The Sun's Magnetic Field is about to Flip

[Njord]

The Sun's Magnetic Field is about to Flip


August 5, 2013: Something big is about to happen on the sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun's vast magnetic field is about to flip.
"It looks like we're no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal," says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. "This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system."

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=34gNgaME86Y

A new ScienceCast video anticipates the reversal of the sun's global magnetic field.

The sun's magnetic field changes polarity approximately every 11 years. It happens at the peak of each solar cycle as the sun's inner magnetic dynamo re-organizes itself. The coming reversal will mark the midpoint of Solar Cycle 24. Half of 'Solar Max' will be behind us, with half yet to come.
Hoeksema is the director of Stanford's Wilcox Solar Observatory, one of the few observatories in the world that monitor the sun's polar magnetic fields. The poles are a herald of change. Just as Earth scientists watch our planet's polar regions for signs of climate change, solar physicists do the same thing for the sun. Magnetograms at Wilcox have been tracking the sun's polar magnetism since 1976, and they have recorded three grand reversals—with a fourth in the offing.

WSO
Astronomers at the Wilcox Solar Observatory (WSO) monitor the sun's global magnetic field on a daily basis.

Solar physicist Phil Scherrer, also at Stanford, describes what happens: "The sun's polar magnetic fields weaken, go to zero, and then emerge again with the opposite polarity. This is a regular part of the solar cycle."

A reversal of the sun's magnetic field is, literally, a big event. The domain of the sun's magnetic influence (also known as the "heliosphere") extends billions of kilometers beyond Pluto. Changes to the field's polarity ripple all the way out to the Voyager probes, on the doorstep of interstellar space.

When solar physicists talk about solar field reversals, their conversation often centers on the "current sheet." The current sheet is a sprawling surface jutting outward from the sun's equator where the sun's slowly-rotating magnetic field induces an electrical current. The current itself is small, only one ten-billionth of an amp per square meter (0.0000000001 amps/m2), but there’s a lot of it: the amperage flows through a region 10,000 km thick and billions of kilometers wide. Electrically speaking, the entire heliosphere is organized around this enormous sheet.

During field reversals, the current sheet becomes very wavy. Scherrer likens the undulations to the seams on a baseball. As Earth orbits the sun, we dip in and out of the current sheet. Transitions from one side to another can stir up stormy space weather around our planet.


An artist's concept of the heliospheric current sheet, which becomes more wavy when the sun's magnetic field flips.

Cosmic rays are also affected. These are high-energy particles accelerated to nearly light speed by supernova explosions and other violent events in the galaxy. Cosmic rays are a danger to astronauts and space probes, and some researchers say they might affect the cloudiness and climate of Earth. The current sheet acts as a barrier to cosmic rays, deflecting them as they attempt to penetrate the inner solar system. A wavy, crinkly sheet acts as a better shield against these energetic particles from deep space.

As the field reversal approaches, data from Wilcox show that the sun's two hemispheres are out of synch.

"The sun's north pole has already changed sign, while the south pole is racing to catch up," says Scherrer. "Soon, however, both poles will be reversed, and the second half of Solar Max will be underway."

When that happens, Hoeksema and Scherrer will share the news with their colleagues and the public.

Stay tuned to Science@NASA for updates.

[Njord]

Connected?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=l0tT6S5rt6g

Coronal Hole Seen Over Sun's North Pole By SOHO Spacecraft

Spacecraft Sees Giant 'Hole' In the Sun

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3mbBbFH9fAg

[white wizard]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=yNUo7GI51v4

Hmmm very interesting stuff, which makes me wonder if it is related to

this major blow off that was reported on the news recently.

This story is legit too here is a link from NASA's website.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...aug_fieldflip/

[Njord]

And as everyone here knows, there is always two sides to every NASA story.

[LahTera]

The earth's is also changing, which they believe is one reason why our field is weakening right now.

[Sidney]

Posted by Njord (here)
The Sun's Magnetic Field is about to Flip


August 5, 2013: Something big is about to happen on the sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun's vast magnetic field is about to flip.
"It looks like we're no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal," says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. "This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system."

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=34gNgaME86Y

A new ScienceCast video anticipates the reversal of the sun's global magnetic field.

The sun's magnetic field changes polarity approximately every 11 years. It happens at the peak of each solar cycle as the sun's inner magnetic dynamo re-organizes itself. The coming reversal will mark the midpoint of Solar Cycle 24. Half of 'Solar Max' will be behind us, with half yet to come.
Hoeksema is the director of Stanford's Wilcox Solar Observatory, one of the few observatories in the world that monitor the sun's polar magnetic fields. The poles are a herald of change. Just as Earth scientists watch our planet's polar regions for signs of climate change, solar physicists do the same thing for the sun. Magnetograms at Wilcox have been tracking the sun's polar magnetism since 1976, and they have recorded three grand reversals—with a fourth in the offing.

WSO
Astronomers at the Wilcox Solar Observatory (WSO) monitor the sun's global magnetic field on a daily basis.

Solar physicist Phil Scherrer, also at Stanford, describes what happens: "The sun's polar magnetic fields weaken, go to zero, and then emerge again with the opposite polarity. This is a regular part of the solar cycle."

A reversal of the sun's magnetic field is, literally, a big event. The domain of the sun's magnetic influence (also known as the "heliosphere") extends billions of kilometers beyond Pluto. Changes to the field's polarity ripple all the way out to the Voyager probes, on the doorstep of interstellar space.

When solar physicists talk about solar field reversals, their conversation often centers on the "current sheet." The current sheet is a sprawling surface jutting outward from the sun's equator where the sun's slowly-rotating magnetic field induces an electrical current. The current itself is small, only one ten-billionth of an amp per square meter (0.0000000001 amps/m2), but there’s a lot of it: the amperage flows through a region 10,000 km thick and billions of kilometers wide. Electrically speaking, the entire heliosphere is organized around this enormous sheet.

During field reversals, the current sheet becomes very wavy. Scherrer likens the undulations to the seams on a baseball. As Earth orbits the sun, we dip in and out of the current sheet. Transitions from one side to another can stir up stormy space weather around our planet.


An artist's concept of the heliospheric current sheet, which becomes more wavy when the sun's magnetic field flips.

Cosmic rays are also affected. These are high-energy particles accelerated to nearly light speed by supernova explosions and other violent events in the galaxy. Cosmic rays are a danger to astronauts and space probes, and some researchers say they might affect the cloudiness and climate of Earth. The current sheet acts as a barrier to cosmic rays, deflecting them as they attempt to penetrate the inner solar system. A wavy, crinkly sheet acts as a better shield against these energetic particles from deep space.

As the field reversal approaches, data from Wilcox show that the sun's two hemispheres are out of synch.

"The sun's north pole has already changed sign, while the south pole is racing to catch up," says Scherrer. "Soon, however, both poles will be reversed, and the second half of Solar Max will be underway."

When that happens, Hoeksema and Scherrer will share the news with their colleagues and the public.

Stay tuned to Science@NASA for updates.

Hey, just in case you missed it, I want to emphasize the fact that this happens EVERY 11 YEARS. So I don't think its anything that will cause catastrophe. I didn't notice when it happened in 01.

[Snoweagle]

That NASA representative is lying to his back teeth. Its in his voice and body mannerisms as well as his vagueness with his answers. Suggesting this occurs "all the time" but allowing for occasional variance and should be considered "normal activity" I believe is totally untrue.

I wholly support the electric universe principles and the major misleading conception that there is nothing emanating from the "dark patch" and the reason for that is the energies emitting could be equally argued are far greater frequency just as we logically perceive the emissions to be to lower frequencies. Either way, its academic now for the survivors should that be our future scenario.

New contractors in HAARP as well isn't there, that's square too isn't it? It would be possible to do that as well, by tuning doppler harmonics to tune up and down and twiddle the wavelengths n stuff.

WOOT another conspiracy theory, gonna be especially good during the banking collapse and the start of WWIII

. . . and we have front seats - who needs 3D now - roflmao

edit
The following thread to this one refers to allegedly recent Alaskan rumblings:

We've been having a slew of small quakes here in Alaska. Of course, 3.0-5.0 are what I would consider small quakes. Most of the time, I don't feel them unless they're 5.0 or greater.
For us, it means a more stable region. When we go a long time without small quakes, we worry more about getting a big one.

https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...askan-rumbling

Interesting coincidence?

[white wizard]

http://www.tgdaily.com/space-feature...ts-are-bemused

The sun is well into a flip in polarity - with its north and south poles swapping places - but the process isn't going as expected, scientists say.

Every 11 years or so, around solar maximum, the magnetic field on the sun reverses completely. At the moment, though, the polarity at the north of the sun appears to have dropped close to zero, while the polarity at the south is only just beginning to decrease. It had previously been assumed that both polarities switched at the same time.

"Right now, there's an imbalance between the north and the south poles," says Jonathan Cirtain, NASA project scientist for Japan's Hinode solar mission.

"The north is already in transition, well ahead of the south pole, and we don't understand why."

Daikou Shiota, a solar scientist at RIKEN Institute of Physics and Chemical Research, and his team used Hinode's high resolution Solar Optical Telescope to observe the magnetic map of the poles every month since September of 2008.

Early maps showed large, strong concentrations of magnetic fields that were almost all magnetically negative in polarity. Recent maps, however, show a different picture.

Not only are the patches of magnetism smaller and weaker, but now there is a great deal of positive polarity visible as well. What once pointed to a strongly negative north pole, is now a weakly magnetized, mixed pole that will become neutral - which occurs at solar maximum - within the month, according to the team's predictions.

"This is the first direct observation of this field reversal," says NASA space scientist Jonathan Cirtain. "And it is extremely important to understanding how the sun's magnetism generates the solar cycle."

Typical models of the magnetic flip suggest that as active regions rotate around the equator, their higher, trailing edge - which is almost always the opposite polarity from the pole in their hemisphere - drift upward, eventually dominating the status quo and turning positive to negative or negative to positive.

But the Hinode data show that this transition at the north began before such drifting had a chance to occur.

"This is one of the most interesting things in this Hinode paper to me," says principal investigator for Hinode's Solar Optical Telescope Ted Tarbell.

"How did the polar reversal start so early, even though the onset of the solar cycle, that is, increased activity at lower latitudes, hadn't begun yet?"

[Sidney]

Here's an article (from NASA, so take it for what it is I guess) regarding the last polar flip of the sun. If you click the link rather than reading it here there are some images(diagrams)worth looking at.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...01/ast15feb_1/

The Sun Does a Flip
NASA scientists who monitor the Sun say that our star's awesome magnetic field is flipping -- a sure sign that solar maximum is here.
NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center
Listen to this story (requires RealPlayer)

see captionFebruary 15, 2001 -- You can't tell by looking, but scientists say the Sun has just undergone an important change. Our star's magnetic field has flipped.
The Sun's magnetic north pole, which was in the northern hemisphere just a few months ago, now points south. It's a topsy-turvy situation, but not an unexpected one.
"This always happens around the time of solar maximum," says David Hathaway, a solar physicist at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "The magnetic poles exchange places at the peak of the sunspot cycle. In fact, it's a good indication that Solar Max is really here."
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Above: Sunspot counts, plotted here against an x-ray image of the Sun, are nearing their maximum for the current solar cycle. [more information]
The Sun's magnetic poles will remain as they are now, with the north magnetic pole pointing through the Sun's southern hemisphere, until the year 2012 when they will reverse again. This transition happens, as far as we know, at the peak of every 11-year sunspot cycle -- like clockwork.
EarthÂ’s magnetic field also flips, but with less regularity. Consecutive reversals are spaced 5 thousand years to 50 million years apart. The last reversal happened 740,000 years ago. Some researchers think our planet is overdue for another one, but nobody knows exactly when the next reversal might occur.
Although solar and terrestrial magnetic fields behave differently, they do have something in common: their shape. During solar minimum the Sun's field, like Earth's, resembles that of an iron bar magnet, with great closed loops near the equator and open field lines near the poles. Scientists call such a field a "dipole." The Sun's dipolar field is about as strong as a refrigerator magnet, or 50 gauss (a unit of magnetic intensity). Earth's magnetic field is 100 times weaker.
Below: The Sun's basic magnetic field, like Earth's, resembles that of a bar magnet.
see captionWhen solar maximum arrives and sunspots pepper the face of the Sun, our star's magnetic field begins to change. Sunspots are places where intense magnetic loops -- hundreds of times stronger than the ambient dipole field -- poke through the photosphere.
"Meridional flows on the Sun's surface carry magnetic fields from mid-latitude sunspots to the Sun's poles," explains Hathaway. "The poles end up flipping because these flows transport south-pointing magnetic flux to the north magnetic pole, and north-pointing flux to the south magnetic pole." The dipole field steadily weakens as oppositely-directed flux accumulates at the Sun's poles until, at the height of solar maximum, the magnetic poles change polarity and begin to grow in a new direction.
Hathaway noticed the latest polar reversal in a "magnetic butterfly diagram." Using data collected by astronomers at the U.S. National Solar Observatory on Kitt Peak, he plotted the Sun's average magnetic field, day by day, as a function of solar latitude and time from 1975 through the present. The result is a sort of strip chart recording that reveals evolving magnetic patterns on the Sun's surface. "We call it a butterfly diagram," he says, "because sunspots make a pattern in this plot that looks like the wings of a butterfly."
In the butterfly diagram, pictured below, the Sun's polar fields appear as strips of uniform color near 90 degrees latitude. When the colors change (in this case from blue to yellow or vice versa) it means the polar fields have switched signs.
see caption
Above: In this "magnetic butterfly diagram," yellow regions are occupied by south-pointing magnetic fields; blue denotes north. At mid-latitudes the diagram is dominated by intense magnetic fields above sunspots. During the sunspot cycle, sunspots drift, on average, toward the equator -- hence the butterfly wings. The uniform blue and yellow regions near the poles reveal the orientation of the Sun's underlying dipole magnetic field. [more information]
The ongoing changes are not confined to the space immediately around our star, Hathaway added. The Sun's magnetic field envelops the entire solar system in a bubble that scientists call the "heliosphere." The heliosphere extends 50 to 100 astronomical units (AU) beyond the orbit of Pluto. Inside it is the solar system -- outside is interstellar space.
"Changes in the Sun's magnetic field are carried outward through the heliosphere by the solar wind," explains Steve Suess, another solar physicist at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "It takes about a year for disturbances to propagate all the way from the Sun to the outer bounds of the heliosphere."
see captionBecause the Sun rotates (once every 27 days) solar magnetic fields corkscrew outwards in the shape of an Archimedian spiral. Far above the poles the magnetic fields twist around like a child's Slinky toy.
Left: Steve Suess (NASA/MSFC) prepared this figure, which shows the Sun's spiraling magnetic fields from a vantage point ~100 AU from the Sun.
Because of all the twists and turns, "the impact of the field reversal on the heliosphere is complicated," says Hathaway. Sunspots are sources of intense magnetic knots that spiral outwards even as the dipole field vanishes. The heliosphere doesn't simply wink out of existence when the poles flip -- there are plenty of complex magnetic structures to fill the void.
Or so the theory goes.... Researchers have never seen the magnetic flip happen from the best possible point of view -- that is, from the top down.
But now, the unique Ulysses spacecraft may give scientists a reality check. Ulysses, an international joint venture of the European Space Agency and NASA, was launched in 1990 to observe the solar system from very high solar latitudes. Every six years the spacecraft flies 2.2 AU over the Sun's poles. No other probe travels so far above the orbital plane of the planets.
see caption"Ulysses just passed under the Sun's south pole," says Suess, a mission co-Investigator. "Now it will loop back and fly over the north pole in the fall."
Right: Following an encounter with Jupiter in 1992, the Ulysses spacecraft went into a high polar orbit. It's maximum solar latitude is 80.2 degrees south. [more]
"This is the most important part of our mission," he says. Ulysses last flew over the Sun's poles in 1994 and 1996, during solar minimum, and the craft made several important discoveries about cosmic rays, the solar wind, and more. "Now we get to see the Sun's poles during the other extreme: Solar Max. Our data will cover a complete solar cycle."
To learn more about the Sun's changing magnetic field and how it is generated, please visit "The Solar Dynamo," a web page prepared by the NASA/Marshall solar research group. Updates from the Ulysses spacecraft may be found on the Internet from JPL at http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov.
Web Links
Ulysses Home Page -- learn more about NASA's exploration of the inner heliosphere from JPL
Magnetic Reversals and Moving Continents -- How do we know Earth's magnetic field flips? This excellent web site from NASA/Goddard reveals the answer.
Magnetism - the Key to Understanding the Sun -- an introduction to solar magnetism presented by the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center solar research group
The Dynamo Process -- a nice tutorial on magnetic dynamos
The Sun's Magnetic Cycle -- from the Goddard Space Flight Center
The Spiral of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field -- includes an eye-catching lawn sprinkler animation that illustrates the Sun's spiraling magnetic field.
Join our growing list of subscribers - sign up for our express news delivery and you will receive a mail message every time we post a new story!!!
Moresays 'NASA NEWS'Headlines

[WhiteFeather]

That recent solar flip reversal thingy perhaps could explain my recent gas pains. Both in my stomach and at the pump.



N ever
A
S traight
A nswer

[Sidney]

Posted by white wizard (here)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=yNUo7GI51v4

Hmmm very interesting stuff, which makes me wonder if it is related to

this major blow off that was reported on the news recently.

This story is legit too here is a link from NASA's website.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...aug_fieldflip/

A huge chunk of the sun is hurling at us???????????????????? Thats impressive, and it happens all the time!!! Learn something new every day.

[Wind]

Posted by Sidney (here)

Posted by white wizard (here)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=yNUo7GI51v4

Hmmm very interesting stuff, which makes me wonder if it is related to

this major blow off that was reported on the news recently.

This story is legit too here is a link from NASA's website.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...aug_fieldflip/

A huge chunk of the sun is hurling at us???????????????????? Thats impressive, and it happens all the time!!! Learn something new every day.

No, don't trust Fox news and their "experts". That guy doesn't seem to have a clue that what he is talking about. Those dark spots are coronal holes and they don't just blow off... If they did then we wouldn't be talking here.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=_FhxNE2b6Gs

The Sun looks like this now.



If you're interested in the Sun then I suggest to follow SDO or SolarHam:
http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/
http://www.solarham.net/

[skippy]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU

[Sidney]

Posted by Wind (here)

Posted by Sidney (here)

Posted by white wizard (here)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=yNUo7GI51v4

Hmmm very interesting stuff, which makes me wonder if it is related to

this major blow off that was reported on the news recently.

This story is legit too here is a link from NASA's website.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...aug_fieldflip/

A huge chunk of the sun is hurling at us???????????????????? Thats impressive, and it happens all the time!!! Learn something new every day.

No, don't trust Fox news and their "experts". That guy doesn't seem to have a clue that what he is talking about. Those dark spots are coronal holes and they don't just blow off... If they did then we wouldn't be talking here.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=_FhxNE2b6Gs

The Sun looks like this now.



If you're interested in the Sun then I suggest to follow SDO or SolarHam:
http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/
http://www.solarham.net/

I guess my sarcasm wasn't coming through loud enough. LOL It is rather hysterical isn't it. C'mon- a huge part of the sun is hurling toward us. How do people like that keep their jobs?

[ghostrider]

has this guy stepped outside today ? a huge part of the radiation of the sun hits us constantly... a HUGE HOLE in a self regenerating fusion star many times bigger than the earth, like a grain of sand next to a hot air ballon, something will fill that void , I have a feeling all the energy of the sun will migrate to that area, and when it balances out , there could be an epic solar flare on the horizon ... didn't Major Ed Dames remote view an event with the sun ??? Send our light of the world some calmness just to be sure ...or look for an increase in the number of EMV's around the sun for the next two or three months ...

[Nick Matkin]

I guess my sarcasm wasn't coming through loud enough. LOL It is rather hysterical isn't it. C'mon- a huge part of the sun is hurling toward us. How do people like that keep their jobs?

I know, I know. The average person who doesn't understand anything about science (let alone solar physics) but wants to believe in all sorts of silly nonsense, gets taken in by it.

According to some of the stuff posted on PA over the years, the sun should have killed us all off years ago, the earth's pole shifted (though whether that's the pole of rotation or magnetic pole isn't clearly specified, and the hard of thinking don't ask) or huge 'earth changes' brought about by Nibiru should have transformed the planet.

The fact that none of this ever happens seems to puzzle no one. It's bizarre how this stuff keeps being posted, but more bizarre that so many people seem to believe it.

Nick

[airaspect]

He's obviously not feeling comfortable in front of a camera. It can make people say strange things so let's not take the part about big chunk of sun flying at us as what he literally meant. Essentially he's right - even if solar flares hit us constantly, such a bit blackened part seems unusual and interesting.

[The One]

Posted by WhiteFeather (here)
That recent solar flip reversal thingy perhaps could explain my recent gas pains. Both in my stomach and at the pump.



N ever
A
S traight
A nswer

I agree with you bro

Somethings been going on with our sun for millennia apparently. Thats even if it is a sun.We only believe it because that's what we have been told

[Wind]

Posted by Sidney (here)

I guess my sarcasm wasn't coming through loud enough. LOL It is rather hysterical isn't it. C'mon- a huge part of the sun is hurling toward us. How do people like that keep their jobs?

I am relieved now, lol. You never know that what people buy into.

[jagman]

For the past 2 days Missouri has been experiencing some very abnormal weather. Could be nothing.