Mysterious and gigantic jets of lightning that shoot up to near the edge of space have now been observed in unprecedented detail, revealing just how much charge they pack and how they form. More than 50 miles (80 kilometers) above Earth's surface, extreme…
Analysts at the GSFC Space Weather Lab report elevated levels of energetic electrons around Earth. ("GOES 13 > 0.8 MeV integral electron flux is above 105 pfu.")This is caused by the high-speed solar stream now blowing around our planet. Spacecraft wit
The scientific process, as any experienced researcher can attest, provides a kind of road map through the forest of the natural world. By developing hypotheses and designing methods by which to test them, we use the scientific process to make the abstract world more
The solar wind is at elevated levels and this may stir up minor activity at very high latitudes.Solar windspeed: 622.5 km/secdensity: 3.8 protons/cm3Planetary K-indexNow: Kp= 5 storm24-hr max: Kp= 5 stormInterplanetary Mag.
On June 7, 2011, Earth-orbiting satellites detected a flash of X-rays coming from the western edge of the solar disk. Registering only “M” (for medium) on the Richter scale of solar flares, the blast at first appeared to be a run-of-the-mill eruption- that is, until
The CME was not squarely Earth-directed and is not traveling at great speed, only minor geomagnetic storming is expected when the cloud arrives. A coronal mass ejection (CME) that billowed away from sunspot 1247 on July 9th could hit Earth's magnetic field on…
During the early hours of July 9th, a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) billowed away from new sunspot 1247. A preliminary analysis of data from NASA's twin STEREO-A and -B spacecraft suggests that the flank of the CME could hit Earth's magnetic field sometime on July
On July 7th, the sun produced a series of strong shortwave radio bursts. Click on the dynamic spectrum below to play a 21 MHz sample recorded by amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft in rural New Mexico. The action begins about 18 seconds into the 2-minute…
During the late hours of July 5th, an unnamed icy comet from the outer solar system dove into the sun and disintegrated. Click on the arrow to witness the death plunge recorded by coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):Over the years,
High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. A G1-class (Kp=5) geomagnetic storm is in progress.NOAA Space Weather Scale for Geomagnetic StormsSolar windspeed:
