A NEW SUNSPOT: Breaking a strong of 24 spotless days, a new sunspot is growing near the center of the solar disk. Here it is. Amateur astronomers with backyard solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor its development. After all, sunspot genesis is rare during solar minimum. Free: Aurora Alerts
AURORAS EXPLODE OVER NORWAY: Arriving right on time, a stream of high speed solar wind hit Earth's magnetic field on Nov. 10th. The sky above Norway responded --- by exploding. Markus Varik photographed the outburst of light over Tromsø:
"The solar storm arrived as forecast (thanks Spaceweather!) and we are left pretty awe-struck," says Varik. "It has been tough season so far with lot of cloud-infested nights, but these super-duper auroras will keep us going! Solar minimum may be in the offing, but so are the Northern Lights."
Indeed, from a certain point of view, this display was caused by solar minimum. During the nadir of the solar cycle, sunspots disappear, and they are replaced by holes in the sun's atmosphere--a.k.a., "coronal holes." Spewing streams of solar wind that buffet Earth's magnetic field, these holes are a primary form of space weather during solar minimum. Studies show that coronal holes not only open more frequently, but also last longer when sunspots are absent.
The auroras Varik witnessed were caused by a coronal hole--a big one. The solar wind it is sending our way should suround our planet for the next 24 to 48 hours. Arctic sky watchers should therefore remain alert for auroras on Nov. 11-12. Free: Aurora Alerts.
TREMORS IN EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD: Solar wind flowing from a hole in the sun's atmosphere has been buffeting Earth's magnetic field since Nov. 9th, sparking polar auroras and geomagnetic "quakes." Stuart Green detected the tremors from his private magnetic observatory in Preston, Lancashire, UK:
"The solar wind delivered a double blow, moving magnetometer needles around the globe," reports Green. "The first wave arrived on November 9th at approximately 18:00 UT and lasted for 4.5 hrs. The second wave arrived almost 24 hrs later. It was less geoeffective than the first, although no less spectacular according to the beautiful images of the aurora being submitted to Saceweather.com."
The squiggles in Green's chart represent changes in the local magnetic field caused by the buffeting of solar wind high overhead. "The sensor is buried in my garden about 0.5 meters below the surface in an East/West orientation," he explains. "This allows very sensitive (sub nanotesla) measurements of magnetic declination during geomagnetic storms. The plot shows the change in magnetic flux density in nanotesla occurring between readings every few minutes."
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
THE WILD RIDE OF THE SPACE PICKLE: The Christmas pickle is a holiday tradition in the United States. Make way for a new tradition: The Christmas Space Pickle! To raise money for their cosmic ray research, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have flown a payload full of the glass pickle ornaments to the stratosphere, and you can have one for your own tree.
Priced at $79.95, each space-faring gherkin comes with a Christmas card showing your ornament in space. The inside flap tells the story of the pickle's flight and confirms that the pickle has traveled to the edge of space and back again. It also comes with a bonus photo of the pickle in the stratosphere. Hang it on your Christmas tree alongside the pickle itself to impress holiday visitors!
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