I just thought some of you might be interested to know that there is a possibility that we could see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) in the next day or so. This is because there was an X5 class CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) from the sun today which although not earth directed might give us a glancing blow.
For further information see: http://www.spaceweather.com/
Scully
Full Version: Aurora Borealis
wow!
so I look north?
and at what sort of time?
sorry I am not really up on the stars and things, but love looking at them!!
so I look north?
and at what sort of time?
sorry I am not really up on the stars and things, but love looking at them!!
Yes, look North 
If possible get away from city lights with all that light pollution. If they do appear (no guarantees) they'll probably look like curtains of light in the sky. I've never seen them for real, just photos and film of them.
Scully
If possible get away from city lights with all that light pollution. If they do appear (no guarantees) they'll probably look like curtains of light in the sky. I've never seen them for real, just photos and film of them.Scully
Just another thing;
Big solar storm will hit Earth Friday
Last Updated Thu, 23 Oct 2003 13:29:47
BOULDER, COLO. - A strong geomagnetic storm is expected to hit Earth on Friday. Scientists say it may knock out electrical grids and satellite communications.
A "sunspot cluster" said to be 10 times the size of Earth could damage satellites and power grids, as well as cable TV, pager and cellular telephone service.
Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colo., say it is one of the largest sunspot clusters in years.
Larry Combs, a forecaster at the federal Space Environment Center in Boulder, says the sunspot cluster released a chunk of the sun's outer atmosphere early Wednesday morning.
NASA's Goddard Space Center says the sunspot clusters produce a "coronal mass ejection" – an explosion of gas and charged particles from the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere.
In 1997, television networks in the U.S. were affected when satellites used to beam programming to local stations were knocked out of service.
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/10/23/sun_spots031023
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This refers to an X class CME on Wednesday but there was another one this morning. If satellites are affected this might in turn affect the internet so if you find it's slow tomorrow you'll know why
Scully
Big solar storm will hit Earth Friday
Last Updated Thu, 23 Oct 2003 13:29:47
BOULDER, COLO. - A strong geomagnetic storm is expected to hit Earth on Friday. Scientists say it may knock out electrical grids and satellite communications.
A "sunspot cluster" said to be 10 times the size of Earth could damage satellites and power grids, as well as cable TV, pager and cellular telephone service.
Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colo., say it is one of the largest sunspot clusters in years.
Larry Combs, a forecaster at the federal Space Environment Center in Boulder, says the sunspot cluster released a chunk of the sun's outer atmosphere early Wednesday morning.
NASA's Goddard Space Center says the sunspot clusters produce a "coronal mass ejection" – an explosion of gas and charged particles from the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere.
In 1997, television networks in the U.S. were affected when satellites used to beam programming to local stations were knocked out of service.
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/10/23/sun_spots031023
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This refers to an X class CME on Wednesday but there was another one this morning. If satellites are affected this might in turn affect the internet so if you find it's slow tomorrow you'll know why
Scully
Wow! 
Thanks Dana, I will be looking North! 
Thanks Dana, I will be looking North!
Will this be visible in the South of the country too? Wales perhaps?
It's possible, Eckie but I couldn't say for sure.
Scully
Scully
did anyone get to see it?
I looked north but the city lights were in the way, a permanent orange glow in that direction
light pollution is such a nuscience from built up areas, an dI dont even live in the city!!!
I looked north but the city lights were in the way, a permanent orange glow in that direction
light pollution is such a nuscience from built up areas, an dI dont even live in the city!!!
If you go to Spaceweather.com you will see that the aurora isn't always like a curtain of light. But even if you haven't seen it this time there is a possibility that you might see it in the next two weeks. There is another large sunspot on it's way across the surface of the sun which might give us something to think about.
Scully
Scully
Yet another XClass flare yesterday. The Sun is very busy lately and already 3 years past its 11 year peak for sunspots. So there's still a chance you might witness the Aurora Borealis
However, I found this interesting piece on the Scotsman website:http://www.news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1185222003
Disastrous 'perfect space storm' could strike again
John Innes
A “PERFECT space storm” that occurred 144 years ago could happen again at any time with catastrophic consequences, scientists have warned.
Newly uncovered scientific data has shown the true extent of history’s most massive electromagnetic storm which blew up on the first two days of September 1859.
Like “the perfect storm” at sea, which inspired a blockbuster movie, it was the result of a number of titanic events coming together.
But in this case the centre of the storm was the sun, not the ocean.
A combination of sunspots and solar flares produced an explosive release of magnetically charged gas and particles which sped towards the earth.
When the storm struck, the effects had a huge impact even on the limited technological landscape of the 19th century.
Within hours, telegraph wires in both the United States and Europe spontaneously shorted out, causing numerous fires.
People were amazed as the Northern Lights – caused by charged solar particles bombarding the atmosphere near the northern magnetic pole – illuminated the sky as far south as Rome, Havana and Hawaii.
Dr Bruce Tsurutani, a plasma physicist at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who has investigated the event, said: “What happened in 1859 was a combination of several events that occurred on the sun at the same time.
“If they took place separately they would be somewhat notable events. But together they create the most potent disruption of earth’s ionosphere in recorded history. What they generated was the perfect space storm.”
The amount of power locked within the sun is almost beyond comprehension.
At almost 900,000 miles wide, the sun contains 99.86 per cent of the mass of the entire solar system – enough room to accommodate well over a million Earths.
The total energy radiated by the sun averages 383 billion trillion kilowatts, equivalent to 100 billion tonnnes of TNT exploding every second.
Close inspection of the sun’s surface reveals a turbulent tangle of magnetic fields and boiling arc-shaped clouds of plasma dappled by dark, roving sunspots.
On August 28, 1859, solar observers noted the development of numerous sunspots – localised regions of very intense magnetic fields – on the sun’s surface.
The fields intertwined, generating violent solar flares. From August 28 several flares were observed, said Dr Tsurutani. Then, on 1 September, the sun released a single mammoth solar flare. For almost a minute, the amount of light the sun produced at the region of the flare doubled.
With the flare came an event called a coronal mass ejection (CME), a volcanic eruption on the sun. A huge cloud of plasma, a turbulent mass of electrically charged gas, was blasted into space.
It moved fast, taking just 17 hours and 40 minutes to reach the Earth. The magnetic fields it contained were extremely intense and in direct opposition to the Earth’s fields.
The magnetic “shield” that surrounds the Earth was overwhelmed, allowing charged particles to enter the upper atmosphere.
In 1859 the invention of the telegraph was only 15 years old and electrical systems were in their infancy. But the potential effects of such solar events have been demonstrated more than once in modern times.
In March 1989, a solar storm of much less intensity knocked out the Hydro-Quebec power grid in Canada for more than nine hours causing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage.
A similar event in 1994 caused major malfunctions to two communications satellites, disrupting newspaper, network television and radio services throughout Canada.
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Let's hope it doesn't happen again too soon
Scully
However, I found this interesting piece on the Scotsman website:http://www.news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1185222003
Disastrous 'perfect space storm' could strike again
John Innes
A “PERFECT space storm” that occurred 144 years ago could happen again at any time with catastrophic consequences, scientists have warned.
Newly uncovered scientific data has shown the true extent of history’s most massive electromagnetic storm which blew up on the first two days of September 1859.
Like “the perfect storm” at sea, which inspired a blockbuster movie, it was the result of a number of titanic events coming together.
But in this case the centre of the storm was the sun, not the ocean.
A combination of sunspots and solar flares produced an explosive release of magnetically charged gas and particles which sped towards the earth.
When the storm struck, the effects had a huge impact even on the limited technological landscape of the 19th century.
Within hours, telegraph wires in both the United States and Europe spontaneously shorted out, causing numerous fires.
People were amazed as the Northern Lights – caused by charged solar particles bombarding the atmosphere near the northern magnetic pole – illuminated the sky as far south as Rome, Havana and Hawaii.
Dr Bruce Tsurutani, a plasma physicist at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who has investigated the event, said: “What happened in 1859 was a combination of several events that occurred on the sun at the same time.
“If they took place separately they would be somewhat notable events. But together they create the most potent disruption of earth’s ionosphere in recorded history. What they generated was the perfect space storm.”
The amount of power locked within the sun is almost beyond comprehension.
At almost 900,000 miles wide, the sun contains 99.86 per cent of the mass of the entire solar system – enough room to accommodate well over a million Earths.
The total energy radiated by the sun averages 383 billion trillion kilowatts, equivalent to 100 billion tonnnes of TNT exploding every second.
Close inspection of the sun’s surface reveals a turbulent tangle of magnetic fields and boiling arc-shaped clouds of plasma dappled by dark, roving sunspots.
On August 28, 1859, solar observers noted the development of numerous sunspots – localised regions of very intense magnetic fields – on the sun’s surface.
The fields intertwined, generating violent solar flares. From August 28 several flares were observed, said Dr Tsurutani. Then, on 1 September, the sun released a single mammoth solar flare. For almost a minute, the amount of light the sun produced at the region of the flare doubled.
With the flare came an event called a coronal mass ejection (CME), a volcanic eruption on the sun. A huge cloud of plasma, a turbulent mass of electrically charged gas, was blasted into space.
It moved fast, taking just 17 hours and 40 minutes to reach the Earth. The magnetic fields it contained were extremely intense and in direct opposition to the Earth’s fields.
The magnetic “shield” that surrounds the Earth was overwhelmed, allowing charged particles to enter the upper atmosphere.
In 1859 the invention of the telegraph was only 15 years old and electrical systems were in their infancy. But the potential effects of such solar events have been demonstrated more than once in modern times.
In March 1989, a solar storm of much less intensity knocked out the Hydro-Quebec power grid in Canada for more than nine hours causing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage.
A similar event in 1994 caused major malfunctions to two communications satellites, disrupting newspaper, network television and radio services throughout Canada.
---------------------------------------------------------
Let's hope it doesn't happen again too soon
Scully
Best keep our PCs off whilst this is happening then hey? 
Hmmm, there were actually two X class flares on Sunday. But I checked on Spaceweather today and there appears to have been a huge one, well over X class, this morning.
Could be time to batten down the hatches
http://www.spaceweather.com/
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_5mBL.html
Scully
Could be time to batten down the hatches
http://www.spaceweather.com/
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_5mBL.html
Scully
Quick update: http://www.dxlc.com/solar/
I think the other flares have been glancing blows or not earth directed. (UTC is the same as GMT, I think)
Scully
QUOTE
Comment added at 11:15 UTC on October 28: Region 10486 was the source of a major M8.4 long duration event peaking at 10:48 UTC. This event occurred in the eastern part of the region and may have triggered a superflare in the remainder of the region, this flare peaked at 11:10 UTC. This superflare has so far peaked at the class X18 level which makes it the second largest flare during cycle 23. The event is likely to be associated with an enormous earth directed CME. The CME will likely reach the Earth sometime between 8 and 17 UTC on October 29. This will be a direct hit and extremely severe geomagnetic storming is possible.
I think the other flares have been glancing blows or not earth directed. (UTC is the same as GMT, I think)
Scully
I'm trying to attach an image of yesterday's X17 class flare for you all to see. If it works out you'll see a red disk, the white circle in the centre of the disk represents the size of the sun.
Well two of those flares were the largest ever recorded. Though how long they've been recording them is something I don't know.
All the dire predictions of satallite failure, electricity grid blackouts and mobile phones not working failed to appear in the majority of cases. Two Japanese satellites were knocked out. There were various power failures but probably just coincidental.
However, especially over North America there were some spectacular auroral displays as far south as Texas. The magstorm is now officially over but there is a possibility of further storms in the coming days.
Scully
All the dire predictions of satallite failure, electricity grid blackouts and mobile phones not working failed to appear in the majority of cases. Two Japanese satellites were knocked out. There were various power failures but probably just coincidental.
However, especially over North America there were some spectacular auroral displays as far south as Texas. The magstorm is now officially over but there is a possibility of further storms in the coming days.
Scully
I have been looking but seen nothing yet
Incredible picture Scully.
Incredible picture Scully.
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