{"id":57095,"date":"2023-06-23T08:16:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T12:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=57095"},"modified":"2023-06-23T08:16:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T12:16:30","slug":"using-doppler-shift-and-time-stations-to-detect-solar-flares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/06\/using-doppler-shift-and-time-stations-to-detect-solar-flares\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Doppler Shift and Time Stations to Detect Solar Flares"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

A WWV Time Code Generator (photo taken at WWV in Fort Collins, Colorado)<\/p><\/div>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributors, Troy Riedel and Jock Elliott, for sharing the following post from Spaceweather.com<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A NEW WAY TO DETECT SOLAR FLARES:\u00a0<\/strong>Around the world, ham radio operators are experimenting with a new way to detect solar flares–the Doppler Shift method<\/a>. Brian Curtis of Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, demonstrated the technique on June 20th when the sun produced a powerful X1.1-class solar flare:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Image by Brian Curtis<\/p><\/div>\n

“I monitor the frequency and field strength of Canada’s CHU time station transmitting at 7850 KHz,” explains Curtis. “During the X-class flare event, I was able to detect the Doppler shift of the station’s carrier frequency (green plot). It shifted by 5 Hz, which is a small change, but very obvious!”<\/p>\n

When radiation from a solar flare hits Earth’s atmosphere, it ionizes the air, temporarily boosting the thickness of our planet’s ionosphere. Any radio station skipping off the ionosphere will suddenly find its frequency Doppler shifted (because its reflection point is moving). Shortwave stations such as\u00a0WWV<\/a>,\u00a0WWVH<\/a>, and\u00a0CHU<\/a>\u00a0transmit carriers with atomic-clock grade frequency stability, so they are perfect sources for Doppler monitoring.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sudden changes in the ionosphere caused by flares or even sunrise\/sunset can Doppler shift the frequency of stations like WWV. Image credit: Collins et al (2021) [Original image via HamSci and SpaceWeather.com]<\/p><\/div>\n

“I have been monitoring radio stations for decades, noting sudden changes in signal strength as a means of monitoring space weather events,” says Curtis. “It is only fairly recently (~4 months) that I started to experiment with monitoring the Doppler shift of HF stations. The June 20th X-class flare event is by far the most dramatic that I have witnessed thus far.”<\/p>\n

Would\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0like to detect solar flares this way? The\u00a0HamSCI<\/a>\u00a0citizen science program has developed a\u00a0Personal Space Weather Station<\/a>\u00a0specifically for Doppler shift measurements. This technique can also be used to study\u00a0solar eclipses<\/a>,\u00a0earthquakes and tsunamis<\/a>, and\u00a0much more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the full story on Spaceweather.com<\/a>, more on EOS.org<\/a> and HamSCI.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors, Troy Riedel and Jock Elliott, for sharing the following post from Spaceweather.com: A NEW WAY TO DETECT SOLAR FLARES:\u00a0Around the world, ham radio operators are experimenting with a new way to detect solar flares–the Doppler Shift method. Brian Curtis of Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, demonstrated the technique on June […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,810],"tags":[6344,1126,811,1714],"class_list":["post-57095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-space-weather","tag-hamsci","tag-solar-flares","tag-spaceweather","tag-time-stations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-eQT","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5707,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/massive-sunspots-appear-solar-flares-could-follow\/","url_meta":{"origin":57095,"position":0},"title":"Massive sunspots appear, solar flares could follow","author":"Thomas","date":"February 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Christian Science Monitor) A colossal sunspot on the surface of the sun is large enough to swallow six Earths whole, and could trigger solar flares this week,\u00a0NASA\u00a0scientists say. 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