some space weather on the way??

John.Icy · 06-08-2011 2:19am

Germany ^^^ (Similar snaps taken in Netherlands)

God damn clouds...the whole of Ireland pretty much missed the chance at an amazing display.

maquiladora · 06-08-2011 2:37am

The 4 hour prediction is up to 8.9

Harps · 06-08-2011 2:46am

No break in the clouds here on the NW Donegal coast, hopefully clearer around Letterkenny for muckish

red menace · 06-08-2011 6:00am

Bit of reading too long to quote

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2011/08/05/major-geomagnetic-storm-in-progress/

gbee · 06-08-2011 9:30am

So we got a surprise!!

Just when we thought it was all over * BAM! 8/9KP and visible from Cork even, if only for the weather.

Aiel · 06-08-2011 2:00pm

Went for a drive from 12-1am last night to the dark outskirts of Galway City to try see something but no luck with the dam clouds.Even thicker clouds were rolling in so we left it then,boo:(.

maquiladora · 06-08-2011 3:14pm

Yesterdays storm was the biggest for 8 years.

A real shame about the cloudcover over Ireland. It might be a long wait before the next time the Aurora extends so far south.

Geomagnetic Storm has Ended: The biggest Geomagnetic Storm of Solar Cycle 24 thus far is over as the K-Index is now below 5. Minor geomagnetic activity may persist through the day on Saturday however. At its peak the storm was briefly close to the G4 Level and visible Aurora was seen in Northern Europe and also parts of Canada and northern USA. The Solar Wind increased to around 700 km/s after the initial shock and the Bz tilted sharply south (-20nt). Had the incoming CME shock hit about 4 hours later than it did, the visible aurora in North America would have been much better. By the time it got dark out, most of the show was over. This event was short in duration compared to previous storms in the past, nonetheless it was great to see.

http://www.solarham.com/

muckish · 06-08-2011 9:13pm

Harps wrote: »

No break in the clouds here on the NW Donegal coast, hopefully clearer around Letterkenny for muckish

Was up in Greencastle last night. Cloud cover there as well. Looks like 100% cloud cover over the whole country. Oh for a KP8 on a clear night again!

maquiladora · 07-08-2011 9:59pm

BIG SUNSPOT GETS BIGGER: Behemoth sunspot 1263 has almost doubled in size this weekend. A 28-hour movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the spot developing a tail that has added some 50,000 km of length to the active region. This development may increase the likelihood of a strong flare.

What do you think John?
10% chance of a X class. Is it in a poor position to be earth directed if it happens?

John.Icy · 07-08-2011 11:30pm

It's slipping away to be getting a direct hit now, but the M9 flare event was pretty much a direct hit and the sunspot which released the flare wasn't centered on the sun by any means, so it would still be a large enough impact if an X-Class were too happen in the next day or so. (Day two would be pushing it for sunspot location.)

I don't see an X-Flare from 1263 myself, just a hunch, there's no way to tell..once a sunspot has a "beta-gamma-delta" class magnetic field harbours energy for an X-Flare anything can happen.

Edit: 1267 decayed overnight so it's not a threat for any flares after all.

I may be wrong on 1263, and heck, I wouldn't mind if she decided to hurl another flare towards us, but she'd want to hurry up otherwise any flare would miss Earth completely.

muckish · 08-08-2011 4:28pm

This is what we missed due to damn cloud cover. Agghhh the frustration of Irish weather. Hopefully the night of the 12th will be clear for the annual perseids meteor shower. Full moon will drown out a good bit but there should be some still visible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23CdiSBd9MY

muckish · 09-08-2011 7:44am

Sunspot 1263 produced a M3 class flare yesterday. Unfortunately not directed at Earth so no Auroras; but then you never know.

John.Icy · 09-08-2011 5:12pm

WOW...1263 let out an X.7 class solar flare, biggest in a long time...however, as discussed previously, any CME from a flare would deliver a glancing blow at best at this staged, so we'll have to see further updates if any impact at all will happen, which unfortunately isn't likely.

maquiladora · 09-08-2011 6:57pm

Wow an X7! :eek: But not earth-directed...

x6.9.jpg

eskimocat · 09-08-2011 9:59pm

please excuse my general ignorance on flares, auroras etc but is an X7 the same as a KP7? or something completely different

muckish · 09-08-2011 10:58pm

X7 class Flare
cme_c3.gif?PHPSESSID=9j6tf1t3d0vvppdds4ciov8nn7

SOHO coronagraphs show a CME emerging from the blast site. The cloud will probably miss Earth. At this time, however, we cannot rule out a glancing blow from the flank of the CME on or about August 11th. from www.spaceweather.com

maquiladora · 10-08-2011 9:01am

eskimocat wrote: »

please excuse my general ignorance on flares, auroras etc but is an X7 the same as a KP7? or something completely different

Flares are classed as:

A
B
C
M
X

Each class is 10 ten times bigger than the previous one, X is the highest.
Within each class then there is a scale 1 to 9, so an X7 is very powerful since the scale only goes as far as X9.

red menace · 10-08-2011 12:43pm

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2011/08/10/perseid-meteor-shower-on-august-12th-and-13th/

The meteor shower is already underway. Earth is passing through a broad stream of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, and specks of comet dust are hitting the top of Earth’s atmosphere at 140,000 mph. These disintegrating meteors stream out of the constellation Perseus – hence the name “Perseids.” According to the International Meteor Organization, worldwide observers now are counting more than a dozen Perseids per hour with more to come on August 12-13 when Earth passes near the heart of the debris stream.
Experts note that moonlight and meteor showers don’t mix. Indeed, the great number of faint Perseids that observers would normally count in a dark year will be invisible in 2011 with the Moon glaring overhead. On the bright side – no pun intended – any Perseid that does manage to pierce the glare is likely to be a fireball. These are caused by relatively big pieces of debris disintegrating in flashes too bright to be subdued. It’s not unusual to see at least a few Perseid shadow-casters on peak night.

muckish · 10-08-2011 12:51pm

red menace wrote: »

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2011/08/10/perseid-meteor-shower-on-august-12th-and-13th/

Unfortunately during the peak there will be a full moon which will drown out all but the stronger/brighter meteors. The best time to see this years show will be the nights before the peak around 2am to sunrise as the moon will have set. The numbers/rate will be less than the peak but you should see some meteors. Unfortunately here over the last few nights we have had total cloud cover in Donegal, so nothing to see so far. Fingers crossed for a few patches of clear sky even!!

red menace · 10-08-2011 12:56pm

I am living in Edmonton Alberta, so should have clear skies just have lots of light pollution

muckish · 10-08-2011 1:02pm

red menace wrote: »

I am living in Edmonton Alberta, so should have clear skies just have lots of light pollution

Find a dark spot in the shadow of a building with a view of the skies and even in a "light polluted area" you'd be surprised at what you can see. Hope you get some clear skies. I have a memory of seeing the Perseids in Connemara in my teens with crystal clear dark skies. It was an amazing sight to witness.

red menace · 10-08-2011 1:34pm

I'll try get some video if I can!

muckish · 15-08-2011 10:25pm

Large sunspot group appearing on the eastern limb of the sun. Fingers crossed for some good flares and aurorae in the near future.
eastlimb_med.jpg?PHPSESSID=6no37bnr3iokie6tkeu9jhevo7

eastlimb_med.jpg?PHPSESSID=6no37bnr3iokie6tkeu9jhevo7

Room1o1 · 21-03-2021 10:52pm

About one month ago a solar flare hit earth not a direct hit but a side swipe. fox2now.com/news/solar-storm-to-hit-earth-later-this-week-auroras-expected/

I have been reading recently about space weather and cosmic rays effect on earth during solar minimum and how the sun protects earth in general from cosmic rays when active. Very interesting stuff btw.

Anyway at the time of this solar flare I got thinking about what kind of effect this energy has on earth. I started to think of it as kinda like a microwave heating earth from the inside. One month on and we now have active volcanos and afew earth quakes. Is it possible that they are linked to an engery input such as a solar flare?

This seem logical to me as a layman as energy can't be created non destroyed but converted to a different state such as kentic or heat energy

some space weather on the way??

Comments