SOLAR WATCH * Huge X8.2 Flare Sept. 10, 2017! (Updated Daily)

Back up into B range:

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@SungrazerComets
With some new image processing, here's a short animation of comet ATLAS in the @USNRL HI-1 field of view on @NASASun
STEREO-A. (Full movie in next tweet.)

Of note: Check out Mercury as it enters the upper-left corner of this field of view... Yes, Mercury has a tail!

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ANOTHER SOLAR CYCLE 25 SUNSPOT: A new sunspot is emerging over the sun's southeastern limb. Provisionally numbered AR2765, it is inset in this magnetic map of the sun’s surface from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory: [link to spaceweather.com (secure)]

AR2765 is a member of new Solar Cycle 25. We know this because of its magnetic polarity. According to Hale's Law, sunspots switch polarities from one solar cycle to the next. Southern sunspots from old Solar Cycle 24 have a -/+ polarity. This sunspot is the opposite: +/-, marking it as a member of Solar Cycle 25.

On June 1st, before this sunspot rotated into view, it produced a long-duration B-class solar flare. This suggests AR2765 is capable of explosive activity. Geoeffective flares could occur as the sunspot turns toward Earth this week.

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It's worn like a miitary one..? So strange as it's not military... American military uniforms feature the U.S. flag, which is worn facing backward. The rule is that the blue field of stars should always be in the highest position of honor on the uniform. That position has always been the right shoulder with the flag's blue stars facing forward.

Thanks for the info!

Almost makes it even more interesting as to why these suits had the flag displayed that way. ;)

A Doomed Sungrazing Comet Get Utterly Vaporised by the Sun

A few days ago the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) watched a comet meet its demise. In the video captured by SOHO, you can see a number of objects zooming around the Sun, which is blocked by an opaque disk to reduce glare.

Seemingly right on top of the sun is Venus, which is bright and easy to spot. You can also see the bright star Aldebaran the Hyades star cluster and a coronal mass ejection.

This comet is most likely a Kreutz sungrazer.
Kreutz sungrazers are an interesting group of comets as there is no official definition for them. They have been observed for hundreds of years and were studied by Heinrich Kreutz in the 1880's and 1890's. These comets are thought to be fragments derived from a giant, ancient comet.


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SIGNS OF LIFE FROM SOLAR CYCLE 25: This weekend, the biggest sunspot of new Solar Cycle 25 (so far) is turning toward Earth. AR2765 is inset in this magnetic map of the sun’s surface from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory: [link to spaceweather.com (secure)]

We know AR2567 is a member of Solar Cycle 25 because of its magnetic polarity. According to Hale's Law, sunspots switch polarities from one solar cycle to the next. Southern sunspots from old Solar Cycle 24 have a -/+ polarity. This sunspot is the opposite: +/-, marking it as a member of Solar Cycle 25.
The primary dark core of AR2765 is about as wide as Earth, with two satellite sunspots closer in size to the Moon. A frothy wake of magnetic turbulence stretches 70,000 miles behind the trio. These dimensions make the sunspot group an easy target for backyard solar telescopes.

The sun is still in the pits of a century-class Solar Minimum. The appearance of AR2765 suggests that it won't last forever. Solar Cycle 25 has been showing signs of life all year long, with 82% of all sunspots in 2020 having the magnetic polarity of the new cycle. What's next? Solar flares?

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A SUNSPOT WITH A SCORPION'S TAIL: Sunspot AR2765 isn't the biggest thing on the sun. Its tail is. Efrain Morales Rivera photographed the structure from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico: [link to spaceweathergallery.com (secure)]

"To take the picture, I used an 80mm telescope with a Lunt H-alpha filter," says Rivera. Such filters are tuned to the red glow of solar hydrogen. They are excellent at revealing long magnetic filaments filled with hot gas--which is what the "Scorpion's tail" is.

The tail of AR2765 stretches almost 70,000 km from end-to-end, and it is not entirely stable. Images from multiple astronomers show it changing shape and direction. If the tail twists enough to reconnect with itself--bang!--an explosion could occur. Monitoring is encouraged.

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Sunspot spits fire and minor flares in stunning time-lapse

Sunspot AR2765 was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory as it rotated into the view of the spacecraft on June 3-5, 2020. The active region (AR) has been emitting minor flares during that period.


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2765 is moving into a geoeffective position

THE SOLAR WIND IS HERE: A stream of solar wind is brushing Earth's magnetic field today, June 8th. The gaseous material is flowing from a northern hole in the sun's atmosphere. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras, especially in the southern hemisphere where waxing autumn darkness favors visibility.

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B-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: New-cycle sunspot AR2765 just produced a B6.4-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the explosion on June 7th at 21:48 UT: [link to spaceweather.com (secure)]

B-class solar flares are considered to be relatively minor. But consider this: A typical B-class solar flare releases as much energy as 100 million WWII atomic bombs. Only on the sun, which is itself a 10 27 ton self-contained nuclear explosion, would such a blast be considered "minor."

In fact, B-flares can hurl CMEs toward Earth and spark auroras. Probably not this time, though. Initial movies of the explosion suggest that no debris is heading our way.

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ETA: B6.4 [link to www.lmsal.com (secure)]

Last Edited by Simple27 on 06/08/2020 03:07 PM

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SOLAR EXPLOSION MISSES EARTH: Yesterday, a magnetic filament connected to sunspot AT2765 exploded: [link to spaceweather.com (secure)]

The debris mostly fell back to the surface of the sun and the rest is not heading our way. It will miss Earth. No auroras are in the offing as a result of the event.

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A Solar Storm Nearly Clips Parker Solar Probe | Solar Storm Forecast 06.12.2020

This week our Sun gives us more eye-candy as we have two new-cycle, bright regions in Earth view. One is region 2765 and it is the largest new-cycle sunspot we have seen to date. These regions are boosting the solar flux into the low 70s, which means radio propagation on Earth's dayside is staying in the marginal range. Although there arent any Earth-directed solar storms, we did have a far-side launch of a solar storm this week. The intriguing thing is that it nearly clipped the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft, which is just finishing its 5th perihelion pass (closest approach to our Sun was on June 7th). This solar storm is also making news because it is the first strong "Halo CME" to be seen as we rise out of solar minimum. That it was so clearly seen in Earth-based coronagraphs means that these solar storms are once again growing stronger.


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FARSIDE CORONAL MASS EJECTION: Something just exploded on the sun. The debris, a coronal mass ejection (CME), is billowing over the sun's eastern limb:

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NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory did not record a flare or other eruption on the nearside of the sun, so this is probably a farside event. The CME is expected to miss Earth.

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Halo CME @halocme

Two slow CMEs. Neither Earth-directed. @TamithaSkov

CME1 from a helical and concave structure over the west limb (see right frame) - how far can it be seen by SUVI?
@dbseaton

CME2, a nice flux rope, coming from a region 20-30 degs behind east limb per STEREO (see inset).

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Dr. Tamitha Skov @TamithaSkov

What about the stealthy dimming region near center disk, high in the northern hemisphere, best seen in SDO/AIA 211A on June 12 from ~06:00 - 12:00 UT? The wispy eruption during that time period is nearly coincident with the eruption 20-30 deg behind the east limb via STEREO.

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Halo CME @halocme

You are absolutely right, @TamithaSkov, about the stealthy eruption, which seems to be Earth-directed - beware of possible effects on 16-17 June.

I call it CME 0, which was too narrow to be observed by LASCO, and not related to CME 1 or CME 2.

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I don't see anything from the sun that should cause this...no?

lol...

lol...

I personally think it was a DDoS attack

NAKED-EYE COMET NEOWISE? Here we go again. A comet is falling toward the sun, and it could become a naked-eye object after it skims past the orbit of Mercury on July 3rd. Michael Mattiazzo photographed Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) on June 10th from Swan Hill, Australia: [link to spaceweathergallery.com (secure)]

It might not look like much now, but this comet could blossom in the weeks after perihelion (closest approach to the sun). Forecasters say Comet NEOWISE might become as bright as a 2nd or 3rd magnitude star. Northern hemisphere observers would be able to easily see it in the evening sky in mid-July.

At this point, readers may be experiencing a feeling of déjà vu. Almost the exact same forecast was issued for Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) in March and Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) in May. Both comets dived toward the sun and … instead of blossoming, died. Intense solar heat can do that to a fragile ball of ice.

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Mattiazzo, who is one of the world’s most experienced amateur comet observers, thinks Comet NEOWISE could turn out better. "I'd say there's a 70% chance this comet will survive perihelion," he says, basing his guess on the stability of the comet’s light curve, which sets it apart from Comets ATLAS and SWAN. "Hopefully, Comet NEOWISE could be a case of 'third time lucky' for northern hemisphere observers."

We'll know soon enough. On June 22nd, the comet will enter the field of view of SOHO's C3 coronagraph–a space-based instrument that blocks the glare of the sun to reveal nearby stars, planets and comets. For a whole week, astronomers will be able to monitor Comet NEOWISE as it approaches the orbit of Mercury. If it falls apart, the event may be visible in the images. Ditto if it survives.

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Sungrazer today. [link to spaceweather.gmu.edu]

Huge Comet Makes Death Plunge Toward Sun - June 16, 2020

A huge comet was destroyed by the sun after diving toward our star. Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) was captured the comet's death dive into the Sun on June 16, 2020. In the video there are actually two comets heading toward the Sun.

Comets like these swallowed by the Sun are known as Kreutz sungrazers, and are characterized by orbits that take them incredibly close to the sun. Kreutz comets are believed to be fragments from a single large comet that broke up into smaller pieces thousands of years ago.


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SOLAR MINIMUM ISN'T OVER YET: Solar Cycle 25 is showing signs of life. In the past month it has produced the strongest solar flare in years (M1-class), and a sunspot that lasted for two whole weeks (AR2765). Now the sun is blank and quiet again. This is a sign that, while Solar Minimum may be loosening its grip, it isn't over yet.

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@AccuAstronomy
Africa & Asia will have the chance to see a #RingOfFire solar eclipse on Sunday. Here's what to expect:

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