UPDATE: Leif Svalgaard provides us a magnetic movie (SDO HMI) which I’ve also converted and added below. It’s a real treat too.
This is truly an impressive animation from the folks at the Solar Dynamics Observatory. I’ve converted it to YouTube so more people can watch it. It shows the 5 day time lapse formation of massive sunspot group 1158 from nothing. What’s neat is how the perspective is maintained. I’ve never seen anything quite like this. Less than a week ago, sunspot 1158 didn’t exist. Now it is wider than the planet Jupiter and unleashing the strongest solar flares since December 13th, 2006, including an X-class solar flare that we covered here first on WUWT. Video below.
Solar Magnetics Movie
The HMI (Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager) on the SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) caught massive sunspot group 1158 in the process of forming from nothing. It is quite an impressive animation. Animation courtesy of Dr. Phil Scherrer at Stanford via Dr. Leif Svalgaard who writes:
“What to note is how the magnetic field ‘bubbled’ up in a very mixed state [black=negative, white=positive polarity]. Then the two polarities separate and move to areas of like polarity: white to white and black to black, in the process assembling sunspots. Watch also how the incessant convection ‘eats’ away at the boundaries of large, mature spots [late in the clip].”
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The Magnetosphere was being buffeted and contorted on Feb 15th;
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xYK6RCkDyI&w=640&h=390]
but seemed to be reasonably stable on Feb 16th:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csMskFo4wKM&w=640&h=390]
All are available here:
http://www3.nict.go.jp/y/y223/simulation/realtime/movie/
http://www3.nict.go.jp/y/y223/simulation/realtime/movie/2011/
Fascinating movies and will be watching the skies (if they’re clear) for aurora’s over the next few days.
Until I read this post, I didn’t realize that Canis Majoris was a red supergiant possibly becoming a nearby supernova in a very short period of time (geologically speaking). What I’m curious about is what effects would the gamma ray flux from Canis Majoris going supernova have on the Earth’s climate? Is this something that could trigger another ice age? Yet another thing to worry about.
Maybe we should try to get watermelons to start worrying about real dangers to the Earth like Carrington event magnitude CME’s directed our way, dinosaur killer asteroids and nearby supernova’s. Windmills are the last thing we need to deal with these dangers.
Boris Gimbarzevsky says:
February 16, 2011 at 10:08 pm
What I’m curious about is what effects would the gamma ray flux from Canis Majoris going supernova have on the Earth’s climate? Is this something that could trigger another ice age? Yet another thing to worry about.
5000 light years is FAR off, so not to worry.
The eruption of matter/energy resembles a geyser or a fountain.
Baa Humbug says: February 16, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Very interesting, but can someone (Leif?) explain the ‘like’ polarities being attracted to each other please? I thought ‘like’ repelled and ‘unlike’ attracted in magnetism.
Schatten’s hypothesis is not accepted by everyone. In absence of a credible alternative I put forward a far simpler solution to this problem, based on the basic electro-magnetic principles.
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/SSG.htm
May I point out that Dr. Svalgaard classified above as ‘bad science’; of course he is entitled to his views on the above as is on the Schatten’s hypothesis, and I have no intention of engaging in a pointless and fruitless discussion.
Matt says:
February 16, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Looks like mitosis.
It’s alive….ALIVE!
You are not alone with that observation. Dr. Attila Grandpierre, Hungarian astrophysicist, rock star & shaman says somewhere solar photosphere may actually be a more favorable environment for life than Earth, as there is orders of magnitude more free energy available there. See e.g.
Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems 2(1), 12-28, 2004
Conceptual Steps towards Exploring the Fundamental Nature of our Sun
Attila Grandpierre
Quite characteristic of him starting the paper with a motto from Anaxagoras (459 BC): “The purpose of life is the investigation of the Sun, the Moon, and the heavens.”
He also argues information content of the Sun is very high while observed decay time of fine magneto-hydrodynamical structures is much longer than one would think based on simple physical models. The guy is somewhat crazy, but may have a point.
Outstanding!
Thanks, Anthony, Leif, and all who have posted video clips here.
This is not just another great lesson on the Sun – watching these videos shows the terrifying beauty of our star.
I’m blown away …
Boris Gimbarzevsky is concerned about windmills. Let me assure him that they are equally effective against solar storms, CO2 induced heating, and blowing volcanic ash back to Iceland.
vukcevic says:
February 17, 2011 at 1:31 am
May I point out that Dr. Svalgaard classified above as ‘bad science’;
No, it is not ‘bad science’. It is not science.
Amazing. Simply Amazing.
That much activity over just 5 days is humbling.
Thanks, Anthony and Lief.
Thanks Leif, awesome.
Thanks you Leif, as usual ,a good bit of informaton to digest….
Leif Svalgaard says February 16, 2011 at 7:11 pm
I just skimmed that PDF very briefly. This is just the sort of up to date primer I’ve been after for a long time; masses of diagrams and links for anyone wishing to dig further. Just fantastic, many thanks Leif.
On deciding to educate myself on all things to do with Climate since 2008…the most
interesting thing i’ve found is the disconnection of the activity of the Sun and earth’s climate. Having heard about minimums and solar flares since a young kid, to find out that the linkage, if there is one, is: tenuous and the physics unknown. Makes these threads to me the most interesting. I always look forward to a good solar thread!!
The Magnetic view shows pure upwellings, while the visible light view comes up spinning like tornadoes and cyclones.
Why is that?
rbateman says:
February 17, 2011 at 12:08 pm
The Magnetic view shows pure upwellings, while the visible light view comes up spinning like tornadoes and cyclones. Why is that?
The upwellings are not very visible, only when concentrated into spots can you easily see the field. But look closely: the larger magnetic areas also rotates.
The video confuses distance of the stars from Earth with diameter. VY Canis Majoris is 1800-2100 times the Sun’s diameter. Impressive still!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070522232706AAF37ir
Leif Svalgaard says:
February 17, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Yes, there is some slight motion in the magnetic upwellings, but nothing compared to the visible.
That one can spin like a top and the other rotates like a rusted bearing is what I find so perplexing.
rbateman says:
February 17, 2011 at 1:23 pm
That one can spin like a top and the other rotates like a rusted bearing is what I find so perplexing.
A lot depends on where grey-scale and colorizing scheme. Possibly those could be matched better. No doubt that this region will be studied a lot so perhaps some light may be shed on this in future. Rotation of spots and magnetic fields are ‘hot’ topics for the moment. Here is an example: http://www.leif.org/EOS/Kazachenko2009.pdf
Amazing to see. Thank you Anthony for posting this.
Thank you Anthony and Thank You Leif.
I appreciate the science, the news, the explanations,…. and all of your followups!!!
You rock!!!
The CME has just hit the Earth. As predicted it starts out with nrothward field.
Cool. Looks like a flock of Mandlebrots having fun.
While we are tying ourselves into knots to deal with AGW, a putative eventuality at best, there is no effort at all to harden our electronics to survive a substantial solar flare.
We are better off than you think and not as good off as we should be. Preventing radiation emission from electronics has a reciprocal effect of protecting it from emitted radiation.
Military stuff designed to resist a nuke EMP is best.
Commercial devices are next.
Industrial devices are at the bottom of the list.
Of course the above is not exhaustive or definitive. It indicates the general trends.
Leif Svalgaard says: February 17, 2011 at 6:32 pm
“The CME has just hit the Earth. As predicted it starts out with nrothward field.”
There was an interesting impact on the magnetosphere at about 3:30 UT yesterday/6 seconds into this video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PUdcaMZb2A&w=480&h=390]
Was that the CME? It doesn’t look anything like what occurs about 30 seconds into this video;
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy4HgirSwjo&w=480&h=390]
which is the CME impact referenced here:
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=03&month=08&year=2010