Monthly Archives: March 2012

aurora borealis, solar flares, space weather, space weather FX, sun, sunspots

Solar Storm!

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What You Should Know

The March 7th CME. Courtesy SOHO.

I see that “big” media has picked up on the idea of solar storms, in the wake of two most recent and very strong X-class events on the Sun. The headlines are breathless and I’ve already spotted some science bloopers on some sites that should know better (sites that used to have good science reporters, but who let them go in order to concentrate on important things, like Snooki’s baby).

Anyway, for all news about solar activity, I first turn to Spaceweather.com. The folks there have noted the impact of the coronal mass ejection was light at first, but warn it could pick up in the coming hours. Thus, people who live at high latitudes — northern regions around 50 degrees north or more — should get to see even MORE auroral displays than usual. If the storms get strong enough, those of us at lower latitudes might get to glimpse some aurorae, too.

All this solar activity is actually pretty much on schedule for the Sun. It goes through cycles of high and low activity, and we’re headed into a time of very high activity called “solar maximum”.  So, increased numbers of flares and coronal mass ejections and sunspots are part of this process.  It’s perfectly normal and nothing to get worried about. But, there will be the big media reports, and there will be some fascinating whack jobs tying this to something mysterious and paranormal.

Check out MIT Haystack Observatory's Space Weather FX vodcasts at the link below!

That, too, is perfectly normal and nothing to get excited about.

Space weather, which is a term that covers all the solar-caused and geomagnetic disturbances that occur in near-Earth space, does have its down sides.  While we gaze at lovely aurorae, giant disturbances in Earth’s uppermost atmospheric layers and nearby space can disrupt power grids, satellite communications, GPS signals, and many other bits of our modern technology. So, that IS of concern,  and during such events you will read reports that warns of GPS outages or communications outages due to space weather (solar storms). This happens because these bits of technology rely on radio signals which bounce off the layers of our atmosphere in order to propagate (travel) long distances on our planet. In the case of GPS, those signals go THROUGH the atmosphere.  So, if the upper atmosphere is disturbed by space weather, those signals can get broken up, delayed, or even lost. It’s an interesting and potentially dangerous side-effect of living near a star.

A while back we worked with MIT’s Haystack Observatory on a series of short videos about space weather. The series is called Space Weather FX. You can watch the whole series here and learn more about the effects that the Sun has on us and our technology.  Also keep an eye on Spaceweather.com for the latest and most accurate info on solar activity.

 

 

 

'Casts, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, saturn, venus

Awesomeness

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Celebrate It

I just read somewhere that March 10th is the International Day of Awesomeness.  It’s probably not an official government holiday or anything, but seems to exist to celebrate all things awesome.  So, what could be more awesome than the starry sky?  Living where I do (high in the mountains) with reasonably clear skies on many nights, I can step outside and look up and grok the awesomeness of the stars. And, this past week or so — and into March — the awe-inspiring sight of the planets Venus, Jupiter and Mercury just after sunset.  Mars is rising in the East, and if you wait a few more hours, you can see Saturn rising very late in the evening.  If you have binoculars or some kind of telescope, so much the better. You can check out Jupiter’s moons, for example. Or, if our own Moon is up, you can scan its cratered surface.  That’s the kind of astronomy awesomeness that gets people hooked on stargazing for life.

Speaking of telescopes, I know that people have a lot of preconceptions and misconceptions about ‘scopes.  When I worked at Sky & Telescope, we regularly answered questions in our magazines about the “best” scope to buy, the “most economical” and so on. Truth is, what you buy depends on what you want to look at, or if you’re planning to do astrophotography. Or, if you just want something you can easily pick up and take outside.  That’s where binoculars come in handy, and I’ve always recommended people start out with a pair of 10x50s as a good choice.  But, telescopes can give you awesome views, too.  I’d recommend you peruse Sky&Telescope.com or Astronomy.com for some good advice there.

The Galileoscope. Courtesy Galileoscope.org.

A former colleague from Sky & Telescope got involved a few years ago in a cool project called the Galileoscope. It was originally created to help celebrate the Interational Year of Astronomy in 2009. The Galileoscope is a small, build-it-yourself telescope that thousands and thousands of people have constructed and used to look at the sky. It’s a perfect way to introduce children to the sky and the instruments we use to observe it with.  You can learn more about the Galileoscope here, including where it can be purchased.  By the way, if any readers work in or run planetarium or science center gift shops, there are special discounts for bulk purchases to sell in gift shops. Check it out!  It’s awesome in its own right and worthy of celebration!

I mentioned above about how the planets are lining up for some gorgeous views in the next few weeks.  In fact, I focus on those views in the latest installment of Our Night Sky, the monthly stargazing program I produce for Astrocast.TV.  So, if you’re into some planetary viewing awesomeness, check it out. It’s about four  minutes long, and along with the planets, we look at a few constellations and a couple of deep-sky objects. It’s enough to get you started on some awe-inspiring sightseeing through the cosmos!