11~30~11 Space Weather Update~ Is that Luv Written on The Sun?~ chance of M Class Flares
SLIGHT CHANCE OF FLARES: NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% chance of M-class solar flares today. The probable source would be sunspot 1361, which is directly facing Earth. Solar flare alerts: text, phone.
ODD JUXTAPOSITION: There's only one place in the world where Northern Lights routinely shine down on a pink flamingo: Summit Station, Greenland. Thomas Cox took this picture just after a CME impact ignited auroras over the NSF-sponsored climate research facility on Nov. 28th:
"The auroras were so vibrant and swirly, that I thought I was in a scene from Harry Potter!" says Cox.
Summit Station is located atop 3200 meters of ice and and is nearly 400 km from the nearest point of land. Scientists who "winter over" there keep a pink flamingo stuck in the ice to remind them of warmer places. The plastic creature frequently poses for aurora mugshots.
Auroras from the CME impact are subsiding, but another display is in the offing. Earth is entering a solar wind stream that could re-energize geomagnetic activity around the poles. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: text, phone.
more images: from DMSP satellites in Earth orbit; from Jónína Óskarsdóttir of Faskrudsfjordur, Iceland; from Paul Beebe of Lang Lake, Upsala, Ontario, Canada; from Jochen Hagemann of Reykjavik, Iceland; from Fredrik Broms of Kvaløya, Norway; from Antti Pietikäinen of Muonio, Lapland, Finland; from Zoltan Kenwell of Alberta, Canada; from Dirk S.Miller of Rice Lake, Wisconsin; from Warren Gammel of Big Lake, Minnesota; from Ulf Jonsson of Gussö, Luleå, Sweden; from Helge Mortensen of Kvaløya, Norway; from Hanneke Luijting of Tromsø, Norway;
SINUOUS SUNSPOTS: A line of sunspots stretching across the sun's northern hemisphere appears to be an independent sequence of dark cores. A telescope tuned to the red glow of solar hydrogen, however, reveals something different. The sunspots are connected by sinuous filaments of magnetism:
is that LUV WRITTEN ON THE SUN?~now thats a good Birthday Present~ LOL Love Mother and Father God
"These sunspots writhe and squirm energetically as they rotate away from us!" says John Nassr, who took the picture on Nov. 28th from his backyard observatory in Baguio, the Philippines.
The connections suggest an interesting possibility. While each sunspot individually poses little threat for strong solar flares, an instability in one could start a chain reaction involving all, leading to a widespread eruption. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.
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Solar wind
speed: 445.0 km/sec
density: 0.1 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1513 UT
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X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1 1035 UT Nov30
24-hr: C2 0011 UT Nov30
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 1500 UT
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Daily Sun: 30 Nov 11
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Sunspot 1361 has a "beta-gamma" magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
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Sunspot number: 106
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 29 Nov 2011
Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days
Updated 29 Nov 2011
The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 141 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 29 Nov 2011
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Current Auroral Oval:
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Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
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Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3 quiet
explanation | more data
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Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 7.4 nT
Bz: 5.9 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1517 UT
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Coronal Holes: 30 Nov 11
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Earth is entering a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Credit: SDO/AIA.
