The Sun Has Erupted Non-Stop All Month, and There Are More Giant Flares Coming (sciencealert.com) 68
Over the past few weeks the sun "has undergone a series of giant eruptions that have sent plasma hurtling through space," reports Science Alert:
Perhaps the most dramatic was a powerful coronal mass ejection and solar flare that erupted from the far side of the Sun on February 15 just before midnight. Based on the size, it's possible that the eruption was in the most powerful category of which our Sun is capable: an X-class flare.
Because the flare and CME were directed away from Earth, we're unlikely to see any of the effects associated with a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when material from the eruption slams into Earth's atmosphere. These include interruptions to communications, power grid fluctuations, and auroras. But the escalating activity suggests that we may anticipate such storms in the imminent future. "This is only the second farside active region of this size since September 2017," astronomer Junwei Zhao of Stanford University's helioseismology group told SpaceWeather. "If this region remains huge as it rotates to the Earth-facing side of the Sun, it could give us some exciting flares."
According to SpaceWeatherLive, which tracks solar activity, the Sun has erupted every day for the month of February, with some days featuring multiple flares. That includes three of the second-most powerful flare category, M-class flares: an M1.4 on February 12; an M1 on February 14; and an M1.3 on February 15. There were also five M-class flares in January. The mild geomagnetic storm that knocked 40 newly launched Starlink satellites from low-Earth orbit followed an M-class flare that took place on January 29.
The article suggests this is normal activity, since the sun is about halfway towards "solar maximum" (its peak of sunspot and flare activity) expected to arrive in 2025, while the "solar minimum" was in 2019.
Further Reading: SciTechDaily reports that the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has now "captured the largest solar prominence eruption ever observed in a single image together with the full solar disc."
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 for submitting the story
Because the flare and CME were directed away from Earth, we're unlikely to see any of the effects associated with a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when material from the eruption slams into Earth's atmosphere. These include interruptions to communications, power grid fluctuations, and auroras. But the escalating activity suggests that we may anticipate such storms in the imminent future. "This is only the second farside active region of this size since September 2017," astronomer Junwei Zhao of Stanford University's helioseismology group told SpaceWeather. "If this region remains huge as it rotates to the Earth-facing side of the Sun, it could give us some exciting flares."
According to SpaceWeatherLive, which tracks solar activity, the Sun has erupted every day for the month of February, with some days featuring multiple flares. That includes three of the second-most powerful flare category, M-class flares: an M1.4 on February 12; an M1 on February 14; and an M1.3 on February 15. There were also five M-class flares in January. The mild geomagnetic storm that knocked 40 newly launched Starlink satellites from low-Earth orbit followed an M-class flare that took place on January 29.
The article suggests this is normal activity, since the sun is about halfway towards "solar maximum" (its peak of sunspot and flare activity) expected to arrive in 2025, while the "solar minimum" was in 2019.
Further Reading: SciTechDaily reports that the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has now "captured the largest solar prominence eruption ever observed in a single image together with the full solar disc."
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 for submitting the story
Too much solar (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
https://zork.net/fortunes/bofh-excuses
Re: (Score:1)
I'm still rooting for the plague.
Humans (Score:3, Funny)
The Sun Has Erupted Non-Stop All Month
Finally, something we can't blame humans for.
Re:Humans (Score:5, Funny)
The Sun Has Erupted Non-Stop All Month
Finally, something we can't blame humans for.
I've been keeping up my daily ablations to Invictus Sol. Haven't we all?
Re: (Score:3)
So we can blame you for this. It should be ablutions, not ablations.
Frontiers in Interventional Cardiology. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
What? Do you think you can get out of the responsibility for not doing your sun-worship so easily? It is clear that _you_ must be responsible!
Re: (Score:3)
There is but one god,
He is the sun god,
Ra, Ra,
Yay Ra!
Re: (Score:3)
Nah. Our ancestors overthrew him millennia ago. But if the folks who stole the ZPM during that great uprising in Giza got stuck in 1969 because of these flares, did Ra have the last laugh? Who knows.
Re: (Score:2)
We praise Ra at every football game...Ra, Ra!!!
Re: (Score:3)
Well I am amazed nobody has tied this to Parker Solar Probe making the sun nervous.
Re: (Score:1)
> Parker Solar Probe making the sun nervous
Spidey went evil again. Hate it when that happens!
They'll find a way (Score:2)
Um, it's because our chakras are totally out of alignment with the galactic consciousness.
- Someone, probably
Re: (Score:3)
Nonsense, the Evangelicals will claim G-d is sending humans a message: Repent and send my ministers more money.
Re: (Score:1)
You've spoken too soon mate.
With the way technology... (Score:1)
With the way that technology is isolating people, enabling mass surveillance, and amplifying ignorance, sometimes I wish for the Second Carrington Event in my lifetime. Maybe tech and communications have outpaced the ability of the human psyche to handle them.
Sadly, such an event would probably cause things like nuclear reactors to melt down without power ... we're in an abusive marriage with technology at this point.
Re: (Score:2)
Sadly, such an event would probably cause things like nuclear reactors to melt down without power
Yep. Building any nuclear-reactor which doesn't auto-SCRAM in the absence of maintenance power should always have been seen as a terrorist attack.
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe it'll come our way and solve .... (Score:1)
... well a lot of things.
It could stop disinformation, wipe out covid, end war mongering, knock out Starlink, make it rain where it hasn't but in need of.
Naw,,, propaganda media and governments won't allow it.
Guess we are safe from all those things these two protect us from..
So party on slashdot moderators...
Just a ... (Score:1, Troll)
Carrington Event Again? (Score:2)
So, when is the time frame so I can disconnect all electrical devices?
Re: (Score:2)
Only an issue with a flaky power-grid.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
So, just Texas, and the rest of the US?
And the rest of the 2nd world.
Re: (Score:1)
Hahaha (Score:2)
Reminds me of the time with serious solar flares about 23 years ago or so. All the shops with networked cash registers had them fail or be flaky and I said in a bookstore "Oh, this is just solar flares", because I saw the NASA warning the evening before. People looked at me like I was crazy. Good times!
Sun going nuts and Putin's war (Score:1)
Oh, great... (Score:1)
Journalists crouch nervously behind their paywalls (Score:1, Troll)
Is this Trump's fault, Biden's fault, or like everything else is it white men?
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
Is this Trump's fault, Biden's fault, or like everything else is it white men?
No, it's the Russians, dummy.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I figure Hillary is behind it. Her and her demon loving friends are opening Sun-Fired Pizza joints, you can guess the rest. Cue the morons with the guns, funny looking faux combat fatigues, and no brains.
Hooray for the Solar Cycle! (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:1)
Oh hey... (Score:3)
Re: Oh hey... (Score:2)
Re: Oh hey... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Long wires to pick up the pulse leads to the worst outcomes. Telegraph wires during the Carrington event, power lines now. Battery powered devices will likely be fine unless they have a long antenna maybe.
Re: Oh hey... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Possibly, though it seems I read somewhere, which I can't now find, that due to the long wave lengths involved, most household wire lengths are safe.
I do wonder about IC's though.
Wow!!! (Score:2)
So, a once in 10 mouse lifetimes event.
I blame ... (Score:2)
... Trump.
(Oh, and Emmanuel Goldstein [wikipedia.org].)
I voted for Giant Meteor (Score:2)
But I won't be terribly disappointed if the first ever super-X flare fries the planet. It'd be a heck of a way to go.
(Yes, I know that's not gonna happen)
Re: (Score:1)
sshhhh, we're trying to boot this Covid shit, don't give Murphy any ideas
Just throw some virgins into it (Score:1)
oh, wait...nevermind
My allergies are acting up too. (Score:2)
Silly description (Score:3)
"the most powerful category of which our Sun is capable: an X-class flare"
That's nothing to do with what the sun is capable of.
We just haven't given any names above X class. There are named classes A, B, C, and X. If we continued the pattern we might name flares about X10 as "Y", but we haven't done that, even though there have been many flares above that level.
The Sun Should Stop (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
No stock (Score:2)
Better predictor than that damned groundhog. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You'll have a nice (Michi) gander!
I would have too, but retired to a warmer climate.