... and possibly rising, if the predicted solar wind hits Earth. So, chance of Aurorae in places well-placed for that.

For the rest of us, some pretty photos at SpaceWeather.com from last night, when a magnetic "knot" drifted by, opening a hole in our geomagnetic field.

This entry is cross-posted from www.dreamwidth.org, where there are
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... or does today's Aurora Borealis photo over on Space Weather dot com look like something Georgia O'Keeffe might have painted, while on acid?

Also, a brand new comet has been spotted, big but still way out there. It's too soon to say whether it'll be fiery or just fizzle. But ...

This entry is cross-posted from www.dreamwidth.org, where there ( Read more... )

The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (the other IMF)  varies a bit in strength and orientation -- it is not the same in all places or at all times -- but generally tends northward. That works out well for us in general, because when the IMF's orientation is northerly, the field's interaction with the magnetic field of Earth protects us from the solar ( Read more... )

According to SpaceWeather.com, "Giant sunspot AR1515 unleashed a strong X 1.1-class solar flare on July 6th at 2308 UT. Because Earth is well-connected to the blast site by solar magnetic fields, a fusillade of protons accelerated by the explosion might soon reach our planet. Stay tuned for updates ( Read more... )

The solar wind is picking up. The geomagnetic field is reacting; we are now edging into "storm" territory, with a Kp of 5, one notch short of last night's high of 6 (and two short of the "lucky" 7 that I am hoping to see sometime soon). And! the interplanetary magnetic field (the non-banking IMF) is exhibiting a southward swirl, which means it'll ( Read more... )

Not here, so far as I know*, but as far south as North Ireland and even (with long exposure) Nebraska. This happened despite the not-very-stormy electromagnetic weather (Kp peaked at 4), thanks to a tilt in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF).

Cool pix submitted by "spotters" can be seen over on paceweather.com, which also host can be seen ( Read more... )

A so-far "moderate" geomagnetic storm began today at about 0930 UT, when the leading edge of a CME hit our magnetosphere. The onset was quite abrupt, allowing a Norwegian observer to get a "beautiful" recording of the resulting ground currentSo, what about them aurorae? High-latitude observers are likely to get a good show. Folks along, say, the ( Read more... )

So far, no aurorae anywhere around here; the Kp* from this X5-class solar flare and its coronal mass ejection (CME) has topped out at 5, which isn't unusual at this point in the sunspot cycle and isn't high enough to do much good for those of us at "moderate" latitudes ( Read more... )

Quoth SpaceWeather.com:

"...A CME propelled toward Earth by this morning's X5-class solar flare is expected to reach our planet on [Thursday] March 8th at 0625 UT (+/- 7 hr). Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, who prepared the CME's forecast track, say the impact could spark a strong-to-severe geomagnetic storm. Sky watchers at all ( Read more... )