Category Archives: Space Weather

The Sun is Flaring (X and M Class )

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Troy Riedel, who shares the following news courtesy of the excellent SpaceWeather.com site:

THE SUN IS FLARING AGAIN: Sunspot AR3947 is sizzling with activity. Since yesterday it has produced three X-class solar flares and multiple strong M-flares. NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite recorded the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray flashes:

Each flare has produced a shortwave radio blackout on Earth. Almost all longitudes of our planet have experienced intermittent loss of signal below 20 MHz during local daylight hours. Long-distance propagation has been very unreliable.

Remarkably, no significant CMEs have emerged. For some reason, these explosions have not lifted much material out of the sun’s atmosphere. Future blasts may behave differently, however, and the activity shows no sign of abating as the sunspot turns toward Earth.

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Parker Solar Spacecraft

Flying Into the Sun

On Christmas Eve the Parker Solar Probe is going to enter the Sun’s atmosphere for the first time to study Solar Wind. For radio hobbists of all ilks, this will hopefully help us understand more about the origins of Solar Wind, and thereby help us understand more fully the effects this has on radio signals (and other space weather issues).

The following is an exerpt from an article on ARS Technica by Eric Berger

Almost no one ever writes about the Parker Solar Probe anymore.

Sure, the spacecraft got some attention when it launched.  It is, after all, the fastest moving object that humans have ever built. At its maximum speed, goosed by the gravitational pull of the Sun, the probe reaches a velocity of 430,000 miles per hour, or more than one-sixth of 1 percent the speed of light. That kind of speed would get you from New York City to Tokyo in less than a minute.

And the Parker Solar Probe also has the distinction of being the first NASA spacecraft named after a living person. At the time of its launch, in August 2018, physicist Eugene Parker was 91 years old.

But in the six years since the probe has been zipping through outer space and flying by the Sun? Not so much. Let’s face it, the astrophysical properties of the Sun and its complicated structure are not something that most people think about on a daily basis.

However, the smallish probe—it masses less than a metric ton, and its scientific payload is only about 110 pounds (50 kg)—is about to make its star turn. Quite literally. On Christmas Eve, the Parker Solar Probe will make its closest approach yet to the Sun. It will come within just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) of the solar surface, flying into the solar atmosphere for the first time.

Read the whole article here

Posted by Robert Gulley K4PKM

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Spaceweather.com: Sunspot “visually rivals Carrington’s famous sunspot”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, who shares the following news via Spaceweather.com:

Above: Carrington’s sunspot (to scale) compared to today’s giant sunspot AR3664.

HUGE SUNSPOT HURLS CME TOWARD EARTH: A sunspot so large it visually rivals Carrington’s famous sunspot of 1859 hurled a CME toward Earth today. Don’t worry! A new Carrington Event is not in the offing. The incoming CME isn’t potent enough. However, this huge sunspot merits watching while Earth is in its strike zone. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

CME impact alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive an instant text message when the CME arrives.

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Rich’s propagation observations during the total solar eclipse

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rich Stahl, who writes:

In Ocean View NJ, our eclipse started at 2:08, 3:23 totality, and ended 4:35. We have a daytimer here on 1020, WWAC, at 1900 watts, and I was curious if KDKA, at 50kw, also on 1020, would have any presence during the event. I used my Tecsun PL330, on the internal ferrite antenna, and did a band scan 530-1710 every fifteen minutes to see what it would capture. From 2:15 up to the 3:45 scan, the radio captured between eight and ten signals per scan. Up to this point, the sun still had the D layer fully ionized. But after the mid point, the 4:00 scan had 19 captures, the 4:15 scan had 38, and the 4:30 scan had 36. The D layer had obviously de-ionized considerably. The very next scan, at 4:45, captures back down to 9. The sun was back in business. And never did I hear a peep out of KDKA.

Rich Stahl
WR3V
Ocean View, NJ

Thank you for sharing your findings, Rich! Perhaps others can comment with their observations as well.

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A large CME could bring G3-class geomagnetic storms

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, who shares the following news from Spaceweather.com:

A BIG CME IS COMING: This morning’s X1-class solar flare hurled a bright CME toward Earth. NASA and NOAA models agree that the storm cloud should reach our planet by the early hours of March 25th. A direct hit could spark strong G3-class geomagnetic storms with mid-latitude auroras in the USA and Europe.

NOAA Geomagnetic Activity Probabilities 24 Mar-26 Mar
Active                10/01/30
Minor storm           25/20/30
Moderate storm        25/30/20
Strong-Extreme storm  35/50/05

NOAA Kp index forecast 24 Mar - 26 Mar
             Mar 24    Mar 25    Mar 26
00-03UT        3.67      5.00      5.00      
03-06UT        4.67      6.67      4.00      
06-09UT        2.00      5.67      4.00      
09-12UT        1.00      5.00      3.67      
12-15UT        1.00      4.00      3.00      
15-18UT        2.67      3.00      2.33      
18-21UT        5.00      3.00      2.33      
21-00UT        5.67      4.00      3.33

Thanks for the tip, Troy!

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Solar Radiation Storms and Cannibal CMEs

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riede, who shares the following news from Spaceweather.com:


Spaceweather.com

SOLAR RADIATION STORM–NOW: For the second time in less than a week, energetic solar protons are raining down on Earth’s upper atmosphere. Forecasters call this a “solar radiation storm.” Today’s storm (near category S2) is rich in “hard protons” wiith energies greater than 50 MeV. It is causing a shortwave radio blackout inside the Arctic Circle and speckling the cameras of some Earth-orbiting satellites.

The plot above shows storm data recorded by NOAA’s GOES-18 satellite in Earth orbit. Sensors on the satellite are counting energetic protons as they pass by en route to Earth. Triggered by an explosion near the sun’s southwestern limb (inset), this storm could last for another 24 hours.

IS A ‘CANNIBAL CME’ COMING? Since Feb. 7th, the sun has hurled multiple CMEs into space. A handful of them might hit Earth this week. A new NOAA forecast model shows at least three solar storm clouds approaching for strikes on Feb. 13th:

Click to play the animated forecast model

The closely-spaced arrival of these three CMEs could spark G1 (Minor) to G2-class (Moderate) geomagnetic storms with high-latitude auroras in northern Europe, Canada, and northern-tier US states from Maine to Washington.

There’s a chance the CMEs will pile up to form a Cannibal CME. This happens when one fast-moving CME sweeps up slower-moving CMEs in front of it. Cannibal CMEs typically contain strong shocks and enhanced magnetic fields that do a good job sparking geomagnetic storms. If such a pile-up occurs, the combined strike could cause a G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storm with auroras at mid-latitudes.

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X5-Class Solar Flare is the strongest of Solar Cycle 25

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, who shares the following news from Spaceweather.com:

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G2): A CME launched into space by yesterday’s X5-class solar flare (see below) *does* have an Earth-directed component. According to a NASA model, it should strike our planet on Jan. 2nd. G2-class geomagnetic storms are possible when the CME arrives. CME impact alerts: SMS Text

MAJOR X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Mere hours after emerging over the sun’s eastern limb on Dec. 31st, big sunspot AR3536 erupted, producing a major X5-class solar flare. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

This is the strongest flare of Solar Cycle 25 (so far) and the most powerful eruption the sun has produced since the great storms of Sept. 2017.

Radiation from the flare has caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean: blackout map. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at all frequencies below 30 MHz for more than 60 minutes after the flare’s peak (2155 UT).

Click here for more updates on Spaceweather.com.

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