SpaceWeather.com Archive — Thu, Nov 14, 2024

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20% CHANCE OF X-FLARES: Remember, Groundhog Day? Today's forecast is like a scene from that movie. Once again, AR3889 is threatening to produce an X-class solar flare--without actually producing one. The sunspot has an unstable 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that could explode at any moment. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of X-flares on Nov. 14th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Tex t

A RARE SINE WAVE IN THE MAGNETOSPHERE: Imagine you're at a hard rock concert. Waves of heavy metal crash against your eardrums, you can barely hear a thing, when, suddenly, the delicate trill of a flute cuts through the cacophony.

Something like that happened to Stuart Green of Lancashire UK during the severe geomagnetic storm of Oct. 10, 2024. "My backyard magnetogram was a riot," says Green. "But when I took a closer look, there was a delicate wave riding on top of the 'noise.'"

Green detected a rare "pulsation continuous"--or "Pc wave" for short. This is research jargon meaning, essentially, a pure sine wave in the magnetosphere. Pc waves are classified into 5 types depending on their frequency. Green's specimens are Pc1 and Pc2.

Usually, Pc waves are recorded only during periods of extreme quiet. They are delicate and hard to detect. Capturing one during riotous geomagnetic activity is extremely unusual. It is a testament to the sensitivity of Green's research-grade (albeit homemade) magnetometer--and the degree to which every mode of the magnetosphere was simultaneously activated by the Oct. 10th storm.

So what? These particular waves matter because they can help satellites survive severe space storms. Fast Pc1 and Pc2 waves scatter "killer electrons" out of the Van Allen radiation belts, making the region safer for satellites that orbit through the belts when they are supercharged by solar activity.

Would you like to monitor the magnetosphere for rare waves? Stuart Green's backyard magnetometer is a great DIY project. Here are the instructions.

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"I LOVE YOU MORE" MOONSTONE PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Nothing says "I love you" like a moonstone from space. This one hitched a ride on an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon, floating 112,201 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:

You can have it for $142.95. The students are selling these sterling silver infinity-wrapped moonstone pendants to support their ballooning program. Engraved with "I Love You More," it makes a romantic anniversary or birthday gift. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the moonstone in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.

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A SOLAR WIND STREAM IS AFFECTING EARTH: Today, a stream of solar wind is grazing Earth's magnetic field. It's not a fast-moving stream, but it is affecting our planet. Note the red-boxed region in this graph of solar wind data from NASA's ACE spacecraft:

The red box highlights south-pointing magnetic fields in the solar wind stream. These south-pointing fields are partially canceling our planet's north-pointing magnetic field. Resulting weak points (sometimes called "magnetic cracks") allow solar wind to enter Earth's magnetosphere, fueling geomagnetic unrest and Arctic auroras.