In sun news, here’s the sun today – March 8, 2022 – as viewed by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).
Sun news: Another CME coming
A coronal mass ejection (CME) that left the sun on March 7, 2022, might reach Earth’s magnetic field on March 10. The CME followed the eruption of a magnetic filament on the sun. Spaceweather.com reported Monday:
… No sunspots were involved. The glancing blow could spark minor G1-class geomagnetic storms later this week.
That’s a relatively weak geomagnetic storm that doesn’t drastically affect satellites or electric power grids. A G1-class geomagnetic storm does provide an increased chance for auroras, or northern lights.
A faint coronal mass (upper right) leaving the sun on March 7, 2022. It’s not aimed dead-on at Earth, but might sideswipe us on March 10. Image via Spacewather.com.
A G1-class geomagnetic storm happened this past weekend, too. That’s a relatively weak storm. In the U.S., people reported auroras as far south as Washington state. In Europe and Scandinavia, people saw them as far south as Oslo and Denmark.
The sun is in the rising part of its 11-year cycle of activity. So we can expect more solar activity. Stay tuned!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Simon Capone in Perth, Western Australia, captured this image on March 6 and wrote: “Full solar disk image in hydrogen alpha – showing several prominences as well as AR2960 – the large sunspot area. The solar disk has been inverted to bring out more detail; therefore, the sunspot appears to be bright instead of dark.” Thank you, Simon!The sun as seen over Monterrey, Mexico, at sunrise on March 6, 2022. It was a cloudy morning, and the sun ws partly covered. The clouds acted as filter, letting the sun’s round shape shine through. You can also see sunspots, including AR2960. Image via Raul Cortes.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Alexander Krivenyshev captured this image of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, on March 5, 2022, over Utqiagvik (aka Barrow), Alaska, the northernmost U.S. city. Thank you, Alexander! According to Spaceweather.com, last weekend’s auroral display: “… was caused by a high-speed stream of solar wind flowing from an equatorial hole in the sun’s atmosphere. The gaseous material reached Earth on March 4 and sparked a series of G1-class geomagnetic storms on March 5 and 6. At the apex of the event, auroras crossed the Canadian border into the USA as far south as Keller, Washington (latitude +48 N).”
Bottom line: A coronal mass ejection left the sun on March 7 and might sideswipe Earth on March 10.
0 Commentaires