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

A New Sunspot is Emerging in the Solar Disk - Parker Solar Probe has a Close Encounter with the Sun


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Two Comets Racing Towards Sun - Rare Celestial Spectacle

In a rare celestial spectacle near Earth's own star, two comets were seen racing towards the Sun on Jan. 17 and 18. Bright one is a large Kreutz sungrazer comet, dimmer one is a non-group comet (probably Sun-skirter comet).

At the same time Parker Solar Probe had a close encounter with the sun and the gas giant planets Saturn and Jupiter entered the SOHO field of view.


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GEOMAGNETIC UNREST EXPECTED: For the next three days, Earth's polar magnetic field may be unsettled. The reason: A solar wind stream is approaching Earth, due to arrive on Jan. 18th. Solar wind speeds could top 500 km/s--not fast enough to cause a full-fledged geomagnetic storm, but possibly enough for some beautiful Arctic auroras.

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

New sunspot AR2797 has a simple magnetic field that poses no threat for strong solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

https://imgur.com/liGpWvF

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

[link to spaceweather.gmu.edu]

I think the sun ate both of them

SOLAR SECTOR BOUNDRY CROSSING: Last night, skies over Finland turned shocking green. What happened? Earth crossed through a fold in the heliospheric current sheet--a vast wavy structure that separates regions of positive and negative magnetic polarity in interplanetary space. This is called a "solar sector boundary crossing"; such crossings can cause geomagnetic disturbances around the poles.

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

https://imgur.com/ZNX6DsU

C flares ladies.

We have flux.

[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov (secure)]

[link to www.lmsal.com (secure)]

SOLAR WIND STREAM: Earth is entering a stream of solar wind flowing from a northern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Forecasters expect wind speeds to top 600 km/s on Jan. 20-21, possibly fast enough to spark a minor G1-class geomgnetic storm. Arctic auroras are likely.

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

CME ACTIVITY ON THE SUN: Today the sun burped, twice. SOHO coronagraphs detected two CMEs on Jan. 21st--one to the west and one to the east. Neither of the storm clouds is heading for Earth.

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

https://imgur.com/BlT9avC

Last Edited by Simple27 on 01/21/2021 04:03 PM

The sunspot formerly known as AR2797 has split in two: AR2797 and AR2798. Trailing sunspot AR2798 is crackling with C-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI

https://imgur.com/xDdKgnH

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

Solar activity has been very low lately. Kudos to Simple 27 for keeping everyone updated. I've been very distracted by pressing and current events.

Cycle 25 has had a stutter-start which is not unusual. We'll see a big uptick in activity soon. Here's where we are at in comparison to the weak Cycle 24--

[link to solen.info (secure)]

As you can see, Cycle 24 had two peaks. The Northern hemisphere peaked in 2012 and the Southern in 2014. Of course the magnetic poles have shifted so we're seeing the Southern hemisphere more active this time.

A comparison of Cycles 23-25 here:

[link to www.solen.info]

Our old, old friend AR2797 is finally decaying after 3 rotations. Remarkable and rare!

We may have a new region coming over in the NE....we'll see.

Last Edited by Helios Maximus on 01/22/2021 01:16 AM

WHAT'S OVER THE HORIZON? It's a new sunspot, probably. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is monitoring a spray of hot plasma jutting over the sun's northeastern limb:

https://imgur.com/x0Je0qX

This looks like the magnetic canopy of a sunspot group, temporarily hidden behind the edge of the sun. The dark cores, if they exist, will rotate into view during the next 24 hours. Stay tuned.

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

Hi my friend :)

SOLAR WIND STREAM MISSES EARTH: The storm is cancelled. A solar wind stream expected to hit Earth on Jan. 21st, bringing a chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms, apparently missed. It's not surprising; the stream emerged from a northern hole in the sun's atmosphere. It was not squarely Earth-directed, and probably sailed high above our planet's North Pole.

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

I've been itching for some good solar flare activity, but things look bleak in that regard for the next coming week.

AR's 2797 & 2798 are decaying rapidly and a new spot AR2799 in the NW is already fading.

NOAA SWPC- :Product: Forecast Discussion
:Issued: 2021 Jan 23 0030 UTC
# Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
#
Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was at very low levels. Both Regions 2797 (S18E09,
Hax/alpha) 2798 (S16E18, Cro/beta) were stable and inactive. New Region
2799 (N21W30, Bxo/beta) quietly emerged on the disk this period. No
Earth-directed CMEs were observed during the period.

Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Region Summary
SRS Number 23 Issued at 0030Z on 23 Jan 2021
Report compiled from data received at SWO on 22 Jan
I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 22/2400Z
Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type
2797 S18E09 341 0070 Hax 01 02 Alpha
2798 S16E18 332 0020 Cro 03 05 Beta
2799 N21W30 020 0010 Bxo 03 02 Beta

***The bright EUV spot on the NE limb appears to be spotless plage. Maybe it is developing....we'll see.

AIA 171a (SDO latest image)-
[link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov (secure)]

Latest HMI Intensitygram-

[link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov (secure)]

There is an Earth-facing medium-sized filament which may give us some CME excitement. I'm sure other surprises are coming our way soon.

GONG Learmonth H-alpha pic-

[link to halpha.nso.edu]

NASA has a new addition to the Deep Space Network in Madrid. Postponed by a freak blizzard in Spain (global warming donchya know), it finally came on line yesterday. Here's a report from JPL--

A powerful new antenna has been added to the NASA Space Communications and Navigation’s Deep Space Network (DSN), which connects us to the space robots exploring our solar system. Called Deep Space Station 56, or DSS-56, the dish is now online and ready to communicate with a variety of missions, including NASA’s Perseverance rover when it lands on the Red Planet next month.

The new 34-meter-wide (112-foot-wide) dish has been under construction at the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex in Spain since 2017. Existing antennas are limited in the frequency bands they can receive and transmit, often restricting them to communicating only with specific spacecraft. DSS-56 is the first to use the Deep Space Network’s full range of communication frequencies as soon as it went online. This means DSS-56 is an “all-in-one” antenna that can communicate with all the missions that the DSN supports and can be used as a backup for any of the Madrid complex’s other antennas.

Full report here:
[link to www.jpl.nasa.gov (secure)]

I hope they find STEREO B with one of these monster antennas. Feels like we're missing an eyeball and our peripheral vision and situational awareness has been compromised. In audio & music, a monaural system is better than 1/2 a Stereo.

Last Edited by Helios Maximus on 01/23/2021 12:51 AM

Good news about the new antenna!

Hello, Isis 1, my friend!

We're bound to see a rapid increase in flare activity in the next few months. With 3 probes already beyond Pluto and multiple Mars missions, along with Juno , the Parker Solar Probe and new moon missions planned; the more antenna dishes the better.

Who is tracking Musk's 1000's of Starlink sats? NORAD??

New Sunspots - Incoming Solar Wind - Sungrazing Comet Dives Into the Sun - Saturn-Jupiter on SOHO


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An eruptive B3 flare from AR2798 at around 0:00z.

Lockheed's Solarsoft site says "presumed CME". As of this posting STEREO and SOHO have not updated imagery to show this event.

In any case a CME would possibly be Earth-directed (mid-disk origin), but probably insignificant.

Here's a video close-up of the event from Solarsoft:

[link to sdowww.lmsal.com (secure)]

STEREO or SOHO should show us something whenever they update.

[link to stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov (secure)]

[link to sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov (secure)]

ARECIBO Obituary in my inbox today--



Slo-mo analysis of the collapse from different angles--

The Earth-facing filaments I mentioned yesterday appear to have lifted off- at least partially. A strand of filament embedded in AR2798 was ejected followed by a chunk of the larger filament south of 2797. I base this analysis on GONG H-alpha imagery. Both the Hawaii and Australia telescopes captured the event although both locations suffered from clouds or atmospheric disturbances. If you slow down the movie and watch several times you'll notice the disappearing filaments.

GONG movies

Learmonth Australia-:

[link to gong2.nso.edu (secure)]

Mauna Loa, HI-

[link to halpha.nso.edu]

SDO AIA193 movie:

[link to sdodata.oma.be]

Last Edited by Helios Maximus on 01/24/2021 01:02 AM

Fantastic image.

THE SOLAR WIND HAS ARRIVED: Earth is entering a stream of solar wind flowing from a small hole in the sun's atmosphere. Geomagnetic storms are *not* expected. However, the stream could produce some beautiful auroras around the Arctic Circle.

[link to www.spaceweather.com (secure)]

Hi Isis

Thanks Simple for keeping this updated.

I try to help out :)