THE ERUPTIONS CONTINUE | Spaceweather.com

THE ERUPTIONS CONTINUE | Spaceweather.com


THE ERUPTIONS CONTINUE (updated): For the 4th day in a row, sunspot AR2297 is crackling with solar flares. The latest, an M5-class eruption on March 9th at 23:53 UT, produced a low-frequency radio blackout over the South Pacific: map. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the explosion's extreme UV flash:


http://www.spaceweather.com/images2015/09mar15/m5_blue.jpg?PHPSESSID=e359e19h0jok4pcoqe6fhfk177


Update: SOHO coronagraphs have observed multiple CMEs emerging from the blast site; movie. The confusing mass of plasma clouds is traveling mostly away from the sun-Earth line. Nevertheless, one or more of the CMEs could deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field in the days ahead. Stay tuned as NOAA analysts sort things out.....


What is the source of all this activity? According to amateur astronomer John Chumack, "it's a great big Sea Turtle." Using a backyard solar telescope in Dayton, Ohio, he took this picture of the turtle's head on March 9th:


http://www.spaceweather.com/images2015/10mar15/turtle.jpg?PHPSESSID=ga5d960pa7kmg2pclvjoclfd24


The sunspot's primary dark core is the turtle's eye, while a magnetic filament traces the profile of Eretmochelys imbricata. This tension-filled filament does more than give the active region a likeness to marine life; it also harbors energy for powerful magnetic explosions. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of additional M-class flares on March 10th. Stay tuned.


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