And if it takes off, it could become a source of income! Win-Win-Win!Me too! But I also understand that some people don't have a super fast Internet connection, so finding a compromise would be good, I think.
@Puma, how about considering starting a Substack page, where you make your full posts with pictures and all, and those of us who are interested can subscribe? That way, you are still recording it daily and all (which many of us appreciate!), AND we get to discuss it here. How does that sound? Win-win?
During the night, this region (AR3697) erupted with a strong M9 flare (video from Dr Keith Strong on twitter), wich produced as usual a radio blackout and more importantly also generated a proton event.
Active Region | Sunspots | Size (MH) & class |
AR3701 | 1 | 10 a |
AR3702 | 3 | 80 B |
AR3703 | 2 | 70 By |
AR3704 | 1 | 10 a |
AR3707 | 5 | 40 B |
AR3708 | 2 | 60 a |
AR3709 | 14 | 230 By |
AR3710 | 4 | 40 B |
AR3711 | 3 | 60 B |
The sun is on the verge of a significant event: a magnetic field reversal.
This phenomenon happens roughly every 11 years and marks an important stage in the solar cycle. The shift in polarity indicates the halfway point of solar maximum, the height of solar activity, and the beginning of the shift toward solar minimum.
The last time the sun's magnetic field flipped was toward the end of 2013. But what causes this switch in polarity, and is it dangerous? Let's take a deep look at the sun's magnetic field reversal and investigate the effects it could have on Earth.
To understand the magnetic field's reversal, first, it's important to be familiar with the solar cycle. This approximately 11-year cycle of solar activity is driven by the sun's magnetic field and is indicated by the frequency and intensity of sunspots visible on the surface. The height of solar activity during a given solar cycle is known as solar maximum, and current estimates predict it will occur between late 2024 and early 2026.
Active Region | Sunspots | Size (MH) & class |
AR3702 | 1 | 39 a |
AR3708 | 1 | 40 a |
AR3709 | 8 | 100 B |
AR3711 | 5 | 10 B |
AR3712 | 18 | 850 Byd |
AR3713 | 10 | 130 By |
AR3716 | 19 | 140 B |
A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SUNSPOT: Only a few days ago, sunspot AR3712 didn't exist. Now it's 8 times wider than Earth and growing fast. This morning in Austria, Michael Karrer photographed the sunspot crackling with activity. SpaceWeather.com
UNEXPECTED CME IMPACT: A CME hit Earth's magnetic field today, June 15th (1157 UT). The unexpected impact sparked a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm, which could wax and wane for the rest of the day. SpaceWeather.com
X8.7 at 16:51 UTC from AR3664 the flare produced a Strong R3 radio blackout over Americas
SOMETHING FLARE-Y THIS WAY COMES: Old sunspot AR3664 might not be dead, after all. It's returning today for a rare third trip across the Earthside of the sun. Usually such a superannuated sunspot would be a decaying corpse. Instead, we're getting an explosive active region:
Active Region | Sunspots | Size (MH) & class |
AR3712 | 18 | 850 By |
AR3713 | 10 | 130 Byd |
AR3716 | 19 | 140 B |
AR3719 | 14 | 230 B |
AR3720 | 13 | 140 B |
AR3721 | 1 | 100 a |
AR3722 | 1 | 60 a |
AR3723 | 5 | 159 B/ new |
AR3724 | 1 | 60 a/ new |
AR3725 | 4 | 90 Bd/ new |
AR3726 | 6 | 30 B/ new |
Active Region | Sunspots | Size (MH) & class |
AR3719 | 7 | 170 B |
AR3720 | 18 | 130 B |
AR3721 | 2 | 100 a |
AR3722 | 1 | 60 a |
AR3723 | 7 | 170 Byd |
AR3724 | 1 | 50 a |
AR3727 | 3 | 100 B |
AR3728 | 2 | 10 B |
AR3729 | 4 | 60 B |
As a result of this event, a minor G1 geomagnetic storm is predicted to occur on June 28 when a component of the CME grazes the Earth's magnetic field. In the meantime, on June 27
Active Region | Sunspots | Size (MH) & class |
AR3719 | 3 | 240 B |
AR3720 | 5 | 80 B |
AR3721 | 3 | 110 a |
AR3722 | 1 | 90 a |
AR3723 | 6 | 50 B |
AR3724 | 1 | 80 a |
AR3727 | 2 | 230 a |
AR3728 | 5 | 100 B |
AR3729 | 8 | 240 B |
AR3730 | 5 | 50 B |
AR3731 | 1 | 10 a new new |
AR3732 | 2 | 40 a |
I saw a G4 warning this afternoon from NOAA and got all excited thinking we might have a repeat like the last event. I ended up disappointed when I saw it occurred around 11 am EST :(
I was going to post about it, but then I refrained because I did not know how to present the data; your posts are so much better!
From the Royal Observatory of Belgium Solar Influence Data CenterHi All! Join me LIVE today at 11:00a PDT (18:00 UTC) for an informal briefing on the surprise (but not so surprise) G4 storm hitting now. This is the expected glancing blow from one of the filaments launched a few days ago, but it has arrived much faster and is stronger than predictions. See what that means for aurora photographers, radio amateurs, and GPS users as we move through the rest of this week, especially since we have another, smaller storm coming over the next few days.
I am making this briefing available to the public, but you Patrons have priority in getting your questions answered! So please feel free to join the You Tube chat directly by clicking the link below, or post your questions here and I will check them during the Q&A.
Solar flaring activity was at low levels, with a few C-class flares recorded in the past 24 hours.
The largest flare of the period was a C3.2 flare, peaking at 14:40 UTC on June 28, associated with an active region (AR) behind the east limb (N10E89), which is currently rotating onto the disk. NOAA AR 3723 (beta class), which produced only one low-level C-class flare in the last 24 hours, appears to be shrinking and reducing in complexity. Other regions on the disk have simple configurations of their photospheric magnetic fields (alpha and beta) and did not show any significant flaring activity.
Solar flaring activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels over the next 24 hours, with C-class flares probable and a chance of M-class flares.A faint partial halo coronal mass ejection (CME) was observed in SOHO/LASCO-C2 at around 00:48 UTC on June 28, directed towards the southeast from Earth's perspective. This CME is likely associated with flaring near NOAA AR 3730. Given the source's location close to the disk center, an impact at Earth is possible from late on July 1st.
This ICME will likely interact with the one from June 27 on its way to Earth, although the prediction of its arrival remains with low confidence. No other Earth-directed CMEs have been detected in the available coronagraph imagery over the past 24 hours.
Over the past 24 hours, the greater than 10 MeV GOES proton flux was at nominal levels and is expected to remain so for the next24 hours.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux, as measured by the GOES-16 satellite, remained below the 1000 pfu threshold. It isexpected to remain below the threshold during the next 24 hours. The 24 hour electron fluence was at normal levels and is expected to remain at these levels for the following 24 hours.
LOOKS LIKE SOLAR MAX: The first six months of 2024 are in the books. Amateur astronomer Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau stacked daily sun images for all 182 days, and it looks like Solar Max:
"Since the beginning of 2024, the sun has increased its activity," says Poupeau. "The presence of so many sunspots is a clear indication that we are very close to the maximum activity of this cycle."
Poupeau's image contains some notable features. First, the sunspots are concentrated in two bands, one north and one south of the sun's equator. This is normal. As the solar cycle unfolds, these two bands will converge on the equator, eventually meeting and extinguishing themselves in a collision of opposite-polarity magnetic fields. Solar Max will be replaced by Solar Min.
Second, the southern hemisphere seems more active with many more sunspots than the north. This is also normal; sometimes one hemisphere dominates the other for months at a time. In this case, the counts are skewed by one massive southern sunspot (AR3664), which circled the sun three times, tripling its contribution to the total. AR3664 is famous for launching the May 10th superstorm.
Solar Max, if it has indeed arrived, is far from over. Solar Maxima typically last for 2 to 3 years, and we are just getting started. Stay tuned!
Happy 4th of July Everyone! While many of us in the USA are celebrating the holiday, others are dealing with the impact of Hurricane Beryl. Thankfully, the Sun has calmed down over the past week so the risk for big radio blackouts is the lowest it has been in several months. We do have a few mild solar storms to contend with this week, but they will hardly be noticed at mid-latitudes. At high latitudes, aurora photographers might get some fleeting aurora, but shows will not be nearly as spectacular as some recent storms have been. Luckily this means that hurricane first responders and "SAR" (Search and Rescue) teams should be able to employ GPS-enabled drones and amateur radio communications in their emergency toolkit to help in those disaster zones over this coming week. Learn the details of the mild solar storms impacting Earth, watch new regions emerge on the Sun's farside, and see what else our Sun has in store. This Space Weather News forecast sponsored in part by Millersville University:https://www.millersville.edu/swen
I’ve written about the record-accumulations on Swiss glaciers, but the same is being witnessed across northern Italy.
In the first six months of 2024, the administrative region of Lombardy –for example– has posted well-above average accumulations across all of its glaciers, particularly on the Adamello.
Contrary to AGW Party predictions of ‘forever less’ (more on that below), data from the Arpa Lombardia Nivometeorological Center reveal that between May and June, the period of maximum accumulation, Lombardy’s glacial basins logged depths of as much as 40 meters (131 feet).
Conducting 55 core samples and numerous snow depth measurements, Arpa Lombardia data show that glaciers like Adamello, Pisgana, Alpe Sud, and Savoretta witnessed snowfall well above the historical average, 10 meters (32.8 feet) above in many cases
Furthermore, this year’s snow is dense and compact, and is so far withstanding summer warmth, reducing the glacial melt season which will contribute to a season of limited drought.
Endless mainstream studies foresaw the Alps suffering significant declines in snow cover and glacier mass by now.
One study, led by the University of Bayreuth and published in 2012, projected that Alpine ski resorts would lose 80 snow cover days annually by the mid-2020s if high emission scenarios continued.
Likewise, a Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (2019) paper projected that the Alps would see substantial snow cover reduction by 2025. The study indicated that the number of snow cover days could halve, with severe impacts on water availability and local ecosystems.
While a Eurac Research study, published in 2022, suggested that, due to cLiMaTe ChAnGe, the Alps could see a reduction in snow cover by up to 50% by 2025.
Despite the prophesies, the snowfalls of 2024 have led to great summer glacier skiing conditions, with well-above average pack.
Even into July, skiing and snowboarding is on offer in Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland, at the following resorts:
- Hintertux, Austria
- Tignes, France
- Val d’Isere, France
- Cervinia, Italy
- Passo Stelvio, Italy
- Zermatt, Switzerland