Geomagnetic storm in progress!

Geomagnetic storm in progress!

UPDATE (2011-10-25, 14:10):Many observers, especially in the deep south, commented on the pure red color of the lights they saw. These rare all-red auroras sometimes appear during intense geomagnetic storms. They occur some 300 to 500 km above Earth’s surface and

Sun blasted CME toward Mars

Sun blasted CME toward Mars

A bright CME blasted off the sun on Oct. 22nd, and it appears to be heading for Mars. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab expect the cloud to reach the Red Planet on Oct. 26th (forecast track). A brief discussion of what CMEs can do to Mars follows this SOHO

Significant CME heading toward Mars

Significant CME heading toward Mars

A significant CME blasted off the sun today, Oct. 22nd, around 1100 UT. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab say the cloud is heading for Mars, due to hit the Red Planet on Oct. 26th.  (movie, forecast track)While looking at the latest STEREO Ahead images,

New sunspot record

New sunspot record

The official Sunspot number for Oct 21,2011 is 207. This is a new record for Solar Cycle 24. Despite the amount of Sunspots, only low level M-Class flares have taken place thus far. This could soon change. Solar activity has been moderate with low level

ROSAT X-ray space telescope in final spiralling orbits around Earth

ROSAT X-ray space telescope in final spiralling orbits around Earth

The massive ROSAT X-ray space telescope is making its final spiralling orbits around Earth. Most experts agree that re-entry will occur during the early hours of Oct. 23rd over a still-unknown region of our planet. Meanwhile, the satellite can still be seen slicing

Another level M-Class flare

Another level M-Class flare

Another low level M-Class flare, this time raching M1.3 took place at 13:00 UTC Friday morning. The source of this flare was Sunspot 1319 which is approaching the western limb.Space Weather Prediction Center has just released a new page and tool to help predict

Sun is active again: M1.6 flare & sundiving comet

Sun is active again: M1.6 flare & sundiving comet

A Solar Flare reaching M1.6 peaked at 03:25 UTC Thursday morning and appears to be centered off the northwest limb near Sunspot 1318 which is rotating out of direct earth view.Solar activity remains at fairly low levels with only small to mid sized C-Class flares

Sundiving comet recorded by Lasco C3

Sundiving comet recorded by Lasco C3

Sundiving or Sun-Grazing comet has been found on the Soho Lasco C3 instrument during October 18th. Impact is expected late Oct 19th or early Oct 20th. Here is the video by SolarWatcher recorded from SOHO Lasco C3 instruments:The Sun is pretty quiet for now

The large sunspot cluster 1319 harboring energy for solar flares

The large sunspot cluster 1319 harboring energy for solar flares

Active region 1319 contains many individual sunspots. The swarm is growing. Over the weekend, the sunspot group's total area nearly tripled as shown in this movie from the Solar Dynamics Observatory:

As AR1319 has grown, the complexity of its magnetic field

Farside CME hurled toward Mercury and Venus

Farside CME hurled toward Mercury and Venus

An active region on the far side of the sun erupted on October 14 and hurled a significant coronal mass ejection toward Mercury and Venus. Analysts at the Goddard Space Flight Center expect the cloud to hit the innermost planet on October 15 around 08:30 UTC….