Report for 4/26/12

There was a lunar transit on Saturday, which was captured by NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) cameras.  The picture below was taken by SDO in extreme ultraviolet light.

On Monday and Tuesday, geomagnetic storms (Kp=5-6) occurred as a result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) that blasted by the Earth.  The solar activity caused auroras, which could be seen as far south as Colorado and Nebraska in the US.

Do you predict there will be any space weather events in the next 24 hours?  Submit your forecast!

 

Saturday's lunar transit as seen by NASA SDO.

Report for 3/22/12

There was a powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) released from the Sun on Sunday, the source being sunspot AR1429. The sunspot, which has been active for several weeks, has been turning to the backside of the Sun and so the CME was not Earth-directed.

Midweek there was an electron storm; there was an increased number of excited electrons in the Earth's outer radiation belt. The NASA Goddard Space Weather Lab determined that this was caused by a combination of a solar wind stream and geomagnetic storm activity that Earth experienced recently. Satellites that travel near the radiation belts during these storms could be adversely affected.

Today there is a 15% chance of geomagnetic storms in the higher latitudes according to NOAA. Do you think there will be any major solar events through the weekend? Submit your forecast and let us know! Results will be posted on the home page next week!

SOHO captured footage of a coronal mass ejection on March 18th.
The disc in the middle is covering the Sun.

Report for 3/16/12

Sunspot AR1429, which caused a flurry of solar events last week, unleashed a massive M8-class solar flare on March 10th and M7-class flare on March 13th. The latter blast was followed by a coronal mass ejection (CME) that caused yesterday's geomagnetic storm (Kp=6). AR1429 has been so active that sky watchers in the Arctic Circle have witnessed auroras for almost two weeks straight.

Comet SWAN, a Kreutz sungrazer comet, rocketed toward the Sun on March 14th, but did not survive. This comet was much smaller than Comet Lovejoy, a sungrazer comet that got a great deal of attention last December for making it around the Sun and surviving its journey.

Do you think there will be any major solar events this weekend? Submit your forecast and let us know what you think!

Comet SWAN (bottom left) races to the Sun (blocked out by center disc).
SOHO captured this footage on March 14th.

Report for 3/9/12

Massive sunspot AR1429 has been very active this week, unleashing several intense solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The sunspot released an X1-class solar flare and CME on Monday. It followed that up with an X5-class solar flare and CME on Wednesday, which was Earth-directed; the blast is the cause for today's geomagnetic storm activity.

AR1429 is currently more than seven times the width of Earth and is still growing! (As of Sunday, it was approximately four times Earth's width.) NOAA forecasters predict an 80% chance of M-class flares and 40% chance of X-class flares in the next 24 hours.
What do you predict? Submit your forecast today!

The Sun unleashed an X-class flare on Wednesday.

Report for 2/17/12

Early in the week, sunspot AR1402 returned after a two-week trip around the back of the Sun. This sunspot (which has since been renamed AR1419) was the source of a major X-class solar flare on Jan. 27, but has since significantly decreased in size; it gave off only B- and C-class flares this week.

A geomagnetic storm (Kp=5) began early on Feb. 15th and gave sky watchers as far south as Minnesota the chance to see auroras. The Sun remained quiet the rest of the week and remains that way today. Do you think that a space weather event will occur over the weekend? Submit your forecast and let us know!

Today's Sun is quiet, but is still amazing to look at!

Report for 1/27/12

This week was an exciting one for space weather fans! On Monday, sunspot AR1402 caused an M9-class solar flare followed by a coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME, which hit Earth's magnetic field on Tuesday, caused a geomagnetic storm; the storm created beautiful auroras for sky watchers as far south as South Dakota and Michigan in the US.

Yesterday, a CME was released from the Sun over its north pole, although it is not heading toward Earth. Earth is also safe from the effects of the powerful X2-class flare and CME that sunspot AR1402 unleashed today. This sunspot is on the far side of the Sun, so its recent activity has not been aimed at us.

A solar wind stream is expected to arrive over the weekend, which may cause some disruptions in Earth's magnetic field. What are your predictions for this weekend's space weather? Make your forecast here!

An X2-class solar flare and CME erupted today.

Report for 1/6/12

Half of our Camilla Space Weather Project forecasters predicted a 40% chance of a solar event this week (see chart on right).

On Jan. 2, there was a solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME)! Although not Earth-facing, it put on a beautiful show for around three hours.

On Jan. 5, the Sun released another CME. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center predicts a 15-40% chance of geomagnetic storms in the higher latitudes through Jan. 8 (see table above). This is due to a solar wind stream that is predicted to hit Earth's magnetic field.

The Sun is currently quiet, but what will the weekend hold? Submit your forecasts and let us know what you think!

Plasma dances on the Sun after a CME and flare on Jan. 2, 2012.