you guys wanna see something neat
 

yesterday there was a x6 class flare on the sun, when it happened it was on the other side of the sun so we avoided most of the radiation. This was a picture today posted today when it came into view. An X class flare is pretty significant, enough to move the space station astronauts to the other side of the space station til the proton event passes which is the predecessor to the actual flare hitting the earth. An x class flare is strong enough to cause damage to satellites, and will blank out radio signals for a period around the earth.

This picture shows a coronal hole which caused the flare.

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod200...06/palmer1.jpg

red x

their server is probably being overloaded right now check back in a few if you can't see it. It's a big picture.

here's a smaller picture probably load faster

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod200...mer1_strip.jpg

interesting

You are freaking me out.

If you'd like to hear what it sounds like when it hits the earth go here:

http://www.heliotown.com/SDec6_06X61843UT22MHz.mp3

That's a recording of a receiver in Arizona on 22 mhz (shortwave)
The increased noise floor is the coronal mass ejection affecting the radio waves.

FYI this is very interesting as we're currently at the bottom of a 11 year sunspot cycle...where this type of stuff typically doesn't happen. The x6 today followed a X9 on the 5th which is a really bad storm. It's just hitting Earth today.

Don't these solar "storms" also cause increased levels of borealis visibilty? I would think that the northern lights, and possibly the southern lights as well would be much more active.

Tim that's what aurora is, Aurora Borealis.

Radio waves can be bounced off the aurora "cloud" which is a VERY intensley charged area of the upper ionosphere. It can do some real wild stuff.

pretty cool stuff scott.

the imagery they can get of this stuff now-adays is incredible.

The nasa site for the SOHO spacecraft is good for some wallpaper.

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/picko...k/eit_wave.jpg

Make sure you wear your tinfoil hat tonite when you go to bed Eric :btu:

cool pics
 

The hell with the tin foil hat, sleeping under the bed is more like it after looking at that molten mass.

We had issues with our dgps's on the ship due to these flares. Luckily we have 4 different units for redundancy so there was no real position excursions.

aurora over Finland this morning, I have only ever seen this around our latitudes once in my life. When we go to Canada I've seen it brighter than this.

http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/i...ela1_strip.jpg

way cool.

Storm is now an S2 and has subsided.

If this #930 sunspot rotates into Earth view WE could see very serious Aurora as soon as next week. Keep that in the back of your mind if you're out at nite.

nice hole. if i was a star i'd hit it.

How far up you have to go to see the lights?.....What time of year is normally the best?.....

That's something to see in life in my opinion :cool: ......

mr mom wait til next week, if that sunspot rotates into view and another coronal mass ejection happens while pointed at earth...you very well may see them very easily in this area.

I think the last time I seen Aurora down here was just a few years ago out fishing, anyone remember that it was down to NJ I think?

It happens this far down from time to time, but mostly in the upper latitudes, above 50 degrees lat I think.

That would be really cool......I'm in the NE part of the state and have some light pollution....amazing how much light emits from that armpit....

But if the word was they were being seen I'd take a ride NW of me for a better chance at seeing them :cool: ......

Aurora
 

I was on the canal that night at the Scusset breakwater -incredible- about 20 guys just stoppped fishing to watch it started red and went to green lasted about 1/2 an hour and little bits all night . Never seen anything like it before.

I'm going to wear 2 layers of tin foil for extra protection.

saw it in buzzards bay once
 

68-70 around there.... i was walking up the road....

it was so breath taking.....you'd think a doorway to heaven had opened.

cool pics indeed

Saw it twice in the last 4 years. Once I expected to see it, the whole sky was red/purple/blue. The next time was in 2004, as far as I know it wasn't predicted, I was out with redcrbbr and it was insane the whole northern sky was alight with fingers of color, it was breathtaking.

I have seen it more than a half dozen times to one extent or another in the past 8 years. Twice off Nantucket, several times off Q, once of MV. Only times I've seen it has been after that solar activity, and usually cool to cold evenings, no wind or NW wind (clears the air?) ... Last time I saw was last fall at Q - never expected to see it in New England but you can...

When I was still working winters up North I'd see them going through Pinkham Notch super early AM.

Booger, you got a prime day for next week? I might go hunt for some lightless areas to do some long exposures.

I'll let you know Ted, the soho bird is in ccd burn right now so wait til Monday or Tuesday.

Tsunami on the sun from spot 930. These are pretty cool in that when they go off out they "flatten" out the sun for a period.

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2006/08dec06/ospan.gif

Tomorrow morning get up REAL early...look dead east.

The planets are aligning...

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2006/08dec06/bush1.jpg

Eric you better switch to a metal hardhat :rotf2:

http://www.spaceweather.com/images20...i512_blank.gif

That is spot 930 in the middle as of today. You got ZERO chance of seeing Aurora now this week it's gone quiet now.

X3 class flare last nite from spot #930

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod200...06/dodson1.jpg

$5 says it's gonna puke a big one by the end of the week. You may see aurora by the weekend.