THE FIRST CME HAS ARRIVED: The first of potentially several incoming CMEs hit Earth today at 0230 UT. The initial impact was so weak it was almost undetectable. Nevertheless, geomagnetic unrest is building as Earth moves deeper into the CME's wake. Another, stronger impact will be necessary to push Earth's magnetic field into a state of full-fledged storming. NOAA forecast models suggest that could happen later today. CME Impact alerts: SMS Text
YESTERDAY'S EXPLOSIONS--ALL OF THEM: Yesterday, Feb. 12th, the sun produced 9 solar flares (one was almost an X-flare) and multiple filament eruptions. Senol Sanli of Bursa, Turkey, combined all of them into a single 24-hour image:
Click to view a time-stamped version of this image
"This is every explosion on Feb. 12th as recorded by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory," he explains. "I made this composite view using the observatory's 304 Å images, which show plasma at a temperature of 50,000 K."
The circled explosion, with the intense central bright spot, is the source of an ongoing S1-class radiation storm. As Solar Max approaches, days like this will become more common. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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