Sunspot AR1785 ‘grows’ 25,000 Miles In Size Over 24-Hour Period

Chris Carrington

Sunspot AR1785 has grown just under 25,000 miles in 24 hours. It has widened and lengthened, which could lead to instability in the magnetic field of the sunspot. When the magnetic field loops and swirls it can collapse back in on itself; it's this that produces strong flares.

The shape of this region is changing all the time to a much greater extent than is seen in most sunspots. AR1785 is now 11 times the size of the Earth and is still growing as it moves across the Sun.

Within the next day or two it will be at the center of the Sun disc and any flares at that point will hit Earth directly.

There is an excellent video showing the change in size and shape here.

Today's sunspot number is 115 and NOAA estimates the chance of an M-Class flare today at 55% and an X-Class at 10%, though this is apt to be revised in light of the dynamic nature of the spot.

Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple, where this article first appeared. Wake the flock up!

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DHS Report Points To Armageddon Scenario

Chris Carrington

In 2009 the DHS commissioned a report into the threats posed by space weather. The fact that they did this is not surprising, we would all prefer that the government actually did something sensible like protect their citizens from the impact of CME’s, flares and such like.

The report was published in November 2011 and it states quite clearly on the documentation page that it’s an unclassified report that has been approved for unlimited public release.

With something that can impact millions of people in the US alone it’s amazing that few people have heard that such a report exists.

Massive Coronal Hole: Solar Wind Will Hit Earth June 29th-30

credit: SDO/AIA

Chris Carrington

A massive coronal hole straddling the Sun’s equator is sending out a highly charged solar wind that will hit the Earth's magnetic field square on.

Solar winds are a continuous stream of ions, charged particles. The coronal hole allows the particles to escape instead of looping back down to the Suns surface. The winds from coronal holes take a few days to reach Earth, and due to the Sun's rotation they emanate out in a ‘pinwheel’ fashion as they pass through the solar system.

It’s the buffering of the Earth's magnetic field that gives rise to auroras, usually in the high northern latitudes, but strong winds can cause huge auroras that can be seen much farther south.

The larger the amount of ionized particles that escape from the hole, the more chance there is of disruption to spacecraft communications and to electronic communications on Earth. Solar winds are far less likely than coronal mass ejections to affect the power grid. With speeds of up to 1-2 million miles per hour (source) the magnetosphere is buffeted and deformed by the stream of particles that hit it. This deformation, the magnetic flux and that flux is what can knock out satellite and electronic communications on Earth.

Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple, where this article first appeared. Wake the flock up!

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Is the Japanese earthquake the latest natural disaster to have been caused by a 'supermoon'?

NASA/AP image

The Daily Mail 

The powerful tsunami that today slammed into Japan's eastern coast comes just two days after warnings that the movement of the moon could trigger unpredictable events on Earth.

Astrologers predicted that on March 19 - a week tomorrow - the so-called 'supermoon' will be closer to Earth than at any time since 1992, just 221,567 miles away, and that its gravitational pull will bring chaos to Earth.

Others on the Internet have predicted it will cause further catastrophes such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Coming just three weeks after the quake which devastated Christchurch in New Zealand killing hundreds, this latest disaster will only add fuel to their fire.

However the 'supermoon' date is still eight days away. But those that adhere to this particular belief could claim that this was still close enough for there to be some kind of effect.

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Extreme Super (Full) Moon to Cause Chaos?

NASA/AP image

Mark Paquette
AccuWeather

Coming up later this month (March 19 to be exact) the moon will make its closest approach to Earth (called lunar perigee) in 18 years. A new or full moon at 90% or greater of its closest perigee to Earth has been named a "SuperMoon" by astrologer Richard Nolle. This term has been recently picked up by astronomers. An extreme "SuperMoon" is when the moon is full or new as well as at its 100% greater mean perigee (closest) distance to earth. By this definition, last month's full moon, this month's and next month's will all be extreme "SuperMoons".

Please visit Richard's website by clickinghere.

I have read several "new age" forecasts that go something like this: "Extreme SuperMoon this month (March 2011) will bring strong earthquakes and storms and/or unusual climate patterns." Google the term 'extreme SuperMoon March 2011' and see for yourself what comes up. The validity of these types of forecasts can be debated ad nauseum.

There were SuperMoons in 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005. These years had their share of extreme weather and other natural events. Is the Super Moon and these natural occurences a coincidence? Some would say yes; some would say no. I'm not here to pick sides and say I'm a believer or non-believer in subjects like this, but as a scientist I know enough to ask questions and try to find answers.

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Asteroid Strike Could Force Humans into Twilight Existence

Jeremy Hsu
LiveScience

An asteroid splashdown in one of Earth's oceans could trigger a destructive chemical cycle that would wipe out half the ozone layer, according to a new study. The massive loss of protection against the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation would likely force humans into a vampire-style existence of staying indoors during daylight hours.

The worst scenario based on an asteroid 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) wide would re-create the hole in the ozone layer, which appeared over Antarctica during the 1990s, except this would be worldwide. UV levels in the study's simulation soared beyond anything measured so far on Earth by the UV Index's daily forecasts of overexposure to UV radiation, and remained that way for as long as two years.

"An asteroid impact in the ocean is always dismissed as being a danger for coastal sites, but not much else has been discussed about it," said Elisabetta Pierazzo, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz. "I was looking at the asteroid hazard from climatic effects."

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White House Adviser: US Must Prepare for Asteroid

Lee Speigel
AOL News

If an asteroid were on a collision course with Earth, would we be ready to defend against its destructive impact or would we be helpless and defenseless?

NASA, America's space agency, is being charged with leading the way to protect not only the U.S. but the entire world in the event of such a horrifying scenario. And a top White House science adviser says we have to be prepared.

In separate 10-page letters to the House Committee on Science and Technology and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP, outlines plans for "(A) protecting the United States from a near-Earth object that is expected to collide with Earth; and (B) implementing a deflection campaign, in consultation with international bodies, should one be necessary."

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