Auroras Alert: CME Impacts Earth July 14th

Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), hit as expected, Earth's magnetosphere, July 14th, about 2p Eastern/11 a Pacific Daylight Time as reported by Spaceweather.com.  "A geomagnetic storm is brewing in the wake of the impact. At the moment, conditions appear favorable for auroras over high-latitude places such as Canada, Scandinavia, Antarctica and Siberia. It is too early to say whether the storm will intensify and bring auroras to middle latitudes as well," forecasts space weather website.  The present geomagnetic storm activity, is result, of X1.4 flare that erupted from Sunspot 1520 on July 12th.

Incoming! CME On Its Way Toward Earth

Universe Today reports earthbound, "...a coronal mass ejection resulting from the X1.4-class flare that erupted from sunspot 1520 on July 12. The CME is expected to collide with Earth’s magnetic field on Saturday..." Casual observers wonder when will it be the Big One?

electrons stripped from van allen belt during solar storms

It's been known since the sixties electrons disappear from the Van Allen Belt during solar storms or Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). In article, "Solar storms affect Earth's weather?", Vassilis Angelopoulos, a UCLA professor of Earth and space sciences, said "'during the onset of a geomagnetic storm, nearly all the electrons trapped within the radiation belt vanish, only to come back with a vengeance a few hours later.'" The puzzling effect of disappearing electrons left question whether electrons fall into Earth's atmosphere? Orbiting satellites have only recently observed storms and recorded what happens to the electrons. "The data show that while a small amount of the missing energetic electrons did fall into the atmosphere, the vast majority was pushed away from the planet, stripped away from the radiation belt by the onslaught of solar wind particles during the heightened solar activity that generated the magnetic storm itself," summarizes article. Drew Turner, lead author of study recently published in Nature Physics, declares verification of electrons fate an important milestone in understanding Earth's space environment.

sunspot faces earth for two weeks beginning nov8

A Technorati article compares growing sunspot monster AKA AR1339  to 1859 Carrington event. Writer Stephen Alexander informs, "from August 28 until September 2, 1859, the earth faced a similar scenario... On September 1, 1859, the largest flare came unleashed a coronal mass ejection [CME] straight at the Earth. And just 18 hours later, the largest recorded geomagnetic storm hit the Earth. In Boston, the light was so bright that even at 1:00 AM, people could read the newspaper without any other light sources around them. The currents in long Telegraph wires in both the United States and Europe experienced induced ElectroMagnetic Force. Fires broke out in the telegraph offices and even shocked the telegraph operators. Auroras were seen in Hawaii, Mexico, Cuba and Italy. This was the 1859 solar superstorm."

Alexander notes possible impact today from a geomagnetic superstorm, "...the electric grid to the United States could be virtually destroyed in the northern Half of the United States. With 130 million people without electricity for 4 to 10 years as 350 transformers are destroyed. The entire Alaska Pipeline could erupt into a fireball. All land line telephones could be destroyed." The author dismisses threat with a "...why worry, it's not going to happen...", but adds "it could". Will the earth be hit by a solar superstorm similar to the 1859 Carrington Event in next two weeks?

coronal mass ejection: causal link to earthquakes and volcanoes

A strong Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) may transmit energy directly into the Earth's core, heating surrounding magma - a direct cause of increased volcanic activity. A CME may also cause breaches in the Earth's magnetosphere as reported in a previous post, "Earth's Magnetic Fields Cause of Birds & Fish Die-off". It's suspected that the birds blacked out when they quit breathing, since they rely on magnetic fields to help regulate air intake while in flight. The implications are potentially horrific with the loss of protection from a CME that might reach the Earth's surface, in addition, to an increase of earthquakes and volcanoes. You may listen to a discussion of CMEs and their implications on the Sept. 30th Nutrimedical Report.  It's an enlightening discussion that includes tsunami concerns originating from the Canary Islands.

sunspot 1283: three solar flares earthbound

A solar flare alert issued by Spaceweather.com. The website reports third significant flare from sunspot 1283 since Sept. 6th. "All three eruptions propelled CMEs in the general direction of Earth. Not one of the CMEs, however, will hit our planet squarely. Glancing blows from the three clouds will commence sometime on Sept. 9th and continue through Sept. 11th..." High latitude skywatchers will likely see nice auroras for next few days!

2008 coronal mass ejection as never seen before in hi-def

New detailed imaging of Coronal mass ejection (CME) adds new definition and clarity to solar event. A pair of wonderful Universe Today articles provide insight into phenomena as well as spectacular imaging! A video in, "Watch a Solar Storm Slam in Earth," represents continuous tracking of coronal mass as it travels from initial ejection to when it hits Earth's outer atmosphere--impressive! "Newly reprocessed images from NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft, allow scientists to trace the anatomy of a Coronal Mass Ejection in December 2008 as it moves and changes on its journey from the Sun to the Earth. Using a new technique, heliophysicists can now identify the origin and structure of the material that impacted Earth, and connect the image data directly with measurements at Earth at the time of impact."


A second NASA-produced video contained in, "Enhanced Technique for Tracking Solar Storms All the Way From Sun to Earth," reveals, "STEREO has been able to track solar storms in their entirety before, but a new 'data mining' technique allows for greater detail to be extracted". Please take in both videos as our local weather doesn't end with space!

related flashback: 'black rain' - nasa stereo mission images

auroral displays tonight result of june 7 coronal mass ejection

A huge Coronal mass ejection (CME) recorded on June 7th by Solar Dynamics Observatory may result in large auroral displays in northern latitudes tonight! A CSMonitor article points out this is not to be confused with a mere solar flare but rather a more spectacular cause! "Though widely described as a 'solar flare,' the star of Tuesday's solar storm was a much rarer – and much larger – coronal mass ejection, which is distorting Earth's magnetic field and will produce the northern lights (and southern lights) tonight." You may, by stepping outside, look to the skies and catch a glimpse of something unusual! Admission is free!

solar storms: risks of rising solar activity

A burst of solar activity this past week generated, also, dire warnings such as, "Catastrophe Looming? The Risks of Rising Solar Activity," at SPACE.com. The present writer is left with the impression of covert preparation for tragedy, an inculcation of sorts, in such warnings. "'Even if this is a really lackluster solar cycle — as it looks like it's shaping up to be — that doesn't mean you can't have a real bell-ringing event,' said Joe Gurman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, project scientist for the agency's sun-studying STEREO spacecraft." An element of possibility is planted in a reader's mind, even while acknowledged there's a lack of any clear threat.

Is it just recognition of a remote chance, as the Solar Max of 2012 is anticipated to be the largest in years, or something more? The average citizen would never question the official explanation for a knock-out punch of the nation's power grid. It would likely never come to mind to ask, whether the source was a solar flare, coronal mass ejection or an EMP event from a weapon? Is it an ingenious coupling of natural and artificial sources in a predictive program to prepare us for tragedy in the making!

aurora alert: year's largest solar flare

The largest so far this year, a category M6.6 solar flare is earthbound. A skywatcher alert has been issued for auroras in possibly lower as well as higher latitudes. Experts agree a cloud of radiation from a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), will hit the Earth's magnetic field on or about Feb. 15th. The source of the activity is sunspot 1158, which is expected to grow. Many thanks go to Oystein Lunde Ingvaldsen for his wonderful images like the one pictured. The captured Northern Lights image is from the present buffeting of the magnetosphere above Bo, a town in Norway. They are a wonder to behold!. You can enjoy more aurora pictures from another Norwegian, Bjorn Jorgensen, here.


update: solar flare jams radio, satellite signals*
largest solar flare in 4yrs could disrupt power grids, satellite communications*
dept of energy to spend $27m on 'sun shot'*
japan may send humanoid tweet-bot to space*

nasa says solar flare will strike earth nov 14 or 15

Sunspot 1123 hurled a C-4 class solar flare in the Earth's direction just south of the Sun-Earth line, sometime, in the early hours of Nov. 12, 2010. The coronal mass ejection (CME) could glance off the Earth's magnetic field on either Nov. 14th or Nov. 15th to create auroras. Full article is at Before It's News. "Earlier last week, active sunspot 1121 has unleashed one of the brightest x-ray solar flares in years, an M5.4-class eruption at 15:36 UT on Nov. 6th." Please follow link to brief You Tube video of sunspot 1121. A C-4 class solar flare is of mediocre strength. Present observer finds prevalence of news on solar flares curious.