Earth & Space Weather

~Space Weather Update~ Big New Sunspot Coming Around~

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BIG NEW SUNSPOT: New sunspot 1476 is large and crackling with impulsive M-class solar flares. Because of the active region's location near the east limb, the eruptions are not geoeffective, although this could change in the days ahead as the sunspot turns toward Earth. Solar flare alerts: text, phone.

 

LIVE METEOR RADAR: NASA's all-sky fireball network captured another haul of bright eta Aquarid meteors last night--ten fireballs in all. This suggests that the shower is still active, and might even be peaking, on May 6th. Tune into Space Weather Radio for live echoes from these bits of Halley's Comet as they fly over the US Air Force Space Surveilance Radar in Texas.

 

SUPER MOON: Last night's full Moon was a "super moon," as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons of 2012. The phenomenon, also known as a perigee moon, is caused by the elliptical shape of the Moon's orbit around Earth. Big, nearby moons like this come along about once a year; they are harmless, beautiful, and, seen from certain angles, very romantic:

 

~Space Weather Update~ Big SunSpot emerging~

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BIG NEW SUNSPOT: A large sunspot group is rotating into view over the sun's northeastern limb. The emergence of this apparently significant active region could herald an increase in solar activity. Solar flare alerts: text, phone.

 

"SUPER MOON" TONIGHT: Tonight's full Moon is a perigee moon, as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons of 2012. This is a harmless but beautiful astronomical phenomenon. Enjoy the moonlight! [video] [full story] [Moonshots: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5]

 

~Space Weather Update~Chance for M Class Flares

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PERIGEE "SUPER MOON" ON MAY 5-6: Get ready for moonlight! The full Moon of May 5-6, 2012, is a perigee moon, as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons of 2012. [video] [full story]

 

VENUS IS NOT ALONE: When the sun sets tonight, go outside and look west. The Evening Star, Venus, is not alone. Second-magnitude star El Nath is less than a degree away. Marek Nikodem photographed the pair on May 2nd from the countryside near Niedźwiady, Poland:

 

 

The planet and the star are converging. At closest approach on May 6th, they will be 0.8 degrees apart, a gap so small you can hide it behind the outstreched tip of your index finger.

 

If you have a telescope, point it at Venus. The planet is at its brightest for all of 2012, and backyard optics easily resolve it into a 27% crescent. Swing over to El Nath for a different experience. The star, which lies 130 light years away, is a pinprick of light unresolved by the most powerful telescopes on Earth.

~Space Weather Update~ METEORS FROM HALLEY'S COMET

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PERIGEE "SUPER MOON" ON MAY 5-6: Get ready for moonlight! The full Moon of May 5-6, 2012, is a perigee moon, as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons of 2012. [video] [full story]

 

METEORS FROM HALLEY'S COMET: Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. The shower peaks this weekend; the best time to look is during the hours before sunrise on Sunday, May 6th. Because the shower's radiant is located below the celestial equator, southern hemisphere observers are favored, but even northerners should be able to see a few flecks of Halley-dust disintegrating in the atmosphere. Super-bright moonlight will cap the meteor rate at about 30 per hour.

 

In recent nights, NASA's all-sky meteor network has picked up a number of early eta Aquarid fireballs. This one was bright enough to shine through the glow of sunrise and clouds over Tullahoma, Tennessee, on April 29th:

Biggest ‘Supermoon’ Phenomenon on May 5, 2012

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Biggest ‘Supermoon’ Phenomenon on May 5, 2012

 

 

 

Supermoon 2012 150x150 Biggest Supermoon Phenomenon on May 5, 2012

‘Supermoon’ is a situation when the moon is slightly (about 50.000 km) closer to Earth in its orbit than on average, at least from our perspective on Earth. On May 5, the moon will appear about 14% larger and 30% brighter.

 

Some Quite Impressive Solar Observations… “SOHO What’s Going on Here??!!”

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Some Quite Impressive Solar Observations… “SOHO What’s Going on Here??!!”

Posted on April 30, 2012 by GLR Kauliapele

 

Found this at 2012 Scenario. These craft are quite impressive. See what your discernment says.

I will add that John Kettler (ndr. and Nassir Haramein) and others have pointed out that the sun is actually a stargate. So we might well expect to find such craft around the sun.

~Space Weather Update~ Solar Activity Low~

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MARS-DIRECTED CME: A minor CME that left the sun during the late hours of April 28th is heading for Mars. En route, it will sweep past the Mars Science Lab spacecraft, which is carrying Curiosity to the Red Planet. According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the GSFC, the cloud will reach the rover on May 4th. Fortunately, Curiosity is equipped to sense and study solar storms: video.

 

THWARTED ESCAPE: Solar activity is low, with only a smattering of minor C-class flares coming from a few 'active regions' scattered across the solar disk. An eruption from sunspot AR1465 on April 29th didn't even get off the ground. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the thwarted escape:

 

It was AR1465 vs. gravity, and gravity won.

 

Solar activity should remain low for the next 24 to 48 hours, with no more than a 1% chance of X-class solar flares. As the movie above shows, however, even a weak eruption on the sun is worth watching. Stay tuned for more. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

Flood warnings issued across UK

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The Environment Agency (EA) has warned of localised flooding across parts of southern and eastern England, the Midlands and Wales.

Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which was devastated by flooding in July 2007, is on alert and the EA has set up an incident room there along with two others in the Midlands and another in the Wessex area.

Forecasters warned that more rain is expected to fall in the coming week with southern and western areas likely to see the worst of the wet weather.

~Space Weather Update~Sun Harboring M Class Flares

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MARS-DIRECTED CME: A minor CME that left the sun during the late hours of April 28th is heading for Mars. En route, it will sweep past the Mars Science Lab spacecraft, which is carrying Curiosity to the Red Planet. According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the GSFC, the cloud will reach the rover on May 4th. Fortunately, Curiosity is equipped to sense and study solar storms: video.

 

VENUS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT: The brightest planet in the solar system is reaching its peak luminosity. On April 30th, Venus will shine at astronomical magnitude -4.7. That's 190 times brighter than a 1st magnitude star, bright enough to see in broad daylight if your eye lands right on it.

 

Yesterday in the Czech Republic, something drew Martin Gembec's eye directly to Venus. His guide was the International Space Station:

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