auroral displays tonight result of june 7 coronal mass ejection

A huge Coronal mass ejection (CME) recorded on June 7th by Solar Dynamics Observatory may result in large auroral displays in northern latitudes tonight! A CSMonitor article points out this is not to be confused with a mere solar flare but rather a more spectacular cause! "Though widely described as a 'solar flare,' the star of Tuesday's solar storm was a much rarer – and much larger – coronal mass ejection, which is distorting Earth's magnetic field and will produce the northern lights (and southern lights) tonight." You may, by stepping outside, look to the skies and catch a glimpse of something unusual! Admission is free!

solar storms: risks of rising solar activity

A burst of solar activity this past week generated, also, dire warnings such as, "Catastrophe Looming? The Risks of Rising Solar Activity," at SPACE.com. The present writer is left with the impression of covert preparation for tragedy, an inculcation of sorts, in such warnings. "'Even if this is a really lackluster solar cycle — as it looks like it's shaping up to be — that doesn't mean you can't have a real bell-ringing event,' said Joe Gurman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, project scientist for the agency's sun-studying STEREO spacecraft." An element of possibility is planted in a reader's mind, even while acknowledged there's a lack of any clear threat.

Is it just recognition of a remote chance, as the Solar Max of 2012 is anticipated to be the largest in years, or something more? The average citizen would never question the official explanation for a knock-out punch of the nation's power grid. It would likely never come to mind to ask, whether the source was a solar flare, coronal mass ejection or an EMP event from a weapon? Is it an ingenious coupling of natural and artificial sources in a predictive program to prepare us for tragedy in the making!

aurora alert: year's largest solar flare

The largest so far this year, a category M6.6 solar flare is earthbound. A skywatcher alert has been issued for auroras in possibly lower as well as higher latitudes. Experts agree a cloud of radiation from a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), will hit the Earth's magnetic field on or about Feb. 15th. The source of the activity is sunspot 1158, which is expected to grow. Many thanks go to Oystein Lunde Ingvaldsen for his wonderful images like the one pictured. The captured Northern Lights image is from the present buffeting of the magnetosphere above Bo, a town in Norway. They are a wonder to behold!. You can enjoy more aurora pictures from another Norwegian, Bjorn Jorgensen, here.


update: solar flare jams radio, satellite signals*
largest solar flare in 4yrs could disrupt power grids, satellite communications*
dept of energy to spend $27m on 'sun shot'*
japan may send humanoid tweet-bot to space*

nasa says solar flare will strike earth nov 14 or 15

Sunspot 1123 hurled a C-4 class solar flare in the Earth's direction just south of the Sun-Earth line, sometime, in the early hours of Nov. 12, 2010. The coronal mass ejection (CME) could glance off the Earth's magnetic field on either Nov. 14th or Nov. 15th to create auroras. Full article is at Before It's News. "Earlier last week, active sunspot 1121 has unleashed one of the brightest x-ray solar flares in years, an M5.4-class eruption at 15:36 UT on Nov. 6th." Please follow link to brief You Tube video of sunspot 1121. A C-4 class solar flare is of mediocre strength. Present observer finds prevalence of news on solar flares curious.