Sun Stuff: What's up!

[MorningSong]

Something from spaceweather.com:

INTERPLANETARY SHOCK WAVE: A shock wave moving through the solar wind hit Earth's magnetic field on Feb. 16th at approximately 11:30 UT. The impact did not spark a geomagnetic storm. Nevertheless, sky watchers around the Arctic should be alert for auroras as Earth passes through the wake of the disturbance.

The Kp-index shows it:



Wonder what caused that!?!

SuspiciousObservers picked up on it, too:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=WMToaKnmVK0

[MorningSong]

I've gotten so used to "nothing going on" with the sun, that an M 1.9 flare slipped by me yesterday!



From spaceweather.com:

M-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: New sunspot AR1675 has just unleashed the most intense flare of the year so far, an M1.9-class explosion at 1550 UT on Feb. 17th. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a double-flash of extreme UV radiation from the explosion:



Update: First-look coronagraph images from SOHO and the twin STEREO probes suggest that this explosion did not produce a coronal mass ejection (CME). Geomagnetic storms are therefore unlikely. Earth's upper atmosphere, however, probably did experience a minor wave of ionization caused by the UV flash shown above.

[Wind]

Just look at that.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5Z1SdKTQRPg

[Sidney]

Here is the link where I got these images.
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/br...humbnail.shtml


A large CME launched today, which as been apparently wiped from the lasco camera footage, both 2 and 3. (eight hours of time missing from both)

Can anybody tell me what that huge bright object in these images is. I have never seen anything like this before.

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continued

[Sidney]

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Also an observation of the above image, notice the SQUARE shape of the edges of that energy? Weird. I ve never seen a square cme before.

[Sidney]

This video is from back in December, but I thought it was interesting, and wondered if the object in todays images could be somehow related to this thing. There is some strange sh!t going on up there for sure.

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

[Sidney]

bumping this. whats the huge anomaly in the above images?

[panopticon]

Posted by WorshipstheSun (here)
bumping this. whats the huge anomaly in the above images?

G'day WorshiptheSun,

That would be Mercury.
A site to look at what's where in relation to Stereo A & B is:
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/where/

Site used for accessing images (for those not familiar):
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images

If you run the start date from '20130218', the end date to the present date and sample at 'hour' then you'll see Mercury move slowly across and leave the frame in another 2 or 3 days time.

Hope this was useful.
Kind Regards,
Panopticon

[Sidney]

My question, why has it not shown on these vids before, and why would it be stationary. It remains in the same position throughout the day? Not debunking your opinion, just curious. Most planets that appear , come into view, make their way across and then go on their way. This one is stationary. Just seems off to me. But maybe I just don;t understand the dynamics of the rotations.

[MorningSong]

WorshipstheSun, this is from Stereo today...a little more recent from your above post:



http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/beacon/planets/

What is even more curious to me is the "darkening" of the uper right fourth of the sun...now that is weird, IMO.

[MorningSong]

In the meanwhile...a sun update:

Today sunspot 1678 produced a C8.2 flare at 11:11 UTC.



From spaceweather.com:

CHANCE OF FLARES: New sunspot AR1678 has developed a delta-class magnetic field that harbors energy for strong explosions. NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of M-flares and a 15% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.

FAST-GROWING SUNSPOT: At the beginning of this week, sunspot AR1678 didn't exist. Now it is five times wider than our entire planet. NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the sunspot's rapid emergence on Feb. 19-20:



Sunspots are islands of magnetism that float on the surface of the sun. This one is emerging from depth and changing at such a rapid pace that its magnetic field is likely unstable. A reconnection event in AR1678's magnetic canopy could lead to a significant solar flare. Stay tuned!



Sunspot AR1678 is growing rapidly and could soon pose a threat for M-class flares. Credit: SDO/HMI

[Rocky_Shorz]

this shows planet rotations and location of Stereo A(fter) and B(efore)



http://stereo.ssl.berkeley.edu/multistatus.php

this shows 5 days of activity, the beginning is what is hitting us now...



when you see a sunspot on here turn orange, it is flaring, X-ray bursts make it to us in 8-9 minutes...



this shows energy waves both the streams from the coronal holes, and the waves coming from sunflares...

Flares send out waves of energy, the next one hits on the 22nd peaking on the 23rd, even thought it is small, we are being brushed by Red/Gray level energy, quakes follow after it charges the plates. Magnetic filaments are the biggies, they look like long ropes hanging above the surface, when they collapse, they blow chunks of plasma out from the sun.

it also shows more planets and satellite locations than the first image

[Sidney]

The missing eight hours on the lasco movies from the 19th is what prompted me to start digging. (and my headache) When there is missing time, i usually go to the secchi site and look at cor 2 first. (mainly because I don't know my way around that site very well). I did also notice the darkening, which I attributed to the lull in energy created by the cme that blasted off earlier in the day, which is not visible by looking at the LASCO movies, because it has been cut out, or shut down. I don't even know if that cme was earth facing. Rocky, can you tell by the cor 2 images i posted? I get turned around when looking at cor 2 vs. lasco

[panopticon]

From the Dr Keith Strong channel:

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

Report dated 20th February 2013 @ 23:27 UT from IPS Oz:

Two impulsive C-class flares were observed at 1111UT (C8.2) and 1455UT (C3.0). Both originated in AR 1678 (N10W58) which has shown continued growth in area and extent.

No CME was reported following either event.

A longer duration C1.7 level flare was observed in AR 1678 at 2158UT.

A large southern hemisphere filament erupted from the solar surface over several hours spanning the UT day change 19-20 Feb. Solar wind speed increased slightly from 350 to 400 km/s following an IMF phi component phase change.

The IMF Bz component fluctuated +/-5nT over the UT day with one sustained moderate negative period (-5nT) from 08-12UT.

AR1678 maintains potential for C- to M-class flare activity.

Kind Regards,
Panopticon

[panopticon]

Posted by MorningSong (here)
WorshipstheSun, this is from Stereo today...a little more recent from your above post:



http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/beacon/planets/

What is even more curious to me is the "darkening" of the upper right fourth of the sun...now that is weird, IMO.

Thank you for the link to the STEREO PLANET FINDER page.
I hadn't come across it before, very useful.

That's why I like this thread. Just useful information without jumping to conclusions.
-- Pan

[panopticon]

Posted by WorshipstheSun (here)
The missing eight hours on the lasco movies from the 19th is what prompted me to start digging. (and my headache) When there is missing time, i usually go to the secchi site and look at cor 2 first. (mainly because I don't know my way around that site very well). I did also notice the darkening, which I attributed to the lull in energy created by the cme that blasted off earlier in the day, which is not visible by looking at the LASCO movies, because it has been cut out, or shut down. I don't even know if that cme was earth facing. Rocky, can you tell by the cor 2 images i posted? I get turned around when looking at cor 2 vs. lasco

G'day WorshipstheSun,

Have a look at the CACTus website for early CME detection:
http://www.sidc.oma.be/cactus/out/latestCMEs.html

It analyses data and sends out emails to those who want notification of potential CME events.

I use IPS Oz's 'Summary and Forecast' page for my daily run down of what happened in the previous 24 hours:
http://www.ips.gov.au/Solar/1/5

I don't think it is possible to work out from the cor2 images alone if a CME is going to be geo-effective.
It can give an indication of the rough direction one is heading but it is a 2 dimensional representation of a 3 dimensional event so I think it might be misleading to say that it can be.
I suppose if STEREO A & B both record the event then they might give a lead but I still think this would be a rough guesstimate and not really that useful.

I think to get a clear indication of a CME's direction it would require an number of differing measurements from a variety of locations and images from A & B aren't enough.

If they can be used for a more accurate idea of direction would someone explain how?

Hope this was useful.
Kind Regards,
Panopticon

[Sidney]

Posted by panopticon (here)

Posted by WorshipstheSun (here)
The missing eight hours on the lasco movies from the 19th is what prompted me to start digging. (and my headache) When there is missing time, i usually go to the secchi site and look at cor 2 first. (mainly because I don't know my way around that site very well). I did also notice the darkening, which I attributed to the lull in energy created by the cme that blasted off earlier in the day, which is not visible by looking at the LASCO movies, because it has been cut out, or shut down. I don't even know if that cme was earth facing. Rocky, can you tell by the cor 2 images i posted? I get turned around when looking at cor 2 vs. lasco

G'day WorshipstheSun,

Have a look at the CACTus website for early CME detection:
http://www.sidc.oma.be/cactus/out/latestCMEs.html

It analyses data and sends out emails to those who want notification of potential CME events.

I use IPS Oz's 'Summary and Forecast' page for my daily run down of what happened in the previous 24 hours:
http://www.ips.gov.au/Solar/1/5

I don't think it is possible to work out from the cor2 images alone if a CME is going to be geo-effective.
It can give an indication of the rough direction one is heading but it is a 2 dimensional representation of a 3 dimensional event so I think it might be misleading to say that it can be.
I suppose if STEREO A & B both record the event then they might give a lead but I still think this would be a rough guesstimate and not really that useful.

I think to get a clear indication of a CME's direction it would require an number of differing measurements from a variety of locations and images from A & B aren't enough.

If they can be used for a more accurate idea of direction would someone explain how?

Hope this was useful.
Kind Regards,
Panopticon

Much appreciated Panopticon!!!! I will spend some time finding my way around the sites. And Thanks to Morningsong and Rocky for posting the graphs!!! Interesting the CMEs launched at 11:11 : )

[Wind]

I heard that something is going on with the magnetic field. Can anyone confirm this, Rocky?

[MorningSong]

I went through all of the data sites I know of but didn't see anthing particularly exceptionally out of order.

What exactly did you hear?

[Wind]

A person who I follow just said that there is something going on with the magnetic field and that a major quake watch starts tonight. I don't know how interpret the magnetic field data. I just follow the Sun and the quakes.