Here comes the SUN.

If you live at a high northern or southern latitude, watch for some spectacular lights in the sky Tuesday night.

The sun unleashed its strongest solar flare of the year Sunday, and the cloud of radiation it spewed will hit Earth's magnetic field Tuesday, NASA said.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a brief but intense flash signaling the ejection of a cloud of ultraviolet radiation.

The source of the flare, sunspot 1158, is growing rapidly, the observatory reported.

Solar Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection (DHS)(NCS)

National Communications System
NCC Watch
PHONE: (703) 235-5080 FAX: (703) 235-5078 Email: ncs@hq.dhs.gov
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Solar Magnetic Storm
RFI #: 029 RFI Date: 2/15/2011 RFI Time: 15:00

INFORMATION REQUESTED:
As the result of a Solar Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection(CME) two plasma clouds are heading toward the Earth. These
plasma clouds have the potential to cause some level of geomagnetic storming during the next 12 to 60 hours. The
National Coordinating Center(NCC) is requesting information on any issues/unmet needs to impacts to the induced
currents of electrical networks, communications infrastructure, or service due to the reported solar flare during the next 12-72 hours.

INCIDENT:
Earth-orbiting satellites have detected the strongest solar flare in more than four years. At 0156 UT on Feb. 15th, giant sunspot 1158 unleashed an X2-class eruption. X-flares are the strongest type of x-ray flares, and this is the first such eruption of new Solar Cycle 24. The explosion that produced the flare also sent a solar tsunami rippling through the sun's atmosphere and, more importantly, hurled a coronal mass ejection toward Earth. This raises the possibility of geomagnetic storms in the days ahead.

KNOWN CAUSE:
Solar Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection(CME)

DURATION:
12-72 hours
CURRENT ACTIONS:
The NCC Watch will continue to monitor the situation for impact to communications infrastructure and service. The NCC
Watch will follow up on Friday, 18 February 2011 by 2000 EST, with an NCC Watch Advisory summarizing all reported
feedbacks.


SOURCES:
* [link to spaceweather.com]
* Joe Kunches at the Space Weather Forecast Office of the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, CO
* John D. Greenhill, Department of Energy
(U) Warning: This document is UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (U//FOUO).
It contains information that may be exempt from public release under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). It is to be controlled, stored, handled, transmitted, distributed, and disposed of in accordance with DHS policy relating to FOUO informaiton and is not to be released to the public, the media, or other personnel who do not have a valid need-to-know and prior approval of an authorized NCS or DHS official.

Huge solar flare jams radio, satellite signals: NASA
Feb 17


A powerful solar eruption that triggered a huge geomagnetic storm has disturbed radio communications and could disrupt electrical power grids, radio and satellite communication in the next days, NASA said.

A strong wave of charged plasma particles emanating from the Jupiter-sized sun spot, the most powerful seen in four years, has already disrupted radio communication in southern China.

The Class X flash -- the largest such category -- erupted at 0156 GMT Tuesday, according to the US space agency.

"X-class flares are the most powerful of all solar events that can trigger radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms," disturbing telecommunications and electric grids, NASA said Wednesday.

Geomagnetic storms usually last 24 to 48 hours -- but some could last for many days, read a statement from the US National Weather Service.

"Ground to air, ship to shore, short-wave broadcast and amateur radio are vulnerable to disruption during geomagnetic storms. Navigation systems like GPS can also be adversely affected."

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory said it saw a large coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with the flash blasting toward Earth at about 560 miles per second (900 kilometers per second).

The flare spread from Active Region 1158 in the sun's southern hemisphere, which had so far lagged behind the northern hemisphere in flash activity. It followed several smaller flares in recent days.

"The calm before the storm," read a statement on the US National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Service.

read on: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.d91e3775fd5b821f0b35dc7f0cbb52fc.21&show_article=1

Love Always
mudra

ANOTHER X-FLARE–ALMOST: Fast-growing sunspot complex 1161-1162 erupted on Feb. 18th, producing an M6.6-class solar flare. The almost-X category blast was one of the strongest flares in years and continued the week-long trend of high solar activity. NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of more M-flares during the next 24 hours. Sunspot 1162 is the latest sunspot to form on the Sun today. Sunspot complex 1161-1162 poses a growing threat for Earth-directed solar flares. -Space Weather


Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 12.8 nT
Bz: 3.9 nT south

By Clive Cookson in Washington

February 20 2011 - The sun is waking up from a long quiet spell. Last week it sent out the strongest flare for four years – and scientists are warning that earth should prepare for an intense electromagnetic storm that, in the worst case, could be a “global Katrina” costing the world economy $2,000bn.

Senior officials responsible for policy on solar storms – also known as space weather – in the US, UK and Sweden urged more preparedness at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington.

“We have to take the issue of space weather seriously,” said Sir John Beddington, UK chief scientist. “The sun is coming out of a quiet period, and our vulnerability has increased since the last solar maximum [around 2000].”

“Predict and prepare should be the watchwords,” agreed Jane Lubchenco, head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “So much more of our technology is vulnerable than it was 10 years ago.”

A solar storm starts with an eruption of super-hot gas travelling out from the sun at speeds of up to 5m miles an hour. Electrically charged particles hit earth’s atmosphere 20 to 30 hours later, causing electromagnetic havoc.

Last week’s solar storm may have been the biggest since 2007, but it was relatively small in historical terms.

It caused some radio communications problems and minor disruption of civil aviation as airlines routed flights away from the polar regions, said Dr Lubchenco.

A more extreme storm can shut down communications satellites for many hours – or even cause permanent damage to their components. On the ground, the intense magnetic fluctuations can induce surges in power lines, leading to grid failures such as the one that blacked out the whole of Quebec in 1989.

The 11-year cycle of solar activity is quite variable and the present one is running late, with the next maximum expected in 2013.

The peak was not expected to be very strong but that should not cause complacency, said Tom Bogdan, director of the US Space Weather Prediction Center.

The most intense solar storm on record, which ruined much of the world’s newly installed telegraph network in 1859, took place during an otherwise weak cycle. An 1859-type storm today could knock out the world’s information, communications and electricity distribution systems, at a cost estimated by the US government at $2,000bn.

In terms of terrestrial vulnerability, the biggest change since the 2000 peak is that the world has become more dependent on global positioning system satellites – and not just for navigation. The world’s mobile phone networks depend on ultra-precise GPS time signals for their co-ordination.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/67444b2c-3d13-11e0-bbff-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1EbdGmUFj

Guide On How To View and Understand The NICT Magnetosphere Readings

Please keep in mind I am no expert, but just one of many who have a interest in solar activities. With solar cycle 24 solar max just around the corner, the Sun will be becoming more and more active. Due to this I felt that a guide to understand the NICT magnetosphere website would be helpful to fellow solar watchers that have an interest in what is going on.

l

When the Sun produces a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), the ejection sends solar winds out into space. The solar winds sent out by a CME carry with it it's own magnetic field called the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) and solar particles (density).
The strength of the CME is what determines how strong the Solar Winds are and the density varies with each CME.
The levels of CME strength are A, B, C, M and X (in order of weakest to strongest).
The stronger the CME is, the stronger the solar wind IMF is.

If a CME is Earth directed, it then sends those Solar Winds and IMF in Earths direction. The IMF is not constant and changes in strength and polarity (north/south) orientation.
This simulation shows the effects of Solar Flares and CME's on Earths Magnetosphere in real time.
(Note: Earth facing magnetic filament eruptions and coronol hole's also effect Earths magnetosphere. Do a search to learn more about these events)

IMPORTANT NOTE:
a Solar Flare and CME are NOT the same.
A solar Flare is produced by a sunspot explosion and reaches Earth very fast, in around 8 minutes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare

A CME (coronal mass ejection) may or may not be produced by the sunspot explosion. If it does produce a CME, it takes anywhere from 2 to 3 days to reach Earth, and sometimes even longer. A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a massive burst of solar wind, other light isotope plasma, and magnetic fields rising above the solar corona or being released into space.[1]

Coronal mass ejections are often associated with other forms of solar activity, most notably solar flares, but a causal relationship has not been established. Most ejections originate from active regions on Sun's surface, such as groupings of sunspots associated with frequent flares. CMEs occur during both the solar maxima and the solar minima of sun activity, albeit with decreased frequency during the minima. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection

(TOP LEFT PICTURE) = The real time simulated picture of of all NICT magnetosphere data. The red and blue lines represent magnetic lines of force found within Earths magnetic field.
When the lines are crossed or in a ball (Example:http://api.ning.com/files/KXDDcbgjz45w5k2FBF1yrj*zWKfxg86ELDPDZMKUe-r3RM-UNEummhSe3qDe2JPlnU*EyA7-dMM-AMn-6YZimocZNlKFLdnc/test_6.20100218065029.jpg ), The IMF is in a north direction (positive) and the magnetosphere is protecting its self from solar winds and particles. This is good.
When the lines are open (into wings), the IMF is in a southward direction and the Magnetosphere is open allowing solar wind IMF and particles to connect with Earth's magnetic field.

When the solar winds and Density is low, the magnetosphere is under little pressure and turns darker blue.
When the solar winds and density is high, the magnetosphere is under high pressure and turns white.
(see scale to the right of simulation)

----------------------------------------------------------

Speed of Solar Winds "V(km/s)" = Energy level
Density "Dens.(p/cc)" = Number of Particles in the Solar Wind
Speed of Solar Winds + Density = Amount of Pressure on our Magnetosphere
= same as
V(km/s) + Dens.(p/cc) = Amount of Pressure on our Magnetosphere

Low Solar Wind Speed = Low amount of Energy
High Solar Wind Speed = High amount of Energy

Low Density = Low amount of Particles
High Density = High amount of Particles

----------------------------------------------------------

Bz(nt) and By(nt):
Bz = North / South
By = East / West

Bz and By measure the angel of the solar wind interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)
Bz and By define a vertical plane like plus sign (+).
The solar wind angle is the angle produced from the vector sum of By and Bz. You can see the solar wind clock angle here along with a more detailed explanation.
Link to Solar Wind Clock Angle: http://www.ips.gov.au/Category/Solar/Solar%20Conditions/Solar%20Wind%20Clock%20Angle/Solar%20Wind%20Clock%20Angle.php

Bz being positive (in the green) = A Northward direction of the Solar winds.
This is the same direction as Earths magnetic field.
Because of this, when the SOLAR WIND IMF hit Earths magnetosphere they are repelled back into space.

Bz being Negative (in the red) = A Southward direction of the solar winds.
This is in the opposite direction of Earths magnetic field.
Because of this, when the IMF hits Earths magnetosphere
the two fields connect in a process called Magnetic Reconnection

The more the Bz in the green = the more the northward IMF direction and the stronger the repulsion
The more the Bz is in the red = the more the Southward IMF direction and the stronger the connection

-----------------------------------------------------------

SIMPLE SUMMERY:
When the solar wind speed "V(km/s)" and the density "Dens.(p/cc)" get high, into the green and the Bz(nt) goes south, into the red area, This is when we get a geomagnetic storm.
The more extreme these are into these areas, the more extreme the storm
Photo Example:
How to read some of the other basic data monitors: http://www.angelfire.com/geek/solarstormmonitor/

NOAA Space Weather Scale for Geomagnetic Storms: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/

LINKS:

http://spaceweather.com/
http://solarcycle24.com/
http://solarimg.org/artis/
http://www.solarmonitor.org/index.php
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
http://gong.nso.edu/data/farside/
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/spaceweather/
http://www.lmsal.com/solarsoft/last_events/
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_5mBL.html
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_1m.html
http://iswa.ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/
http://hirweb.nict.go.jp/sedoss/solact3
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/drap/Global.png
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/ Auroral Activity Extrapolated from NOAA POES
http://www.gdgps.net/products/images/tec-map-br.jpg

Quote:

One thing to look at regards solar wind spead, its not the amount of Energy so to speak. It's the actually SPEED or VELOCITY of the particles coming from the sun and varies according to rate of ejection AND intervening space conditions. But obviously a faster wind delivers more "energy".

As an example, a car traveling at 20 mph, if it runs into a tree, the damage is far less than a car running into a tree at 60 mph. Also to consider is the density of the car. A heavier car will suffer more damage than a light car, leaving out the factors of how the car is constructed of course. So in this a faster wind with also more particles, will have more effect on the pressure image! and thus on our magnetic field. and there are many factors involved with the magnetic field itself as to how it will react, besides speed and particles. Heat is one of those. Some storms have a much higher heat with them than others, plus other space conditions.

A solar flare can come from a magnetic filament, and ditto produce a CME if the filament is ejected into space.

Another example of these forces regards what they can do besides the car hitting a tree, is if you throw a baseball at someone, it is hard, and weighs more than a tennis ball and will do more damage. Also if you throw the tennis ball harder and faster, it will do more damage, hit with a harder force than if you toss it.

As to WIND, if you are driving a car or walking into the WIND, which is nothing more than particles, moving fast, this wind will resist your movement, and if the wind is at your back, it helps you move. Some ejections from the sun are "tossed" and some are thrown hard. And they vary in size, (particles).

Now because of intervening space condition, these particles being tossed as a CME, can be helped along, pushed, or slowed down. This is why sometimes a huge CME tossed off the sun at a high rate of speed, straight at us, will have different effects different times.

The CME that accompanied the X 2.2 flare, that seemed huge, acted like a coronal hole, the mass even though it looked huge, space conditions absorbed some of that mass, the particles, mostly protons, and we didn't get that much of them. I was expecting for example, a proton effect of 40 to 50 and that did not happen, the mass that arrived was not as large as it appeared for a halo CME on Stereo A and B. Intervening space conditions is likely cause, but maybe the mass just was less dense in the first place. It was flung off pretty rapidly, and maybe that suggested to me that the mass coming was going to be larger.

Usually the earth directed CME will have a lot of protons initially, and then the wind speed rises. With a coronal hole, we get less mass, and the wind is the greater feature early into it, than with the CME.

U.S. Must Take Space Storm Threat Seriously, Experts Warn

WASHINGTON — Space weather could pose serious problems here on Earth in the coming years, the chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Saturday (Feb. 19).

A severe solar storm has the potential to take down telecommunications and power grids, and the country needs to work on being better prepared, said NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco here at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Lubchenco is also the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.

"This is not a matter of if, it's simply a matter of when and how big," Lubchenco said of the potential for a dangerous solar flare. "We have every reason to expect we're going to be seeing more space weather in the coming years, and it behooves us to be smart and be prepared."

Ramping up

The space weather threat is becoming more dire as our sun ramps up toward its period of solar maximum, predicted for around 2013. Activity on the sun fluctuates on a roughly 11-year cycle, and our star has been relatively dormant for a while.

That's clearly starting to change, though, as evidenced by a class X solar flare – the strongest kind – that erupted from the sun Feb. 14.

"I think the events of this week certainly underscore how important it is for us to be paying attention to space weather and to be prepared to respond to, and mitigate, potential impacts," Lubchenco said. "As we enter into a period of enhanced solar activity it seems pretty clear that we are going to be looking at the possibility of not only more solar events but also the possibility of some very strong events."

The Feb. 14 flare unleashed a wave of charged particles that streamed immediately toward Earth, as well as coronal mass ejections, or blobs of plasma, that took days to arrive here. When they did, they interacted with Earth's magnetic field to cause geomagnetic storms that wiped out radio communications in the Western Pacific Ocean and parts of Asia, and caused airlines to reroute some polar flights to avoid radio outages.

Next time could be worse

However, experts say we got off fairly lucky with this recent solar storm, and that future eruptions could cause worse damage, particularly to the sensitive transformers and capacitors in power grids. If some of these were harmed, there could be power outages for days, weeks, months, or even, in the case of severe damage, years, experts warned.

"It turned out that we were quite well protected this time, so not much happened," said European Space Agency scientist Juha-Pekka Luntama. "In another case things might have been different."

Space weather hasn't posed quite such a threat before, because during the last solar maximum, around 10 years ago, the world wasn't as dependent on satellite telecommunications, cell phones and global positioning system (GPS) – all technologies that could be disrupted by solar flares.

"Many things we take for granted today are so much more prone to the effects of space weather than was the case during the last maximum," Lubchenco said. The problem is likely to get even worse as the world could likely become more technologically dependent by the time the next solar maximum rolls around, and the next.

Slightly scary

Other experts agree that the risk must be addressed.

"It is slightly scary, and I think properly so," said John Beddington, the U.K. government's chief scientific adviser. "We've got to be scared by these events otherwise we will not take them seriously."

He and other European officials said the world needs greater international cooperation to meet the threat of dangerous space weather.

"There are few emergency scenarios today that require such close cooperation across the Atlantic as a geomagnetic storm," said Helena Lindberg, director general for the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB).

We have an "urgent need to start sharing expertise and connecting our systems for warning and for response," Lindberg said. "This cooperation has to be put in place before a disaster hits."

Despite the risk, though, some experts stressed that there's reason to be optimistic. There is work being done to improve our ability to forecast solar storms in advance, equip more satellites with radiation shielding and fortify power grids with resilient transformers and capacitors.

"Please don’t panic," said Stephan Lechner of the Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. "Please don't leave the room and tell everybody that space weather will kill us tomorrow."

http://www.space.com/10906-space-storms-threat.html

If you should see a coronal mass ejection coming your way: don't forget do duck!

I Am wrote:If you should see a coronal mass ejection coming your way: don't forget do duck!

Duck!! That's rich coming from a seagull!

I Am wrote:If you should see a coronal mass ejection coming your way: don't forget do duck!

I am only good at doing geese. Ah boom boom. Just like that!

All I have to say is when that solar flare passed over us it was hot, humid, muggy... the air was still. The sun was bright white. This is our winter and it has been dry (where we are on the island) the last few weeks and unseasonably warm. However, I can be out in the sun working in the garden for hours and not burn. Surprising. So just for the record... I think the solar flare is popping up along the 20th parallel and drops down below the equator roasting South Africa, South America and Australia. I read where China had some areas in drought as well os they may be getting some of this too.

In this video Ian Crane talks about his encounter with some Inca indians in Peru and what they told him about the Sun .
It's very good .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlJNxUi7oL8&feature=related


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDjmqmLDU7g&feature=related


For info all the other parts cover the Oil spill and I have posted them on the oil spill thread.

Love from me
mudra

Massive waves in giant magnetic holes on the surface of the Sun have been discovered for the first time by solar scientists from the University of Sheffield and Queen´s University Belfast, something that will bring experts a step closer to unlocking the secrets of the Sun.

The Sun is interwoven by a complex network of magnetic field lines that are responsible for a large variety of fascinating features that can be seen in the solar atmosphere. Large, dark regions, which look like holes on the Sun´s surface, mark out areas where the magnetic field breaks through from the Sun´s deep, boiling interior and rises into the very hot solar atmosphere, which is over a million degrees. The largest of these dark regions are often called sunspots and have been studied since their discovery from as early as 364 BC.

The chromosphere of the solar atmosphere. Bright patches correspond to concentrated magnetic flux.
Led by Professor Robertus von Fay-Siebenburgen, Head of the Solar Physics and Space Plasma Research Centre (SP2RC) at the University of Sheffield, the team studied a magnetic region of the Sun much smaller than a sunspot, however its size was still many times greater than the size of the UK.


read more at http://beforeitsnews.com/story/441/501/A_Hole_Bigger_Than_The_United_Kingdom.html

http://www.vgtv.no/#id=37695
video

A 90-minute Solstorm creates beautiful images.

The blasts - or sol eruptions, as they say in technical terms . It is not the most powerful eruption caught on film, but it's still spectacular.

The eruption lasted 90 minutes, and is the latest in a series of solar eruption. It was not directed toward Earth. NASA do not expect that the eruption will cause problems for satellites and other electronic systems.

A solar wind stream hit Earth’s magnetic field during the early hours of March 1st. The impact sparked a geomagnetic storm that was, at first, minor, but the storm has been intensifying throughout the day. Spotters are now reporting auroras over Northern Ireland, Scotland, Latvia, Norway, and Sweden. If trends continue, the display could spread to the high latitudes of North America after nightfall. Stay tuned! -Space Weather http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/

Well, we said this was a nasty hole rotating towards the planet. Solar wind speeds have revved up to 638 km/sec. We’re on the watch for the eruption of flares with this present sunspot cluster. Below the planet magnetosphere is hit with a burn blast from the rabid flow of the solar wind stream.
March 1, 2011 - The Earth’s magnetic field is changing at an increasing rate, throwing off airports and altering the aurora borealis — and its effect on ordinary compasses could mean the difference between homeward bound and hopelessly lost. Earth’s northernmost magnetic point — or magnetic north — is distinct from its geographic North Pole, and scientists have long known that the magnetic poles are on the move. But the magnetic poles have been moving faster lately, sliding towards Siberia at 34 miles per year at a speed that’s accelerated 36 percent over the last 10 years, according to the United States Geological Survey, or USGS. “At Washington D.C., the compass points 10 degrees to the west of true north,” Jeffrey Love, USGS advisor for geomagnetic research, told FoxNews.com. “And this is increasing at Washington at a rate of about 1/10 of a degree per year.” But don’t touch that calibration dial just yet: The accuracy of compasses fluctuates with the field, he said, meaning compasses are more or less accurate depending on where you use them. “It’s different at different places on the earth,” Love said. The magnetic shift is costing the aviation and marine industries millions of dollars to upgrade navigational systems and charts, Florida’s Sun Sentinel reported. –Fox News

“Almost all tectonic movement can be linked to magnetic reversals. Seafloor spreading, sea level changes, mountain growth, earthquakes, and volcanism all seem to speed up whenever the frequency of reversals speeds up.” -Peter Vogt, U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office

Solar flare High M Class due at 20.20/20.40 Universal time or GMT .
Don't think it will be earth facing, will be just off.

Edit,

There may well be 2 M flares 20 mins between each.

March 5, 2011 - BIG SUNSPOTS: Sunspots 1164 and 1166 are so large, people are noticing them at sunrise and sunset when the sun is dimmed by clouds and haze. The dark cores of these regions are many times wider than Earth, so they are conspicuous even from a distance of 93 million miles. Readers who monitor the spots using properly-filtered backyard telescopes are likely to see flares in action; sunspot 1164 in particular has a delta-class magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class eruptions.

AURORA WATCH: A coronal mass ejection (CME) is en route to Earth, due to arrive on March 6th. The CME is slow-moving and not especially massive. Nevertheless, its arrival could provoke geomagnetic storms around the Arctic Circle. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. -Space Weather

Solar flare warning for SA
Mon, 07 Mar


The Hermanus Space Weather Warning Centre (SWWC) on Sunday said a large solar flare was currently being experienced in South Africa. The solar flare would result in higher radiation levels from the sun.

SWWC’s forecaster Kobus Olckers said people should be careful when they go outside.

"People must wear high sunscreen factor at the moment or preferably go shopping," he said

read more : http://technology.iafrica.com/science/711810.html

Love from me
mudra

Strange Sun, Earth & Moon Coincidences

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5h_qoHCn7k



Love Always
mudra

Sunspots above predicted levels

CME IMPACT: A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field on March 10th around 0630 UT. Solar wind conditions, post-impact, are favorable for geomagnetic activity. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

X-FLARE: March 9th ended with a powerful solar flare. Earth-orbiting satellites detected an X1.5-class explosion from behemoth sunspot 1166 around 2323 UT. A movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a bright flash of UV radiation plus some material being hurled away from the blast site:

A first look at coronagraph images from NASA's STEREO-B spacecraft suggests that the explosion did propel a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. This conclusion is preliminary, however, so check back later for updates.

After four years without any X-flares, the sun has produced two of the powerful blasts in less than one month: Feb. 15th and March 9th. This continues the recent trend of increasing solar activity, and shows that Solar Cycle 24 is heating up. NOAA forecasters estimate a 5% chance of more X-flares during the next 24 hours

The current sunspot number per [ www.spaceweather.com ] is 132. When comparing this to the historical values at it is not absurdly high, but is well above the max during many of the solar cycles since the mid 1700s and already nearly on par with the most recent cycle. The interesting/curious/troubling issue is that scientists do not expect the current cycle to peak until around the end of 2012 or early 2013. A look at the historical information linked above suggests that although there are ups and downs a cycle typically keeps climbing in sunspot number until its peak, so we may have a long way to go. Also interesting/curious/troubling is that we are already well well above the projected/forecast sunspot number for the max of the current cycle shown at [ www.swpc.noaa.gov ] The forecast/projection is a smoothed depiction, but looking back at what the graph shows from the previous cycle it appears that even the noisier peaks rarely exceed the smoothed value by more than 40, and with the current number of 132 we are about 80 above where we "should" be now, and about 40 or so higher than the projected max for this cycle (shown near the end of 2012 into early 2013). This may or may not be doom, but it certainly raises an eyebrow and makes one wonder if/when the projections will be updated and how high they might go. A look at the historical record at [link to spaceweather.com] would suggest that if we have at least a year and half of increasing sunspot potential for the current cycle, we could certainly exceed the highest values ever.

There are two sets of numbers. The NOAA version and the International version. Most of the world uses the International version located here; http://sidc.oma.be/sunspot-data/

Belgium forecast March 10, 2011
Flares: Eruptive
Geomagnetism: Active conditions expected
Protons: Proton even in progress
Predicted: 10CM Flux: 143
Predicted AP Index: 014
http://sidc.oma.be/sunspot-data/


http://aslwww.cr.usgs.gov/Seismic_Data/heli2.shtml

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php
Numerous quakes of Western US coast from California, Oregon up into Alaska - Utah, Arkansas
China, Japan, Papua New Guinea 4.7
Greece 2.8, Turkey 3.4, Poland 3.0, Italy 2.5

Just today


Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
10.03.2011 16:15:12 3.0 Europe Poland Czeszkow
10.03.2011 16:15:21 4.7 Indonesian Archipelago Papua New Guinea Waisisi
10.03.2011 14:55:12 2.6 North America United States Alaska Karluk
10.03.2011 14:10:13 2.3 North America United States California Mercuryville
10.03.2011 15:20:19 3.3 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Sumner
10.03.2011 14:15:11 2.8 Europe Greece Kalopirgos
10.03.2011 13:15:10 5.4 Asia Japan Sakihama
10.03.2011 13:30:12 2.7 North America United States Arkansas Soda Valley
10.03.2011 12:10:12 3.2 Asia Turkey Serdarbulak EMSC
10.03.2011 11:50:26 3.0 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Woodville County Cashmere Hills
10.03.2011 12:10:21 3.8 Asia Turkey Saray EMSC
10.03.2011 12:10:29 3.0 Asia Turkey Buyukilet EMSC
10.03.2011 11:05:12 5.4 Asia Japan Sakihama
10.03.2011 11:05:20 4.9 Asia Japan Sakihama
10.03.2011 11:05:28 3.1 Asia Turkey Gurgen
10.03.2011 11:05:37 2.1 Europe Austria Rotach
10.03.2011 10:05:11 2.7 Europe Greece Ayios Konstandinos
10.03.2011 09:40:26 3.2 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Woodville County Cashmere Hills
10.03.2011 09:30:12 2.2 North America United States Alaska Iniskin
10.03.2011 10:05:20 5.4 Asia Japan Sakihama
10.03.2011 13:00:13 3.1 Caribean Puerto Rico Soroco
10.03.2011 11:50:34 2.8 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Woodville County Pungarehu
10.03.2011 10:05:28 4.8 Asia Japan Sasu
10.03.2011 08:40:25 4.5 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Woodville County Clifton
10.03.2011 08:20:13 2.1 North America United States Alaska Drift River
10.03.2011 07:40:14 2.5 Middle America Mexico Estado de Baja California Puerto Azufre
10.03.2011 08:40:33 3.2 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Woodville County Cashmere Hills
10.03.2011 07:40:22 3.4 North America United States Alaska Anaktuvuk Pass
10.03.2011 07:35:13 2.5 Caribean Puerto Rico Tosquero (historical)
10.03.2011 07:05:11 3.5 Asia Turkey Kazanli
10.03.2011 06:35:13 2.2 North America United States Alaska Curry
10.03.2011 07:05:20 2.8 Europe Greece Falatadhos
10.03.2011 06:05:22 2.5 North America United States Hawaii Royal Gardens
10.03.2011 07:05:28 5.6 Asia China Jiucheng
10.03.2011 06:00:47 4.6 Middle-America Panama Quebrada Calabazo
10.03.2011 07:05:36 4.5 Asia Japan Sakihama
10.03.2011 05:10:13 2.3 North America United States California Topaz PO
10.03.2011 06:01:05 3.1 Asia Turkey Tink
10.03.2011 06:01:21 3.2 Asia Turkey Hacihamzasoku
10.03.2011 07:05:44 2.1 Europe Romania Plostina
10.03.2011 07:05:51 3.6 Middle-East Yemen Ra's al `Arah
10.03.2011 06:01:39 2.6 Asia Turkey Kizilcaogutmen
10.03.2011 06:01:56 2.5 Asia Turkey

Climate Change News : 08.03.2011 05:39 - Rising sea water threatens village | 17.01.2011 10:04 - Extreme weather and climate change
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php

3.9.2011 Solar Watch

http://www.examiner.com/energy-in-national/3-9-2011-solar-watch-video
by John Guerrerio
As if the problems being caused on planet Earth by ourselves are not enough to contend with, the sun and moon are seemingly conspiring against us to push our social environments to extremes. From a psychological perspective, some might make the case that humanity's heightened state of agitation is simply a byproduct of increasing natural turbulence. Well, two such events are set to wash over the Earth in the very near future, one over the weekend and the other on 3.19.2011. The first is a gift from the sun; a huge solar flare erupted yesterday pointed directly at Earth. Aurora could be visible from as far south as New York City this weekend. The second gift is courtesy of the moon; a super-sized moon [caused by the moon passing as close to the Earth as it can, the first in 18 years] will be visible on March 19. In the past, 'super moons' have coincided with natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Although scientists have not definitively linked the correlation, years when 'super moons' have appeared have coincided with extreme weather and other natural disaster events. With the global economy in such a precarious position as it is, and unrest as prevalent as it is today, one has to wonder if the Earth and its inhabitants can handle a double-whammy from the sun and moon

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Solar flare, super moon, climate change psychology - National Energy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/energy-in-national/solar-flare-super-moon-climate-change-psychology#ixzz1GRbBOkcm

the SUN GOES DARK - VERIFIED!!! March 14, 2011 -- PROOF!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5AjFVrbAt4


RE- makaelectric and montagraphs -- good questions -- "the sun goes dark"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0gDbWnLIdY


Love Always
mudra

Arrrggghhh - I can't see the Videos above due to where I am.

Is this True ? What is meant by the Sun going Dark in the reference to the Videos being Posted ?

Sorry - Otherwise I'll have to wait over 8 Hours to see if I should even look at Them LOL...