A CME IS COMING (MAYBE): A magnetic filament connection to Martian sunspot AR3676 erupted today, hurling a CME into space. Although most of the CME is heading south of our planet, a fraction of the storm cloud is expected to strike Earth. A NASA model predicts a glancing blow during the early hours of Feb. 13th, possibly sparking G1-class geomagnetic storms. CME Impact alerts: SMS Text
SOLAR RADIATION STORM IN PROGRESS: For the second day in a row, energetic protons from the sun are raining down on Earth. This is called a "solar radiation storm," and it is currently a category S2 event. A data-plot from NOAA's GOES-18 satellite shows how protons surged around our planet just after yesterday's X-class solar flare:
The colored lines count the number of energetic protons streaming past GOES-18 en route to Earth. Green and blue are of special interest because they trace "hard protons" capable of upsetting spacecraft electronics, e.g., causing reboots of onboard computers. These particles can even reach all the way down to aviation altitudes, boosting dose rates for passengers and crews flying commercial planes over Earth's polar regions.
We can actually *see* some of these protons. Take a look at this SOHO coronagraph movie of the sun hours after the flare:
The "snow" is this movie is caused by the radiation storm. Each speckle is a solar proton striking the spacecraft's digital camera. This is a good example of how radiation storms can temporarily interfere with orbital imaging systems.
Another effect of the radiation storm is an ongoing blackout of shortwave radio transmissions around Earth's poles. This is called a "polar cap absorption event." Earth's magnetic field is guiding many of the incoming protons towards the poles, where they ionize the upper atmosphere; this, in turn, wipes out radio signals below 30 MHz. Many shortwave radios inside the Arctic Circle simply won't work until the radiation storm is over.
Click here to view a realtime blackout map. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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VALENTINE'S GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Does your sweetheart love space? Shop the Earth to Sky Store for their perfect Valentine's gift. All items have flown to the stratosphere on board cosmic ray research balloons--and from now until Feb. 14th, everything is 10% off:
Each purchase comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again. Don't forget to enter the coupon code "ILOVESPACE" for your Valentine's discount!
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