Tag Archives: Solar flare

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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Posted in solar flare | Tagged , , , , , , , | 65 Comments

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

Solar cycle 24 continues weakly, perhaps weakest of the space-age

Posted on November 6, 2012 by

NOAA SWPC has updated their plot page of solar metrics, and the slump continues. At spaceweather.com Dr. Tony Phillips writes: SO THIS IS SOLAR MAXIMUM? Forecasters have long expected the Solar Max of 2013 to be the weakest of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar | Tagged , , , , , | 288 Comments

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: 

Posted in solar flare | Tagged , , , | 56 Comments

A quiet cue ball sun

Posted on June 24, 2012 by

Source: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/latest/latest_4096_4500.jpg A couple of people have noticed (as did I) that the sun is essentially blank.

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 110 Comments

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

Solar cycle update for April – sun still slumping

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

Got a bit sidetracked earlier in the month, this is overdue for an update. Earlier we reported that Hathaway had updated his solar cycle prediction saying “…the predicted size makes this the smallest sunspot cycle in about 100 years. “. … Continue reading →

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“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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Geomagnetic data reveal unusual nature of recent solar minimum

Posted on March 19, 2012 by

From the American Geophysical Union weekly highlights: Key Points Minimum 23-24 showed recurrence intervals of 9.0 and 6.7-d Historical geomagnetic activity data show that minimum 23-24 was unusual The heliosphere during minimum 23-24 had unusual sectorial structure Since the mid-1800s, … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar | Tagged , , , , | 68 Comments

Recent solar flare seen bombarding Earth with gamma rays

Posted on March 15, 2012 by

From the “Oh noes it’s Radiation” department, Dr. Leif Svalgaard points out we all got a gamma ray bath on that recent big solar flare. I wonder how many Banana Equivalent Doses we all got?

Posted in Astronomy, Radiation, solar flare | Tagged , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

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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Homeland Security takes on The Carrington Event

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

While we worry about future threats like global warming, and present threats like Iran’s escalating nuclear program, the sun’s propensity for belching out monstrous solar flares (like the Carrington event of 1859) could almost instantly create a world without modern … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 135 Comments

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

Solar cycle update: sunspots down, Ap index way down

Posted on January 4, 2012 by

The NOAA SWPC monthly solar cycle update has been published here, and after a big spike last month, the sunspot count is down again. There’s an even bigger drop though in the Ap geomagnetic index, as seen and discussed below … Continue reading →

Posted in NOAA, Solar | Tagged , , , , , | 150 Comments

Solar-Terrestrial Power Update

Posted on December 25, 2011 by

By Paul L. Vaughan, M.Sc. The amplitude of Earth’s zonal winds is modulated by the solar cycle. Here’s a concise visual update based on the latest data: LOD’ = rate of change of length of day

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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 →

Posted in solar flare | Tagged , , , , | 71 Comments

Scientists Prove Existence of ‘Magnetic Ropes’ that Cause Solar Storms

Posted on June 15, 2011 by

Seems like GMU doesn’t stop, waiting for Dave Clarke and John Mashey to launch the next copygate volley. Here’s some interesting research. FAIRFAX, Va., June 15, 2011—George Mason University scientists discovered recently that a phenomenon called a giant magnetic rope … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Solar | Tagged , , , | 86 Comments