SOLAR WIND GRAZING EARTH: A stream of solar wind spilling from a northern hole
in the sun's atmosphere is grazing Earth's magnetic field today. This
could cause geomagnetic unrest and auroras around the Arctic Circle. Free: Aurora Alerts
ACTION ON THE SUN'S EASTERN LIMB: A new sunspot (AR2699) is rotating into view over the sun's eastern limb, and it has announced itself with a flurry of B- and C-class
solar flares. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught one of the
explosions coinciding with the liftoff of a giant magnetic filament at
19:58 UT on Feb. 4th:
These flares are relatively
weak and would probably escape notice during a more active phase of the
solar cycle. However, we are now on the eve of Solar Minimum. C-class
flares, albeit "weak," are sharp departures from months of tomb-like
quiet on the solar surface.
Extreme UV radiation from the
flares is causing minor waves of ionization in Earth's upper atmosphere.
Otherwise, the explosions have not been geoeffective. Stay tuned for
updates as the sunspot turns toward Earth.
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