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Astronomy Picture of the Day 10-29-03
NASA ^ | 10-29-03 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

Posted on 10/29/2003 1:04:03 PM PST by petuniasevan

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2003 October 29
See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download
 the highest resolution version available.

A Powerful Solar Flare
Credit: SOHO Consortium, LASCO, ESA, NASA

Explanation: Yesterday, our Sun produced one of the most powerful solar flares in recorded history. Seen across the electromagnetic spectrum, the Sun briefly became over 100 times brighter in X-rays than normal. Over the next few days, as energetic particles emitted from these regions strike the Earth, satellite communications might be affected and auroras might develop. The flare and resulting CME, emitted from giant sunspot group 10486, was captured above as it happened by the by the LASCO instrument aboard the Sun-orbiting SOHO satellite. The disk of the Sun is covered to accentuate surrounding areas. The time-lapse movie shows the tremendous explosion in frames separated in real time by about 30 minutes each. The frames appear progressively noisier as protons from the CME begin to strike the detector. The SOHO satellite has been put in a temporary safe mode to avoid damage from the solar particle storm.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: flare; solar
The pic is an animated GIF; it was slow to load for me and I'm on broadband. It's worth the wait.

Sorry the APOD is late. I was completely preoccupied with SoCal fire coverage this AM before work.

It's cloudy here, so no chance at seeing auroras. Grrr...

According to various sites, the auroras were very active last night and visible well into the southern half of the USA.

The prospects for more auroras tonight are good, mainly because the interplanetary magnetic field near Earth has just tilted sharply south--a condition that promotes geomagnetic activity. Where might these auroras appear? High latitudes--e.g., Alaska, Canada and US northern border states from Maine to Washington--are favored, as usual, but auroras could descend to lower latitudes, too. Sky watchers everywhere should be alert.

October 2003 Aurora Gallery

1 posted on 10/29/2003 1:04:04 PM PST by petuniasevan
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To: MozartLover; Joan912; NovemberCharlie; snowfox; Dawgsquat; Vigilantcitizen; theDentist; ...

2 posted on 10/29/2003 1:05:53 PM PST by petuniasevan (It's ALWAYS cloudy in Wisconsin during a geomagnetic storm.)
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To: petuniasevan
BTTT
3 posted on 10/29/2003 1:06:56 PM PST by GodBlessRonaldReagan (where is Count Petofi when we need him most?)
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To: petuniasevan
The sun is not exploding. It's merely a momentary case of indigestion.
4 posted on 10/29/2003 1:07:19 PM PST by RightWhale (Repeal the Law of the Excluded Middle)
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To: petuniasevan
Awesome!
5 posted on 10/29/2003 1:08:36 PM PST by Pyro7480 (“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid" - Benjamin Franklin)
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To: petuniasevan
Thank you so much for this thread.
6 posted on 10/29/2003 1:15:29 PM PST by Soaring Feather
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To: petuniasevan
Worth the wait. That is cool!
7 posted on 10/29/2003 1:34:09 PM PST by foolish-one
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To: petuniasevan
Japanese news this morning showed auroras in Hokkaido (same latitude as central Oregon).
8 posted on 10/29/2003 3:56:39 PM PST by GATOR NAVY
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To: petuniasevan
Guess I will wait another day before I spend any time outdoors. The smoke just cleared out this morning from the beach area!

Thanks for your daily postings!
9 posted on 10/29/2003 4:51:26 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Davis needs to get out of Arnoold's Office)
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To: GATOR NAVY
"Japanese news this morning showed auroras in Hokkaido (same latitude as central Oregon)."

Man, here in Southern Oregon, I don't see anything!

Ed
10 posted on 10/29/2003 7:56:15 PM PST by Sir_Ed
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Comment #11 Removed by Moderator

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