<<TIMEWATCHER'S>> DAILY SPACE/SUN NEWS((UPDATES DAILY OR AS NEEDED)) 4MIN NEWS UPDATE 05/17/2013 "How to Watch the Sun"

NASA News Conference Of Asteroid 2012 DA14

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST), on Thursday, Feb. 7, to discuss an asteroid, 150 feet (45 meters) in diameter, that will pass close, but safely, by Earth on Feb. 15. The flyby creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more about asteroids. The teleconference participants are: --Lindley Johnson, program executive, Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington --Timothy Spahr, director, Minor Planet Center, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass. --Donald Yeomans, manager, NEO Office, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. --Amy Mainzer, principal investigator, NEOWISE observatory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory --Edward Beshore, deputy principal investigator, Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer Asteroid Sample Return Mission, University of Arizona, Tucson

Asteroid 2012 DA14 – Earth Flyby Reality Check

Small near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass very close to Earth on February 15, so close that it will pass inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites. NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office can accurately predict the asteroid's path with the observations obtained, and it is therefore known that there is no chance that the asteroid might be on a collision course with Earth. Nevertheless, the flyby will provide a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close. Here are the facts about the safe flyby of Earth of asteroid 2012 DA14 -- a record close approach for a known object of this size.

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at:
[link to www.nasa.gov] & [link to www.ustream.tv]

For detailed information concerning the Earth flyby of 2012 DA14, visit: [link to www.nasa.gov]

A Ustream feed of the flyby from a telescope at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will be broadcast from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. PST (9 p.m. to midnight EST) on Feb. 15. To view the feed and ask researchers questions via Twitter about the flyby, visit: [link to www.ustream.tv]





Graphic depicts the trajectory of asteroid 2012 DA14 during its close approach, as seen edge-on to Earth's equatorial plane. The graphic demonstrates why the asteroid is invisible to northern hemisphere observers until just before close approach: it is approaching from "underneath" our planet. On the other hand, after close approach it will be favorably placed for observers in the northern hemisphere.

Link to Pictures: [link to www.nasa.gov]
[link to www.nasa.gov]

Another Shiny Object Spotted On Mars - Mars Curiosity - 2013



LINK: [link to www.universetoday.com]
[link to mars.jpl.nasa.gov]

02/08/2013

Picture of the Day

NGC 6822: Barnard's Galaxy

Grand spiral galaxies often seem to get all the glory, flaunting their young, bright, blue star clusters in beautiful, symmetric spiral arms. But small galaxies form stars too, like nearby NGC 6822, also known as Barnard's Galaxy. Beyond the rich starfields in the constellation Sagittarius, NGC 6822 is a mere 1.5 million light-years away, a member of our Local Group of galaxies. About 7,000 light-years across, the dwarf irregular galaxy is seen to be filled with young blue stars and mottled with the telltale pinkish hydrogen glow of star forming regions in the deep color composite image.

LINK: [link to apod.nasa.gov]

Hubble Telescope Captures Flashes Of Light From Protostar

Far away, on a protostar called LRLL 54361, a flashing light takes place every 25.34 days, like fireworks. New images and video released by NASA and taken by the Hubble show the cause of these fireworks can bee seen hidden behind a dense disc and an envelope of dust.

Astronomers believe the strobe effect is due to periodic interactions between two newly-formed stars that are gravitationally bound to each other. These stars drag material inward from a surrounding disc of gas and dust, and astronomers believe the light flashes seen are due to the material being dumped onto the growing stars as they near each others orbit.

“This protostar has large brightness variations with a precise period that it is very difficult to explain,” James Muzerolle of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, who has recently studied this fascinating object using Hubble and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, said in a statement.

Hubble helped to uncover a movement of light away from the center of the system, which is an optical illusion known as a light echo. Although it looks as though eruptions of gas are coming out of the protostar, these pulses are flashes of light propagating through the surrounding dust and gas, and are reflecting toward the observer.

NASA says flashing double star systems, such as the one seen in these latest images, are rare because close binaries account for only a few percent of our galaxy's star population. The pulsing light is likely to be a brief phenomenon in the early life of a star, according to the space agency.

Next, the team of astronomers who made the observations plan to continue monitoring LRLL 54361 using other facilities, including some from the ESA, such as the Herschel Space Telsecope.

LRLL 54361 sits inside the star-forming region IC 348, located about 950 light-years away from Earth. In the monochromatic-color Hubble image, detailed structures around the protostar are seen, consisting of two cavities that are traced by light scattered off their edges above and below a disk.

LINK: [link to www.redorbit.com]


New Evidence Comet Or Asteroid Impact Was Last Straw For Dinosaurs

We’ve had an increasing fascination with comets and asteroids over the past several years. We’ve fictionally sent a rogue group of astronauts to detonate one of these heavenly travelers. We’ve seen the disastrous effect of a potential impact in both movies and on television. We’ve elevated our global anxiety tracking the trajectory of these large, quickly moving celestial bodies. And it seems our vigilance on this matter, with the publishing of a new study, is well founded. In fact, just this month there’s a small asteroid called 2012 DA14 that will come within 17,200 miles of Earth.

Scientists from the Berkeley Geochronology Center (BCG), the University of California, Berkeley, and universities in the UK and the Netherlands have winnowed the precision of the dates regarding the extinction of the dinosaur and the well-known impact that occurred around the same time. Prior to this study, there was a fair amount of skepticism as to whether or not the impact actually had a direct effect on the global mass extinction.

Paul Renne, BGC director and UC Berkeley professor in residence of earth and planetary science, in relating his personal interest in this matter, stated in an e-mail to ABC News, “I wouldn’t say the theory was in trouble, but there have been skeptics and the absolute timing has never quite lined up.”

In fact, the researchers claim the two dates are so close it is now believed the comet or asteroid impact, if not solely responsible for the mass global extinction, was definitely the final nail in the coffin for the existence of the dinosaurs.

“The impact was clearly the final straw that pushed Earth past the tipping point,” said Renne. “We have shown that these events are synchronous to within a gnat’s eyebrow, and therefore the impact clearly played a major role in extinctions, but it probably wasn’t just the impact.”

LINK: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Mystery Mini Moons: How Many Does Earth Have?

Earth's gravity may not have the gravitas of Jupiter, but the planet regularly plucks small asteroids passing by and pins them into orbit. The mini-moons don't stay for long. Within a year or so they resume their looping, twisting paths like crazy straws around the sun. But others arrive to take their place.

Simulations show that two asteroids the size of dishwashers and a dozen half-meter (1.6 feet) in diameter are orbiting Earth at any given time. Every 50 years or so something the size of a dump truck arrives. So far, there's been just one confirmed sighting.

"We'd eventually like to see a mission to a mini-moon," astronomer Robert Jedicke, with the University of Hawaii, said this week at a workshop in Huntsville, Ala., to discuss proposals for two spare Hubble-class spy telescopes donated to NASA by the National Reconnaissance Office.
Jedicke would like to use one of the telescopes to hunt for near-Earth objects, including mini-moons, which could be captured whole and brought to the ground for study.

"It's the Rosetta stone of the solar system. You bring back a chunk of material that's never been processed through the atmosphere, that's not been sitting on the ground. It's going to be a tremendous wealth of information about how the solar system formed -- even more so if you can bring back more than one and get different types of material," Jedicke told Discovery News.

"The great thing is you don't have to go very far," he added. "These things are sitting there right in geocentric orbit and they're relatively easy to get to."

But hard to find.

A paper published last year showed that, in theory, a cloud of temporarily captured asteroids circles Earth at all times, but that the largest object is just about a meter (3 feet) in diameter.

REST AT LINK: [link to news.discovery.com]

A Cosmic Seagull’s Star-Studded Wings

These glowing red clouds are just a small part of the wings of an enormous bird — the Seagull Nebula, a band of gas and dust 3,400 light-years away that shines from UV light radiating from hot newborn stars.

LINK WITH PIC: [link to www.universetoday.com]

Weekly Space Hangout: ScienceOnline 2013 Edition


This week, we broadcast the Weekly Space Hangout from the ScienceOnline 2013 conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. Fraser Cain, Nicole Gugliucci, Alan Boyle, and Amy Shira Teitel were on location in Raleigh, and then Scott Lewis and Dr. Thad Szabo reported from their offices.

Read more: [link to www.universetoday.com]

Sun News 02/08/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 Feb 08 0030 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was very low. The largest event of the period was a B6
flare from Region 1667 (N22W13, Dso/beta) at 07/0248 UTC. Region 1665
(N12W58, Hsx/alpha) was stable. Region 1667 showed signs of umbral
separation in the leading spot group. Regions 1669 (N08E24, Cro/beta)
and 1670 (N18E25, Dro/beta) continued to show signs of growth. There
were no Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) detected in imagery
through the period.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is likely to be low during the period (08-10 Feb) with
a slight chance for an M-class flare.

Energetic Particles

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit was slightly
enhanced towards the end of the period. The greater than 2 MeV electron
flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain slightly elevated through the period (08-10 Feb). The
greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to
be at normal levels for most of the period with an increase on day three
due to elevated wind speeds from the expected CMEs and coronal hole high
speed stream (CH/HSS).

Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speed, as measured by the ACE spacecraft, reached a peak
speed of 391 km/s at 07/1936 UTC. Total interplanetary magnetic field
measurements reached 10.2 nT at 07/0519 UTC. The maximum southward
component of Bz reached -9.1 nT at 07/0541 UTC. Phi data indicated that
Earth was within an away (positive) sector for most of the period with
occasional periods of towards (negative) sector orientation.

.Forecast...
An increase in solar wind speed is expected early on day one (08 Feb)
due to the arrival of the first of two CMEs observed on 06 Feb. ENLIL
model output indicates a speed increase to around 550 km/s with the CME
passage. Wind speeds are expected to remain elevated on days two and
three (09-10 Feb) due to the arrival of the second CME combined with the
onset of a CH/HSS.

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field was quiet with periods of minor storming at high
latitudes.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at unsettled to minor storm
levels on day one (08 Feb) due to the arrival of the first of two CMEs
observed on 06 Feb. Activity is expected to be at unsettled to active
levels on day two (09 Feb) due to the arrival of the second CME combined
with the onset of a CH/HSS. On day 3 (10 Feb), conditions are expected
to be quiet to unsettled as effects wane.

LINK: [link to www.solarham.net]

Streamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index (USA): [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps (02/07/13): [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index: [link to www.solarham.net]

Alerts Issued

Space Weather Message Code: WATA20
Serial Number: 511
Issue Time: 2013 Feb 07 1721 UTC

WATCH: Geomagnetic Storm Category G1 Predicted
Highest Storm Level Predicted by Day:
Feb 08: G1 (Minor) Feb 09: None (Below G1) Feb 10: None (Below G1)
THIS SUPERSEDES ANY/ALL PRIOR WATCHES IN EFFECT
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: [link to www.solarham.net]

4MIN News February 8, 2013



Ship Trail Pollution: [link to earthobservatory.nasa.gov]
Japan Quake Record: [link to phys.org]
Solar Wind Charge Exchange: [link to www.nasa.gov]
Mysterious Gel/Animal Deaths: [link to www.telegraph.co.uk]
Nemo: [link to www.weather.com]
Tsunami Damage: [link to www.weather.com]

02/09/2013

Picture of the Day

Emission Nebula LHA 120-N 44

LHA 120-N 44 (or N44 for short) is an emission nebula (H II region) of some 1,000 light-years across, located about 157,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way, toward the southern constellation of Dorado.

This very rich region of gas, dust and young stars surrounds NGC 1929, a rich large cluster of bright young, blue-white stars, and is without doubt the original source of the material that formed these stars that produce intense radiation.

LHA 120-N 44 is dominated by a cosmic superbubble. This superbubble, of roughly 325 by 250 light-years across, is expanding outwards due to an interaction between two destructive forces generated by the stars at its center: Young stars in the cluster send out streams of charged particles (or stellar winds) that have cleared out the bubble center, and massive stars have exploded to create supernovae shock waves that push the gas out further.

LHA 120-N 44 has a smaller bubble structure inside known as N44F which has been shaped in a similar manner; it has a hot, massive central star with an unusually powerful stellar wind that moves at 7 million kilometers per hour. This is because it loses material at 100 million times the rate of the Sun, or approximately 1,000,000,000,000,000 tons per year.

LINK WITH PIC: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

Supernova Alert! Astronomers Spot Warning Outburst

Supernovas are the most powerful stellar explosions in the universe, visible all the way to the edge of the cosmos. These stars detonate for two known reasons: either from gorging on too much mass stolen from a companion star or by running out of fuel and abruptly collapsing.

Astronomers have suggested that stars can give off smaller explosions just before they go supernova. To find out more about supernovas, researchers used three telescopes — the Palomar Observatory, the Very Large Array and NASA's Swift mission — to investigate a star 500 million light-years away. The star, which had about 50 times the mass of the sun, ultimately detonated as a supernova named SN 2010mc.

The researchers' data suggest that 40 days before the final explosion, the dying star produced a giant outburst, releasing as much matter as 1 percent the mass of the sun — about 3,330 times the mass of Earth — at about 4.5 million mph (7.2 million km/h). [Photos of Great Supernova Explosions]

"What is surprising is the short time between the precursor eruption and the eventual supernova explosion; one month is an extremely tiny fraction of the 10-million-year lifespan of a star," said one of the study authors, Mansi Kasliwal at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Pasadena, Calif.

This explosion radiated "about a million times more than the energy output of the sun in an entire year," author Mark Sullivan of the University of Southampton in England told SPACE.com. But this precursor "is still about 5,000 times less than the energy output of the subsequent supernova."

LINK: [link to www.space.com]

Distant Star Goes Disco

A disco inferno in space? Astronomers have been keeping an eye on an unusual star that unleashes a burst of light every 25 days, like an extremely slow pulsating disco ball. Similar pulsating bursts of light have been seen before, but this one, named LRLL 54361 is the most powerful beacon ever seen.

Using the Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, astronomers have solved the mystery of this star. It is actually two newly formed protostars in a binary system, doing a little disco dance of their own. And as they spin around each other on the smoky dance floor (actually a dense cloud of gas and dust), a blast of radiation is unleashed each time the stars get close to each other in their orbits. The effect seen by the telescopes is enhanced by an optical illusion called a light echo.

Read more: [link to www.universetoday.com]

Sun News 02/09/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 Feb 09 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity reached low levels due to a long duration C2 flare. The
flare began at 09/0530 UTC, peaked at 09/0640 UTC and ended at 09/0726
UTC. This two-ribbon, Hyder flare erupted along a 27 degree NE-SW
oriented, quiescent filament centered near N23W06. Imagery from STEREO
Ahead COR2 imagery indicated a CME lifted off the NE limb, first
observed at 09/0709 UTC. Subsequent LASCO C2 and C3 imagery revealed a
partial-halo CME lifted off the N-W limb, first visible on C3 at 09/0806
UTC. Initial shock velocity estimates put the plane-of-sky speed at
about 500 km/s. It appears most of the ejecta has a northly trajectory.
Region 1670 (N19E06) indicated the most change during the period.
Intermediate spot growth was observed coupled with an increase in area
and development of a Beta-Gamma magnetic configuration. This region, as
well as the remander of the disk and limb, was quiet and stable.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be low during the period (09 - 11 Feb)
with a slight chance for an M-class flare from developing Region 1670.


Energetic Particle

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
background levels. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was at normal
levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain at background levels through the period (09 - 11 Feb). The
greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to
be at normal levels through the period.

Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
ACE EPAM data showed a slight decrease in values through the period.
Solar wind speeds remained steady between 450 km/s to 475 km/s. Total
IMF varied between 2 nT to 7 nT with a maximum southward Bz component of
-7 nT observed at 08/1237 UTC. The phi component remained in a mostly
positive (away) orientation.

.Forecast...
Wind speed is expected to stay elevated on day 1 (09 Feb) due to coronal
hole high speed stream (CH HSS) effects. A gradual decrease in wind
speed is expected on days 2 and 3 (10 - 12 Feb) as CH HSS effects
subside.

Geospace
.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field was mostly quiet with an isolated unsettled
interval observed at 08/1500 UTC.

.Forecast...
Field activity is expected to remain at quiet to unsettled levels on
day 1 (09 Feb) due CH HSS effects. Activity is expected to
decrease to mostly quiet levels on day 2 (10 Feb) as CH HSS effects
subside with quiet levels persisting through day 3 (11 Feb).

LINK: [link to www.solarham.net]

Streamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index (USA): [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps (02/08/13): [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index: [link to www.solarham.net]

Filament Eruption and CME

A potentially Earth directed Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is visible in the latest STEREO Ahead COR 2 imagery and was the result of a filament eruption between Sunspots 1667 and 1670. The eruption registered as a long duration C-Class solar flare. More information on this later today.



3MIN News February 9, 2013



News Addendum February 9, 2013

I wonder what happened to the coke machine that Bernard Mendez left up there.

, 5

02/10/2013

Picture of the Day

Dwarf Galaxy DDO 82

DDO 82 (also known as UGC 5692) is a dwarf galaxy located about 13 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major (the Great Bear). It is a member of the M81 Group of Galaxies which consists of around three dozen galaxies.

DDO 82 has gotten its name from its entry number in the David Dunlap Observatory Catalogue. The galaxy was added to this list of dwarf galaxies in 1959 by the Canadian astronomer Sidney van den Bergh.

Relatively few galaxies possess the sweeping, luminous spiral arms or brightly glowing center of our home galaxy the Milky Way. In fact, most of the Universe’s galaxies look like small, amorphous star clouds, like DDO 82. Though tiny compared to the Milky Way, such dwarf galaxies still contain between a few million and a few billion stars.

DDO 82 is not without a hint of structure, however. Astronomers classify it as a Magellanic spiral galaxy, named after the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. That galaxy, like DDO 82, is said to have one spiral arm.

In the case of DDO 82, gravitational interactions with several other dwarf galaxies over the last billions of years seem to have deformed it so that this structure is not as evident as in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Accordingly, astronomers also refer to DDO 82 and others of a similar undefined shape as dwarf irregular galaxies.

LINK: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

Astronaut Sends Chinese New Year Greetings from Space

An astronaut on the International Space Station beamed festive messages to Earth Saturday (Feb. 9) to mark Chinese New Year celebrations across the planet.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, a space station flight engineer, sent good wishes and amazing photos of China via online Twitter messages to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Snake, which began Sunday, Feb. 10.

"Happy Chinese New Year! May it be filled with joy and success," Hadfield wrote. "To celebrate, we sent a Progress spaceship to burn like fireworks in the sky."

That unmanned Russian Progress 48 spacecraft undocked from the space station early Saturday to clear a parking spot for a new robotic cargo ship, Progress 50, due to arrive at the station on Monday (Feb. 11).

Hadfield then posted a series of dazzling photos of China from space,

REST AT LINK: [link to www.space.com]

Messier 106: Amateur and Professional Astronomers Join Together to Peer Into the Eyes of Creation

Nearly four million light years away in the direction of the constellation of Canes Venatici, a visage of creation awaited to be revealed. Now, thanks to the teamwork of the astronomical image processors at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, and world-renowned astrophotographers Robert Gendler and Jay GaBany, we’re able to see combined Hubble Space Telescope data with ground-based telescope imaging. Let’s look deep into spiral galaxy, Messier 106.

This wasn’t an overnight imaging project. ” A few months ago the Hubble Heritage Team contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in making a large format image of M106 from the available data on the Hubble Legacy Archive. I agreed and went to work downloading a large number of data sets from the HLA. I realized this would be a massive project.” says Gendler. “The image would be a mosaic of more than 30 panels and would incorporate both wideband and narrowband data sets.” With the cooperation of Jay GaBany, they combined their own observations/images of this magnificent structure and compiled it with Hubble data – filling in areas where no data was available. The resulting image is a portrait of such depth and beauty that it’s almost like looking into the eyes of creation itself.

Read more: [link to www.universetoday.com]

Sun News 02/10/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 Feb 10 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was at very low levels with only B-class activity
observed. All three numbered regions exhibited little change during the
period. A new spotted region was observed rotating onto the east limb
near N10, but was not numbered at the time of this report. At about
10/0530 UTC, a 22 degree long, N-S oriented filament erupted along a
channel centered near S47E36. Associated with this event, a slow-moving
CME was observed off the ESE limb, first observed in LASCO C2 imagery at
10/0800 UTC. At this time, no Earth-directed component was evident with
this CME.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be low during the forecast period (10 - 12
February) with a slight chance for M-class activity.

Energetic Particle

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
background levels. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was at normal
levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain at background levels through the period (10 - 12 February).
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to be at normal levels through the period.


Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speeds ranged between about 375 km/s to a peak of 425 km/s at
09/2000 UTC where a steady decline to near 360 km/s was observed. Total
IMF varied between 1 nT to 7 nT with a maximum southward Bz component of
-5 nT observed at 10/0416 UTC. The phi component remained
in a mostly positive (away) orientation through about 10/0800 UTC when a
shift to a more negative (toward) orientation was observed.

.Forecast...
Wind speed is expected to gradually decrease to nominal levels on days 1
and 2 (10 - 11 February) due to waning effects of a coronal hole high
speed stream (CH HSS). On day 3 (12 February), solar winds will
increase after the passage of the 09 Feb CME.

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels.

.Forecast...
Field activity is expected to remain at quiet levels on days 1 and 2
(10 - 11 February). Activity is expected to increase to quiet to
unsettled levels on day 3 (12 February) due to the passage of the 09
February CME.

LINK: [link to www.solarham.net]

Streamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index (USA): [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps (02/09/13): [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index: [link to www.solarham.net]

4MIN News February 10, 2013: Quake Watch Recap, 2 Volcanos, Flare/CME Update



TODAY's LINKS:
Alaska Coast: [link to www.newser.com]
GONG MagMaps: [link to gong.nso.edu]

02/11/2013

Picture of the Day

Planetary Nebula NGC 6326

NGC 6326 is a planetary nebula located about 11,000 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Ara (the Altar), while it is slowly moving away from us at 10.7 kilometers per second.

Despite their name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets. The name of planetary nebulae arose because of the visual similarity between some round planetary nebulae and the planets Uranus and Neptune when viewed through early telescopes.

When a star ages and the red giant phase of its life comes to an end, it starts to eject layers of gas from its surface. This process continues until all that is left is the hot, dense, core of the dying star, a white dwarf. Intense radiation from this white dwarf excites the gas in the nebula causing it to shine.

NGC 6326 is made up of the ejected material, lit up by its central star. According to recent scientific study, this central star is actually a close binary system with an orbital period of .372 days (9h 56m). Many planetary nebulae that display symmetrical shapes, but although NGC 6326 has an overall shape that is mostly elliptical, it has a complex, irregular, structure.

Planetary nebulae are one of the main ways in which elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are dispersed into space after their creation in the hearts of stars. Eventually some of this outflung material may form new stars and planets. The vivid red and blue hues in this image come from the material glowing under the action of the fierce ultraviolet radiation from the still hot central star.

LINK: [link to annesastronomynews.com]


Comet Pan-STARRS Possibly Visible to the Naked Eye in March

Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS (or PanSTARRS for short) was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) atop the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii. Astronomers use the massive 1.8 meter telescope to scan the heavens for Earth-approaching objects, both asteroids and comets, that might pose a danger to our planet. In June 2011 a comet appeared, and it was named “Pan-STARRS” after the acronym for the telescope.

In early March, the comet will pass about 100 million miles from Earth as it briefly dips inside the orbit of Mercury. Most experts expect it to become a naked-eye object about as bright as the stars of the Big Dipper.

“But” says Karl Battams of the Naval Research Lab, “prepare to be surprised. A new comet from the Oort Cloud is always an unknown quantity equally capable of spectacular displays or dismal failures.”

LINK: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

NASA Curiosity Rover Collects First Martian Bedrock Sample

NASA's Curiosity rover has, for the first time, used a drill carried at the end of its robotic arm to bore into a flat, veiny rock on Mars and collect a sample from its interior. This is the first time any robot has drilled into a rock to collect a sample on Mars.

The fresh hole, about 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) wide and 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) deep in a patch of fine-grained sedimentary bedrock, can be seen in images and other data Curiosity beamed to Earth Saturday. The rock is believed to hold evidence about long-gone wet environments. In pursuit of that evidence, the rover will use its laboratory instruments to analyze rock powder collected by the drill.

"The most advanced planetary robot ever designed is now a fully operating analytical laboratory on Mars," said John Grunsfeld, NASA associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. "This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August, another proud day for America."

For the next several days, ground controllers will command the rover's arm to carry out a series of steps to process the sample, ultimately delivering portions to the instruments inside.

"We commanded the first full-depth drilling, and we believe we have collected sufficient material from the rock to meet our objectives of hardware cleaning and sample drop-off," said Avi Okon, drill cognizant engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Rock powder generated during drilling travels up flutes on the bit. The bit assembly has chambers to hold the powder until it can be transferred to the sample-handling mechanisms of the rover's Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device.

Before the rock powder is analyzed, some will be used to scour traces of material that may have been deposited onto the hardware while the rover was still on Earth, despite thorough cleaning before launch.

LINK: [link to www.marsdaily.com]

Sun News 02/11/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 Feb 11 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was at very low levels with only B-class activity
observed. Two new regions were numbered during the period. New Region
1671 (N14E64) was numbered as a unipolar H-type group while new Region
1672 (S18E45) was numbered as a bipolar C-type group. No significant
changes were observed in the other two spotted regions. No
Earth-directed CMEs were observed during the period.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is likely to be low for the next three days (11 - 13
February).

Energetic Particle

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
background levels. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was at normal
levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain at background levels through the period (11 - 13 February).
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to be at normal levels on days one and two (11 - 12 February). Levels
are expected to rise to moderate to high levels by day three (13
February) due to elevated solar wind speeds.

Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speeds, as measured by the ACE spacecraft, ranged between a
low of 321 km/s at 11/0355 UTC to a peak of 392 km/s at 10/1744 UTC.
Total IMF varied between 1 - 5 nT with a maximum southward Bz component
of -4 nT observed at 11/0007 UTC. The Phi angle was in a predominately
positive (away) orientation through the period.

.Forecast...
Solar wind speed is expected to continue at nominal levels on day one
(11 February) as effects from a coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS)
continue to wane. Early on day two (12 February), solar winds should
increase after the passage of the 09 February CME and remain elevated
through day three (13 February) due to CH HSS effects.

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels.

.Forecast...
Field activity is expected to remain at quiet levels on day one (11
February), then increase to quiet to unsettled levels on day two (12
February) due to the passage of the 09 February CME. Quiet to unsettled
levels will continue through day three (13 February) due to CH HSS
effects.

LINK: [link to www.solarham.net]

Streamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index (USA): [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps (02/10/13): [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index : [link to www.solarham.net]

3MIN News February 11, 2013: The Sun is Liquid?



TODAY's LINKS:
Sun not a Gas? [link to www.ptep-online.com]
Drought Update: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov]

02/12/2012

Picture of the Day

Spiral Galaxy ESO 269-G57

ESO 269-G57 is a huge barred spiral galaxy of nearly 200,000 light-years across (almost twice as large as our Milky Way galaxy!), located some 155 million light-years away towards the southern constellation of Centaurus (the Centaur), in the center of the Centaurus cluster of galaxies. It is speeding away from us at roughly 3110 kilometers per second.

This galaxy was discovered during the ESO/Uppsala Survey of the Southern Skies in the 1970s, during which over 15,000 southern galaxies were found.

This symmetrical starburst galaxy shows us its central galactic nucleus (yellow), surrounded by an inner ring of tightly wound spiral arms. Spiralling out from this are two more diffuse spiral arms that appear to split into several branches. The spiral arms and the inner ring contain many star-forming regions (blue). ESO 269-G57 consists of about 300 billion stars and 270 billion multiple star systems.

In 1992 supernova 1992K was observed in this galaxy, south-west of its nucleus.

The data for this image were obtained with the Very Large Telescope using several filters on the ANTU and FORS1 instruments on 27 March 1999, and further processed by Henri Boffin (ESO). The image includes many foreground stars and distant background galaxies. North is up and East is to the left.

LINK: [link to annesastronomynews.com]


Predicting the Future Path of Close Passing Asteroid 2012 DA1

A 150-foot (45-meters) wide asteroid called 2012 DA14, discovered just a year ago, will pass only 17,200 miles (5245 meters) above the Earth on Feb. 15. That’s closer than the geosynchronous communication and weather satellites. While the object definitely will not strike the Earth, this is a record close approach for an object of this size. Astronomers around the world are preparing to take advantage of the event to study the asteroid.

A team including NRAO astronomer Michael Busch will use a novel observing technique to determine which way the space rock is spinning as it speeds on its orbit through the Solar System. The direction of its spin is an important factor in predicting how the object’s orbit will change over time.

“Knowing the direction of spin is essential to accurately predicting its future path, and thus determining just how close it will get to Earth in the coming years,” Busch said.

Busch’s team will use the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) antennas at Pie Town and Los Alamos, New Mexico, along with a Solar System radar on NASA’s 230-foot antenna at Goldstone, California. The Goldstone antenna will transmit a powerful beam of radio waves toward the asteroid, and NRAO’s New Mexico antennas will receive the waves reflected from the asteroid’s surface.

REST AT LINK: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

North Korea Advises China, US Ahead Of 6 Kt Atomic Bomb Test
North Korea on Tuesday staged its most powerful nuclear test yet, claiming a breakthrough with a "miniaturised" device in a striking act of defiance that drew condemnation from global powers including its sole patron China.

The isolated state said its third underground test, after previous detonations in 2006 and 2009 that triggered a raft of UN sanctions, was a direct riposte to what it termed US "hostility".

North Korea's claim of miniaturisation will be of particular concern, suggesting it is a step closer to fitting a nuclear warhead onto a ballistic missile, following its successful launch of a long-range rocket in December.

The confirmation from state news agency KCNA came nearly three hours after seismic monitors detected an unusual tremor at 0257 GMT in the area of the country's Punggye-ri nuclear test site, close to the Chinese border.

Analysts said the timing appeared to be an attention-grabbing calculation from a state well versed in provocative acts, coming just ahead of US President Barack Obama's State of the Union address at the start of his second term.

Obama denounced the test and called for a "swift" and "credible" international response, as the Security Council readied to meet. Condemnation came from others including Russia, while Japan saw a "grave threat" to its own security.

China, whose trade and aid are a life-support to impoverished North Korea, expressed "firm opposition" to the nuclear test and noted that it came "despite widespread opposition from the international community".

"We strongly urge the DPRK (North Korea) to honour its commitment to denuclearisation, and not to take any actions which might worsen the situation," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

LINK: [link to www.spacedaily.com]

Majority Of Americans Believe Man Will Be On Mars Within 20 Years
A new poll indicates Americans are very confident in the ability of the United States to send man to Mars within the next 20 years.

Explore Mars, a non-profit corporation, and Phillips & Company, a global communications firm, carried out a poll to determine where people stand on going to Mars.

After the polling, it was discovered 71 percent of Americans are confident humans will be visiting the Red Planet by 2033. Also, the confidence was high not just in the ability to go to Mars, but also in the idea we should, as 67 percent of the respondents agreed, be sending both humans and robots to Mars.

“It’s great to see such optimism around the US. Hopefully our elected officials will listen,” Chris Carberry, Executive Director at Explore Mars, told redOrbit in an email. “We have been without a clear goal in space for too long. It’s time that we commit to getting humans to Mars before 2030.”

People polled also believed NASA took a larger chunk out of the federal budget than the space agency really does. The average American, according to the survey, believes NASA pulls out 2.4 percent of the federal budget each year. However, the space agency only represents about 0.5 percent of the federal budget for 2013.

Once the person being polled was made aware of how much of the federal budget NASA takes up, 75 percent said they “Strongly Agree” or “Agree” taking a manned mission to Mars would be an idea worth pursuing if NASA’s percentage of the federal budget needed to increase 1 percent.

“This is not a naively optimistic goal as some would suggest. It is quite attainable, but only if we decide on the goal, stick with it, and not be afraid to embrace new and innovative ideas,” said Carberry. “One thing that is certain in these tough budgetary times, we need to spend taxpayer dollars as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

The number one reason for heading towards Mars, given by the pollers, was to achieve a greater understanding of the Red Planet. The second shared opinion was to search for signs of Martian life, while the third was to maintain US leadership in commercial, scientific and national defense applications.

LINK: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Sun News 02/12/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 Feb 12 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was very low. Regions 1667 (N22W70, Hsx/alpha) and 1670
(N17W35, Dai/beta-gamma) each produced an isolated B-class flare. No
significant changes were observed in Region 1667. Region 1670 showed
minor spot development and some mixed polarities between its leader and
trailer spots. Region 1671 (N14E51, Hsx/alpha) was stable. Region 1672
(S18E32, Bxo/beta) gradually decayed. There were no Earth-directed
coronal mass ejections (CME) observed during the period.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be very low through the period (12 - 14
Feb) with a chance for an isolated C-class flare.

Energetic Particle

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
background levels. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at
geosynchronous orbit was at normal levels with a slight upward trend.

.Forecast...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain at background levels through the period (12 - 14 Feb). The
greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to
be at normal to moderate levels.

Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
So far, theres been no sign of the 09 Feb CME that was expected to
arrive at around 12/0600 UTC. A gradual solar sector boundary crossing
(SSBC) occurred during approximately 11/1400 - 1800 UTC (away (+) to
toward (-)). Minor increases in wind speed and IMF Bt were associated
with the SSBC. IMF Bz was variable in the +6 to -5 nT range.

.Forecast...
A minor increase in wind speed is expected on day 1 (12 Feb) due to the
arrival of the CME observed on 09 Feb. Enlil model output indicates peak
wind speeds around 475 km/s with the CME passage. Wind speed is expected
to gradually decrease during days 2 - 3 (13 - 14 Feb).

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field was quiet.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on
day 1 (12 Feb) due to the arrival of the CME observed on 09 Feb. The
geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet levels on days 2 - 3 (13 -
14 Feb).

LINK: [link to www.solarham.net]

Streamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index : [link to www.solarham.net]

4MIN News February 12, 2013: Korea Nuke Test, Planets & Earthquakes



TODAY's LINKS:
Planet/Quake Paper: The Factual Data on the Ceselestial Bodies Influences on Seismic Activity ; [link to dx.doi.org]

02/13/2013

Picture of the Day

The Black Widow Nebula

The Black Widow Nebula is an emission nebula, a star-forming cloud of gas and dust, located about 10,000 light-years away from Earth just above the galactic plane in the southern constellation of Circinus.

This galactic creepy crawler is nearly invisible at optical wavelengths – hidden behind a web of dust spun from the galaxy’s disk. But Spitzer used its infrared eyes to peer through the haze. It has captured wispy streams of dust, flowing like spider’s legs from the centre of the nebula, where massive young stars are forming.

When individual stars form from molecular clouds of gas and dust they produce intense radiation and very strong particle winds. Both the radiation and the stellar winds blow the dust outward from the star creating a cavity or, bubble.

LINK: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

'Earth from Space' Documentary Reveals Cosmic View of Our Planet

A new documentary premiering tonight (Feb. 13) on PBS promises to show the Earth as you've never seen it before ... from space.

Produced by NOVA, the documentary "Earth from Space" explores how satellites and spacecraft have revolutionized how scientists look at the world and its intricate systems.

Only by taking a satellite eye's view of the Earth can scientists studying the geology and climate of the planet gain a sense of just how interconnected the sea, land and air of the planet are, saidWaleed Abdalati, the director of the Earth Science and Observation Center run through the University of Colorado at Boulder and a participant in the two-hour documentary.

LINK: [link to www.space.com]

Climate change risks to U.S. security seen

Extreme weather and climate change present a potential threat to U.S. national security for which "we are not prepared," a study says.

The study, prepared by Harvard University, was conducted to explore the forces driving extreme weather events, their impacts over the next decade and their implications for national security planning.

Such events will affect water and food availability, energy decisions, the design of critical infrastructure and critical ecosystem resources, the report's authors said.

"Lessons from the past are no longer of great value as a guide to the future," environment studies Professor Michael McElroy said. "Unexpected changes in regional weather are likely to define the new climate normal, and we are not prepared."

That holds for both underdeveloped and industrialized countries with large costs in terms of economic and human security, the study found, and specific regional climate impacts -- droughts and desertification in Mexico, Southwest Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean, and increased flooding in South Asia -- were singled out as being of particular strategic importance to the United States.

LINK: [link to www.spacedaily.com]

Sun News 02/13/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 Feb 13 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity
.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was low. Region 1670 (N17W47, Dso/beta) produced a C1/Sf
flare at 12/1755 UTC as well as occasional B-class flares. It showed
gradual decay in its intermediate and trailer spots and well as some
magnetic simplification. The remaining three spot groups were
unremarkable. Two filaments erupted from the southwest quadrant during
the period. The first, a 7-degree long filament located near S26W63,
erupted beginning around 12/2200 UTC. The second, a 10-degree long
filament located near S29W48, erupted beginning around 13/0300 UTC. We
are awaiting coronagraph imagery to determine whether the coronal mass
ejections (CME) associated with these eruptions were Earth-directed.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is likely to be low during the period (13 - 15 Feb).


Energetic Particle

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
background levels. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at
geosynchronous orbit was at normal levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain at background levels through the period (13 - 15 Feb). The
greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to
remain at normal levels though the period.


Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speed was in the 347 to 377 km/s range during the first half
of the period. At around 13/0030 UTC, wind speed increased from 358 to
418 km/s, IMF Bt increased from 3 to 8 nT, and IMF Bz became slightly
more southward (-3 to -6 nT), along with minor increases in temperature
and density. These changes were likely associated with the passage of
the southern flank of the CME observed on 09 Feb. Solar wind speed and
IMF Bt began to gradually decrease at around 13/0400 UTC and 13/0500
UTC, respectively, as CME effects subsided.

.Forecast...
Solar wind speed is expected to be low during the period (13 - 15 Feb)
with no significant changes anticipated.


Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
Geomagnetic field activity was at quiet levels.

.Forecast...
Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet levels through the
period (13 - 15 Feb).

LINK: [link to www.solarham.net]

Streamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index: [link to www.solarham.net]

3MIN News February 13, 2013: Planets & Solar Eruptions



TODAY's LINKS:
Planets Affect the Sun: [link to ntrs.nasa.gov] ; [link to ntrs.nasa.gov]

Space Weather Message Code: WARK05
Serial Number: 821
Issue Time: 2013 Feb 13 2339 UTC

WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 5 expected
Valid From: 2013 Feb 13 2338 UTC
Valid To: 2013 Feb 14 0600 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.

02/14/2013

Picture of the Day

Solar System Portrait

On another Valentine's Day (February 14, 1990), cruising four billion miles from the Sun, the Voyager 1 spacecraft looked back to make this first ever family portrait of our Solar System. The complete portrait is a 60 frame mosaic made from a vantage point 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane. In it, Voyager's wide angle camera frames sweep through the inner Solar System at the left, linking up with gas giant Neptune, at the time the Solar System's outermost planet, at the far right. Positions for Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are indicated by letters, while the Sun is the bright spot near the center of the circle of frames.

LINK: [link to apod.nasa.gov]

Astronomers Discover Youngest Black Hole In Milky Way
Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory claim that matter was ejected at high speeds along the poles of a rotating star, creating a supernova remnant, W49B, which may contain a young black hole.

“W49B is the first of its kind to be discovered in the galaxy,” said Laura Lopez, who led the study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “It appears its parent star ended its life in a way that most others don’t.”

Typically, when a massive star runs out of fuel, the central region of the star collapses. This triggers a chain of events that create a supernova explosion, which are generally symmetrical. However, when material near the poles of this rotating star was ejected, jets shooting away from the star’s poles mainly shaped the supernova explosion and its aftermath.

Researchers used Chandra data, and compared it to theoretical models of a star, finding iron in just half of the remnant, while the other half contained elements like sulfur and silicon. When added up, this evidence shows an asymmetric explosion took place.

“In addition to its unusual signature of elements, W49B also is much more elongated and elliptical than most other remnants,” co-author Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz of the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), said in a statement. “This is seen in X-rays and several other wavelengths and points to an unusual demise for this star.”

The astronomers attempted to search for a neutron star while sifting through more evidence, and searched carefully through Chandra data. However, they found no evidence for a neutron star, which is typically left behind after a supernova explosion. The lack of evidence implies that a black hole may have formed instead.

“It’s a bit circumstantial, but we have intriguing evidence the W49B supernova also created a black hole,” said co-author Daniel Castro, also of MIT. “If that is the case, we have a rare opportunity to study a supernova responsible for creating a young black hole.”

LINK: [link to www.redorbit.com]

An Enormous Arctic Spiral

Looking south across the southern tip of Greenland, this satellite image shows an enormous cloud vortex spiraling over the northern Atlantic ocean on January 26, 2013. An example of the powerful convection currents in the upper latitudes, these polar low cyclones are created when the motion of cold air is energized by the warmer ocean water beneath.

Read more: [link to www.universetoday.com]

Lunar Exploration Company Offers the Public a Chance to Participate

Last December, when a private space exploration company named Golden Spike announced they are working to offer human expeditions to the Moon by 2020, they also said wanted to bring public along as an integral part of the company’s mission. Since their initial announcement, the Golden Spike team says they’ve been inundated with emails, letters and social media posts from people wanting to know how to take part, and how they could help speed the development of human lunar expeditions.

Today, The Golden Spike Company — which hopes to generate sustainable human lunar exploration with a series of commercial expeditions for nations, corporations, and individuals — began a 10-week Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to enable a “participatory exploration program.” This isn’t funding the building of rockets and spaceships directly, but does allow the public to help the company accelerate their efforts.

“The funds will enable us to launch our participatory exploration program, which is more than just the perks people get for making a donation,” said Golden Spike President and CEO Dr. Alan Stern in an email to Universe Today. “It involves apps, membership, media productions, and more, and that effort is intended to become self-sustaining after we jump-start it with Indiegogo.”

Read more: [link to www.universetoday.com]

Sun News 02/14/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
:Issued: 2013 Feb 14 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was low. Only two spot groups were present, once Region
1672 (S18E05) decayed to plage (formerly Axx/alpha). A C1 x-ray flare
occurred at 14/0430 UTC from Region 1670 (N17W60, Dso/beta). Region 1670
also produced occasional low-level B-class flares. It showed no
significant changes during the period. Region 1671 (N14E24, Hsx/alpha)
was stable. No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections occurred during the
period.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be very low during the period (14 - 16
Feb) with a chance for a C-class flare.


Energetic Particle

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
background levels. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at
geosynchronous orbit was at normal levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain at background levels through the period (14 - 16 Feb). The
greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to
remain at normal levels through the period.


Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
ACE data indicated minor solar wind changes during the period. Wind
speed was variable in the 331 to 412 km/s range. Intervals of
weakly-enhanced IMF Bt (peak 11 nT around 13/1648 UTC) occurred during
the first half of the period. IMF Bz was southward during most of the
period (peak southward deflection -9 nT at around 13/2140 UTC). Phi
readings indicated an Away (+) solar sector during most of the period.

.Forecast...
A gradual, modest increase in wind speed is possible during the period
(14 - 16 Feb), associated with a coronal hole high-speed stream (CH
HSS). Ambient-mode WSA-Enlil model output predicts peak speeds around
450 km/s late in the period associated with the CH HSS.


Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to active levels. The field
was quiet during 13/1200 - 1800 UTC. The field became unsettled during
the 13/1800 - 2100 UTC interval. A further increase to active levels
occurred during the 13/2100 - 14/0000 UTC interval. Activity decreased
to unsettled levels after 14/0000 UTC. The active interval was due to
increased solar wind speeds and IMF Bt coupled with a sustained period
of southward IMF Bz.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet at quiet to unsettled
levels on day 1 (14 Feb). Quiet levels are expected during days 2 - 3
(15 - 16 Feb) with a slight chance for unsettled levels.

LINK: [link to www.solarham.net]

Streamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Planetary K-Index: [link to www.solarham.net]

3MIN News February 14, 2013



TODAY's LINKS:
Arctic Ice Rebound: [link to wattsupwiththat.com]
Overall Arctic Bad News: [link to phys.org] ; [link to psc.apl.washington.edu]
East Coast Sea Level: [link to www.weather.com]
Gulf Animation: [link to rads.tudelft.nl]

02/15/2013

Picture of the Day

Shadows Across Jupiter

Two dark shadows loom across the banded and mottled cloud tops of Jupiter in this sharp telescopic view. In fact, captured on January 3rd, about a month after the ruling gas giant appeared at opposition in planet Earth's sky, the scene includes the shadow casters. Visible in remarkable detail at the left are the large Galilean moons Ganymede (top) and Io.

REST AT LINK: [link to apod.nasa.gov]

Sun News 02/15/13

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 Feb 15 0030 UTCPrepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was low. Region 1670 (N17W69, Cao/beta) produced the
largest event of the period, a C1 flare at 14/0430 UTC. Region 1670
appeared to show penumbral decay in its follower spot group and was
classified accordingly. Region 1671 (N14E17, Hsx/alpha) was unimpressive
having displayed no significant flaring activity or growth. A coronal
mass ejection (CME) was observed in LASCO/C2 imagery at 14/0436 UTC but
due to its narrow, northward trajectory does not appear to be
Earth-directed. Another CME was observed in LASCO/C2 erupting from the
northwest limb at 14/2312Z. Further analysis will be accomplished as
more imagery becomes available.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be very low with a chance for C-class
flares on day one (15 Feb). On days two and three (16 Feb, 17 Feb),
solar activity is expected to be very low with a slight chance for a
C-class event. The decreased flare probability on days two and three is
based on the departure of Region 1670 as it rotates around the east
limb.

Energetic Particles

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux and the greater than 2 MeV electron
flux at geosynchronous orbit were at background levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux and the greater than 2 MeV electron
flux at geosynchronous orbit are expected to remain at background levels
through the period (15-17 Feb).

Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speed at the ACE spacecraft reached 409 km/s at 14/0940Z.
Total interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) measurements ranged between
approximately 4 to 6 nT. The maximum southward component of Bz reached
approximately -6 nT early but has been steady at 0 nT from 14/1800 UTC
through the end of the period. The phi angle wobbled back and forth
several times from a positive (away) orientation to a negative (towards)
sector through the period but has remained positive from 14/1800-14/2400
UTC.

.Forecast...
A gradual, modest increase in wind speed is possible during the period
(15-17 Feb), associated with a coronal hole high-speed stream (CH/HSS).
Ambient-mode WSA-Enlil model output predicts peak speeds around
450 km/s on days two and three of the period (16-17 Feb) associated with
this CH/HSS.

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
Geomagnetic field activity was quiet to unsettled. Several periods of
unsettled conditions were recorded early in the period due to prolonged
exposure to negative Bz.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be predominantly quiet with a
slight chance for unsettled conditions through the period (15-17 Feb).

LINK: [link to www.solarham.net]

Streamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Planetary K-Index: [link to www.solarham.net]


3MIN News Feb.15, 2013: METEOR STRIKES RUSSIA



TODAY's LINKS:
Russia Meteor: [link to www.universetoday.com] ; [link to www.usatoday.com]
Evidence I didn't publish: [link to spears.lancs.ac.uk]
Glacier Collapse: [link to www.weather.com]
State of the climate: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov]
Ground Current: [link to spaceweather.com]

"I would like to say I'am sorry for not posting on this thread for the almost three months, I've been really sick and not been on here as much as I would like. But as of Today 5/5/13 I'm back on top of things. Thanks GLP"


Picture of the Day

Spiral Galaxy NGC 4013
NGC 4013 is a barred spiral galaxy of some 100 thousand light-years across, located about 55 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Ursa Major (also known as the Big Dipper), while it is receding from us at approximately 831 kilometers per second.
All spiral galaxies (including our own Milky Way galaxy) are highly flattened disk-like structures that resemble giant pancakes. The disk of this edge-on galaxy shows a distinct peanut-shaped bulge of stars that is consistent with a stellar bar seen perpendicular to the line of sight.
Most of its dust lanes lie in the galaxy’s plane, forming the dark band, about 500 light-years thick. This dark band, that absorbs the light of background stars, appears to cut the galaxy in two. By studying the color and the amount of light absorbed by these distant clouds in NGC 4013, astronomers can estimate the amount of matter in them.
These dark dust lanes are believed to be where new stars are formed. Later, when the dust disperses, the young stars become visible as clusters of blue stars. NGC 4013 shows several examples of these stellar nurseries, lying in front of the dark band along the galaxy’s equator.

Link: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

Rock Fragments Could Determine Cause Of 1908 Tunguska Event
A Russian scientist has reportedly found meteorite or asteroid fragments potentially linked to a mysterious explosion that took place over Siberia more than 100 years ago.

The Tunguska Event, as it is called, took place in June 1908. It featured a blast that was one thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb and decimated approximately 80 million trees over an 800 square mile area, but resulted in only a single confirmed death, according to various reports.

According to Steve Nolan of the Daily Mail, many people believe that the explosion was caused by an asteroid or comet that broke up as it entered the planet’s atmosphere. However, no evidence was found to support that theory, and there were few eyewitnesses to the occurrence.

Then on Friday, Andrei Zlobin from the Russian Academy of Sciences came forward with a bombshell announcement. Zlobin said that he had found three rocks in the Tunguska regions that where characteristic of meteorites, the Physics arXiv Blog at MIT Technology Review explained, and if his claims turn out to be true, it could finally solve the mystery of what exactly caused the explosion all those years ago.

The Physics arXiv Blog reports that Zlobin said he discovered the meteorite fragments among approximately 100 specimens obtained from the Khusmo River during an expedition back to 1988. For reasons unknown, he waited two decades to explore his findings.

Rest at Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Witnessing The Birth Of Black Holes

Stars sustain themselves by fusing elements in their core, producing even heavier atoms, releasing energy that keeps the immense force of gravity at bay. But eventually, the fusion process will no longer produce enough outward radiation pressure to sustain the star, and it will begin to collapse in on itself.

In the grandest of cases, the progenitor is a truly massive object, perhaps tens or hundreds of times the mass of our Sun. And the end of its life comes as a massive explosion called a supernova, or in the most extreme instances, a Gamma-ray Burst (GRB).

The object that is left behind is a black hole, an exotic object that is the focus of much study in astronomy. But supernovae and GRB’s massive enough to create black holes are somewhat rare, much too rare to be the sole mechanism for creating these objects. In fact, some suggest that many of the black holes we observe are not created in this manner.

Instead, a hypothetical event known as an ‘Unnova’ may be responsible for the birth of many of the black holes in our galaxy. This phenomenon would proceed much like a planetary nebula – the dying phase of lower mass stars such as our Sun – where the outer envelope of the star simply fades away into space, leaving behind the compressed core of the star. Only, the process would be more rapid and energetic.

In an Unnova the core would become compressed as the protons absorb the surrounding electrons, leading to a neutron dominated core. But instead of the outer layers of the star rebounding at the neutron core – the resulting shockwaves creating the well-known supernova event – the release of neutrinos from the neutronization process pushes matter away from the core.

Rest at Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Sun News 05/05/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 May 05 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was low. Region 1739 (N11E49, Dac/beta-gamma) produced
the largest event of the period, a C8/Sf flare, at 05/0644 UTC. Region
1738 (N14E40, Cso/beta) showed moderate growth, especially in the
trailer spot area. Region 1731 (N08W63, Eai/beta-gamma) continued to
show minor decay while the other regions on the disk were relatively
stable. No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed
this period.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for M-class flares
for the next three days (05 - 07 May).

Energetic Particle

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was at normal to high levels,
reaching a peak value of 2100 pfu at 04/1455 UTC. The greater than 10
MeV proton flux remained at background levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to be at normal to
high levels on day one (05 May) and then return to normal to moderate
levels for days two and three (06 - 07 May) as coronal hole high speed
stream (CH HSS) effects from earlier in the week subside.


Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speeds continued to decrease to background levels, falling
from approximately 380 km/s to 340 km/s throughout this period. Total
field strength increased from around 3 nT to 6 nT while the Bz varied
between +3 nT to -4 nT. The phi angle began the period in the positive
(away) sector before crossing into the negative (toward) sector at about
05/0630 UTC.

.Forecast...
Solar wind speeds are expected to increase on day one (05 May) due the
anticipated arrival of a weak, positive polarity CH HSS and remain
elevated on days two and three (06 - 07 May) as this and two additional
coronal holes move into a favorable position one after the other.

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field was quiet.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to active on day one
(05 May) due to the arrival of a sequence of coronal hole high speed
streams. Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected to continue on days
two and three (06 - 07 May) as weak CH HSS effects continue.

Link: [link to www.solarham.net]

Streamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]



Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
EVE 3-Day:[/u [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index : [link to www.solarham.net]

4MIN News May 5, 2013: Extreme Weather, Climate Studies, Spaceweather

TODAY's New LINKS:
Rain Change Map: [link to www.nasa.gov]
Famine Watch: [link to www.fews.net]
TEMP Variability over 2 Millennia: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov] [link to www.nature.com]
AMS Report: [link to journals.ametsoc.org]

Original music by Nemes1s
[link to Soundcloud.com]

Logo by Xaviar Thunders

0bserver Shop: [link to www.cafepress.com]

Radio Anomaly: [link to iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu]
US TEC: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
US Windmap [link to hint.fm]
US Severe Weather: [link to www.weather.com]
UK/EU MET Office: [link to www.metoffice.gov.uk]
NOAA: [link to www.weather.gov]
EU Weather Alerts: [link to www.meteoalarm.eu]
US Weather Warnings: [link to www.weather.gov]
India: [link to 202.54.31.51] [link to www.imd.gov.in] [link to www.imd.gov.in]

The REAL Climate Changer: [link to youtu.be]
Ice Age Soon? [link to youtu.be]
An Unlikely but Relevant Risk - The Solar Killshot: [link to youtu.be]

REPEAT LINKS:

WORLD WEATHER:
NDBC Buoys: [link to www.ndbc.noaa.gov]
Tropical Storms: [link to www.wunderground.com]
HurricaneZone Satellite Images: [link to www.hurricanezone.net]
Weather Channel: [link to www.weather.com]
NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: [link to www.nnvl.noaa.gov]
Pressure Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Satellite Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Forecast Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: [link to www.eldoradocountyweather.com]
TORCON: [link to www.weather.com] [Tornado Forecast for the day]
HURRICANE TRACKER: [link to www.weather.com]

US WEATHER:
Precipitation Totals: [link to www.cocorahs.org]
GOES Satellites: [link to rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov]
THE WINDMAP: [link to hint.fm]
Severe Weather Threats: [link to www.weather.com]
Canada Weather Office Satellite Composites: [link to www.weatheroffice.gc.ca]
Temperature Delta: [link to www.intellicast.com]
Records/Extremes: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov]

SPACEWEATHER:
Spaceweather: [link to spaceweather.com]
SOHO Solar Wind: [link to umtof.umd.edu]
HAARP Data Meters: [link to www.haarp.alaska.edu]
Planetary Orbital Diagram - Ceres1 JPL: [link to ssd.jpl.nasa.gov]
SDO: [link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
Helioviewer: [link to www.helioviewer.org]
SOHO: [link to sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov]
Stereo: [link to stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
SOLARIMG: [link to solarimg.org]
iSWA: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GOES Xray: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Gamma Ray Bursts: [link to grb.sonoma.edu]
BARTOL Cosmic Rays: [link to neutronm.bartol.udel.edu]
ISWA: [link to iswa.ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA Sunspot Classifications: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GONG: [link to gong2.nso.edu]
GONG Magnetic Maps: [link to gong.nso.edu]
MISC Links:
JAPAN Radiation Map: [link to jciv.iidj.net]
RADIATION Network: [link to radiationnetwork.com]
LISS: [link to earthquake.usgs.gov]
QUAKES LIST FULL: [link to www.emsc-csem.org]
RSOE: [link to hisz.rsoe.hu] [That cool alert map I use]
Moon: [link to www.fourmilab.ch]

How to Watch the Sun [Official Trailer]

HOW TO WATCH THE SUN
Coming May 18 - Right Here on YouTube

Stay tuned for More Details!

Original music by Nemes1s
[link to Soundcloud.com]

Animations and Visual Effects by Xaviar Thunders [Check him out on YouTube]

"Stay safe GLP and have a great day and make it your own"

Picture of the Day

The Bug Nebula
NGC 6302 (better known as the Bug Nebula or the Butterfly Nebula) is a 2,200 years old bipolar planetary nebula of some 3 light-years across, located within our Milky Way galaxy at about 3,400 light-years distance in the constellation of Scorpius, while is approaching us at approximately 35.7 kilometers per second.

When a star with a mass up to eight times that of the Sun runs out of fuel at the end of its life, it blows off its outer shells and begins to lose mass. This allows the hot, inner core of the star (collapsing from a red giant to a white dwarf) to radiate strongly, causing this outward-moving cocoon of gas to glow brightly. These glowing clouds of gas can show complex structures, as the ejection of mass from the star is uneven in both time and direction.

Over the next several thousand years, NGC 6302 will gradually disperse into space, and then the white dwarf – that was once about five times the mass of the Sun – will cool and fade away for billions of years. Our own Sun is expected to undergo a similar fate, but fortunately this will not occur until some 5 billion years from now.

Link with Picture: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

The Birth of a Black Hole Not as Boring as Thought
When a massive star exhausts its fuel, it collapses under its own gravity and produces a black hole, an object so dense that not even light can escape its gravitational grip. According to a new analysis by an astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), just before the black hole forms, the dying star may generate a distinct burst of light that will allow astronomers to witness the birth of a new black hole for the first time.
Tony Piro, a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech, describes this signature light burst in a paper published in the May 1 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. While some dying stars that result in black holes explode as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are among the most energetic phenomena in the Universe, those cases are rare, requiring exotic circumstances, Piro explains. “We don’t think most run-of-the-mill black holes are created that way.” In most cases, according to one hypothesis, a dying star produces a black hole without a bang or a flash: the star would seemingly vanish from the sky—an event dubbed an unnova. “You don’t see a burst,” he says. “You see a disappearance.”

Link: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say
NASA and private sector experts now agree that a man or woman could be sent on a mission to Mars over the next 20 years, despite huge challenges.

The biggest names in space exploration, among them top officials from the US space agency and Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, will discuss the latest projects at a three-day conference starting Monday in the US capital.

Renewed interest in the red planet has triggered the launch of several initiatives in recent months, including one proposing a simple one-way trip to cut costs.

The American public also favors sending astronauts to Mars, according to a survey by non-profit group Explore Mars and aerospace giant Boeing.

The poll in March of more than a thousand people published in March found that 71 percent of Americans expect that humans will land on Mars by 2033.

Seventy-five percent say NASA's budget should be doubled to one percent of the federal budget to fund a mission to Mars and other initiatives.

NASA receives only 0.5 percent of the US federal budget, compared to four percent during the Apollo project to conquer the moon in the 1960s.

The US space agency's chief Charles Bolden has stressed that "a human mission to Mars is a priority."

But the US financial crisis is a major obstacle to such a project.

"If we started today, it's possible to land on Mars in 20 years," said G. Scott Hubbard of Stanford University.

"It doesn't require miracles, it requires money and a plan to address the technological engineering challenges," added Hubbard, who served as NASA's first Mars program director and successfully restructured the entire Mars program in the wake of mission failures.

Placing a mass of 30-40 tonnes -- the amount estimated to be necessary to make a habitat on the red planet -- would be one of the greatest challenges, along with the well-known problem of carrying or producing enough fuel to get back, Hubbard stressed.

Link: [link to www.marsdaily.com]

Pollutants Effect On Clouds Could Actually Lead To Climate Cooling
While manmade pollution and other natural emissions are often blamed for their role in global warming, new research from the University of Manchester suggests that they could actually play a role in cooling the world’s climate.

According to the study, which has been published in the journal Nature Geoscience, those emissions could make clouds brighter. Clouds, the researchers explain, are comprised of water droplets that condense onto minute particles suspended in the air. Those particles swell into cloud droplets when the air reaches a high enough level of humidity.

Scientists have long known that the number and size of those particles affect how bright clouds appear to be from the top. That, in turn, impacts how effective clouds are at scattering sunlight back into space. Climate experts have struggled to understand exactly what impact this phenomenon has on global warming, especially in parts of the world where there tends to be large amounts of pollution or natural emissions.

These particles can be the result of sea spray or dust, or they could originate from automobile exhaust fumes or industrial activities, the researchers explained. They typically contain a sizable amount of organic matter and tend to be volatile in nature, existing as a vapor in warm conditions.

During their study, the authors discovered that this effect is reversed in the atmosphere, as the volatile organic compounds evaporate and let off aromas. However, under the moist, cool conditions under which clouds form, these molecules prefer to be in the liquid state and create larger particles that are more effective seeds for cloud droplets.

Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Sun News 05/06/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 May 06 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was at moderate levels for the past 24 hours. Region 1739
(N12E31) was by far the most active spot group producing an impulsive
M1/Sf flare (R1 - Minor) at 05/1756 UTC as well as frequent C-class
flares. Continued spot and penumbral decay was observed in Region 1739,
now classified as a Dai/beta-gamma. Region 1731 (N10W85) has also shown
signs of decay, however the extent is hard to analyze due to the regions
proximity to the west limb. Region 1734 (S19W23) also showed some signs
of decay, losing its beta-gamma magnetic classification. There were no
Earth-directed CMEs observed during the period.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be at low levels through the period (06 -
08 May), with a chance for an M-class flare from Region 1739.


Energetic Particle

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit decreased
to normal to moderate levels. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at
geosynchronous orbit was at background levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain at normal to moderate levels during 06 - 07 May. An increase
to moderate to high flux levels is expected on 08 May in response to a
coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS). The greater than 10 MeV proton
flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to remain at background levels
during the period.


Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
ACE data indicated a Toward (-) to Away (+) solar sector boundary
crossing (SSBC) began around 05/1500 UTC accompanied by a gradual
increase in wind speed to around 525 km/s. Solar wind density decreased
as solar winds speeds increased. Total IMF intensity (Bt) showed a
gradual increase beginning around 05/0700 UTC and had increased to
around 12 nT by late in the period. These changes likely indicated the
arrival of a co-rotating interaction region in advance of a
positive-polarity CH HSS.

.Forecast...
Solar wind speed is expected to gradually increase during 06 - 07 May,
then begin a gradual decrease on 08 May. The latest WSA-Enlil
ambient-mode model run indicated peak speed around 600 km/s with this CH
HSS. There is also the possibility of a glancing blow on 06 May from the
southern flank of the CME observed on 02 May, but solar wind changes
associated with this passage are likely to be minimal.


Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field was at quiet to unsettled levels.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels
during 06 - 07 May, with a slight chance for active levels, due to a CH
HSS and the possibility of a glancing blow from the southern flank of
the CME observed on 02 May. Field activity is expected to decrease to
quiet levels on 08 May, with a slight chance for unsettled levels, as
the CH HSS gradually subsides.

Link: [link to www.solarham.net]

Steamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index : [link to www.solarham.net]

4MIN News May 6, 2013: Spaceweather Impacts Earth

OFFICIAL TRAILER - How to Watch the Sun
[link to youtu.be]

TODAY's New LINKS:
VEGA Delayed: [link to www.esa.int]

Original music by Nemes1s
[link to Soundcloud.com]

Logo by Xaviar Thunders

0bserver Shop: [link to www.cafepress.com]

Radio Anomaly: [link to iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu]
US TEC: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
US Windmap [link to hint.fm]
US Severe Weather: [link to www.weather.com]
UK/EU MET Office: [link to www.metoffice.gov.uk]
NOAA: [link to www.weather.gov]
EU Weather Alerts: [link to www.meteoalarm.eu]
US Weather Warnings: [link to www.weather.gov]
India: [link to 202.54.31.51] [link to www.imd.gov.in] [link to www.imd.gov.in]

The REAL Climate Changer: [link to youtu.be]
Ice Age Soon? [link to youtu.be]
An Unlikely but Relevant Risk - The Solar Killshot: [link to youtu.be]

REPEAT LINKS:

WORLD WEATHER:
NDBC Buoys: [link to www.ndbc.noaa.gov]
Tropical Storms: [link to www.wunderground.com]
HurricaneZone Satellite Images: [link to www.hurricanezone.net]
Weather Channel: [link to www.weather.com]
NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: [link to www.nnvl.noaa.gov]
Pressure Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Satellite Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Forecast Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: [link to www.eldoradocountyweather.com]
TORCON: [link to www.weather.com] [Tornado Forecast for the day]
HURRICANE TRACKER: [link to www.weather.com]

US WEATHER:
Precipitation Totals: [link to www.cocorahs.org]
GOES Satellites: [link to rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov]
THE WINDMAP: [link to hint.fm]
Severe Weather Threats: [link to www.weather.com]
Canada Weather Office Satellite Composites: [link to www.weatheroffice.gc.ca]
Temperature Delta: [link to www.intellicast.com]
Records/Extremes: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov]

SPACEWEATHER:
Spaceweather: [link to spaceweather.com]
SOHO Solar Wind: [link to umtof.umd.edu]
HAARP Data Meters: [link to www.haarp.alaska.edu]
Planetary Orbital Diagram - Ceres1 JPL: [link to ssd.jpl.nasa.gov]
SDO: [link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
Helioviewer: [link to www.helioviewer.org]
SOHO: [link to sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov]
Stereo: [link to stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
SOLARIMG: [link to solarimg.org]
iSWA: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GOES Xray: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Gamma Ray Bursts: [link to grb.sonoma.edu]
BARTOL Cosmic Rays: [link to neutronm.bartol.udel.edu]
ISWA: [link to iswa.ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA Sunspot Classifications: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GONG: [link to gong2.nso.edu]
GONG Magnetic Maps: [link to gong.nso.edu]


MISC Links:
JAPAN Radiation Map: [link to jciv.iidj.net]
RADIATION Network: [link to radiationnetwork.com]
LISS: [link to earthquake.usgs.gov]
QUAKES LIST FULL: [link to www.emsc-csem.org]
RSOE: [link to hisz.rsoe.hu] [That cool alert map I use]
Moon: [link to www.fourmilab.ch]

"Stay safe GLP and have a great day and make it your own"

Picture of the Day 05/07/2013

Interacting Galaxies Arp 81

Arp 81 (also designated UGC 11175 and VV 247) is a strongly interacting pair of spiral galaxies, consisting of NGC 6621 (right) and NGC 6622 (left) seen about 100 million years after their closest approach. The galaxy pair is located about 277 million light-years away in the constellation of Draco and is speeding away from us at around 6330 kilometers per second.

The name “Arp 81&#8243; derives from being included in Arp’s Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, a catalog of 338 peculiar galaxies, drawn up by Halton Arp in the years from 1962 through 1967 and published by the California Institute of Technology.

Both galaxies show tidal effects, especially NGC 6621, the larger of the two, which shows twisted streams of gas and dust, and a long tidal tail of stars, stretching for some 200,000 light-years that has now been wrapped behind its body.

The collision has also triggered extensive star formation between the two galaxies. Clusters of stars can form quickly after a strong enough perturbation, and Arp 81 has indeed a very rich collection of young massive star clusters (an even richer collection of star clusters than the well know Antennae galaxies).

Rest/Picture at Link: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

Hot Gas on the Menu for Milky Way’s Black Hole

ESA’s Herschel space observatory has made detailed observations of surprisingly hot molecular gas that may be orbiting or falling towards the supermassive black hole lurking at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The environment at the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy. The Galactic Centre hosts a supermassive black hole in the region known as Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, with a mass of about four million times that of our Sun. A dense torus of molecular gas and dust surrounds the Galactic Centre and occupies the innermost 15 light-years of our Galaxy. Enshrouded within the disc is a central cavity, with a radius of a few light-years, filled with warm dust and lower density gas.Part of this gas is being heated by the strong ultraviolet radiation from massive stars that closely orbit the central black hole. Heating also likely results from strong shocks, generated as gas orbits around or flows towards Sgr A*, in collisions between gas clouds or in material flowing at high velocity from stars and protostars. Image Credit: ESA–C. Carreau

Our local black hole is located in a region known as Sagittarius A* – Sgr A* – after a nearby radio source. It has a mass about four million times that of our Sun and lies around 26 000 light-years away from the Solar System. Even at that distance, it is a few hundred times closer to us than any other galaxy with an active black hole at its center making it the ideal natural laboratory to study the environment around these enigmatic objects.

Rest/Picture at Link: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

Seasonal Changes Seen On Saturn – The Daily Orbit

Well Saturn is making headlines again this week, as researchers say they finally understand how the gas giant’s magnetosphere changes with the seasons. Why is this interesting? Scientists say this provides an important clue in understanding the planet’s radio signal, which was once thought to be able to give an accurate measurement to the length of a Saturn day. The new results could also help scientists better understand variations in the Earth’s magnetosphere and the Van Allen radiation belts, which both affect things like spaceflight and cell service. Hey, I’m all about research that keeps my cell service in tact!

A blast lit up the sky in 1908, the force of which was a thousand times greater than the Hiroshima bomb and took out 80 million trees in an 800 square mile area. This has been known as the Tunguska Event. No one really knew the culprit—until now that is. One scientist in Russia says that among rock samples he took from that area more than 20 years ago, three rocks are not “earthly” in origin. He claims they are characteristic of meteorites with evidence of melting and regmalypts, impressions typically caused by ablation as a rock falls through the atmosphere. He concludes a comet or asteroid collided with Earth that day. He named his three rocks “dental crown”, “whale” and “boat.” Which is which? You be the judge!

Rest at Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Sun News 05/07/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 May 07 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity has been at low levels for the past 24 hours. The largest
event of the period was a C1/Sf x-ray event from Region 1734 (S18W37) at
07/0823 UTC. Two other low level C-class events were observed from
Regions 1731 (N09, L=191) and Region 1736 (S07W53). Region 1736 has
shown rapid growth in the past 24 hours and is currently magnetically
classified as a beta group with a total area of 50 millionths. The other
four numbered sunspot regions were unremarkable. There were no
Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) observed in satellite
imagery during the period.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be low through the period (07-09 May),
with a chance for an M-class flare.

Energetic Particles

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
normal to moderate levels. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at
geosynchronous orbit was at background levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain at normal to moderate levels for day one (07 May). An increase
to moderate to high flux levels is expected on days two and three (08-09
May) in response to a coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS). The
greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to
remain at background levels during the period.

Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speed, as measured by the ACE spacecraft, hovered around 600
km/s as positive polarity CH HSS effects continued during the period.
Total interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) declined throughout the
period from around 14 nT to 7 nT at the time of this report. The
Bz component of the IMF remained mostly positive through out the
period. The phi angle was consistently positive (away) through the
period.

.Forecast...
Solar wind speed should continue to be elevated on day one (07 May) as
CH HSS effects continue. Day two (08 May), should see a gradual decrease
in wind speed as effects begin to wane. Background wind speeds should
return by day three (09 May).

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field was at quiet to unsettled levels.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels
on day one (07 May), with a slight chance for active levels, due to CH
HSS effects. Field activity is expected to decrease to quiet levels on
days two and three (08-09 May), with a slight chance for unsettled
levels, as the CH HSS gradually subsides.

Link: [link to www.solarham.net]

Steamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index : [link to www.solarham.net]


4MIN News May 7, 2013: Volcanos Erupt, Spaceweather


OFFICIAL TRAILER - How to Watch the Sun
[link to youtu.be]

Earth Observatory: [link to earthobservatory.nasa.gov]

Original music by Nemes1s
[link to Soundcloud.com]

Logo by Xaviar Thunders

0bserver Shop: [link to www.cafepress.com]

Radio Anomaly: [link to iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu]
US TEC: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
US Windmap [link to hint.fm]
US Severe Weather: [link to www.weather.com]
UK/EU MET Office: [link to www.metoffice.gov.uk]
NOAA: [link to www.weather.gov]
EU Weather Alerts: [link to www.meteoalarm.eu]
US Weather Warnings: [link to www.weather.gov]
India: [link to 202.54.31.51] [link to www.imd.gov.in] [link to www.imd.gov.in]

The REAL Climate Changer: [link to youtu.be]
Ice Age Soon? [link to youtu.be]
An Unlikely but Relevant Risk - The Solar Killshot: [link to youtu.be]

REPEAT LINKS:

WORLD WEATHER:
NDBC Buoys: [link to www.ndbc.noaa.gov]
Tropical Storms: [link to www.wunderground.com]
HurricaneZone Satellite Images: [link to www.hurricanezone.net]
Weather Channel: [link to www.weather.com]
NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: [link to www.nnvl.noaa.gov]
Pressure Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Satellite Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Forecast Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: [link to www.eldoradocountyweather.com]
TORCON: [link to www.weather.com] [Tornado Forecast for the day]
HURRICANE TRACKER: [link to www.weather.com]

US WEATHER:
Precipitation Totals: [link to www.cocorahs.org]
GOES Satellites: [link to rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov]
THE WINDMAP: [link to hint.fm]
Severe Weather Threats: [link to www.weather.com]
Canada Weather Office Satellite Composites: [link to www.weatheroffice.gc.ca]
Temperature Delta: [link to www.intellicast.com]
Records/Extremes: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov]

SPACEWEATHER:
Spaceweather: [link to spaceweather.com]
SOHO Solar Wind: [link to umtof.umd.edu]
HAARP Data Meters: [link to www.haarp.alaska.edu]
Planetary Orbital Diagram - Ceres1 JPL: [link to ssd.jpl.nasa.gov]
SDO: [link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
Helioviewer: [link to www.helioviewer.org]
SOHO: [link to sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov]
Stereo: [link to stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
SOLARIMG: [link to solarimg.org]
iSWA: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GOES Xray: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Gamma Ray Bursts: [link to grb.sonoma.edu]
BARTOL Cosmic Rays: [link to neutronm.bartol.udel.edu]
ISWA: [link to iswa.ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA Sunspot Classifications: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GONG: [link to gong2.nso.edu]
GONG Magnetic Maps: [link to gong.nso.edu]


MISC Links:
JAPAN Radiation Map: [link to jciv.iidj.net]
RADIATION Network: [link to radiationnetwork.com]
LISS: [link to earthquake.usgs.gov]
QUAKES LIST FULL: [link to www.emsc-csem.org]
RSOE: [link to hisz.rsoe.hu] [That cool alert map I use]
Moon: [link to www.fourmilab.ch]

"Stay safe GLP and have a great day and make it your own"

Picture of the Day 05/08/2013

The Owl Nebula, a planetary nebula in Ursa Major

The Owl Nebula (designated Messier 97 or NGC 3587) is a fairly faint planetary nebula of some 3 light-years across that formed about 6,000 years ago. It is located within our Milky Way galaxy, about 2,600 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Ursa Major (the Big Bear or the Big Dipper).

Its round shape along with the placement of two large, dark “eyes” do suggest the face of a staring owl, hence its nickname.

Planetary nebulae represent the final brief stage in the life of a medium-sized star like our Sun. While consuming the last of the fuel in its core, the dying star (collapsing from a red giant to a white dwarf) expels a large portion of its outer envelope. This material then becomes heated by the radiation from the stellar remnant and radiates, producing glowing clouds of gas.

Over the next several thousand years, the Owl Nebula will gradually disperse into space, and then the white dwarf will cool and fade away for billions of years. Our own Sun is expected to undergo a similar fate, but fortunately this will not occur until some 5 billion years from now.

The Owl Nebula is one of the more complex planetary nebulae. The expanding bubble is confined by the interstellar medium, the bubble slows down and the outflow of gas builds up at the leading edge producing the bright reddish rim that surrounds the bluish core of the nebula. The red rim is in turn enveloped by a round halo that is about 10,000 times fainter than the core of the nebula, and doesn’t appear in most images.

Rest/Pic at Link: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

SpaceX Joining Virgin Galactic At Spaceport America

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez announced on Tuesday that SpaceX has signed a three-year agreement to use Spaceport America for flight testing.

According to a Spaceport America statement, SpaceX will be leasing land and facilities at the New Mexico site to conduct the next phase of flight testing for its reusable rocket program.

“I am thrilled that SpaceX has chosen to make New Mexico its home, bringing their revolutionary ‘Grasshopper’ rocket and new jobs with them,” Governor Martinez said today. “We’ve done a lot of work to level the playing field so we can compete in the space industry. This is just the first step in broadening the base out at the Spaceport and securing even more tenants. I’m proud to welcome SpaceX to New Mexico.”

SpaceX just finished up its first series of testing the new Grasshopper vehicle in McGregor, Texas. The company is planning to begin the next phase of development for tests performed in New Mexico.

“Spaceport America offers us the physical and regulatory landscape needed to complete the next phase of Grasshopper testing,” said SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell. “We are pleased to expand our reusable rocket development infrastructure to New Mexico.”

Virgin Galactic is the other tenant at the state-owned commercial launch site. Virgin had a bit of controversy with Spaceport America in January this year when the company refused to pay the state deposit because it believed the site wasn’t up to its standard yet. The Richard Branson company wrote a letter to the Spaceport that it didn’t believe the state had finished the work necessary to trigger activation of its annual rental obligation. However, matters have since been solved, and now a new tenant will be there to help pay for some of the cost of the facility.

Rest at Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]


NASA Study Projects Warming-Driven Changes in Global Rainfall

A NASA-led modeling study provides new evidence that global warming may increase the risk for extreme rainfall and drought. The study shows for the first time how rising carbon dioxide concentrations could affect the entire range of rainfall types on Earth.

Analysis of computer simulations from 14 climate models indicates wet regions of the world, such as the equatorial Pacific Ocean and Asian monsoon regions, will see increases in heavy precipitation because of warming resulting from projected increases in carbon dioxide levels. Arid land areas outside the tropics and many regions with moderate rainfall could become drier.

The analysis provides a new assessment of global warming's impacts on precipitation patterns around the world. The study was accepted for publication in the American Geophysical Union journal Geophysical Research Letters.

"In response to carbon dioxide-induced warming, the global water cycle undergoes a gigantic competition for moisture resulting in a global pattern of increased heavy rain, decreased moderate rain, and prolonged droughts in certain regions," said William Lau of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and lead author of the study.

The models project for every 1 degree Fahrenheit of carbon dioxide-induced warming, heavy rainfall will increase globally by 3.9 percent and light rain will increase globally by 1 percent. However, total global rainfall is not projected to change much because moderate rainfall will decrease globally by 1.4 percent.

Heavy rainfall is defined as months that receive an average of more than about 0.35 of an inch per day. Light rain is defined as months that receive an average of less than 0.01 of an inch per day. Moderate rainfall is defined as months that receive an average of between about 0.04 to 0.09 of an inch per day.

Areas projected to see the most significant increase in heavy rainfall are in the tropical zones around the equator, particularly in the Pacific Ocean and Asian monsoon regions.

Some regions outside the tropics may have no rainfall at all. The models also projected for every degree Fahrenheit of warming, the length of periods with no rain will increase globally by 2.6 percent.

In the Northern Hemisphere, areas most likely to be affected include the deserts and arid regions of the southwest United States, Mexico, North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and northwestern China. In the Southern Hemisphere, drought becomes more likely in South Africa, northwestern Australia, coastal Central America and northeastern Brazil.

Rest at Link: [link to www.spacedaily.com]

Sun News 05/08/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 May 08 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was at low levels for the past 24 hours with several
C-class x-ray events observed. The largest event of the period was a
C2/Sf from Region 1738 (N15W08) at 08/0022 UTC. There are currently 7
active sunspot regions on the visible disk. Region 1736 (S07W66)
continues to show signs of growth in both area and magnetic complexity.
Region 1738 (N15W08) has also shown signs of growth. The other remaining
regions on the disk remained stable and quiet. There were no
Earth-directed CMEs detected during the period.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be at low levels through the period (08-10
May) with a chance for M-class flares.

Energetic Particles

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
normal to moderate levels. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at
geosynchronous orbit was at background levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to be at moderate to high flux levels on days one, two, and three (08-10
May) in response to a coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS). The
greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to
remain at background levels during the period.

Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speed, as measured by the ACE spacecraft, ranged between
500-600 km/s as CH HSS effects continued. The total interplanetary
magnetic field (IMF) hovered around 6 nT with the Bz component remaining
mostly negative. The phi angle was predominately positive (away).

.Forecast...
Solar wind speed should continue to be elevated on day one (08 May) as
CH HSS effects begin to wane. Days two and three (09-10 May), should see
a return to background solar wind speeds.

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
Geomagnetic activity was at quiet to unsettled levels.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on
day one (08 May) as CH HSS effects begin to subside. Quiet with a slight
chance for unsettled conditions should prevail on days two and three
(09-10 May).

Link: [link to www.solarham.net]

Steamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index : [link to www.solarham.net]


4MIN News May 8, 2013: NASA Chemtrails, Volcano Eruption, Starwater


OFFICIAL TRAILER - How to Watch the Sun
[link to youtu.be]
Coming Soon - MAY 18, 2013

TODAY's New LINKS:
Herschel's Hot Gas: [link to www.esa.int]
Ice Melt: [link to earthobservatory.nasa.gov]
NASA's Chemtrails: [link to www.nasa.gov]
San Onofre: [link to www.latimes.com]
Popo Blows: [link to youtu.be] Live Cam: [link to www.cenapred.unam.mx]
Popo's Ash: [link to youtu.be]
Eclipses: [link to eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov]

Radio Anomaly: [link to iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu]
US TEC: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
US Windmap [link to hint.fm]
US Severe Weather: [link to www.weather.com]
UK/EU MET Office: [link to www.metoffice.gov.uk]
NOAA: [link to www.weather.gov]
EU Weather Alerts: [link to www.meteoalarm.eu]
US Weather Warnings: [link to www.weather.gov]
India: [link to 202.54.31.51] [link to www.imd.gov.in] [link to www.imd.gov.in]

The REAL Climate Changer: [link to youtu.be]
Ice Age Soon? [link to youtu.be]
An Unlikely but Relevant Risk - The Solar Killshot: [link to youtu.be]

REPEAT LINKS:

WORLD WEATHER:
NDBC Buoys: [link to www.ndbc.noaa.gov]
Tropical Storms: [link to www.wunderground.com]
HurricaneZone Satellite Images: [link to www.hurricanezone.net]
Weather Channel: [link to www.weather.com]
NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: [link to www.nnvl.noaa.gov]
Pressure Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Satellite Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Forecast Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: [link to www.eldoradocountyweather.com]
TORCON: [link to www.weather.com] [Tornado Forecast for the day]
HURRICANE TRACKER: [link to www.weather.com]

US WEATHER:
Precipitation Totals: [link to www.cocorahs.org]
GOES Satellites: [link to rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov]
THE WINDMAP: [link to hint.fm]
Severe Weather Threats: [link to www.weather.com]
Canada Weather Office Satellite Composites: [link to www.weatheroffice.gc.ca]
Temperature Delta: [link to www.intellicast.com]
Records/Extremes: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov]

SPACEWEATHER:
Spaceweather: [link to spaceweather.com]
SOHO Solar Wind: [link to umtof.umd.edu]
HAARP Data Meters: [link to www.haarp.alaska.edu]
Planetary Orbital Diagram - Ceres1 JPL: [link to ssd.jpl.nasa.gov]
SDO: [link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
Helioviewer: [link to www.helioviewer.org]
SOHO: [link to sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov]
Stereo: [link to stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
SOLARIMG: [link to solarimg.org]
iSWA: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GOES Xray: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Gamma Ray Bursts: [link to grb.sonoma.edu]
BARTOL Cosmic Rays: [link to neutronm.bartol.udel.edu]
ISWA: [link to iswa.ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA Sunspot Classifications: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GONG: [link to gong2.nso.edu]
GONG Magnetic Maps: [link to gong.nso.edu]


MISC Links:
JAPAN Radiation Map: [link to jciv.iidj.net]
RADIATION Network: [link to radiationnetwork.com]
LISS: [link to earthquake.usgs.gov]
QUAKES LIST FULL: [link to www.emsc-csem.org]
RSOE: [link to hisz.rsoe.hu] [That cool alert map I use]
Moon: [link to www.fourmilab.ch]

"Stay safe GLP and have a great day and make it your own"

\
good stuff should be pinned every 24hours

Thanks

Picture of the Day 05/09/2013

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1350

NGC 1350 is a barred spiral galaxy of some 130,000 light-years across (slightly larger than our Milky Way), located about 87 million light-years away from Earth in the southern constellation of Fornax (the Furnace), while it is receding from us at approximately 1905 kilometers per second. This means that, 87 million years ago, when the light we now record left NGC 1350, the galaxy was 530,000 light-years closer to us.

Also, our Solar System, including the Sun, was – 87 million years ago – 60,000 light-years away from where it now stands. That is because the Sun rotates around the center of the Milky Way (it completes a full circle in about 200 million years).

NGC 1350 is classified as an Sa(r) type galaxy, meaning it is a spiral with tightly wound arms and large central regions. In fact, NGC 1350 lies at the border between the broken-ring spiral type and a grand design spiral with two major outer arms.

Its spiral arms, inhabited by young blue star clusters, form a prominent central ring and a rather faint outer ring. This outer ring originates at the inner main ring and can be traced for almost half a circle when they each meet the opposite arm, giving the impression of completing a second outer ring. The viewing angle and the two rings make NGC 1350 look somewhat like a cosmic “eye.”

Link/Picture: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

San Diego and Tijuana

The metropolitan areas of San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, together form an international conurbation that crosses the USA-Mexico border at the northern end of the Baja Peninsula near the city of San Ysidro. In this photograph taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station, urban and suburban areas appear light gray, speckled with white rooftops that indicate large industrial and commercial buildings. Vegetated areas—parks, golf courses, and the foothills of nearby mountains—appear green, in contrast to the tan and dark brown of exposed soils and bedrock in highland areas.

Link/Picture: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Space News 05/09/2013

Martian Snowstorms Can Be Forecast Weeks Before They Occur

A new study from an international group of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) reveals that snowstorms that lash the northern hemisphere of Mars during the harsh winters may be predicted several weeks in advance.

The team’s calculations reveal a connection between the snowfalls and a weather phenomenon special to Mars: fluctuations of pressure, temperature, wind speeds and directions that in the northern hemisphere propagate in a wave-like manner and occur very regularly. Such weather forecasts are important for future missions to Mars that would be exploring this region with rovers. They would allow mission specialists the opportunity to choose a route that avoids heavy snow storms.

Similar to those on Earth, the Martian polar regions are an icy, cold world covered by cohesive ice caps. When temperatures in winter drop below -198.4 degrees Fahrenheit – the point at which carbon dioxide freezes – this ice layer is supplied by frozen co2 from the atmosphere. The ice caps cover a region reaching south to about 70 degrees northern latitude during the winter. During the Martian summer, which is comparatively warmer, the carbon dioxide sublimates to reveal the planet’s eternal ice. This cap is considerably smaller than the winter ice caps.

“Mars’ seasonal ice has two different origins“, says Dr. Paul Hartogh from the MPS. “A part of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere condensates directly on the surface – similar to the way a layer of frost forms on Earth in cold, clear weather. Another part freezes in the atmosphere.”

Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Scientists Gathering To Discuss Asteroid Threat Mitigation

Scientists around the world are meeting in Spain this week to talk about the threat asteroids pose to Earth.

Deimos Space, an industrial partner working for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Space Situational Awareness (SSA) program, has invited researchers from universities, research institutes, national space agencies and space industry professionals to discuss Near-Earth Object (NEO) threat mitigation and effects. NEOs are asteroids that have paths that could potentially guide them into Earth.

“A great deal of work remains to be done, for example, in computer modeling of impact effects, how airbursts differ from ground strikes, kinetic versus explosive deflection strategies and much more,” says Gerhard Drolshagen, of the SSA Program Office. “The aim is to develop plans that will guide us in current and future NEO research and development.”

ESA said it hopes to develop the capability to integrate European assets like automated telescopes into a coordinated and more efficient NEO system. The space agency said it hopes a system like this would be able to provide nightly sky surveys and advanced warning of NEO impacts.

“With this, we can work with our partner agencies, scientists, industry and international bodies like the UN to offer firm options to national governments and political decision-makers,” says Nicolas Bobrinsky, Head of ESA’s SSA Program. “Events like the Chelyabinsk strike show that the NEO hazard is not just theoretical, and we need to invest in practical measures today to address tomorrow’s threats.”

Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Webb Telescope’s MIRI Thermal Shield Tested By NASA

NASA engineer Acey Herrera recently checked out copper test wires inside the thermal shield of the Mid-Infrared Instrument, known as MIRI, that will fly aboard NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The shield is designed to protect the vital MIRI instrument from excess heat. At the time of the photo, the thermal shield was about to go through rigorous environmental testing to ensure it can perform properly in the extreme cold temperatures that it will encounter in space.

Herrera is working in a thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. As the MIRI shield lead, Herrera along with a thermal engineer and cryo-engineer verify that the shield is ready for testing.

On the Webb telescope, the pioneering camera and spectrometer that comprise the MIRI instrument sit inside the Integrated Science Instrument Module flight structure, that holds Webb’s four instruments and their electronic systems during launch and operations.

Webb is designed to obtain images and spectra in infrared light that is invisible to the human eye. As a consequence, the Webb telescope and ISIM must be cooled to a very low temperature (-383 F or -230 C) in order to avoid being blinded by their own infrared emission. The MIRI operates over longer infrared wavelengths than the other Webb instruments and, as a result, must be made approximately 35 degrees colder than the rest of the ISIM. The MIRI’s thermal shield is critical to achieving this lower temperature for the MIRI.

Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Astronomers Asking Volunteers To Help Find ‘Space Warps’

Volunteers are being summoned to help astronomers find “space warps,” leading to the discovery of faraway objects.

Space warps, more commonly known as “gravitational lenses,” allow objects in space to act as a giant lens to other objects even farther away. Studies have found that the human brain is much better at identifying lenses than current computer algorithms, so astronomers are asking volunteers to participate in the Space Warps project.

The project asks anyone to participate by spotting these rare objects using data from large astronomical surveys. Astronomers can use gravitational lensing to explore a variety of mysteries about the universe.

“Not only do space warps act like lenses, magnifying the distant galaxies behind them, but also the light they distort can be used to weigh them, helping us to figure out how much dark matter they contain and how it’s distributed,” Dr. Phil Marshall, co-leader of the project at the University of Oxford, said in a statement.

Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Sun News 05/09/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 May 09 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity has been at low levels for the past 24 hours. The largest
event of the period was a C3 x-ray flare at 09/0523 UTC from Region 1736
(S08W78). Region 1736 is magnetically classified as a beta-gamma and the
only region on the disk that has shown growth in the past 24 hours.
Region 1738 (N15W21) and 1739 (N12W09) have both shown signs of decay.
Three new regions were numbered today as they rotated onto the visible
disk in the northeast quadrant, Region 1742 (N30E49), Region 1743
(N24E55), and Region 1744 (N05E61). These new regions are currently
simple beta groups, however true magnetic complexity is still hard to
determine due to limb proximity. There were no Earth-directed coronal
mass ejections (CMEs) observed in satellite imagery.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be at low levels with a chance for M-class
flaring through the period (09-11 May). Probabilities have been slightly
lowered on 11 May as Region 1736 rotates off the visible disk.

Energetic Particles

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
moderate levels. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at
geosynchronous orbit was at background levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to be at moderate to high flux levels on days one, two, and three (09-11
May) in response to a coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS). The
greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to
remain at background levels during the period.


Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speed, as measured at the ACE spacecraft, started the period
at approximately 520 km/s and ended at approximately 500 km/s. This
gradual decrease can be attributed to waning effects of a positive,
polarity CH HSS. The total interplanetary magnetic field was steady at
around 4 nT while the Bz component fluctuated. The phi angle was
consistently oriented in a positive (away) sector.

.Forecast...
Solar wind speeds should continue their gradual decline towards
background velocity through the period (09-11 May).

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field has been at quiet levels for the past 24 hours.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at mostly quiet levels, with a
slight chance for unsettled conditions, through the period (09-11 May)

Link: [link to www.solarham.net]

Steamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index : [link to www.solarham.net]

4MIN News May 9, 2013

OFFICIAL TRAILER - How to Watch the Sun
[link to youtu.be]
Coming Soon - MAY 18, 2013

TODAY's New LINKS:
Burn Scar: [link to earthobservatory.nasa.gov]
Eclipses: [link to eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov]

Radio Anomaly: [link to iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu]
US TEC: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
US Windmap [link to hint.fm]
US Severe Weather: [link to www.weather.com]
UK/EU MET Office: [link to www.metoffice.gov.uk]
NOAA: [link to www.weather.gov]
EU Weather Alerts: [link to www.meteoalarm.eu]
US Weather Warnings: [link to www.weather.gov]
India: [link to 202.54.31.51] [link to www.imd.gov.in] [link to www.imd.gov.in]

The REAL Climate Changer: [link to youtu.be]
Ice Age Soon? [link to youtu.be]
An Unlikely but Relevant Risk - The Solar Killshot: [link to youtu.be]

REPEAT LINKS:

WORLD WEATHER:
NDBC Buoys: [link to www.ndbc.noaa.gov]
Tropical Storms: [link to www.wunderground.com]
HurricaneZone Satellite Images: [link to www.hurricanezone.net]
Weather Channel: [link to www.weather.com]
NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: [link to www.nnvl.noaa.gov]
Pressure Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Satellite Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Forecast Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: [link to www.eldoradocountyweather.com]
TORCON: [link to www.weather.com] [Tornado Forecast for the day]
HURRICANE TRACKER: [link to www.weather.com]

US WEATHER:
Precipitation Totals: [link to www.cocorahs.org]
GOES Satellites: [link to rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov]
THE WINDMAP: [link to hint.fm]
Severe Weather Threats: [link to www.weather.com]
Canada Weather Office Satellite Composites: [link to www.weatheroffice.gc.ca]
Temperature Delta: [link to www.intellicast.com]
Records/Extremes: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov]

SPACEWEATHER:
Spaceweather: [link to spaceweather.com]
SOHO Solar Wind: [link to umtof.umd.edu]
HAARP Data Meters: [link to www.haarp.alaska.edu]
Planetary Orbital Diagram - Ceres1 JPL: [link to ssd.jpl.nasa.gov]
SDO: [link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
Helioviewer: [link to www.helioviewer.org]
SOHO: [link to sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov]
Stereo: [link to stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
SOLARIMG: [link to solarimg.org]
iSWA: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GOES Xray: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Gamma Ray Bursts: [link to grb.sonoma.edu]
BARTOL Cosmic Rays: [link to neutronm.bartol.udel.edu]
ISWA: [link to iswa.ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA Sunspot Classifications: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GONG: [link to gong2.nso.edu]
GONG Magnetic Maps: [link to gong.nso.edu]


MISC Links:
JAPAN Radiation Map: [link to jciv.iidj.net]
RADIATION Network: [link to radiationnetwork.com]
LISS: [link to earthquake.usgs.gov]
QUAKES LIST FULL: [link to www.emsc-csem.org]
RSOE: [link to hisz.rsoe.hu] [That cool alert map I use]
Moon: [link to www.fourmilab.ch]


"Stay safe GLP and have a great day and make it your own"

Picture of the Day 05/10/2013

The Flame Nebula, an emission nebula in Orion

The Flame Nebula (designated NGC 2024, Orion B and Sh2-277) is an emission nebula, a star-forming cloud of gas and dust, located about 1,500 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Orion (the Hunter). It is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a star-forming region that includes the famous Horsehead Nebula.

The nebula, from its glow and dark dust lanes, appears like a fire. But, the glow of the nebula is caused by intense ultraviolet radiation from its central massive star, known as IRS2b, which is 20 times heavier than our Sun, and buried in the blanketing dust. This star would be almost as bright to our eyes as the three stars in Orion’s belt, but the dust makes the star appear 4 billion times fainter than it really is.

Behind the thick dark lane of dust and gas, which splits the Flame Nebula in two halves, is a rich cluster of young, blue, massive stars (also designated as NGC 2024). At least half the stars are known to have circumstellar accretion disks, possibly the precursors of terrestrial Earth-like planets.

Rest/Picture at Link: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

Space News

White Dwarfs “polluted” with Planetary Debris

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has found signs of Earth-like planets in an unlikely place: the atmospheres of a pair of burnt-out stars in a nearby star cluster. The white dwarf stars are being polluted by debris from asteroid-like objects falling onto them. This discovery suggests that rocky planet formation is common in clusters, say researchers.
The stars, known as white dwarfs — small, dim remnants of once Sun-like stars — reside 150 light-years away in the Hyades star cluster, in the constellation of Taurus (The Bull). The cluster is relatively young, at only 625 million years old.

Astronomers believe that all stars formed in clusters. However, searches for planets in these clusters have not been fruitful — of the roughly 800 exoplanets known, only four are known to orbit stars in clusters. This scarcity may be due to the nature of the cluster stars, which are young and active, producing stellar flares and other outbursts that make it difficult to study them in detail.

Rest at Link: [link to annesastronomynews.com]

Moon’s Water Supply Came From Earth, Not From Comet Impacts

Prior to the Apollo Moon missions, scientists conjectured that the Moon would be extremely dry, that even below the surface of the Magnificent Desolation little or no water would be present.

But the rocks brought back by the lunar explorers revealed that the Moon, while still dry compared to Earth, contained a surprising amount of water. Furthermore, the composition of the Moon led scientists to the current Big Impact hypothesis of how the Moon was created.

It is believed that a massive body, perhaps the size of Mars, collided with the still-forming Earth, ejecting massive amounts of material into space. Earth’s gravity kept it in orbit around our planet until, over time, the matter coalesced into the Moon that we see today.

While it has become clear that the Moon itself came from the Earth, the question of where its water came from is still a mystery. The creation event occurred early in the formation of Earth, so scientists have not been certain of the presence of water even on Earth’s surface at that time.

Even more puzzling is the fact that this impact would have released a significant amount of energy, offering this puzzle: How would water, if present in the first place, have survived to be used in the Moon’s formation?

A research team – led by Alberto Saal, associate professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, in collaboration with Malcolm Rutherford also from Brown, Erik Hauri of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and James Van Orman of Case Western Reserve University – believe that they have found clues to the answer.

Rest at Link: [link to www.redorbit.com]

Moon's Shadow on Earth Seen from Space During Solar Eclipse

A NASA Earth-observing satellite has captured the moon's shadow darkening a patch of the Pacific Ocean during Thursday's stunning "ring of fire" solar eclipse.

Bright white clouds fade into darkness northeast of Australia in the solar eclipse image, which was taken by NASA's Terra spacecraft at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) Thursday (May 9), space agency officials said.

The first solar eclipse of 2013 turned the sun into a dazzling ring of fire Friday (May 10) for observers in northern Australia, eastern Papua New Guinea and other parts of the Pacific. Because this region is on the other side of the International Dateline, it was Thursday (May 9) in the U.S. during the eclipse. The moon passed directly in front of our star but didn't block it out completely, leaving a bright ring of light around the edges.

Rest/Video at Link: [link to www.space.com]

Sun News 05/10/2013

Product: Forecast Discussion
Issued: 2013 May 10 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity reached moderate levels due to an M3 x-ray event observed
at 10/0057 UTC from new Region 1744 (N04E62). This region also produced
numerous C-class events during the period including a C9 x-ray event at
09/2316 UTC. Region 1744 continued to evolve as it rotated onto the
disk and was classified as a bipolar D-type group. Regions 1738
(N17W27) and 1739 (N12W19) indicated spot development in the leader and
trailer portions of their groups, respectively. Region 1740 (S21W09)
redeveloped as a simple bipolar B-type group while Region 1742 (N30E42)
indicated leader spot consolidation. The remainder of the spot groups
indicated little change. LASCO C2 and C3 imagery observed a
partial-halo CME off the SW limb at 09/1848 UTC and 09/2018 UTC
respectively. Associated with the CME, a 22 degree long eruptive
prominence (EPL) was observed lifting off the SW limb centered near S36
at about 09/1800 UTC. Coincident with the EPL, STEREO Ahead EUVI 195
imagery revealed a large filament eruption in the southeastern portion
of the disk at about 30 degrees south latitude. This CME is deemed
back-sided with no Earth-directed component observed.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for M-class activity
through the period (10 - 12 May). As Region 1744 continues to evolve
and old Region 1726 (N13, L=331) rotates onto the disk in the next 24
hours, the chance for M-class activity is expected to increase through
the period. During its last rotation, old Region 1726 was responsible
for frequent C-class and isolated M-class flaring.

Energetic Particle

.24 hr Summary...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at
moderate levels. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at
geosynchronous orbit was at background levels.

.Forecast...
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected
to remain moderate flux levels through the period (10 - 12 May). The
greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to
remain at background levels during the period.


Solar Wind

.24 hr Summary...
Solar wind speed, as measured at the ACE spacecraft, continued its
gradual decline beginning the period around 480 km/s and ending at
approximately 425 km/s. This gradual decrease can be attributed to
waning effects of a positive polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH
HSS). The total interplanetary magnetic field (Bt) was steady at around
4 nT while the Bz component fluctuated between +3 to -4 nT. The phi
angle was oriented in a positive (away) sector through the period.

.Forecast...
Solar wind speeds should continue their gradual decline towards nominal
levels through days one and two (10 - 11 May) with a gradual increase to
near 500 km/s due to the influence of a weak CH HSS by day three (12
May).

Geospace

.24 hr Summary...
The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels for the past 24 hours.

.Forecast...
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at mostly quiet levels on days
one and two (10 - 11 May). An increase to quiet to unsettled levels are
expected with isolated active periods possible on day three (12 May) due
to weak CH HSS effects.

Link: [link to www.solarham.net]

Steamer: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
[link to www.gdgps.net]

Active Region Map: [link to sidc.oma.be]
STAR Active region map: [link to solen.info]
Magnetometer: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
EVE 3-Day: [link to lasp.colorado.edu]
Ionospheric Electrons: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Ionospheric foF2: [link to www.ips.gov.au]
Surface Heat Index: [link to weather.unisys.com]
Sea Surface Temps: [link to www.ssec.wisc.edu]

Estimated Planetary K-Index : [link to www.solarham.net]

3MIN News May 10, 2013: M3 Flare Behind the Limb


OFFICIAL TRAILER - How to Watch the Sun
[link to youtu.be]
Coming Soon - MAY 18, 2013

TODAY's New LINKS:
Drought: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov]
Rocky Planets: [link to www.nasa.gov]

Radio Anomaly: [link to iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu]
US TEC: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
US Windmap [link to hint.fm]
US Severe Weather: [link to www.weather.com]
UK/EU MET Office: [link to www.metoffice.gov.uk]
NOAA: [link to www.weather.gov]
EU Weather Alerts: [link to www.meteoalarm.eu]
US Weather Warnings: [link to www.weather.gov]
India: [link to 202.54.31.51] [link to www.imd.gov.in] [link to www.imd.gov.in]

Logo by Xaviar Thunders

Original music by Nemes1s
[link to Soundcloud.com]

0bserver Shop: [link to www.cafepress.com]

The REAL Climate Changer: [link to youtu.be]
Ice Age Soon? [link to youtu.be]
An Unlikely but Relevant Risk - The Solar Killshot: [link to youtu.be]

REPEAT LINKS:

WORLD WEATHER:
NDBC Buoys: [link to www.ndbc.noaa.gov]
Tropical Storms: [link to www.wunderground.com]
HurricaneZone Satellite Images: [link to www.hurricanezone.net]
Weather Channel: [link to www.weather.com]
NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: [link to www.nnvl.noaa.gov]
Pressure Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Satellite Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
Forecast Maps: [link to www.woweather.com]
EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: [link to www.eldoradocountyweather.com]
TORCON: [link to www.weather.com] [Tornado Forecast for the day]
HURRICANE TRACKER: [link to www.weather.com]

US WEATHER:
Precipitation Totals: [link to www.cocorahs.org]
GOES Satellites: [link to rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov]
THE WINDMAP: [link to hint.fm]
Severe Weather Threats: [link to www.weather.com]
Canada Weather Office Satellite Composites: [link to www.weatheroffice.gc.ca]
Temperature Delta: [link to www.intellicast.com]
Records/Extremes: [link to www.ncdc.noaa.gov]

SPACEWEATHER:
Spaceweather: [link to spaceweather.com]
SOHO Solar Wind: [link to umtof.umd.edu]
HAARP Data Meters: [link to www.haarp.alaska.edu]
Planetary Orbital Diagram - Ceres1 JPL: [link to ssd.jpl.nasa.gov]
SDO: [link to sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
Helioviewer: [link to www.helioviewer.org]
SOHO: [link to sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov]
Stereo: [link to stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov]
SOLARIMG: [link to solarimg.org]
iSWA: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov]
NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GOES Xray: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
Gamma Ray Bursts: [link to grb.sonoma.edu]
BARTOL Cosmic Rays: [link to neutronm.bartol.udel.edu]
ISWA: [link to iswa.ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080]
NOAA Sunspot Classifications: [link to www.swpc.noaa.gov]
GONG: [link to gong2.nso.edu]
GONG Magnetic Maps: [link to gong.nso.edu]


MISC Links:
JAPAN Radiation Map: [link to jciv.iidj.net]
RADIATION Network: [link to radiationnetwork.com]
LISS: [link to earthquake.usgs.gov]
QUAKES LIST FULL: [link to www.emsc-csem.org]
RSOE: [link to hisz.rsoe.hu] [That cool alert map I use]
Moon: [link to www.fourmilab.ch]

"Stay safe GLP and have a great day and make it your own"