Break out the 2000 sunblock! - Sunspot Grows to 20 Times Size of Earth

MrBishop

MrBishop

Well-Known Member
Sunspot Grows to 20 Times Size of Earth

By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
SPACE.com




A sunspot group aimed squarely at Earth has grown to 20 times the size of our planet and has the potential to unleash a major solar storm.


The amorphous mix of spots, together called Number 652, has been rotating across the Sun and growing for several days. On Friday, it sat at the center of the solar disk.


Sunspots are areas of intense magnetic energy, cooler and darker than the surrounding surface of the thermonuclear furnace. Sometimes the magnetic fields let loose and huge amounts of radiation and charged particles are hurled into space.


The Sun's last bout of intense storminess occurred last fall, when a string of 10 major flares over two weeks knocked out satellites, damaged others, and forced the FAA (news - web sites) to reroute airlines away from exposed polar routes.


No one can say if this sunspot group will let loose with a major storm, but it has the characteristics of a potentially big event.


"The implications of this spot have scientists on the edge of their seats," NASA (news - web sites) said in a statement Friday. "If the active region generates coronal mass ejections (CMEs), massive explosions with a potential force of a billion megaton bombs, it will be a fairly direct hit to Earth and its satellites and power grids."


The Sun is now in a generally quiet period of a well-known 11-year cycle of activity. But sunspots and flares can occur at any time. Scientists do not fully understand why the spots appear or how they erupt.


The sunspot is clearly visible from Earth without a telescope. But don't look at the Sun without a proper, safe filter or other viewing technique, or permanent eye damage can result.

Source
 
Let me take this opportunity. on the behalf of all Americans, to apologize, in advance, for what clearly has nothing to do with us but we'll get blamed anyway :D
 
On behalf of the rest of the world, let me give our props to the Americans for helping the rest of the world by making this sunspot going away. We couldn't have done it without your financial and military support :D

Quid pro quo
 
Thats it Bish, when you feel the hairs on your arms stand up and your PC makes a "zzzzztzztz" noise, you will know we aimed that discharge right onto your house, there is no escape.

*checks flare targeting coordinates against Bishy's IP, sends them to HAARP*
 
MrBishop said:
On behalf of the rest of the world, let me give our props to the Americans for helping the rest of the world by making this sunspot going away. We couldn't have done it without your financial and military support :D

Quid pro quo
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:rofl3:
 
ResearchMonkey said:
Thats it Bish, when you feel the hairs on your arms stand up and your PC makes a "zzzzztzztz" noise, you will know we aimed that discharge right onto your house, there is no escape.

*checks flare targeting coordinates against Bishy's IP, sends them to HAARP*
Click to expand...

I'm wondering how many satellites will get that nice buzz you get after a brush with a solar flare or a sun-spot.

I'm going outside for a ncie tan, or something...right after turning off my compi :)
 
That don't look so good. They say we've got another 4.5 billion years on this sun. Wonder if they really know.
 
WOW, an original VanGogh? That is awsome, its also my new desktop :D

Yeah, with a high degree of certainty they know, this rock is doomed.
 
ResearchMonkey said:
WOW, an original VanGogh? That is awsome, its also my new desktop :D

Yeah, with a high degree of certainty they know, this rock is doomed.
Click to expand...

Yep, in around about 5 billion years (give or take). I frequently find it hard to believe that we'll last that long though. :lloyd:
 
Hey now. Imagine how romantic the sunrises/sunsets will be when the entire sky is a bloated out of control mass.
 
My cable went out several time yesterday. I wonder if this had anything
to do with it...? :eek6:
Although we did have a rough round with thunderstorms too. :confused:
 
Gonz said:
Hey now. Imagine how romantic the sunrises/sunsets will be when the entire sky is a bloated out of control mass.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but those 3000 degree highs might be a bit stifling.
 
It's hit the stage in Atlanta that the next person to ask me (in person), "Is it hot enough for you?" is gonna get blasted.
 
HomeLAN said:
It's hit the stage in Atlanta that the next person to ask me (in person), "Is it hot enough for you?" is gonna get blasted.
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Tell your legislators there's a problem. The sky isn't supposed to be white, damnit.
 
Sun's Currents of Fire Slow to Record Low
By Tony Phillips
Science@NASA
posted: 10 May 2006
05:04 pm ET

The Sun's Great Conveyor Belt has slowed to a record-low crawl, according to research by NASA solar physicist David Hathaway. "It's off the bottom of the charts," he says. "This has important repercussions for future solar activity."

The Great Conveyor Belt is a massive circulating current of fire (hot plasma) within the Sun. It has two branches, north and south, each taking about 40 years to perform one complete circuit. Researchers believe the turning of the belt controls the sunspot cycle, and that's why the slowdown is important.



"Normally, the conveyor belt moves about 1 meter per second—walking pace," says Hathaway. "That's how it has been since the late 19th century." In recent years, however, the belt has decelerated to 0.75 m/s in the north and 0.35 m/s in the south. "We've never seen speeds so low."

According to theory and observation, the speed of the belt foretells the intensity of sunspot activity about 20 years in the future. A slow belt means lower solar activity; a fast belt means stronger activity. [More]

"The slowdown we see now means that Solar Cycle 25, peaking around the year 2022, could be one of the weakest in centuries," says Hathaway.

This is interesting news for astronauts. Solar Cycle 25 is when the Vision for Space Exploration should be in full flower, with men and women back on the Moon preparing to go to Mars. A weak solar cycle means they won't have to worry so much about solar flares and radiation storms.

On the other hand, they will have to worry more about cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are high-energy particles from deep space; they penetrate metal, plastic, flesh and bone. Astronauts exposed to cosmic rays develop an increased risk of cancer, cataracts and other maladies. Ironically, solar explosions, which produce their own deadly radiation, sweep away the even deadlier cosmic rays. As flares subside, cosmic rays intensify—yin, yang.

Hathaway's prediction should not be confused with another recent forecast: A team led by physicist Mausumi Dikpata of NCAR has predicted that Cycle 24, peaking in 2011 or 2012, will be intense. Hathaway agrees: "Cycle 24 will be strong. Cycle 25 will be weak. Both of these predictions are based on the observed behavior of the conveyor belt."

How do you observe a belt that plunges 200,000 km below the surface of the Sun?

"We do it using sunspots," Hathaway explains. Sunspots are magnetic knots that bubble up from the base of the conveyor belt, eventually popping through the surface of the Sun. Astronomers have long known that sunspots have a tendency to drift—from mid solar latitudes toward the Sun's equator. According to current thinking, this drift is caused by the motion of the conveyor belt. "By measuring the drift of sunspot groups," says Hathaway, "we indirectly measure the speed of the belt."

Using historical sunspot records, Hathaway has succeeded in clocking the conveyor belt as far back as 1890. The numbers are compelling: For more than a century, "the speed of the belt has been a good predictor of future solar activity."

If the trend holds, Solar Cycle 25 in 2022 could be, like the belt itself, "off the bottom of the charts."
Click to expand...

source


obviously humans are at fault.
 
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