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08 Feb ' 01:48
480.3 0.2 Updated: Today at 0934 UT C2 0417 UT Feb08 C2 0000 UT Feb08 Updated: Today at: 0900 UT Daily Sun: 08 Feb 12
solar flares. A new sunspot is emerging
at the circld location. Credit: SDO/HMI
3.1 0.6 Updated: Today at 0936 UT Coronal Holes: 08 Feb 12
Solar wind flowing
from this coronal hole should reach Earth on Feb.
10-11. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SOLAR WIND: A medium-velocity (450-500 km/s) solar wind stream is blowing past Earth and sparking aurorasaroundthe ArcticCircle. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of polar geomagnetic storms during the next 24 hours.
MELTING SNOW MOON: According to folklore, last night's full Moon was the "Snow Moon." John Stetson watched it melt, apparently, as it rose through a layer of relatively warm air over the waters of Cape Elizabeth, Maine:
It's a mirage, caused by sun-warmed air overlying the sea surface. The temperature profile turned Earth's atmosphere into a lens, refracting the rays of the rising Moon and distorting the lunar disk as shown. Jules Verne noticed the same kind of distortion in sunrises and sunsets, and famously likened them to an Etruscan Vase
That's not all: "A green rim can be seen along the top of the moon," points out Stetson. "And there is a red fringe along the bottom." This is also caused by the prismatic action of the low atmosphere.
more Snow Moonshots:from Chris Allington of Little Sioux, Iowa; from Jeremy Bennetts of Leavenworth, Kansas; from Evan Ludes of Little Sioux, IA; from Robert T. Smith of Stoneville, NC; from Jack Dembicky of Sunspot, NM
PARTING SHOTS: In the past 48 hours, formerly-quiet sunspot AR1410 has turned into a dynamo of activity, rumbling with long-duration solar flares and significantly boosting the sun's extreme ultraviolet output. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed glowing arcs of magnetism over the active region during the early hours of Feb. 8th:
The affect of this activity on Earth is minimal because the sunspot is rotating over the sun's northwestern limb. For the next two weeks, the departing 'spot will transit the farside of the sun under the watchful gaze of NASA's twin STEREO probes. The planet most likely to be hit by an eruption during that time is Mercury. Stay tuned for reports from STEREO.
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07 Feb ' 20:38
486.6 Updated: Today at 0426 UT Sunspot number: 243 Kp= 4 unsettled3.8 2.4 Updated: Today at 0426 UT -
07 Feb ' 16:21
502.5 1.8 Updated: Today at 0016 UT C7 2219 UT Feb07 C7 2219 UT Updated: Today at: 2359 UT1 Kp= 2 4.1 3.1 Updated: Today at 0017 UT Updated at: 2012 Feb 07 2200 UTC
Updated at: 2012 Feb 07 2200 UTC40 %40 %20 %20 %50 %50 %30 %Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012Don't just watch shooting stars. Wear them! Authentic meteorite jewelry for Valentine's Day is now available in the SpaceWeather Store.
On February 8, 2012 there were -
07 Feb ' 12:04
503.9 0.5 Updated: Today at 1953 UT C6 1734 UT Feb07 C6 1734 UT Updated: Today at: 1900 UT Daily Sun: 07 Feb 12
Departing sunspot
AR1410 is crackling with C-
and M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMIUpdated
06 Feb 2012
Updated 06 Feb 2012112
Updated 06 Feb 2012
2 7.1 6.2 south Updated: Today at 1956 UT
NORTHERN SNOWSCAPE: A solar wind stream of medium velocity (400-500 km/s) is buffeting Earth's magnetic field and stirring up auroras around the Arctic Circle. Nenne Åman witnessed this scene last night from the Galtispouda mountain near Arjeplog, Sweden:
"The winter landscape was so beautiful, and tonight's auroras made it stunning together with the moon light," says Åman. "Another wonderful night in northern Sweden!"
High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for more moonlit auroras on Feb. 7th as the solar wind continues to blow.
from Chad Blakley of Abisko National Park, Sweden; from Arild Heitmann of Tennevik River, Skånland, Troms, Norway; from Andy Keen of Inari, Northern Lapland, Finland; from Neal Cheeseman of Arvidsjaur, Sweden
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07 Feb ' 05:25
457.9 0.2 Updated: Today at 1315 UT C5 1103 UT Feb07 C5 1103 UT Updated: Today at: 1300 UT3 Kp= 3 6.5 0.2 north Updated: Today at 1317 UTMetallic photos of the sun by renowned photographer Greg Piepol bring together the best of art and science. Buy one or a whole set. They make a stellar gift.
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07 Feb ' 00:21
435.8 0.1 Updated: Today at 0815 UT C1 0425 UT Feb07 C3 0123 UT Feb07 Updated: Today at: 0800 UT2 7.4 5.5 Updated: Today at 0817 UTTurn your cell phone into a field-tested satellite tracker. Works for Android and iPhone.
FULL SNOW MOON: There's a full Moon tonight. According to folklore it is the "Snow Moon," named by Native Americans after the heavy snows of February. In North America, snow has been in short supply, but the white tide is turning in Europe as winter storms sweep across the continent. Wherever you are, enjoy the coldmoonlight
M-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Departing sunspot AR1410 is growing in size and magnetic complexity as it approaches the sun's northwestern limb. The region is now crackling with solar flares, highlighted by this M1-class eruption on Feb. 6th at 20:01 UT:
NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of more M-flares during the next 24 hours. Any eruptions from AR1410 are unlikely to be Earth-directed as the active region continues to turn away from our planet. .
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06 Feb ' 19:46
459.5 0.2 Updated: Today at 0336 UT Updated: Today at: 2359 UT Sunspot number: 271 6.5 3.9 south Updated: Today at 0337 UT Updated at: 2012 Feb 06 2200 UTC
Updated at: 2012 Feb 06 2200 UTC30 %30 %05 %05 %05 %05 %Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012On February 7, 2012 there were -
06 Feb ' 13:29
409.2 0.7 Updated: Today at 2116 UT M1 2001 UT Feb06 M1 2001 UT Updated: Today at: 2100 UT2 4.5 0.1 north Updated: Today at 2117 UTDon't just watch shooting stars. Wear them! Authentic meteorite jewelry for Valentine's Day is now available in the SpaceWeather Store.
BACK TO WORK (UPDATED):
Update: New images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) show that this was a frontside event. The explosion occured when a magnetic filament draped over the sun's northeastern limb rose up and snapped. An extreme UV movie from SDO shows the structure lifting off.
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06 Feb ' 06:12
394.8 0.2 Updated: Today at 1406 UT B6 1314 UT Feb06 Updated: Today at: 1400 UT Daily Sun: 06 Feb 12
A new cluster
of spots is growing just north of AR1410. Credit:
SDO/HMIUpdated
05 Feb 2012
Updated 05 Feb 2012103
Updated 05 Feb 2012
0 5.8 5 south Updated: Today at 1407 UT Coronal Holes: 06 Feb 12
Solar wind flowing
from this coronal hole should reach Earth on or
about Feb. 10th. Credit: SDO/AIA.
BACK TO WORK: After a quiet weekend with no flares of any significance, the sun went back to work on Monday morning and launched a bright coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the expanding cloud during the early hours of Feb. 6th:
The source of the explosion is not yet clear. It appears to be a farside event, but first-look beacon data from NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft have not yet pinpointed the blast site. One thing seems sure: The cloud is not heading for Earth. Its northern trajectory is carrying it mainly out of the plane of the solar system and away from the planets. Stay tuned for updates.
of Fairbanks, Alaska; from Fredrik Broms of Kvaløya, Norway
With the full Moon just days away, now is the time to be alert for Moon haloes. Tom Soetaert photographed this spooky specimen over Lawrence, Kansas, on Feb. 2nd:
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06 Feb ' 00:40
397.0 0.0 Updated: Today at 0836 UT B9 0733 UT Feb06 B9 0733 UT Feb06 Updated: Today at: 0800 UT Sunspot number: 375.3 1.9 north Updated: Today at 0837 UTMetallic photos of the sun by renowned photographer Greg Piepol bring together the best of art and science. Buy one or a whole set. They make a stellar gift.
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