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STRONG
FLARE, INCOMING CME: Departing
sunspot AR1429 unleashed another strong flare on
March 13th, an M7-class
eruption that peaked around 1741 UT. Although the
sunspot is no longer directly facing Earth, the
blast will affect our planet. Analysts at the Goddard
Space Weather Lab say a CME is en
route to Earth, and its impact on March 15th
at 06:20 UT (+/- 7 hours) could trigger minor to
moderate geomagnetic storms. Space
weather alerts: text,
phone.
BRIGHT
COMET DIVES INTO RADIATION STORM:
A bright comet is diving into the sun. It was discovered
just last week by SOHO's SWAN
instrument, so it has been named "Comet SWAN."
The comet's death plunge ( or "swan dive")
comes just as the sun has unleashed a strong flare
and radiation storm around Earth. SOHO images of
the comet are confused to some degree by energetic
protons striking the camera. Nevertheless, you can
see Comet SWAN moving through the electronic "snow"
in this updated 17 hour movie:
This is a Kreutz sungrazer, a fragment
of the same ancient comet that produced sungrazing
Comet
Lovejoy in Dec. 2011. According to comet expert
Karl Battams of the Naval Research Lab in Washington
DC, "Comet SWAN is one of the brightest Kreutz-group
comets ever observed by SOHO, although not quite
as bright as Comet Lovejoy." Battams forecasts
a peak magnitude of -1 for Comet SWAN, while Lovejoy
was three magnitudes brighter at -4.
Will Comet SWAN survive its plunge
through the sun's atmosphere as Comet
Lovejoy did? Probably not, but experts also
said Comet Lovejoy would not survive, and they were
happily
wrong. Comet's SWAN's closest approach to the
sun will likely come on March 14th. Stay tuned to
Karl
Battam's blog for updates.
VENUS-JUPITER
CONJUNCTION: This is a great week
to admire the sunset. Venus and Jupiter are side-by-side
only ~3o apart in the western sky, beaming
through the twilight as soon as the sun goes down.
Photographer Marek Nikodem of Szubin, Poland, recorded
the scene at nightfall on March 12th:
"Venus and Jupiter are like two
lanterns illuminating the darkness," says Nikodem.
"It's a wonderful sight."
Try to catch the duo before the sky
fades completely black. Venus and Jupiter surrounded
by twilight blue is a wonderful sight indeed.
more images: from
Jimmy Westlake of Stagecoach, Colorado; from
Peter Wine of Dayton, Ohio; from
Laurent Laveder of Pluguffan, Brittany, France;
from
Rhiannon Palframan of Cookham Dean, Berkshire,
UK; from
John Cordiale of Edgecomb Pond, Bolton NY; from
Ulf Jonsson of Luleå, Sweden; from
Alexander Birkner of Eppelborn, Germany; from
Diana Bodea of Ibiza, Spain; from
Andrey A. Belkin of Moscow, Russia; from
Vesa Vauhkonen of Rautalampi, Finland; from
Mitchell Krog of Magaliesburg, South Africa;
from
Sven Melchert of Stuttgart, Germany; from
Bob Northup of Studio City CA
BROKEN
RECORD? The recent sustained activity
of sunspot AR1429 has kept the Arctic Circle alight
with auroras for almost two weeks. "I have spent
many thousands of hours watching and photographing
the Northern Lights," says aurora tour guide
Chad Blakely of Abisko Sweden, "and I can honestly
say that I have never seen the auroras this strong
for so many days in a row." In a movie he made
last night, March 12th, a green tornado of light
swirls across Venus and Jupiter:
"We were all absolutely stunned
by the natural beauty of this display," says
Blakeley. "I know I sound like a broken record,
but sunspot 1429 just will not stop!"
The Antarctic Circle has been similarly
active. Click on the links for recent shots
of Southern Lights: from
Dave Headland of Oamaru, New Zealand; from
Ian Stewart of Tinderbox, Tasmania, Australia;
from
Nick Monk of Mountain River, Tasmania, Australia;
from
John Golja of Tooradin, Victoria, Australia;
from
Stephen Voss of Invercargill, New Zealand; from
Dave Headland of Oamaru, Southern New Zealand
February
2012 Aurora Gallery
[previous Februaries: 2011,
2010,
2009,
2008,
2007, 2006,
2004, 2003,
2002]
