Solar Flare's Red Glare: Sun Unleashes Early Fourth of July Fireworks
The sun erupted with a powerful solar flare Monday (July 2) in an early solar fireworks display just in time for the Fourth of July. A wave of plasma from the flare could reach Earth by the U.S. Independence Day holiday on Wednesday, July 4.
(An intense M5.6-class solar flare erupts from sunspot region AR1515 on July 2, 2012 in this still from a NASA video by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. CREDIT: NASA )
“The sun storm came from a large sunspot called AR1515 that is now rotating across the Earth-facing side of the sun. It unleashed an intense solar flare at 6:43 a.m. EDT (1043 GMT) today in what is expected to be one of several strong solar storms in the days ahead, space weather officials said.”
“The flare registered as a class M5.6 solar storm on the scale used by astronomers to measure the sun’s weather. The sun’s strongest storms come in three primary classes. The weakest storms are C-class flares, which have little effects that can be felt on Earth. M-class flares are moderate solar storms that can supercharge the Earth’s northern lights displays. The strongest solar storms are X-class events. When aimed at Earth, the most powerful X-class solar flares can endanger spacecraft and astronauts in orbit, interfere with satellite signals, as well as damage power lines and other infrastructure on the ground.”
(This was a powerful event, to be sure, but the geometry isn’t in our favor: the resulting coronal mass ejection (CME) will only strike a glancing blow at Earth. However, observers at high latitudes — generally above 40-50º, should be on the lookout for aurorae on the night of July 4. -JCB)
Kepler telescope studies star superflares
NASA’s Kepler space telescope has provided fresh insight on the colossal explosions that can afflict some stars.
(A superflare would be associated with very large starspots - much larger than those on the Sun.)
“These enormous releases of magnetic energy - known as superflares - could damage the atmosphere of a nearby orbiting planet, putting at risk any lifeforms that might reside there. Fortunately, Kepler shows superflares to be much less frequent on slow-rotating stars like our Sun. The new observations are reported in the journal Nature.”
“Hiroyuki Maehara from Kyoto University, Japan, and colleagues have now reviewed the data to compile the best statistics yet on the frequency and size of superflares. Kepler saw a total of 365 superflares during an observation period lasting 120 days. The numbers confirm that very few (only 0.2%) Sun-like stars experience monster flares.”
Web-Based Tools For Tracking Solar Activity
As we head into the peak of solar Cycle 24 this summer, I thought it would be a good idea to list some websites that are useful for keeping an eye on what the Sun is up to.
Why care about this? Solar activity is rapidly ramping up and significantly affects the geophysical environment of our planet. Bursts of high-energy particles emitted from solar flares can damage Earth-orbiting satellites, disrupt terrestrial radio communications, interfere with GPS navigation, and even threaten the integrity of electrical power grids.
Here are a summary of some sites and what they have to offer:
☀ NASA space mission websites: Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), Solar And Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO)
☀ Space Weather Prediction Center (space weather forecasting by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; in particular, see “Today’s Space Weather”)
☀ Current Solar Data (convenient, one-page summary of plots from NOAA)
☀ Spaceweather (the go-to website for information about current solar activity and space weather forecast information)
☀ SolarSoft ”Latest Events” (a single page, graphical, ‘at-a-glance’ summary of recent solar imagery and activity levels)
☀ SolarHam (lots of graphical information about solar activity mainly pertinent to terrestrial, long-wave radio propagation; of interest to amateur radio operators and others)
☀ Solar Terrestrial Activity Report (oodles of information about current solar activity levels and events in the geomagnetic environment compiled by Jan Alvestad)
☀ Planetary K-Index (a numerical representation of the current level of solar-geomagnetic activity near the Earth; when K ≥ 7, auroral activity at mid-latitudes is likely)
☀ Helioviewer (an interactive tool for visualizing solar activity data, mostly spacecraft imagery)
☀ POES Auroral Oval (a realtime depiction of the “auroral oval” around the Earth’s poles from orbiting satellites; useful for predicting where aurora may be seen on the ground)
☀ The Watchers Solar Activities Archive (blog consisting of short news-style updates about solar goings-on)
This list is by no means exhaustive, but should serve as a good jumping-off point for those interested in tracking the activity of our dynamic Sun.
(Image credit: NASA/Steele Hill)
Spectacular Solar Flare Erupts From The Sun
Magnetic fields on the sun’s northeastern limb erupted around 17:45 UT on April 16th, producing one of the most visually-spectacular explosions in years. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded the blast at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths (above). Gas heated to nearly a million degrees was blown off the solar surface, following the twisted loops of the Sun’s invisible magnetic field lines. This happened near the limb, or edge, of the Sun; luckily this means the Earth was shielded from the bulk of the harmful radiation emitted in the event. On the other hand, it also means it’s unlikely we will see any auroral activity in the next few days as a result.
Venus Spacecraft Punched, Blinded by Solar Radiation
Space weather in our solar system has been rather unsettled of late, and some of our tenacious robotic interplanetary explorers have been feeling the impact of the sun’s temper tantrums. The European Space Agency’s Venus Express orbiter suffered a particularly nasty solar sucker-punch, temporarily blinding one of its navigational systems.
The solar radiation hit Venus’ orbit on March 7 (Tuesday) after the sun had belched out a series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). This radiation uptick knocked-out Venus Express’ startracker cameras (including the backup camera), causing them to lose sight of stars the spacecraft uses to orient itself.
Wondering how a solar flare is formed? A large solar storm is headed for Earth at approximately 4.5 million miles per hour, with scientists calling it the strongest event in about six years.
A result of all the recent solar activity: geomagnetic storms and awesome aurorae.
January Aurora Over Norway
Image Credit & Copyright: Bjørn Jørgensen
(via astrokyon)
Source: apod.nasa.gov
Strongest solar storm since 2005 hitting Earth
(Credit: NASA)
“The sun is bombarding Earth with radiation from the biggest solar storm in more than six years with more to come from the fast-moving eruption.”
“The solar flare occurred at about 11 p.m. EST Sunday and will hit Earth with three different effects at three different times. The biggest issue is radiation, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado.”
“Radiation from Sunday’s flare arrived at Earth an hour later and will likely continue through Wednesday.”
Observers at higher latitudes above 40° N and 40° S should be on the lookout for aurorae (Northern/Southern Lights) tonight and tomorrow night. (-JCB)
Waiting For The CME To Arrive
“Active sunspot 1401 erupted on Jan. 19th around 16:30 UT, producing an M3-class solar flare and a full-halo coronal mass ejection (CME). The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the cloud expanding almost directly toward Earth.” (animated image, above)
“Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab say strong geomagnetic storms are possible when the cloud arrives this weekend. Their animated forecast track predicts an impact on Jan. 21st at 22:30 UT (+/- 7 hrs).”
“The cloud is also heading for Mars, due to hit the Red Planet on Jan. 24th. NASA’s Curiosity rover, en route to Mars now, is equipped to study solar storms and might be able to detect a change in the energetic particle environment when the CME passes by.”
A huge sunspot unleashed a blob of charged plasma Thursday that space weather watchers predict will blast past the Earth on Sunday. Satellite operators and power companies are keeping a close eye on the incoming cloud, which could distort the Earth’s magnetic field and disrupt radio communications, especially at higher latitudes.
“Our simulations show potential to pack a good punch to Earth’s near-space environment,” said Antti Pulkkinen of the Space Weather Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.
But, he added, “We’re not looking at an extreme event here.” (WaPo)
Image: Spaceweather.com
Astronomy news, recent research results, and pretty pictures from the media along with context, commentary, and explanations for folks who dig this sort of thing. Written by a quasi-professional astronomer affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin.
