The sun has generally been quiet in recent days as it heads rapidly towards the next solar minimum. In fact, there have already been 44 spotless days this year which makes up 23% of the time and this easily surpasses the 32 days experienced in 2016. The current solar cycle (#24) has turned out to be historically weak with the lowest number of sunspots since cycle 14 peaked more than a century ago in 1906. However, even during weak cycles and overall quiet periods on the sun, there can be sporadic large sunspot regions and strong solar storms. Indeed, there is now a very large sunspot region on the sun – the largest of the year – and it has erupted today generating a coronal mass ejection that could impact the Earth’s atmosphere by Sunday.
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The sun has generally been quiet in recent days as it heads rapidly towards the next solar minimum. In fact, there have been 44 spotless days this year which makes up 23% of the time and this already easily surpasses the 32 days experienced in 2016. The current solar cycle (24) has turned out to be historically weak with the lowest number of sunspots since cycle 14 peaked more than a century ago in 1906. However, even during weak cycles and overall quiet periods on the sun there can be sporadic strong storms and large sunspot regions. Indeed, there is now a very large sunspot region – the largest of the year so far – and it is currently directly facing the Earth.
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The sun is currently featuring one lonely visible sunspot region and this relatively blank look is becoming more and more common as solar cycle 24 heads towards the next solar minimum. In fact, there have been 42 days in 2017 with a completely blank sun – already ten more days than all of last year – and this makes up almost one-quarter of the time for this year. Solar cycle 24 has turned out to be historically weak with the lowest number of sunspots since cycle 14 peaked more than a century ago in 1906. In fact, by one measure, the current solar cycle is the third weakest since record keeping began in 1755 and it continues a weakening trend since solar cycle 21 peaked in 1980. One of the natural impacts of decreasing solar activity is the increase of cosmic rays that can penetrate into the Earth’s upper atmosphere and this can have many important consequences.
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There are now just two months to go to the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse since 1918. On August 21st, the moon will pass between the sun and Earth and the result will be a 67-mile wide shadow that will cross the country from Oregon to South Carolina. During a total solar eclipse (and weather permitting), the sky gets deep twilight blue, temperatures may drop noticeably, bright stars and planets come out, and animals and birds may behave strangely like it’s the end of the day. Total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every year or so, but generally cast their shadows over oceans or remote land masses. The last time a part of the contiguous US saw a total solar eclipse was in 1979 and the next total solar eclipse on US soil will take place in April 2024.
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NASA will try once again this evening, June 20th, to launch a sounding rocket from the Wallops Island Facility that should light up the skies with colorful artificial clouds. The original launch attempt was scheduled for May 31st, but clouds, haze, high winds and even boats in the hazard area have caused thirteen postponements in the past few weeks and clouds are again a concern for tonight. These artificial clouds or vapor tracers will allow scientists on the ground to visually track winds at high altitudes on the order of 100 miles above the Earth's surface.
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NASA is planning to launch a sounding rocket early tomorrow morning from the Wallops Island Facility and it should light up the skies with luminescent clouds. These artificial clouds or vapor tracers will allow scientists on the ground to visually track winds at high altitudes on the order of about 100 miles above the Earth's surface. Ground cameras will be stationed at Wallops and in Duck, North Carolina to track the vapor tracers and study the dynamics of the Earth's ionosphere. Clear skies are preferred at both sites, but not required for the launch to take place.
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It was during the height of the Cold War and a powerful solar storm could have led to a disastrous military conflict between the US and Soviet Union if not for the early efforts of the US Air Force to monitor solar activity. On May 23rd, 1967, a solar storm took place that was so powerful, it jammed radar and radio communications in polar regions and the US Air Force actually began to prepare aircraft for war thinking the nation’s surveillance radars were being jammed by the Soviet Union. Fortunately, space weather forecasters in the military suspected there might be another cause and they relayed information about the possibility that a solar storm could have been the reason for the disrupted radar and radio communications. As it turned out, this information was enough to keep the planes on the ground and the US avoided a potential nuclear weapon exchange with the Soviet Union.
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Today marks the 6th day in a row that the sun is blank and the 36th time this year - already more spotless days than all of 2016. In what has turned out to be a historically weak solar cycle (#24), the sun continues to transition away from its solar maximum phase and towards the next solar minimum. In April 2010, the sun was emerging from the last solar minimum which was historically long and deep. The blank look to the sun will increase in frequency over the next couple of years leading up to the next solar minimum - probably to be reached in late 2019 or 2020. By one measure, the current solar cycle is the third weakest since record keeping began in 1755 and it continues a weakening trend since solar cycle 21 peaked in 1980. One of the impacts of low solar activity is the increase of cosmic rays that can penetrate into the Earth’s upper atmosphere and this can have many important consequences.
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There are now just four months to go to a great solar event that has not happened in this country since 1979. That year, the Pittsburgh Pirates were on their way to winning the “we are family” baseball championship. The Philadelphia Phillies were only a year away from their first ever World Series championship. And this was the last time that there was a total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous US. In just four months - on Monday, August 21, 2017 - not only will there be a total solar eclipse on US soil for the first time since 1979, but totality will extend from coast-to-coast across a good chunk of the country and it will be the first total eclipse visible only in the US since the country was founded in 1776. The next total solar eclipse on US soil will take place in April 2024.
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The sun is currently blank with no visible sunspots and this is the 14th straight day with a blank look which is the longest such stretch since April 2010 according to spaceweather.com. Historically weak solar cycle 24 continues to transition away from its solar maximum phase and towards the next solar minimum. In April 2010 - the last time there was a two week stretch with no visible sunspots - the sun was emerging from the last solar minimum which was historically long and deep. There have already been 26 spotless days in 2017 (34% of the entire year) and this follows 32 spotless days last year which occurred primarily during the latter part of the year. The blank look to the sun will increase in frequency over the next couple of years leading up to the next solar minimum - probably to be reached in late 2019 or 2020. By one measure, the current solar cycle is the third weakest since record keeping began in 1755 and it continues a weakening trend since solar cycle 21 peaked in 1980. One of the impacts of low solar activity is the increase of cosmic rays that can penetrate into the Earth’s upper atmosphere and this has some important consequences.
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