SOHO LASCO C2 Latest Image

FARSIDE ACTIVITY: For more than a week, solar activity has been low. On April 26th around 0600 UT, an active region on the farside of the sun broke the calm with a powerful eruption. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a massive cloud of plasma flying over the sun's southwestern limb: The same active region has since hurled three CMEs into space. The clouds will certainly miss Earth, but they might hit Mercury, which appears to be in the line of fire.

CHANCE OF FLARES: Sunspot AR1465 has developed a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of M-class eruptions during the next 24 hours. Because the active region is located on the Earthside of the sun, any flares from AR1465 will likely be geoeffective.

Even without a strong eruption from AR1465, ionization waves are already rippling through Earth's upper atmosphere. Dave Gradwell of Birr, Ireland, recorded a series of sudden ionospheric disturbances (SIDs) on April 27th:

Low-level flares from several sunspot groups (especially 1465, 1466 and 1467) are strobing the atmosphere with ionizing radiation. Using a VLF receiver, Gradwell detected their effect on the propagation of radio signals transmitted from France. So far the disturbances have been relatively weak, but this could change if AR1465 unleashes a more potent eruption over the weekend.

MARS-DIRECTED CME: A minor CME that left the sun during the late hours of April 28th is heading for Mars. En route, it will sweep past the Mars Science Lab spacecraft, which is carrying Curiosity to the Red Planet. According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the GSFC, the cloud will reach the rover on May 4th.

SUNSPOT MIRAGE: When the sun rose over Veszprem Hungary on May 1st, big sunspot AR1471 split into three pieces. "It was a mirage--the strongest I have ever seen!" says Monika Landy-Gyebnar, who photographed the apparition:
Landy-Gyebnar explains how she arranged the photo-op: "We had a nice, clear and windless morning. I set up my camera where I could see the sun rising over a cold valley where fog often collects; it is a location colder then its surroundings. I hoped the inversion layer at the valley would provide some distortion--and indeed it did. The image I saw when sun appeared was incredible!"

METEORS FROM HALLEY'S COMET: Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. The shower peaks this weekend; the best time to look is during the hours before sunrise on Sunday, May 6th. Because the shower's radiant is located below the celestial equator, southern hemisphere observers are favored, but even northerners should be able to see a few flecks of Halley-dust disintegrating in the atmosphere. Super-bright moonlight will cap the meteor rate at about 30 per hour.

In recent nights, NASA's all-sky meteor network has picked up a number of early eta Aquarid fireballs. This one was bright enough to shine through the glow of sunrise and clouds over Tullahoma, Tennessee, on April 29th: According to analysts at NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, this particular speck of comet dust hit the atmosphere traveling 62 km/s (139,000 mph) and disintegrated about 84 km (52 mi) above Earth's surface.

The full Moon of May 5-6, 2012, with interfere with the visibility of the eta Aquarid peak. Radar signals, however, penetrate moonlight with ease. Tune into Space Weather Radio for live echoes from eta Aquarids passing over the US Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas.

BIG NEW SUNSPOT: A large sunspot group is rotating into view over the sun's northeastern limb. The emergence of this apparently significant active region could herald an increase in solar activity. Solar flare alerts: text, phone.

"SUPER MOON" TONIGHT: Tonight's full Moon is a perigee moon, as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons of 2012. This is a harmless but beautiful astronomical phenomenon. Enjoy the moonlight! [video] [full story] [Moonshots: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5]

METEORS FROM HALLEY'S COMET: The eta Aquarid meteor shower is peaking today as Earth passes through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet. Unfortunately, bright moonlight is washing out all of the faint meteors, but some eta Aquarids are piercing the glare. Last night, NASA's network of all-sky fireball cameras recorded eight fireballs, including this one exploding over New Mexico: www.spaceweather.com

BIG SUNSPOT: One of the largest sunspot groups in years rotated over the sun's northeastern limb this weekend. With a least four dark cores larger than Earth, AR1476 sprawls more than 100,000 km from end to end, and makes an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. Amateur astronomer Alan Friedman sends this picture of the behemoth from his backyard in Buffalo, NY: "AR1476 is firecrackler," says Friedman.

Indeed, the active region is crackling with impulsive M-class solar flares. Based on the sunspot's complex 'beta-gamma' magnetic field, NOAA forecasters estimate a 70% chance of more M-flares during the next 24 hours. There is also a 5% chance of powerful X-flares.

CHANCE OF FLARES: Huge sunspot AR1476 is crackling with M-class solar flares and appears to be on the verge of producing even stronger blasts. The sunspot's 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field harbors energy for X-class flares, the most powerful kind. Eruptions in the days ahead will likely be geoeffective as the sunspot turns to face Earth. A pair of CMEs en route to Earth could add to the effect of the solar wind stream, igniting even brighter auroras during the next 24-48 hours. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of geomagnetic storms on May 9th.

Large sunspot 1476 produced a moderate M4.7 solar flare at 12:32 UTC on May 9, 2012. This video includes images and movies by EVE and SDO. May 9, 2012 – SOLAR ACTIVITY INTENSIFIES: Huge sunspot AR1476 is crackling with M-class solar flares and appears to be on the verge of producing something even stronger. The sunspot’s ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic field harbors energy for X-class flares, the most powerful kind. Earth is entering the line of fire as the sunspot rotates across the face of the Sun. –Space Weather

SOLAR ACTIVITY INTENSIFIES: Huge sunspot AR1476 is crackling with M-class solar flares and appears to be on the verge of producing something even stronger. The sunspot's 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field harbors energy for X-class flares, the most powerful kind. Earth is entering the line of fire as the sunspot rotates across the face of the sun.

This morning, May 10th around 0418 UT, sunspot 1476 unleashed an impulsive M5-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

Apparently, the almost-X class explosion did not hurl a significant CME toward Earth. NOAA forecasters estimate a 65% chance of more M-class flares and a 10% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.


SOLAR ACTIVITY INTENSIFIES: Huge sunspot AR1476 is crackling with M-class solar flares and appears to be on the verge of producing something even stronger. The sunspot's 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field harbors energy for X-class flares, the most powerful kind. Earth is entering the line of fire as the sunspot rotates across the face of the sun.

This morning, May 10th around 0418 UT, sunspot 1476 unleashed an impulsive M5-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

Apparently, the almost-X class explosion did not hurl a significant CME toward Earth. NOAA forecasters estimate a 65% chance of more M-class flares and a 10% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.

WHAT DOES A SUNSPOT SOUND LIKE? On May 9th, amateur astronomer Thomas Ashcraft of New Mexico detected strong shortwave radio bursts coming from the sunspot. Click to hear the "solar static" that roared out of his loudspeaker: Dynamic spectrum courtesy of Wes Greenman, Alachua Radio Observatory

"The strongest burst so far occured around 1631 UT on May 9th," reports Ashcraft. "I am observing at 28 MHz and 21.1 MHz. As I send this note I am hearing more bursting, indicating powerful magnetic dynamism within active region 1476."

Solar radio bursts are caused by plasma instabilities that ripple through the sun's atmosphere in the aftermath of powerful flares. With AR1476 poised for more eruptions, this 'radio activity' is likely to continue for days. Stay tuned.

SUNSPOT SUNRISE: Sunspot AR1476 is so large, people are noticing it without the aide of a solar telescope. The behemoth appears at sunrise and sunset when the light of the low-hanging sun is occasionally dimmed to human visibility. Stefano De Rosa sends this picture from Turin, Italy:
"This morning the sight of the majestic sunspot AR 1476 was great as the sun was rising alongside the Basilica of Superga!" says De Rosa.

The sunspot looks a lot like Hawaii, but it is much bigger than any island on Earth. From end to end the sprawling active region stretches ~160,000 km, or a dozen times wider than our entire planet. If you have a sunspot telescope, take a look. The view is magnificent.

CHANCE OF FLARES, EARTH-DIRECTED: NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of M-class solar flares and a 20% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. Any eruptions are likely to be geoeffective because the source, sunspot AR1476, is directly facing our planet. X-flare alerts: text, phone.

Yesterday, May 10th, amateur astronomer David Maidment of Sohar, Oman caught the active region in mid-flare during a strong M5-class eruption:

The blast, which almost crossed the threshold into X-territory, did not produce a significant coronal mass ejection (CME). "There seemed to be no CME due to the fact that the plasma was captured and dragged back down to the sun," notes Maidment.

INCOMING CME: On May 11th, a coronal mass ejection raced away from the sun traveling ~1000 km/s. The fast-moving cloud will deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on May 14th around 14:30 UT, according to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab. Mars is also in the line of fire. The quiet is probably temporary. NOAA forecasters estimate a 65% chance of M-class flares and a 15% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.

SUNSET OVER PARIS: Huge sunspot AR1476 poses a threat for strong solar flares, but for the past two days the so-called "active region" has been mostly quiet. What the sunspot lacks in drama, however, it more than makes up for in beauty. Consider this photo of Friday night's sunset over Paris:

CME TARGETS EARTH, MARS: A coronal mass ejection could deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field today, May 14th. The cloud is passing by en route to Mars. NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% to 25% chance of minor geomagnetic storms during the next 24 hours.

CHINESE SPACE STATION TRANSITS THE SUN: Solar photographers have grown accustomed to winged spaceships flying in front of the sun. For years, silhouettes of space shuttles and the International Space Station have flitted across the solar disk, producing photo-ops of rare beauty. Now China's space station, the Tiangong-1 ("Heavenly Palace 1"), is joining the show. On May 11th, perhaps for the first time, Thierry Legault of Paris, France, caught the newcomer transiting the sun:

"Orbiting Earth at 16,500 mph, the Chinese station flitted across the sun in only 0.9s," says Legault, who captured the split-second transit using a solar-filtered Takahashi FSQ-106 refractor and a Canon 5D Mark II digital camera.

At the moment, the silhouette of the 19,000 pound Tiangong-1 is dwarfed by its older cousin, the 990,000 pound ISS. Tiangong-1 will grow a little larger in the summer of 2012 when the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft docks with it. Chinese astronauts will be on board for their first visit to the outpost. The Chinese space agency says this is just the first step toward the development of a much larger space station planned for launch in 2020. Stay tuned for more--and bigger--silhouettes.

You can see Tiangong-1 with the naked eye shining in the night sky as brightly as the stars of the Big Dipper.

More auroras could be in the offing. A CME is expected to deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on May 14th. NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% to 25% chance of geomagnetic activity when the cloud arrives.

RADIATION STORM UNDERWAY: Energetic solar protons are swirling around Earth following an M5-class solar flare from departing sunspot 1476. The sunspot erupted on May 17th around 0130 UT. This radiation storm ranks S2 on NOAA storm scales, which means it is a moderate event capable of confusing spacecraft imaging systems and causing 'single event upsets' in orbiting electronics.

INCOMING CME? A coronal mass ejection (CME) that flew off the sun's western limb on May 17th might hit Earth after all. NOAA forecasters say a shock wave from the blast could deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on May 18th or 19th. The CME, pictured below, was propelled by an M5-class solar flare from departing sunspot AR1476
The speckles in the movie are caused by energetic protons hitting the observatory's detector. Those protons may have been accelerated in part by the shock wave en route to Earth.

According to NOAA, there is a 40% chance of minor geomagnetic storms and a 15% chance of strong storms when the shock arrives. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

INTERPLANETARY SHOCK WAVE: An interpanetary shock wave possibly associated with the M5-class solar flare of May 17th swept past Earth on May 20th around 0200 UT. The shock's arrival caused geomagnetic activity around the poles, and several outbreaks of high-latitude auroras.

An M5 flare and a CME (coronal mass ejection) unleashed a moderate proton storm of radiation and particles into space on May 17, 2012. The particles began smacking SOHO's LASCO C3 imager within 15 minutes of the flare: they appear as white streaks or what we call ?snow?. The CME is the billowing whitish cloud that heads off to the lower right. The next day another CME blossoms out to the left of the Sun. In these images the Sun is represented by a white circle, with the Sun blocked out by the blue occulting disk so that we can observe the faint structures in the corona beyond it. The bright object slowly moving left to right below the Sun is Jupiter. The video covers about 2 days of activity.

QUIET SUN: With no sunspots actively flaring, the sun's x-ray output has flatlined. Solar activity is low, and likely to remain so for the next 24 hours. So far the solar wind has not caused a full-fledged geomagnetic storm, but this could change during the next 24 hours. NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% to 20% chance of storms around the poles as the solar wind continues to blow.

DRAGON SIGHTINGS: NASA officials are calling it a turning point in space exploration. Yesterday, a commercial rocket, SpaceX's Falcon 9, blasted off from Cape Canaveral on a mission to re-supply the International Space Station. As the Falcon 9 roared into the sky, Brent of Orlando, Florida, photographed its fiery exhaust through his backyard telescope:
The rocket propelled SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft into orbit, where it is now chasing the ISS around Earth. Docking is expected on May 25th. The Dragon is carrying about 1,200 pounds of supplies (mainly food and clothing) for the crew of the station. The spacecraft can hold 7,300 pounds of material, but because this is a test flight, the manifest was limited.

LIMB SHOTS: The sun's southeastern limb is hopping with activity. New sunspot AR1492, which just rotated onto the Earthside of the sun, is crackling with C-class solar flares and hurling plumes of plasma off the stellar surface. Click on the image to set the scene in motion: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the movie during the late hours of May 25th. According to the 3D Sun app, another active region is approaching just behind this one and could boost solar activity even more when it emerges in the days ahead. Stay tuned.

PARTIAL ECLIPSE OF THE STRAWBERRY MOON: On Monday, June 4th, the Moon will pass through the shadow of Earth, producing a partial lunar eclipse visible across the Pacific from China to the United States. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

AR1492 ERUPTS, CME TARGETS MARS: The magnetic canopy of sunspot AR1492 erupted on May 27th, producing a long-duration C3-class solar flare and hurling a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Mars. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the explosion's extreme UV flash:

Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab say the CME from this blast will hit the Mars Science Lab spacecraft (containing Mars rover Curiosity) on May 31st at 0100 UT followed by Mars itself about 10 hours later. Earth could receive a glancing blow from the cloud on May 29th; more likely, though, it will completely miss.

A large coronal hole is emerging over the sun's eastern limb. Solar wind flowing from the opening should reach Earth on June 6-7. Solar wind speed: 464.3 km/sec/density: 4.5 protons/cm3

The sunspot number is increasing, setting an active stage for the June 5th Transit of Venus. CORONAL HOLE: Spewing solar wind, a yawning dark fissure in the sun's atmosphere is turning toward Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the "coronal hole" during the early hours of June 1st:

Coronal holes are places where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows the solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole will reach Earth on June 5th - 7th, possibly stirring geomagnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

June 3, 2012 – SPACE - Earth is currently experiencing a mild-geomagnetic storm and auroras are possible at high latitudes says Space Weather. A new sunspot is emerging at the circled location, further boosting the sunspot number. Coronal holes are places where the sun’s magnetic field opens up and allows the solar wind to escape. A chicken-shaped stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole will reach Earth on June 5th – 7th, possibly stirring geomagnetic storms. –Space Weather

SOLAR TSUNAMI: New sunspot 1496 unleashed an impulsive M3-class solar flare on June 3rd at 1755 UT. In New Mexico, amateur astronomer Thomas Ashcraft was monitoring the sun when the explosion occurred, and he video-recorded a powerful solar tsunami issuing from the blast site: "This was a great solar event!" says Ashcraft. "The blast wave sparked powerful radio emissions as it plowed through the sun's atmosphere, and I recorded the sounds using my shortwave radio telescope."

The explosion also hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space: SOHO movie. The cloud does not appear to be heading for Earth, although this conclusion could be revised by further analysis.

'CH' STANDS FOR ... CHICKEN? A big dark hole in the sun's atmosphere, a 'coronal hole', is turning toward Earth spewing solar wind. According to NASA's official rubber chicken, it looks an awful lot like a bird: Coronal holes are places where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows the solar wind to escape. A chicken-shaped stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole will reach Earth on June 5th - 7th, possibly stirring geomagnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.