Summer Soltice CME Blast

The Extinction Protocol: 2012 and Beyond reports recent Coronal Mass Ejection: "On June 20, 2013, at 11:24 p.m., the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later." The brief article reports fast rate of speed, ejection traveling at 1350 miles per second:  "... based on observations from NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and ESA/NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 1350 miles per second, which is a fast speed for CMEs. Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they funnel energy into Earth’s magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. The CME’s magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth’s fields changing their very shape. Magnetic storms can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected electrical surges in power grids. They also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the sun’s activity ramps up every 11 years toward solar maximum – currently expected in late 2013 — large storms occur several times per year." Spaceweather.com reports: " For the second day in a row, a fast stream of solar wind is blowing around Earth. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on June 23rd in response to the buffeting."

sun's great conveyor belt

Does the Sun's Great Conveyor Belt of circulating hot plasma control 11 year solar cycle of maximums and minimums? "The Great Conveyor Belt is a massive circulating current of fire (hot plasma) within the sun. It has two branches, north and south, each taking about 40 years to complete one circuit. Researchers believe the turning of the belt controls the sunspot cycle." A Daily Galaxy article asks very question, "Sun's "Great Conveyor Belt" --Does this 40-Year Cycle Control Sunspots?". Physicist David Hathaway and Lisa Rightmire measured speed of flow with SOHO data and found a relationship,"...as the number of sunspots increases on the Sun, the speed of the Great Conveyor Belt decreases, and vice versa: fewer sunspots and the faster the speed of the Belt... It's the 40-year circuit that scientists think is the controlling mechanism for the approximate 11-year solar cycle—when a lot of sunspots occur (solar maximums) for about half the cycle and when only a few (or no) sunspots occur (solar minimums) for the other half of the cycle." Reader is left to assume a straightforward four solar cycles per completion of circuit made by the Great Conveyor Belt? It's more input for your mind!

video: sun-diving comet & coronal mass ejection

A video posted at Universe Today by SolarWatcher captures a comet diving into the Sun and a Coronal mass ejection (CME). The solar events recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), on May 10-11, 2011, are condensed into little over one minute of streaming content. It's a spectacular and well-spent minute of your time!