Tag Archives: Coronal mass ejection

Sun produces four X-class flares in two days

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

Above: note the four separate events in the last two days – from the WUWT Solar Page (From NASA’s Spaceweather.com) When the week began, the sun hadn’t unleashed an X-flare all year long. In only two days, sunspot AR1748 has … Continue reading →

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A misinterpreted claim about a NASA press release, CO2, solar flares, and the thermosphere is making the rounds

Posted on March 28, 2013 by

I loathe having to write this story because I truly dislike giving any attention to the people who are known as the “slayers” from the “Slaying the Sky Dragon” book. They now operate under the moniker of “Principia Scientific”. But, … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon dioxide, Opinion, Ridiculae, solar flare | Tagged , , , , | 126 Comments

Modeling the Riddle of the Sun’s Explosive CME’s

Posted on September 27, 2012 by

DURHAM, N.H. — Four decades of active research and debate by the solar physics community have failed to bring consensus on what drives the sun’s powerful coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that can have profound “space weather” effects on Earth-based power … Continue reading →

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Looking into solar coronal prominence cavities

Posted on September 21, 2012 by

by Karen C. Fox NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD › View larger Scientists want to understand what causes giant explosions in the sun’s atmosphere, the corona, such as this one. The eruptions are called coronal mass ejections or … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Solar | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments

Still waiting for the CME from the X Class flare

Posted on July 14, 2012 by

Spaceweather.com writes: (link mine) The CME launched toward Earth by the July 12th X-flare has not yet arrived. However, we are still within the forecast window set by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab. The cloud should hit at … Continue reading →

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X-Class solar flare blasts CME directly at Earth

Posted on July 12, 2012 by

Large sunspot Group AR1520, seen below just right of center, was pointed directly at Earth when the flare occurred. The GOES Xray Flux spike hit X 1.4, just barely an X-class: 

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Sunspot AR1476 takes aim on Earth

Posted on May 11, 2012 by

From Spaceweather.com NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of M-class solar flares and a 20% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. Any eruptions are likely to be geoeffective because the source, sunspot AR1476, is directly facing our planet. … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar, solar flare | Tagged , , , , , , , | 48 Comments

“firecracker” sunspot turning towards earth – possible large solar flares

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

Sunspot AR1476 may have some surprises for us in the coming days, and I hope it isn’t a Carrington type event. It has already launched two CME’s yesterday. From NASA’s Spaceweather.com: A pair of solar eruptions on May 7th hurled coronal … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar, solar flare | Tagged , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

Potential for large solar flares and CME’s may be with us again soon

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

Readers may recall my reports on the CME’s from massive sunspot group 1429, seen below. It seems the sunspot group continues to live, and has unleashed another massive Coronal Mass Ejection. It will rotate into Earth view again soon.

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Whole lotta watts added to the atmosphere

Posted on March 22, 2012 by

I loved the way James Russell described CO2 molecules as “natural thermostats” Solar Storm Dumps Gigawatts into Earth’s Upper Atmosphere A recent flurry of eruptions on the sun did more than spark pretty auroras around the poles.  NASA-funded researchers say … Continue reading →

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Solar storm continues, geomagnetic storm and auroras expected

Posted on March 7, 2012 by

We have about three hours to go for the expected arrival time of the CME at 0625 UTC/1025 PM PST. Proton flux remains high as do other indicators. Additionally another C class solar flare just occured. This bulletin just in … Continue reading →

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NOAA: Strong Solar Eruption; Earth-Directed CME Likely

Posted on March 6, 2012 by

An X-5 class solar flare just occurred from region 1429, the large active sunspot group seen below. NOAA Bulletin from the Space Weather Prediction Center: 2012-03-07 01:03   Strong Solar Eruption; Earth-Directed CME Likely

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Biggest solar storm since 2005

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

It is being called by WaPo “The Biggest solar storm since 2005“. The sun erupted late on January 22nd, 2012 with an M8.7 class flare. The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the flare as seen below. From NASA: The coronal mass … Continue reading →

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Big CME headed toward Earth

Posted on January 20, 2012 by

From Spaceweather.com : Active sunspot 1401 erupted yesterday, 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:

Posted in Solar, solar flare | Tagged , , , , , , , | 79 Comments

Big CME hits earth, low latitude auroras possible

Posted on October 24, 2011 by

From the Rice University Spaceweather listserv Our space weather alert system is in level yellow, and the CME input of energy to the Earth’s magnetosphere still continues. So, if you live in northern latitudes, go out and look for auroras … Continue reading →

Posted in solar flare, Spaceweather | Tagged , , , | 31 Comments

Geomagnetic solar storm in progress

Posted on September 26, 2011 by

Spaceweather.com reports: A strong-to-severe geomagnetic storm is in progress following the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME) at approximately 12:15 UT on Sept. 26th.

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Solar activity on the upswing, big sunspot rotating into view is producing x-class solar flares. Large CME expected soon, may hit earth.

Posted on September 25, 2011 by

From Spaceweather.com: New sunspot 1302 has already produced two X-flares(X1.4 on Sept. 22nd and X1.9 on Sept. 24th), can another be far behind? NOAA forecasters put the 24-hour probability at 20%. The sheer size of the active region suggests the … Continue reading →

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SDO sees ‘Dark Fireworks’ on the Sun

Posted on July 12, 2011 by

From Science@ NASA:  On June 7, 2011, Earth-orbiting satellites detected a flash of X-rays coming from the western edge of the solar disk. Registering only “M” (for medium) on the Richter scale of solar flares, the blast at first appeared … Continue reading →

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Sol is finally waking up

Posted on March 10, 2011 by

Let’s hope he does get out of the wrong side of the bed. The current sunspot count and 10.7 cm radio flux have increased in the latest NOAA SWPC graphs, shown below. but curiously, the Ap magnetic index remains low. … Continue reading →

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Solar news: Forbush decrease in progress

Posted on February 19, 2011 by

The definition at Wikipedia: A Forbush decrease is a rapid decrease in the observed galactic cosmic ray intensity following a coronal mass ejection (CME). It occurs due to the magnetic field of the plasma solar wind sweeping some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmic rays, Solar | Tagged , , , , | 78 Comments