The Fourth of July Celebrated Solar Style
July 04, 2009
The sun has been very quiet recently, but today marks an interesting change in solar behavior. A new active region has rapidly emerged (called sunspot 1024), right in time for the US Independence Day celebrations. What's more, it's exploding to life with some fireworks of its own special brand: B Class solar flares...
*Image credit: British amateur astronomer David Tyler managed to capture one of the flares from young sunspot 1024 from his backyard solar observatory in England.
For me, this year's Fourth of July celebrations have the potential to be one of the quietest yet. What with fireworks displays being canceled due to financial problems and concerns about sparking wildfires in these hot, dry conditions in Southern California, I don't think I'll see many roman candles or rockets any time soon.
But, that's not to say we wont be witnessing the sun in a festive mood.
Astronomers are currently tracking a very active sunspot, the most active region on the sun for some time. Also, by measuring the sunspot's magnetic polarity, solar physicists know that this 'spot belongs to the new Solar Cycle 24.
Recent months have shown a steady increase in sunspot number from this new cycle, indicating solar activity is slowly, yet surely, increasing. Physicists now believe the next solar maximum will culminate in a below-average sunspot number (and will therefore be lower in activity than the last solar maximum) by the year 2013. However, solar predictions aren't exactly known for their precision...
Happy Independence Day! Time for a cold beer under the sun, probably the most exciting party I could attend today...
Source: SpaceWeather.com
Comments
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Isn't this part of some doomsday prediction or something?
Posted by: Dale Clark | July 06, 2009 at 02:43 PM
This latest sunspot looks impressive. Up until now they've all been quite pitifull. Sunspot count does not tell the whole story. Not only will the Solar Cycle 24 sunspot count be lower, the sunspots themselves will be smaller and less intensive. Livingston and Penn are onto something.
Posted by: Dave | July 05, 2009 at 01:22 AM