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INCOMING COMET:
NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft has discovered another comet plunging
toward the sun. The last time this happened on Jan. 4th, the
comet was destroyed, and history could repeat itself later
today. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has a
good view of the comet's death plunge: movie,
labels.
Stay tuned for updates.
SUNSPOT UPDATE:
Sunspot 1041 is calming down. After reeling off a string of
five M-class solar
flares between Jan. 18th and 20th, there have been no significant
eruptions on Jan. 21st. For now, the active region is merely
photogenic:
Amateur astronomer Dennis
Simmons took the picture this morning from his backyard
observatory in Brisbane, Australia.
Although it's been a calm day, the magnetic field of sunspot
1041 still harbors energy for strong eruptions. NOAA forecasters
estimate a 75% chance of more M-flares during the next 24
hours. Readers with solar
telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.
more images: from
Sylvain Weiller of Saint Rémy lès Chevreuse, France; from
Athanasios Georgiou of Filyro, Thessaloniki, Greece; from
Francisco A. Rodriguez of Cabreja Mountain Observatory,
Gran Canaria Island, Canary Islands;
NORTHERN LIGHTS:
As predicted, a solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field
on Jan. 20th and sparked bright auroras around the Arctic
Circle. "There were fast-moving streamers and stunning
coronas," says Petter Hamnes of Mo i Rana, Norway. "It
was one of the best displays I've seen in a long time."
He took this picture using his Nikon
D300:
The solar wind's impact caused a geomagnetic
storm registering 5 on the 0-to-9 K-index
scale of magnetic disturbances. It was the first geomagnetic
storm of the year--but probably not the last. With active
sunspot 1041 turning toward Earth, there could be more in
the offing. High-latitude sky watchers should remain
alert for auroras.
UPDATED: January
Northern Lights Gallery
[previous Januarys: 2009,
2008, 2007,
2005, 2004,
2001]
Solar
Eclipse Photo Gallery
[World
Map of Eclipse Sightings]
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