria, Australia, 37 degrees, is the same as the northern latitude of central California. That's how far down auroras could be seen if it were dark instead of daylight in North America. Why is this storm so severe? Take a look at the solar wind data from NOAA's DSCOVR spacecraft: After the CME struck, the speed of the solar wind blowing around our planet abruptly increased to more than 700 km/s. More importantly, south-pointing magnetic fields from the sun washed over the Earth, opening a crack in our planet's magnetosphere. Solar wind poured through the gap to turbo-charge the storm.
https://spaceweather.com/ No. AR3664 is indeed a 'Carrington-class' sunspot, but the CMEs it hurled toward Earth over the past few days are not as potent as the monster CME of Sept. 1, 1859. NOAA says we might experience a severe geomagnetic storm when the CMEs arrive this weekend. If geomagnetic storms were hurricanes, 'severe' would be category 4. The Carrington Event was category 5 or greater. So this is no Carrington Event. Even so, category 4 is pretty intense--if it happens. Stay tuned for some great auroras!
Great sunspot AR3664 has hurled an astonishing five CMEs toward Earth. They're all in this frenetic 2-day coronagraph movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO): The two bright objects are Jupiter (left) and Venus (right). The CMEs will miss those planets and hit Earth instead.
According to a NOAA forecast model, the first three CMEs could merge for form a "Cannibal CME." Cannibal CMEs form when fast-moving CMEs overtake and gobble up slower CMEs in front of them. Internal shock waves created by such CME collisions do an good job sparking geomagnetic storms when they strike Earth's magnetic field. The Cannibal CME is expected to arrive on May 11th. It alone could spark a strong (G3) geomagnetic storm. With two more CMEs following close behind, storm levels could become extreme (G4), sparking auroras at mid- to low-latitudes across Europe and the USA. https://spaceweather.com/ Last week, Andreas Kohlmann of Samnaun, Switzerland, looked up and saw a 22° sun halo caused by ice crystals floating over the snowy landscape. His iPhone11 photo of the phenomenon captured something sky watchers often overlook--the 'hole in the sky' effect: The sky inside the halo is darker than the sky outside, creating a large but subtle disk of partial darkness around the sun. It exists because the ice crystals scatter light at least 22° away from the sun. "No light is refracted through smaller angles, so the area inside the halo is dark," explains retired atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley.
"Most rays are deflected through angles near to 22° to form the bright inner edge of the halo," he continues. "Red light is refracted less strongly than other colors, so the halo's inner edge is red hued." The 22° sun halo is the most common of all sun halos. The next time you see one, put on sunglasses to reduce the glare. You may see your own 'hole in the sky.' https://spaceweather.com/ 10 Oct 2015
The 2010 Ozark Mountain Transformation Conference once again presents Dolores Cannon, author, hypnotist and past life regression pioneer. Her work is based on 40 years of research into metaphysics and discoveries of the unknown using her unique QHHT method of hypnosis. In this video: Discover how it all began. The creation of our World and the development of our species. Understand your role on Earth. Are you one of the Volunteers that came to help Earth with her transition? © OZARK MOUNTAIN PUBLISHING | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED As we awaken to the deeper truths of our world, we realize that many systems around us were designed with specific intentions, not always aligned with the common good. This realization isn't a call to despair but a rally for transformation. Let's reimagine and rebuild these structures to reflect justice, equality, and compassion.
A 100-mile wide shaft of cool air is about to race through Earth's atmosphere faster than 1500 mph. It's the shadow of the Moon created by Monday's total eclipse of the sun. This animation shows the progress of darkness across the United States: Solar eclipses make their own weather--starting with the temperature. How much the temperature falls depends on the humidity. Dry environments could see a drop of 8 to 14 degrees, less so if it’s humid. According to NASA, an eclipse in Zambia on June 21, 2001, reduced the temperature nearly 15 degrees.
The reduction in temperature can make clouds disappear. Satellites observing eclipses from Earth orbit have detected many examples. A 10-year study just published in Nature found that cumulus clouds begin dissipating when a mere 15 percent of the sun is covered. In some cases, clouds didn’t start to return until 50 minutes after maximum eclipse. This could be good news for eclipse chasers in Mexico and Texas, where widespread cloudcover is expected on April 8th. The eclipse itself might help clear the sky. Stay tuned! https://spaceweather.com/ Sunspot AR3615, last seen in March crackling with X-flares, is now transiting the farside of the sun. The sunspot is so big, it is affecting the way the sun vibrates, allowing researchers to detect its seismic echo. Also, NASA's rover Perseverance can see the sunspot all the way from Mars. This large active region will return to the Earthside of the sun about a week from now.
https://spaceweather.com/ Music video by VOCES8 performing Lux Aeterna (Nimrod). (C) 2016 VOCES8 Records Big sunspot AR3590 is as dangerous as it looks. Late yesterday (Feb. 21 @ 2307 UT), the active region produced a powerful X1.8-class solar flare with a shortwave radio blackout over the western USA and Pacific Ocean. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash: Hours later (Feb. 22 @ 0635), the sunspot erupted again, producing an almost identical X1.7-class flare. Neither explosion produced a bright CME. This means the double flares will *not* cause a geomagnetic storm on Earth.
More explosions are in the offing. AR3590 has an unstable 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for additional X-class explosions. https://spaceweather.com For the second time in less than a week, energetic solar protons are raining down on Earth's upper atmosphere. Forecasters call this a "solar radiation storm." Today's storm (near category S2) is rich in "hard protons" wiith energies greater than 50 MeV. It is causing a shortwave radio blackout inside the Arctic Circle and speckling the cameras of some Earth-orbiting satellites. The plot above shows storm data recorded by NOAA's GOES-18 satellite in Earth orbit. Sensors on the satellite are counting energetic protons as they pass by en route to Earth. Triggered by an explosion near the sun's southwestern limb (inset), this storm could last for another 24 hours.
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