NO CME THIS TIME: Yesterday's X1.9-class solar flare did not hurl a CME toward Earth. Although it was intense, the blast was too brief to lift a CME out of the sun's atmosphere. Next time may be different. There are now three large sunspots (AR3181, 82 and 84) with unstable 'delta-class' magnetic fields capable of strong explosions. NOAA forecasters say there is a 35% chance of X-flares on Jan. 10th. X-flare alerts: SMS Text.
X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Yesterday in Kentucky, amateur astronomer Richard Schrantz was scanning the sun with his solar telescope when, almost finished, he decided to take one last look at sunspot AR3184. "What luck!" he says. "There was a big X1.9 solar flare in progress."
"The flare is listed as happening at 18:50 UT, and my image is just a few minutes later at 18:55 UT," says Schrantz. "To capture the eruption I used a 127mm refracting telescope with a Daystar Quark Chromosphere filter."
Right now, the sun is so active it is possible to catch X-flares by accident. Success rates may be further improved by instant text alerts when flares are in progress.
more images: from Laurie Sibbald of Cypress County, Alberta; from Sylvain Weiller of Jerusalem, Israel
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SOLAR FLARE CAUSES RARE 'MAGNETIC CROCHET': The X-flare of Jan. 9th did something rare. It jerked Earth's magnetic field. Here is a composite of magnetometer recordings from Boulder, Colorado; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Fredericksburg, Virginia:
Full recordings: FRD, BOU, HON. Credit: International Real-time Magnetic Observatory Network (INTERMAGNET)
The "jerk" is circled in yellow. It began around 1846 UT, and was detected by many magnetic observatories across the dayside of Earth.
The phenomenon is called a 'magnetic crochet.' Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere and caused currents to flow 60 km to 100 km above Earth's surface. These currents, in turn, briefly altered Earth's magnetic field. Everything returned to normal a few minutes later.
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VALENTINE'S CRYSTAL BEAR AND ROSE: Valentine's Day is coming. Looking for a far-out gift? This Crystal Bear and Rose flew to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon on Dec. 17th:
You can have it for $129.95. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space bears to support their high-altitude ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the ursine astronaut in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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