Earth & Space Weather

~Space Weather Update~ M Class Flares Are Erupting from the Sun~

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HIDDEN PORTALS IN EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD: A NASA-sponsored researcher at the University of Iowa has developed a way for spacecraft to hunt down hidden magnetic portals in the vicinity of Earth. These gateways link the magnetic field of our planet to that of the sun, setting the tage for stormy space weather. [video]

 

CHANCE OF FLARES: NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of M-class solar flares today. The likely source would be either sunspot AR1512 or AR1513. Both have 'beta-gamma' magnetic fields that harbor energy for strong flares.

 

Yesterday in Bispingen, Germany, amateur astronomer Cai-Uso Wohler was monitoring the sun when AR1513 erupted:

 

 

~Space Weather Update~ High Solar Wind Heading towards Planet Earth~

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NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: For the third day in a row, observers in Europe are reporting bright displays of electric-blue noctilucent clouds. Check the NLC Photo gallery for the latest sightings.

 

CORONAL HOLE: Spewing a stream of high-speed solar wind, a dark gap in the sun's atmosphere is turning toward Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the coronal hole during the early hours of June 27th:

 

Coronal holes are places where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this particular opening should reach Earth on July 1-2. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on those dates. Magnetic storm alerts: text, voice.

 

Space Weather Update~ Out of the Blue~ Fast Growing Sunspot

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FAST-GROWING SUNSPOT: Breaking the temporary monotony of a blank sun, a new sunspot is growing rapidly in near the southeastern limb of the solar disk. Readers with solar telescopes, this is your chance to observe sunspot genesis.

 

THE BUSY-NESS OVER YOUR HEAD: Earth orbit is crowded with nearly a thousand operating satellites and tens of thousands of spent rocket engines, splinters from satellite collisions, and other space debris. Space is a busy place. This picture taken by expert satellite watcher Marco Langbroek frames some of the madding crowd over Leiden, the Netherlands:

 

"This single image of a 10x14 degree-wide part of the geostationary belt was taken near midnight of June 18-19 and shows 30 satellites," says Langbroek. "Each black box contains one or more (mostly) geostationary satellites plus a few rocket bodies: 23 commercial geostationary satellites, one classified military geostationary satellite (Milstar 5), and 6 spent rocket boosters."

~Space Weather Update~ Rare GREEN FLASH, BLUE FLASH~

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CURIOSITY'S SEVEN MINUTES OF TERROR: In a new must-see video from NASA, Mars Science Lab team members preview the "seven minutes of terror" in store for Curiosity as the rover prepres to land on the Red Planet. Highly recommended.

 

PHOTOGENIC, NOT GEOEFFECTIVE: A long filament of magnetism snaking over the sun's northwestern limb erupted this morning, hurling much of itself into space. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the blast:

 

 

A bright CME billowed away from the blast site. Because of the explosion's location on the NW edge of the solar disk, the cloud will not hit Earth. This event was photogenic but not geoeffective. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

 

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

~Space Weather Update~ Quiet Sun~ Happy Solstice Everyone~

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HAPPY SOLSTICE: Today, the sun crosses the celestial equator heading south. The moment of crossing or "solstice" occurs at 7:09 pm EDT and marks the beginning of northern summer. This is the longest day and shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Meanwhile In the Southern Hemisphere, winter begins. Happy solstice!

 

CHINESE SPACE TRANSIT: China's space program took another leap forward this week when Chinese astronauts onboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong 1 space station. Not long after the docking, which occured on Monday, June 18th, the joined spacecraft passed directly in front of the sun over Xinzhou, China, where amateur astronomer Su Shaojie recorded the split-second transit:

 


Photo details: Canon 450D camera, 104mm telescope, Baader solar filter, 1/2000 sec exposure , ISO100

"After the Shengzhou 9 successfully docked with Tiangong-1 at 14:07 Beijing time, I was happy to get this opportunity to take a picture of the two spaceship transiting the Sun," says Shaojie. "I used CalSky to predict the timing."

~Space Weather Update Subsiding Storm~

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TAIKONAUTS IN SPACE: China's march into space is quickening. On June 15th, the Chinese space agency launched the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft with three taikonauts on board. One of them, fighter pilot Liu Yang, is the first Chinese woman in space. The Shenzhou 9 is scheduled to dock with China's Tiangong 1 space station later today. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker or your smartphone for sighting opportunities.

 

~Space Weather Update~ GEOMAGNETIC STORM ALERT:

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GEOMAGNETIC STORM ALERT: A geomagnetic storm is in progress in the wake of a double CME impact on June 16th. The hit, which strongly compressed Earth's magnetic field, lit up both poles with bright auroras. Stephen Voss sends this photo from Southland, New Zealand:

 

"We enjoyed a beautiful display of the Southern Lights from the south of New Zealand," says Voss. "A dull arc hung around for a couple of hours before suddenly exploding with a mixture of rays and curtains."

 

~Space Weather Update~ Chance for X Class Solar Flares ~Earth Directed

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CHANCE OF FLARES: Big sunspot AR1504 has developed a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 65% chance of M-flares and a 5% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. X-flare alerts: text, voice.

 

INCOMING CMES: On June 14th, for the second day in a row, sunspot AR1504 erupted and hurled a CME toward Earth. The fast-moving (1360 km/s) cloud is expected to sweep up a previous CME and deliver a combined blow to Earth's magnetic field on June 16th around 10:16 UT. This animation shows the likely progression of the approaching storm:

 

According to the forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CMEs will also hit Venus on June 15th and Mars on June 19th. Because Venus and Mars do not have global magnetic fields to protect them, both of those planets will probably lose tiny amounts of atmosphere when the CMEs strike.

Venus joins Moon and Jupiter in Dawn Sky & ECM Update

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This headline caught my attention, as I looked yesterday at the rising Sun, I saw with my physical eyes/vision, 3 Suns, and a Planet sitting off to the left of the Sun !

 

I always look into the rising Sun at dawn when I am able, and Never have seen what I just described !!! Wondrous times these are!  Much Love Everyone, Annie
 

Venus joins the moon and Jupiter in dawn sky
A week after crossing the face of the sun, brilliant planet has moved to morning shift

 

Venus, moon, Jupiter sky map
Starry Night Software


Moving right along from its transit across the sun on June 5, 2012, Venus is now a morning "star," joining the moon and Jupiter in a dawn conjunction on Sunday, June 17.

By Geoff Gaherty Starry Night Education

updated 1 hour 20 minutes ago 2012-06-14T01:06:54

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