241010 - Aurora over East Texas
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click image to enlarge
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ASTRO:
type=Aurora Borealis mag=(unk) const=Cygnus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Perseus (above the trees) dist=(Earth's upper atmosphere) size=(unk) IMAGE: location=EB Backyard BrtlCls=5 moon=50% WxQtr exposure=CMOS OSC, 1x60s (1m), G100 EQUIPMENT: camera=ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro optics=Nikon "fisheye" lens (DX), FL=10.5mm, f/2.8 filter=(none) mount=Celestron AVX guiding=(none) SOFTWARE: acquisition=Stellarium, APT processing=LrC |
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The surface of our Sun's is a very hot, active and volatile environment. It sometimes erupts into what scientists call a "Coronal Mass Ejection" (CME). A CME can spew-out some of the Sun's matter in the form of charged particles with such force that they easily escape the Sun's gravity and are hurled out into space away from the Sun's surface. Those particles are extremely energetic and typically move through space at a very high velocity. When a CME's ejected particles come in contact with the Earth, they can interact with our planet's magnetic field creating a geomagnetic storm, in the upper reaches of our atmosphere. and resulting in what we see in our most northerly and southerly latitudes as the Aurora Borealis.
Recent increased solar activity (2024) is part of our Sun's solar cycle, which peaks approximately every 11 years. During these peaks (known as solar maximums) the Sun exhibits more sunspots and solar flares than 'normal', leading to more frequent and intense geomagnetic storms in our atmosphere. It’s a spectacular sight to see, but it can also disrupt radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
On Tuesday, October 8th 2024, the Sun ejected a strong solar flare, peaking at 8:56 p.m. CDT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event. It was classified as an X1.8 flare where, the designation of X-class denotes it was one of the most intense, while the number provides more detail about its strength. When flares get this powerful, they often eject some of the Sun's matter in the form of charged particles, and may be classified as a CME. In this case, what NASA's scientists observed was a massive CME ejected from sunspot No. AR3848, and aimed directly at Earth. The event sent charged particles hurtling toward us at an impressive velocity of appx 2.9 million mph (or ~500 kilometers per second (km/s)). Only 2½ days later, the particles reached the upper limits of our atmosphere, penetrating much deeper than usual into the ionosphere, and creating stunning and spectacular evening auroras. This rare and intense storm allowed the auroras to be visible much further south than usual, even reaching across much of Texas, Alabama and Florida. The associated solar geomagnetic storm was classified as a G4-level event, which is the second highest on the geomagnetic storm scale.
241010 - an account of the evening...
'It took me completely by surprise; because, I was looking West with my camera, hunting for the tail of the [C/2023 A3 "Tsuchinshan-ATLAS"] Comet. Stellarium showed the head of the Comet was still too close to the Sun to be of any value for capturing an image; but, I thought just maybe I might be able to catch the tail sticking-up over the horizon just after the Sun set. Well, between equipment problems and the Comet still being too faint, that didn't work-out at all! ...but then I noticed this dull red glow in my exposures along the right margin of my FOV (North)... So I swung my camera around to the North, and switched to a 10.5mm "fisheye" lens to get as wide a FOV as possible (please forgive the extreme lens distortion); and, with a 50% WxQtr Moon and looking directly into a nearby city's light-dome, I managed to pick-up the Aurora with just a single, 60s exposure just as it was waning for the evening. ...What a Thrill !!
Recent increased solar activity (2024) is part of our Sun's solar cycle, which peaks approximately every 11 years. During these peaks (known as solar maximums) the Sun exhibits more sunspots and solar flares than 'normal', leading to more frequent and intense geomagnetic storms in our atmosphere. It’s a spectacular sight to see, but it can also disrupt radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
On Tuesday, October 8th 2024, the Sun ejected a strong solar flare, peaking at 8:56 p.m. CDT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event. It was classified as an X1.8 flare where, the designation of X-class denotes it was one of the most intense, while the number provides more detail about its strength. When flares get this powerful, they often eject some of the Sun's matter in the form of charged particles, and may be classified as a CME. In this case, what NASA's scientists observed was a massive CME ejected from sunspot No. AR3848, and aimed directly at Earth. The event sent charged particles hurtling toward us at an impressive velocity of appx 2.9 million mph (or ~500 kilometers per second (km/s)). Only 2½ days later, the particles reached the upper limits of our atmosphere, penetrating much deeper than usual into the ionosphere, and creating stunning and spectacular evening auroras. This rare and intense storm allowed the auroras to be visible much further south than usual, even reaching across much of Texas, Alabama and Florida. The associated solar geomagnetic storm was classified as a G4-level event, which is the second highest on the geomagnetic storm scale.
241010 - an account of the evening...
'It took me completely by surprise; because, I was looking West with my camera, hunting for the tail of the [C/2023 A3 "Tsuchinshan-ATLAS"] Comet. Stellarium showed the head of the Comet was still too close to the Sun to be of any value for capturing an image; but, I thought just maybe I might be able to catch the tail sticking-up over the horizon just after the Sun set. Well, between equipment problems and the Comet still being too faint, that didn't work-out at all! ...but then I noticed this dull red glow in my exposures along the right margin of my FOV (North)... So I swung my camera around to the North, and switched to a 10.5mm "fisheye" lens to get as wide a FOV as possible (please forgive the extreme lens distortion); and, with a 50% WxQtr Moon and looking directly into a nearby city's light-dome, I managed to pick-up the Aurora with just a single, 60s exposure just as it was waning for the evening. ...What a Thrill !!