And Speaking of the Sun…

Courtesy of the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory — this image is updated frequently so you can follow the progress of these active regions across the solar disk. (SOHO)

It’s acting up again. In late October it was quite busy with flares and coronal mass ejections that subsequently impacted the Earth’s magnetosphere — and subsquently lit up our skies with auroral displays, disrupted communications and other services, and generally made solar and atmospheric physicists very happy with lots of new data to study. You thought it was over, right? Well, not quite. As it turns out, with the Sun, what goes around comes around. And, the sunspot regions that were responsible for the last space weather storm, that rotated around to the other side of the Sun, are on their way back. In fact, this image from SOHO’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) shows the three regions (in bright white) that are going to make life interesting for everybody for the next week or so.

Does this mean we’ll be seeing more aurorae, tracking more flares, battening down the electronic hatches to save our satellites from heavy spaceweather? Maybe. There was another flare last week that lit the skies with aurorae, and chances are it’ll happen again. So, keep your eyes peeled, visit the SOHO site, and Spaceweather.com for regular updates on what the Sun is doing.

Total Solar Eclipse of July 11, 1991, by Dennis diCicco, Steve Albers, and Gary Emerson

On November 23, 2003, total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from a narrow track across Antarctica, while a partial eclipse will be visible over the tip of South America and parts of Australia and New Zealand. It will occur between 5:24 and 6:14 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The folks at Sky & Telescope have a group scheduled to fly over Antarctica at an altitude of 38,000 feet. Those aboard will experience 2 minutes 26 seconds of totality — 29 seconds more than is possible from the ground. Other expeditions include a group from the University of Arizona, doing a similar flyover to catch the eclipse from planes laden with scientific equipment. And, of course, there are sea and land-based trips for folks to get their “umbral” fix that way, as well.

So what’s the draw of an eclipse? I’ve traveled to five total solar eclipse paths since 1979 and have seen 3 full totalities. The others were clouded out. There is no way to completely describe the awesome sight of the Sun gradually disappearing behind the Moon. But it is awesome. And it makes you want jump and shout and turn all about… so, I can completely understand the need of umbraphiles to get more umbra.

I won’t be along with them this time but I will try to follow along on my computer on Sunday night as the excitement begins. Want to join me? If you aren’t on one of the many expeditions bound to the southern hemisphere to see this event, check out these links:
SkyandTelescope.com. They’ll be posting images on their site sometime after the plane lands.
“LIVE! ECLIPSE 2003″ from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
Antarctica 2003 – Soleil noir sur Continent blanc la Fondation Polaire Internationale (et en francais). You have to register to use the site, but it’s free.

Also, the Discovery Channel will be airing the eclipse live on Sunday night during a program called Discovery Special Presentation: Solar Eclipse Live from Antarctica. Check your local schedule for showtime listings.

Happy eclipse watching!

And Now For Something Completely Different!

Somebody sent me this blog entry today from another guy’s site. If you’re a Monty Python fan (particularly if you have memorized Monty Python and the Holy Grail), you’ll recognize it already. Go check it out. I love this sort of creativity with science and entertainment!