The "Great Horned" 1734 - Massive Sunspot Seen Moving Across The Sun; Has Beta-Gamma Magnetic Field, Harboring Energy For Earth-Directed M-Class Solar Flares!

Around the world, amateur astronomers are snapping pictures of behemoth"GREAT HORNED" sunspot AR1734 as it crosses the solar disk. In Buffalo, New York, photographer Alan Friedman noticed something when he rotated his picture 90 degrees. "Sunspot 1734 has a definite owlish look!" 

"But who gives a hoot," he continued, "this grand active region looks fantastic from every perspective."

The owl could be poised to explode. Sunspot AR1734 has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares, almost-certainly Earth-directed because the sunspot is facing our planet. 

NOAA forecasters estimate a 45% chance of M-flares today. The question is, where will the eruptions come from? There are at least three choices: Sunspots AR1731, AR1734, and AR1739 all have 'beta-gamma' magnetic fields that harbor energy for strong eruptions. The largest of the three, AR1734, is directly facing Earth:

Amateur astronomer Pepe Manteca took the picture yesterday from Barcelona, Spain. The large dark core on the right is more than 3 times wider than Earth--dimensions that made the spot an easy target for Manteca's backyard solar telescope. "It is a stunning sunspot!" he says.

IMPULSIVE SOLAR FLARES: A couple of impulsive solar flares were detected around Sunspot 1739 on Sunday afternoon. The first measured M1.4 at 17:56 UTC, and the second measured C8.3 at 20:02. This region may produce further M-Class activity within the next 24-48 hours.

M5 SOLAR TORNADO: Sunspot group AR1739 erupted on May 3rd, producing an M5-class solar flare and a "solar tornado." 

WATCH: Solar Tornado.

The explosion also hurled a bright coronal mass ejection (CME) into space: movie. Traveling almost 1300 km/s, the electrified cloud is expected to sweep past a couple of NASA spacecraft (EPOXI and Spitzer) on May 7th. No planets, however, were in the line of fire.


SUNSPOTS: Below is an updated image of the visible solar disk on Monday morning. Solar activity declined to lower levels this morning. Sunspot 1731 is now located on the western limb and will continue to rotate out of direct Earth view. Active Sunspot 1739 is showing signs of decay and may soon no longer be a threat for strong solar flares. Sunspots 1732, 1734, 1738 and 1740 all continue to be stable and quiet. There will remain a chance for at least M-Class flares today.

Three sunspots have beta-gamma magnetic fields that harbor energy for M-class solar flares:
AR1731, AR1734, and AR1739.
Credit: SDO/HMI

CORONAL HOLE: Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole should reach Earth on ~May 6-7. 

Credit: SDO/AIA.

SOLAR WATCH: MONSTER SUNSPOT 1654 AIMS OUR WAY - EARTHQUAKE WINDOW OPENING AS CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS TO HIT EARTH ON 17th Jan!

January 15, 2013 - THE SUN - Simulations of a coronal mass ejection (CME) show the impact arrival of such on January 17th. This coincides with Senior Meteorologist Kevin Martin's window for an earthquake in North America. The Sun is acting up again, with large sunspots moving across the solar disk. The sunspots are powerful enough for x-class solar flares, the most powerful of them all.

Image: The Weather Space Network.

While a 10% chance is now given for such a flare, one is already on the way. This should impact on January 17th and go into the 18th. As it does so, aurora will be likely in the middle to upper north and south latitude locations.  Strangely, this coincides with Martin's earthquake window. "Using HS network and my own theory (posted here), we are getting close to the next larger quake in the Western North America region between Mexico and Alaska," said Martin. "because the CME from the Sun is joining in during the quake window, all indicators are showing up." Because all indications are showing up, Martin says it is "go time" for unsettled seismic activity. - The Weather Space Network.

CHANCE OF FLARES: NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of M-class solar flares, and a 5% chance of X-flares today. The probable source would be big sunspot AR1654, which is squarely facing Earth. Sunspot AR1654 has a beta-gamma magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. - Space Weather.


SOLAR UPDATE: Solar activity is low with several low level C-Class flares detected around various locations across the visible solar disk. There will remain a chance for an isolated M-Class event around Sunspot 1654. A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is visible this morning in STEREO-Ahead COR2 imagery, however it does not look to be Earth directed at this time. A slow moving Coronal Mass Ejection (371 km/s) generated by a solar flare on Sunday morning, is expected to impact our geomagnetic field by January 17th. - Solar Ham.

Like an enormous cannon that is slowly turning its barrel toward us, the latest giant sunspot region AR1654 is steadily moving into position to face Earth, loaded with plenty of magnetic energy to create M-class flares—moderate-sized outbursts of solar energy that have the potential to cause brief radio blackouts on Earth and, at the very least, spark bright aurorae around the upper latitudes. Active Region 1654 on the Sun’s western limb, seen by SDO on Jan. 11. Credit: NASA/SDO/HMI team. Diagram by J. Major.

MONSTER SUNSPOT AIMING OUR WAY: According to SpaceWeather.com, AR1654 "could be the sunspot that breaks the recent lengthy spell of calm space weather around our planet." The image above, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory earlier today, shows the structure of AR1654 upon the Sun's photosphere—its light-emitting "surface" layer. Stretching many tens of thousands of miles, this magnetic solar blemish easily dwarfs our entire planet. And it's not just a prediction that this sunspot will unleash a flare—it already has. AR1654 came around the limb of the sun crackling with activity. Shortly after the probability of AR1654 releasing a flare was raised to 50% it did just that, letting loose with a burst of magnetic energy that was observed by SDO's multi-channel cameras.  Peaking at 9:11 UTC, this M1-class flare won't have much more effect on Earth than perhaps some radio and GPS interference and maybe increased auroral activity. But AR1654 is still evolving and growing… and moving to face us. In the meantime, solar astronomers and observatories like SDO are keeping an ever-watchful eye on this magnetic monster. - PHYSORG.

M1.7 solar flare erupted from Region 1611 – backsided full-halo CME observed

Solar flare measuring M1.7 erupted on November 8, 2012 at 02:23 UTC. The source of this event is newly formed region rotating into view, Region 1611 (N12E66). The event started at 02:28, peaked at 02:23 and ended at 02:25 UTC. Type II Radio Emission was recorded indicating that a coronal mass ejection is associated with a flare event.

Space Weather Message Code: ALTTP2 

Serial Number: 825

Issue Time: 2012 Nov 08 0259 UTC

ALERT: Type II Radio Emission

Begin Time: 2012 Nov 08 0220 UTC

Estimated Velocity: 784 km/s

Description: Type II emissions occur in association with eruptions on the sun and typically indicate a coronal mass ejection is associated with a flare event.

SWPC later confirmed that the event was associated with a CME off the east limb (not expected to be geoeffective) and a Type II radio sweep. A backsided, full-halo CME was observed later in the day (first entering the C2 field of view at 08/1112Z); Stereo imagery indicated that old Region 1598 was the source. There are currently 6 numbered sunspot regions on the disk including two newly numbered groups: Region 1611 (N12E66) and 1612 (N06E71).

Related posts:

1. Region 1532 erupted with M2.7 solar flare On July 27, 2012 emerging Region 1532 unleashed an M-class…
2. Restless Region 1515 just produced an M-class solar flare again After series of C-class flares, for last couple of hours, Region…

More @ http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2012/11/08/m1-7-solar-flare-erupted-from-region-1611-backsided-full-halo-cme-observed/

X1.8 Solar Flare On Oct 22, 7th X Flare of 2012

The sun emitted a significant solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012, peaking at 11:17 p.m. EDT. The flare came from an active region on the left side of the sun that has been numbered AR 1598, which has already been the source of a number of weaker flares. This flare was classified as an X1.8-class flare.

A solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012, as captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in the 131 Angstrom wavelength. This wavelength of light is used for observing solar material heated to 10 million degrees Kelvin, as in a solar flare. The wavelength is typically colorized in teal, as it is here.

(Credit: NASA/SDO/Goddard)

“X-class” denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, and on. An X-class flare of this intensity can cause degradation or blackouts of radio communications for about an hour.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This can disrupt radio signals for anywhere from minutes to hours.

Video of the Oct. 22, 2012, solar flare as captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in the 131 and 304 Angstrom wavelengths. 

Credit: NASA/SDO/Goddard

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, which is the United States government’s official source for space weather forecasts and alerts, categorized the radio blackout associated with this flare as an R3, on a scale from R1 to R5. It has since subsided.

By observing the sun in a number of different wavelengths, NASA’s telescopes can tease out different aspects of events on the sun. These four images of a solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012, show from the top left, and moving clockwise: light from the sun in the 171 Angstrom wavelength, which shows the structure of loops of solar material in the sun’s atmosphere, the corona; light in 335 Angstroms, which highlights light from active regions in the corona; a magnetogram, which shows magnetically active regions on the sun; light in the 304 Angstrom wavelength, which shows light from the region of the sun’s atmosphere where flares originate.

Credit: NASA/SDO/Goddard

Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun’s normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in 2013. Humans have tracked this solar cycle continuously since it was discovered in 1843, and it is normal for there to be many flares a day during the sun’s peak activity. The first X-class flare of the current solar cycle occurred on Feb. 15, 2011 and there have been 15 X-class flares total in this cycle, including this one. The largest X-class flare in this cycle was an X6.9 on Aug. 9, 2011. This is the 7th X-class flare in 2012 with the largest being an X5.4 flare on March 7.

This flare did not have an associated Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites and on Earth.

Contacts and sources:

Karen C. Fox

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

How will the emotional state of man be like when strong solar flares strike the Earth?

Robert Otto Becker (May 31, 1923 − May 14, 2008) was a U.S. orthopedic surgeon and researcher in electrophysiology and electromedicine. He worked mainly as professor at Upstate Medical Center in State University of New York and as Director of Orthopedic Surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Syracuse, New York. He was twice nominated for Nobel Prize.

His research showed that low-voltage electrical current can treat ununited fractures in patients who have difficulty in bone healing. While the medical academy believed only the heat generated by electricity can have an impact on living organisms, he discovered that electric potentials in the environment have direct biological impact on organisms. He believed low-voltage electricity, when use properly, can have medical effect on the human body. On the contrary, the electro-pollution in the environment such as microwave, electrical wave from mobile phones etc would bring negative impact on the human body.

Prior to his death, Becker predicted that when strong solar flares strike the Earth between 2011 and 2012, the emotional state of man will reach an uncontrollable state. The world will become hell. Revolution, anti-government incidents will happen all over the world.  

This "prophecy" is coming true right now as chaotic demonstrations  and protests are all over the world right now...