Sol (Sun) and its phenomena

Russian emergencies minister expects more natural disasters due to climate change
The Russian emergencies minister, Alexander Kurenkov, added, that weather anomalies are becoming more and more frequent
MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. Potentially hazardous weather conditions will intensify in the future as a result of climate change, making natural disasters a more frequent occasion, the Russian emergencies minister, Alexander Kurenkov, has told TASS in an interview.

"Our forecasts are based on data, provided by the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. Its specialists note that the number of potentially dangerous weather conditions is growing from year to year, and attribute this trend to climate change. This, in turn, will make natural disasters a more frequent occasion," he said.

The minister added that weather anomalies, such as spells of unusually cold or hot weather, torrential rains, gale winds, hailstorms, floods and draughts are becoming more and more frequent.


THE CHRISTMAS STORM DIDN'T HAPPEN: A CME expected to hit Earth on Dec. 25th did not. Either the CME missed or it is moving more slowly than expected. A tardy arrival on Dec. 26th could still spark a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm, albeit too late for auroras on Christmas. CME impact alerts: SMS Text

HIGH SOLAR ACTIVITY: The sun is crackling with solar flares. Witness these four M-class events within a 2 1/2 hour period on Dec. 26th:



Sunspots 3933, 3936 and 3938 are all participating--but not independently. These are "sympathetic solar flares," one triggering another, then another, in a chain reaction. Sometimes this happens when widely-spaced sunspots are connected by invisible loops of magnetism threading through the sun's high atmosphere.

The four flares pictured above combined to produced X-ray peaks of M3 and M7. If the sunspots continue to work together, a powerful X-flare may be just a matter of time. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text


MARINA, Calif. – Rescuers continue to search for a man who was swept out to sea when rough surf hammered the Northern California coast earlier this week even as more powerful waves are hitting the same area again.

The turbulent Pacific Ocean, which is being churned up by a series of atmospheric rivers that have brought rounds of precipitation and high winds to the West Coast, took out a chunk of the Santa Cruz Pier on Monday.

WATCH: 40-FOOT WAVES SLAM OAHU BEACH AS HAWAII'S 'THE EDDIE' SURF COMPETITION UNDERWAY

A man died at Sunset State Beach after he became trapped under debris, according to FOX 2 San Francisco. Bystanders freed the man, but he later died at a hospital.

Police in Marina said that another man went missing Monday after he was swept out to sea by the high surf at Marina State Beach. Authorities have been limited to a land-based search for the man because the water has been too rough.

More rough surf to pound Northern California coast

Christmas Day provided some improvement along the Northern California coast, but forecasters said the respite was short-lived.

High Surf Warnings and Advisories have again been issued along the Pacific Coast of the U.S., with some alerts in Northern California in effect until at least Sunday.

According to the National Weather Service, large breaking waves of up to 30 feet are likely. In some places, wave heights could reach as high as 50 feet.

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A Storm Comes in Time for Festivities & Big Flares Pop | Solar Storm Forecast 25 December 2024
This Space Weather News forecast sponsored in part by Millersville University:https://www.millersville.edu/swenHappy Holidays everyone! We have a solar storm on its way to Earth that should hit Christmas Day afternoon, just in time for the celebrations! Here is my full Solar Storm Forecast with all the details on the storm and more! Although the coming storm is expected to be mild, with the last quarter moon, aurora should be quite visible down to mid-latitudes where skies are clear. Keep your eyes on the Sun, it may not be done sending storms as several X-flare players are crossing the Earth-strike zone now. Amateur radio operators, expect moderate to severe noise on the dayside radio bands over this week and an increased risk for R2 to R3-level radio blackouts. GPS users should also stay vigilant throughout this week, especially near dawn and dusk where reception suffers anyway, and of course, anywhere near aurora while the storm is occurring. Learn the details of the coming solar storm, watch Regions 3928, 2932, and 2933 light off big solar flare fireworks, and see what else our Sun has in store.

MeteoExpress
11:44 AM · Dec 25, 2024
🌧️ 901 mm of rain has fallen in Paris since the beginning of this year 2024! This is a record for a year since measurements began in 1873! ☔

It is freezing in the east this Thursday morning, sometimes as far as the Mediterranean. The temperatures are -6°C in Luc-en-Provence, -5°C in Avignon, -4°C in Lyon, -3°C in Colmar, -2°C in Aubenas, -1°C in Strasbourg and 0°C in Toulon.


Overall, 44 volcanoes were in continuing eruption status as of 23 December 2024.
Snip: See Chart
An eruption marked as "continuing" does not always mean persistent daily activity, but indicates at least intermittent eruptive events without a break of 3 months or more. There are typically 40-50 continuing eruptions, and out of those generally around 20 will be actively erupting on any particular day (though we do not keep detailed statistics on daily activity). Additional annual eruption data is available for recent years.

The Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report (WVAR) for the week ending on 17 December 2024 includes the 17 volcanoes shown below marked "Yes" in the WVAR column (rollover for report). The most recently started eruption is at the top, continuing as of the Last Known Activity date. An eruption listed here might have ended since the last data update, or at the update time a firm end date had not yet been determined due to potential renewed activity. Complete updates are done about every 6-8 weeks, but information about newer eruptions can be found in the Weekly Report.
 
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STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY RESUMES: The quiet has broken. Today sunspot 3936 produced a strong X1-class solar flare (0717 UT) along with a series of M-class flares peaking at M7 (1509 UT). As a result of these explosions, at least one CME is heading for Earth, and a NASA model shows it reaching Earth late on Dec. 31st


 
STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY RESUMES: The quiet has broken. Today sunspot 3936 produced a strong X1-class solar flare (0717 UT) along with a series of M-class flares peaking at M7 (1509 UT). As a result of these explosions, at least one CME is heading for Earth, and a NASA model shows it reaching Earth late on Dec. 31st



Solar show still ongoing with another X1.5 flare today, considering that the background level of X-rays flux fluctuates near the M-class threshold we can expect more to come.

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GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: Moderate (G2) to strong (G3) geomagnetic storms are possible on Dec. 31st when a CME is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. The CME was hurled into space yesterday by the eruption of a magnetic filament connected to sunspot 3939. If a strong storm materializes, Northern Lights could descend to mid-latitudes in the USA and Europe.​


STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY RESUMES: The quiet has broken. During the past 24 hours, sunspot 3936 has produced two X-class solar flares (X1.1 and X1.5) and a score of lesser M-flares. This morning's X1.5-class eruption (0414 UTC) was so strong it triggered a secondary blast in sunspot 3932 more than 200,000 km away:​




This is actually a double X-flare. Both explosions pictured above crossed the X1 threshold. Extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flares ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout approximately centered on Australia. Ham radio operators in the area may have lost signal below 20 MHz for as much as an hour.​

We don't yet know if these flares hurled CMEs into space.
 
STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY RESUMES: The quiet has broken. Today sunspot 3936 produced a strong X1-class solar flare (0717 UT) along with a series of M-class flares peaking at M7 (1509 UT). As a result of these explosions, at least one CME is heading for Earth, and a NASA model shows it reaching Earth late on Dec. 31st


It's like 2024 could not simply go away without one last dance.
 
Solar activity surge, several strong flares since yesterday and not shown in the graph below, there was an additional M7 event this morning.

A CME JUST HIT EARTH: Arriving right on time, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 4th (0445 UTC). The impact could cause G1 (Minor) to G2-class (Moderate) geomagnetic storms in the hours ahead. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.​


THE SUN IS FLARING AGAIN: Sunspot AR3947 is sizzling with activity. Since yesterday it has produced two X-class solar flares and multiple M-flares. NOAA's GOES-16 satellite recorded the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray flashes:​




Each flare has produced a shortwave radio blackout on Earth. Loss of signal was especially acute over Africa (Jan 3rd) and the South Pacific (Jan 4th). Remarkably, no significant CMEs have emerged. For some reason, these explosions are not lifting material out of the sun's atmosphere.​


Don't be surprised if there's another X-flare today. Sunspot AR3947 has an unstable delta-class magnetic field that is likely to explode again--and it's turning toward Earth.
 
Happy Perihelion Day! :-)


I was wondering why are we celebrating New Year after December solstice? Shouldn't the New year be celebrated on the day of solstice? And now I think I finally found the answer. We are celebrating Perihelion, a true beginning of the New Year!

Of course, as with many other things, everything is messed up in our culture, so we are not celebrating it at the right date, and the date changes every year a little bit. But I am happy that now I can pin the New Year to a real astronomical event and not some Jewish circumcision thing.
 
I was wondering why are we celebrating New Year after December solstice? Shouldn't the New year be celebrated on the day of solstice?

It turns out that this was the same day in 1246!

Due to variations in the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit, the dates when the Earth reaches its perihelion or aphelion are not fixed. In 1246, the December Solstice was on the same day as the Earth reached its perihelion. Since then, the perihelion and aphelion dates have drifted by a day every 58 years. In the short-term, the dates can vary up to two days from one year to another.

Mathematicians and astronomers estimate that in 6430, over 4000 years from now, the perihelion will coincide with the March equinox.

 
Another fun fact:

Earth’s orbit affects length of the seasons

Though not responsible for the seasons, Earth’s closest and farthest points to the sun do affect seasonal lengths. When the Earth comes closest to the sun for the year, as we do every year in early January, our world is moving fastest in orbit. Earth is rushing along now at almost 19 miles per second (30.3 km/s), moving about 0.6 miles per second (1 km/s) faster than when Earth is farthest from the sun in early July. So the Northern Hemisphere winter and – simultaneously – the Southern Hemisphere summer are the shortest seasons, as Earth rushes from the solstice in December to the equinox in March.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer season (June solstice to September equinox) lasts nearly five days longer than our winter season. This holds true for the corresponding seasons in the Southern Hemisphere, as well. And the Southern Hemisphere winter is nearly five days longer than the Southern Hemisphere summer.

 
CME IMPACT SPARKS MINOR STORM: As predicted, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 4th (0445 UTC). The impact caused approximately 6 hours of minor G1-class geomagnetic storming. Bright auroras were mainly confined inside the Arctic Circle. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.

THE SUN IS FLARING AGAIN: Sunspot AR3947 is sizzling with activity. Since yesterday it has produced three X-class solar flares and multiple strong M-flares. NOAA's GOES-16 satellite recorded the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray flashes:



Each flare has produced a shortwave radio blackout on Earth. Almost all longitudes of our planet have experienced intermittent loss of signal below 20 MHz during local daylight hours. Long-distance propagation has been very unreliable.

Remarkably, no significant CMEs have emerged. For some reason, these explosions have not lifted much material out of the sun's atmosphere. Future blasts may behave differently, however, and the activity shows no sign of abating as the sunspot turns toward Earth. Stay tuned! Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.

more images: from Andy Devey of Mojacar, Spain; from Pepe Manteca of Begues, Catalonia, Spain

X 1.8 Solar Flare today. 3 X-flares so far from 3947. Ethiopia Quakes update. Saturday 1/4/2024
Jan 4, 2025 TheEarthMaster



 
I was wondering why are we celebrating New Year after December solstice? Shouldn't the New year be celebrated on the day of solstice? And now I think I finally found the answer. We are celebrating Perihelion, a true beginning of the New Year!
Historically, the Romans fixed the date of the New Year on January 1st for administrative and civil reasons: the month of January was dedicated to the god Janus, whose festival was considered to be an auspicious time for politicians to start their terms. It seems like the Roman calendar was a big mess, mostly due to the number of intercalary days, until the Julian calendar reform, which fixed the number of calendar days at a much closer approximation to the actual number of days in Earth's orbit.

If the Roman January 1st had been moved to the winter solstice (which would vary every year due to the available precision in measurement tools), then it would have pushed the festival of Saturnalia back to early December, which was apparently politically undesirable as it was popular to celebrate it at the solstice. So they kept NYD at January 1st and the Julian calendar was accurate enough not to need further reform until the time of Pope Gregory XIII, approximately 1100 years later (assuming that 460 years of history was bogus).

Apparently basing a calendar on astronomical events causes too much bureaucratic overhead given the flux of cosmic influences (the eccentricity of Earth's orbit etc), so a fixed calendar seems to be preferred by political entities, as long as it matches closely enough to nature to require only occasional adjustments (eg. the leap year's one extra day in February every four years).

I was a little curious as to why the perihelion didn't exactly align with the winter solstice, but this makes sense if you think about it from a purely orbital mechanics perspective: regardless of the shape of the orbit, a planet's axial tilt will always form a specific, exact geometry in three dimensions in relation to the orbital centre (assuming the orbit is regular), resulting in two solstices and two equinoxes.
 
PROTONS ARE RAINING DOWN ON EARTH: An S1-class solar radiation storm is in progress on Jan. 5th. This means energetic protons from the sun are raining down on Earth. Their ionizing effect on the atmosphere is causing a polar cap absorption event (PCA). Shortwave radios inside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles won't work as well as usual until the PCA subsides. Solar radiation storm alerts: SMS Text.

THE SUN IS X-FLARING: Sunspot AR3947 is sizzling with activity. Since Friday it has produced three X-class solar flares and multiple strong M-flares. NOAA's GOES-16 satellite recorded the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray flashes:


Each flare has produced a shortwave radio blackout on Earth. Almost all longitudes of our planet have experienced intermittent loss of signal below 20 MHz during local daylight hours. Because of these flares, long-distance propagation has been unreliable.

Remarkably, no significant CMEs have emerged. These explosions have not lifted much material out of the sun's atmosphere. Future blasts may behave differently, however, and the activity shows no sign of abating as the sunspot turns toward Earth. Stay tuned! Solar flare alerts: SMS Text. more images: from Andy Devey of Mojacar, Spain; from Pepe Manteca of Begues, Catalonia, Spain

6.2 Earthquake El Salvador. More Strong Solar flares today. Sunday update 1/5/2025
TheEarthMaster
 
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