SOLAR WATCH * Huge X8.2 Flare Sept. 10, 2017! (Updated Daily)

Geomagnetic disturbance from CME impact is still continuing. This time the new Moon is in front of Earth; not sure what effect that has, but it's not in the magnetotail like the big March 12 storm.

ACE solar Wind plots:

[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

SOHO SW plots:

[link to umtof.umd.edu]

(can anyone explain the upside-down doggy on this page???)

Space Weather Message Code: WARK04
Serial Number: 1913
Issue Time: 2012 Apr 23 1558 UTC

WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 4 expected
Valid From: 2012 Apr 23 1610 UTC
Valid To: 2012 Apr 23 2100 UTC
Warning Condition: Onset
Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 65 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Weak power grid fluctuations can occur.
Aurora - Aurora may be visible at high latitudes such as Canada and Alaska.

[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

Real-time Magnetopause Simulation:

[link to pixie.spasci.com]

BATS-R-US (?) Magnetosphere model:

[link to ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov]

Hi all. Hi Nin, welcome home. The upside doggie is refering to the flip of the spacecraft??

Flux rising......

[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

C.2 and starting to drop a little

A spotless region in the north near mid-disk has produced the C2 flare. All of these large sunspots and we get a flare out of nowhere from a spotless region. Old Sol continues to surprise us. I couldn't see any filaments nearby, but this new activity may be harbinger of a new magnetic flux area emerging.

Big Bear pic of C2 flare:
[link to halpha.nso.edu]

Mauna Loa H-alpha movie loop:

[link to halpha.nso.edu]

Yahooooo!!! A flare!! Be it small though.
Good morning all!!(I slept in!)

4/23/2012 — UPDATE on Quadri-polar sun — May 2012 polar reversal = Last occurred 300 years ago [link to sincedutch.wordpress.com]

Solarimg shows Bz pegged all the way south! This normal with nothing much hitting us??

Haven't you heard? We're seeing the impact from a CME originating in the southern solar hemisphere, hence the negative Bz.

Scroll down on this page a look at the Fok Ring Current--it's really charging up.

[link to ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov]

good catch. That`s the first time I have even heard of such a thing. Although with different filters there is an active region visible- I guess just not strong enough to show up as a sunspot. It`s remarkable that all the other regions are so quiet.

[link to helioviewer.org]

The C 2 flare has produced a type II radio burst. Watch for a possibility of a new CME.

Space Weather Message Code: ALTTP2
Serial Number: 790
Issue Time: 2012 Apr 23 1817 UTC

ALERT: Type II Radio Emission
Begin Time: 2012 Apr 23 1742 UTC
Estimated Velocity: 1605 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.

SDO/AIA 304a image of flare and another filament-tornado near the north pole:

[link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov]

SDO/HMI Mag field image shows the new flaring region is magnetically connected to 1459 in the south and 1460 in the north. Don't forget we're expecting 2 new regions on the east limb soon, too.

[link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov]

NOAA has also upgraded the K-index alert to 5 (storm level):

Space Weather Message Code: WARK05
Serial Number: 766
Issue Time: 2012 Apr 23 1725 UTC

WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 5 expected
Valid From: 2012 Apr 23 1725 UTC
Valid To: 2012 Apr 23 2359 UTC
Warning Condition: Onset
NOAA Scale: G1 - Minor
Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 60 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Weak power grid fluctuations can occur.
Spacecraft - Minor impact on satellite operations possible.
Aurora - Aurora may be visible at high latitudes, i.e., northern tier of the U.S. such as northern Michigan and Maine.

[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

Current ACE Solar Wind data:

[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

Many magnetometer readings suggest we got two separate waves today. I'm not sure if it was only CME effects or other factors, such as Co-rotating Interaction Region or sector-boundary crossings. I need one of Lockheed's supercomputers (and a 6 million dollar budget) to keep track of everything going on, LOL.

MAGNETOMETER ASSORTMENT PACK:

HAARP, Gakona, AK:
[link to www.haarp.alaska.edu]

Kiruna Observatory, Sweden:
[link to www.irf.se]

West Greenland:
[link to flux.phys.uit.no]
Moscow, Ru:
[link to forecast.izmiran.ru]

Boulder, CO:
[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

GOES weather satellite:
[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

Here's the stackplot page from the University of Tromso Geophysical Observatory in Norway; you can customize all the plots from Norway, Finland, and Greenland.
[link to flux.phys.uit.no]

Looks like a new Earth-directed CME...more details later.

New CME seen on STEREO Ahead movie:

[link to stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov]

NASA's 24-hour Magnetopause simulation does seem to show two waves hitting the magnetosphere. The first about 3:45 and another at approx. 17:00.

[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]

April 23, 2012
The sun looks like this:
[link to img526.imageshack.us]

but the magnetic field lines on the sun look like this:
[link to img72.imageshack.us]

Glad to see there was a CME hitting today, I was wondering what all that pressure in my head was!

Looks like electric companies too cocky to harden the grid lol!
[link to www.businessinsider.com]

It's unsinkable!....Like the Titanic and Fukushima Daiichi.

Thanks Hugh for all you do!!!

[link to www.softservenews.com]

This shows the Kp at 6. Love this thread..thanks for all of you who contribute so much to it!

Holy FOK! That looks pretty! My bad Hugh, I looked on NOAA site first. You know I get mucho better info here!
Thanks man!!!(or alien???) LOL

Nice! Thanks for the update, amywood.

Too bad the weather is nasty here in the Northeast. I hope Ninzrez is watching.

DOH! Dept.: The new spotless region which produced the C2 flare isn't new at all; it's our old friend 1461 (of M-flare fame). I checked all the usual charts and it was erased from memory and quietly buried-at-sea.

CME UPDATE:Today's CME wasn't produced by the C-flare @ 1461, but by an eruption on the western limb (probably 1463) around the same time. I'm still puzzled by it's appearance on both STEREO A & B, unless we're looking at two separate events. SOHO could've settled the matter but it hasn't updated in 7 hours. There are still 4 or 5 large filaments in the south and a couple in the north that we have to keep an eye on.....so be vigilant, Suntards.
:cme4/23:

STEREO Ahead:

[link to stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov]

STEREO Behind:

[link to stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov]

Todays impact of CME(s):I'm sticking with my observation of two events or waves of solar plasma. Here's two screenshots from the Magnetopause Cygnet model-
06:20UTC
:magpause620:

18:48 UTC
:magpause1848:

NOAA UPDATE!:

Space Weather Message Code: WARK06
Serial Number: 193
Issue Time: 2012 Apr 23 2221 UTC

WARNING: Geomagnetic K-Index of 6 expected
Valid From: 2012 Apr 23 2230 UTC
Valid To: 2012 Apr 24 0600 UTC
Warning Condition: Onset
NOAA Scale: G2 - Moderate
Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Power grid fluctuations can occur. High-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms.
Spacecraft - Satellite orientation irregularities may occur; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites is possible.
Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes.
Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington state.
[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

Wish they come to Georgia! Clear skys. Temp. mid-50's dropping quick, 30mph winds past day or two. Big changes in weather...?

Geomagnetic indicators to follow this storm-

SOHO density graph looks like a bumpy road today:

[link to umtof.umd.edu]

GOES Electron flux plot:

[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

GOES Magnetometer:

[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

HAARP Magnetometer:

[link to www.haarp.alaska.edu]

NOAA Geomagnetic K-Indices:

[link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]

NASA's Magnetopause Simulation for the last 24-hrs.

[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]

Magnetosphere & Ionosphere cygnet models:

[link to ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov]

IT's days like today that I really miss the Japanese NICT simulation.

CASSINI Probe discovers 500 new objects in Saturn's F-Ring.


[link to www.youtube.com]

If you can't hear the mumbling scientist check out this page w/subtitles and article---NASA press release here:

[link to www.nasa.gov]

Yes Hugh Thank you

Thank you, too, Truthseeker! Skies have cleared here in S. Jersey, shouldn't you be out lookin' for the aurora in NY? Are you upstate or near Metropolis? Only time I seen aurora was up near Elmira, NY back in '91 or '92. Hope the skies are clearing for you, too.

Sorry, OG, I missed your post earlier. Thanks for your support, buddy! The weather turned dreary so my chores got put on hold today and I'm tryin' to keep the flame alive for our missing Solar Comrades NINz, IWTB, and T-god, etc. We all appreciate you and the other regulars as well as the lurkers (we know you're out there NOAA,lol).
The usual aurora-cams are too far north (where the sun doesn't set nowadays), so we're relying on amateur sky-watchers to record this storm tonight. Anyone in the northern tier of USA and southern Canada should take pics and post them here or on YouTube. If you have clear skies anywhere, you should check out the young crescent Moon, Venus, Mars, and Saturn tonight. There's also a chance of a passing fireball. I'm anticipating a strong flare soon from the Sun.

You do a great job of keeping track of everything Hugh, and I didn't realize how much is going on.

I know..been rainy for the last few days (I'm in Vermont).