When the supersonic solar wind hits the Earth’s magnetic field, a powerful electrical connection occurs with Earth’s field, generating millions of amperes of current that drive the dazzling auroras. These…
Category: Spaceweather
Solar cycle 24 – magnetic activity down, twin peaks seem certain
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has published its latest graphs for the month of July, and while sunspot and radio flux numbers showed little change and increased respectively, the…
A bigger worry than 'global warming' and more damaging – a Carrington class solar event
From PhysicsWorld blog: The cover feature of the August issue of Physics World, which is now out in print and digital formats, looks at the Sun – and in particular,…
Solar wind to lightning strike link discovered
From the Institute of Physics: High-speed solar winds increase lightning strikes on Earth Scientists have discovered new evidence to suggest that lightning on Earth is triggered not only by cosmic…
March solar activity, down slightly, still lower than last solar cycle 23
The solar data from the NOAA Space Weather prediction center has been posted, and like the global temperature, there isn’t much change. Sunspot numbers are down slightly, but still up…
Strongest X class solar flare since March 2012
From NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center and spaceweather.com: Strong Solar Flare Radio Blackout Newly numbered Region 1990 (the return of old Region 1967), just now rotating into view, produced an…
The Solar storm has arrived – initial impact weaker than expected
From NASA: Spaceweather: As expected, a CME hit Earth’s magnetic field on Jan. 9th (around 20:00 UTC or 3 p.m. EST). Although the initial impact was weaker than expected, geomagnetic…
X class solar flare ejection may hit Earth with solar storm
From the WUWT Solar Reference page, an X 1.2 event has occurred: From NASA Spaceweather: Giant sunspot AR1944 erupted on Jan 7th at approximately 1832 UT, producing a powerful X1-class…
Sunspot group AR1890 takes direct aim at earth
May produce a dangerous X-class flare that could directly impact Earth Steve Davidson writes: Right now, today, one of the largest sunspot groups of Cycle 24 – AR1890 – is…
NASA on the sun: '…tiny variations can have a significant effect on terrestrial climate."
Researchers have considered the possibility that the sun plays a role in global warming. From NASA GSFC: Solar Variability and Terrestrial Climate In the galactic scheme of things, the Sun…
New study finds that a Carrington class solar event could cause global cooling of more than 3C
A paper recently published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics finds that “a solar proton event, if it took place in the near future with an intensity similar to that ascribed…
'Doppler radar' for solar storm detection
Rice researcher part of team that used Doppler shifts to ID phenomenon; may help predict space weather HOUSTON – (July 2, 2012) – Doppler measurements that help track storms on…
The Sun has changed its character
Guest post by David Archibald A number of solar parameters are weak, and none is weaker than the Ap Index: Figure 1: Ap Index 1932 to 2026 Figure 1 shows…
NASA June 2012 Solar Cycle 24 Prediction
Compiled by Joe D’aleo WeatherBell via NASA MSFC The current prediction for Sunspot Cycle 24 gives a smoothed sunspot number maximum of about 60 in the Spring of 2013. We…
Giant Veil of "Cold Plasma" Discovered High Above Earth
From National Geographic: Clouds of charged particles stretch a quarter the way to the moon, experts say. Clouds of “cold plasma” reach from the top of Earth’s atmosphere to at…
Aurora in Michigan last night – great time lapse video
As I mentioned on my post yesterday, low latitude aurora could be possible thanks to the CME that impacted Earth yesterday. Here’s a wonderful time lapse video from Michigan last…
Big CME hits earth, low latitude auroras possible
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…
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