In the 2010 NASA authorization bill from the US Congress was a request for an assessment of the space weather observational and forecasting ability and the impact space weather may have on Earth systems. At the end of April 2013, the Joint Action Group for Space Environmental Gap Analysis (JAG/SEGA) assembled by the White House Office of Science and Technology [...]
Post Tagged with: “Space Weather”
Sun Spews Two Coronal Mass Ejections at Satellites as Sunspot Region Grows
The two coronal mass ejections (CME) emitted April 20 and 21 are not headed towards Earth, but they might affect operations of NASA’s Messenger satellite and STEREO-A, one of a pair of solar observing satellites, as they shoot straight for Mercury. In the meantime, the Earth-facing sunspot region AR1726 which only made an appearance on April 19, has now swollen [...]
Europe Steps Up to Develop Space-Surveillance Network
On February 28, the European Commission (EC), the executive body of the European Union (EU), launched a new program to address the space debris problem. “Some EU Member States have national systems, radars or telescopes that could be used for monitoring satellites and space debris,” reported the EC in a statement. However, “European satellite operators almost completely depend on United States space surveillance [...]
Coronal Mass Ejection to Reach Earth January 16
An active sunspot region let loose an M-class coronal mass ejection (CME) on January 14. Travelling Earth-wards at 1.6 million kilometers per hour, the CME is predicted to impact Earth on January 16. The CME is only of moderate strength and it will likely produce some colorful aurorae, but not much in the way of interference in either satellite systems or [...]
Solar Eclipse: Spectacular View and Better Solar Predictions
On November 14, the northeast of Australia saw an early morning total solar eclipse. Both locals and flocks of visiting skywatchers and astronomers watched as the Moon passed in front of the Sun, blocking it completely from the sight of those in the path of totality. Total eclipses occur because the distance of the Earth from the Sun and the [...]
Earth’s Magnetosphere Behaves Like a Sieve
Source: ESA ESA’s quartet of satellites studying Earth’s magnetosphere, Cluster, has discovered that our protective magnetic bubble lets the solar wind in under a wider range of conditions than previously believed. Earth’s magnetic field is our planet’s first line of defence against the bombardment of the solar wind. This stream of plasma is launched by the Sun and travels [...]
Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ready for Launch
NASA’ Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) have been given the green light for launch on August 23. “Everything is ready and prepared for RBSP to launch as scheduled,” said Richard Fitzgerald, RBSP project manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “Both the twin spacecraft and the entire RBSP team are eager to begin their exploration of one of [...]
Study Emphasizes Need for Integration in Understanding Space Weather
On August 15, the second solar and space physics decadal study report was released. The 85 scientists and engineers who contributed to the study emphasized approaches to bridge gaps in current understanding of the origins of potentially harmful space weather. “We really have a feeling that the next decade is one that really moves us from a decade focusing to [...]
12 Solar Flares from Sunspot AR1515 and More to Come
Sunspot AR1515 spans more than 100,000 km of the sun’s surface and has spewed forth 12 M-class solar flares between July 3 and July 5. A July 5 flare resulted in a moderate (R2) radio blackout, audible as static on tuned receivers. Click to hear the sound of the July 5 CME as recorded by amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft of New [...]
US-UK Collaborate on Space Weather
On June 26, the UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser Sir John Beddington and the Deputy Administrator of NOAA Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan issued the following statement pursuant to a Space Weather Policy Round Table: “Space weather is a global challenge requiring coordinated global preparedness. We recognize space weather as a significant natural hazard risk with economic and societal impacts on key infrastructures [...]
