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DARK PLASMA EXPLOSION ON THE SUN (UPDATED): Yesterday, the sun hurled a plume of dark plasma into space following a dramatic explosion around sunspot AR3076. NASA\'s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the blast, which began on Aug. 14th around 1130 UT:
Traveling faster than 600 km/s (1.3 million mph), the plume tore through the sun\'s outer atmosphere, creating a coronal mass ejection (CME). Newly updated images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) confirm that the CME has an Earth-directed component. It could sideswipe Earth\'s magnetic field on Aug. 17th, producing minor to moderate geomagnetic storms. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
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REVERSED POLARITY SUNSPOT: The sunspot that produced yesterday\'s dark plasma explosion is a little unusual. It has its signs backwards.
Above: A magnetic map of the sunâs surface from NASA\'s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
According to Haleâs Law, Solar Cycle 25 sunspots in the sunâs northern hemisphere should have a -/+ polarity; negative on the left, positive on the right. However, the magnetogram above shows the opposite. AR3076 is a reversed polarity sunspot.
Studies show that about 3% of all sunspots violate Haleâs Law. In many ways, reversed polarity sunspots are just like other sunspots. For instance, they have the same lifespan and tend to be about the same size as normal sunspots. In one key way they are different: According to a 1982 survey by Frances Tang of the Big Bear Solar Observatory, reversed polarity sunspots are more than twice as likely to develop complex magnetic fields mixing + and â together. Reversed polarity sunspots are therefore more likely to explode.
This one sure did, and a CME is now heading for Earth. Don\'t miss the impact.
https://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=15&month=08&year=2022
Traveling faster than 600 km/s (1.3 million mph), the plume tore through the sun\'s outer atmosphere, creating a coronal mass ejection (CME). Newly updated images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) confirm that the CME has an Earth-directed component. It could sideswipe Earth\'s magnetic field on Aug. 17th, producing minor to moderate geomagnetic storms. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
REVERSED POLARITY SUNSPOT: The sunspot that produced yesterday\'s dark plasma explosion is a little unusual. It has its signs backwards.
Above: A magnetic map of the sunâs surface from NASA\'s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
According to Haleâs Law, Solar Cycle 25 sunspots in the sunâs northern hemisphere should have a -/+ polarity; negative on the left, positive on the right. However, the magnetogram above shows the opposite. AR3076 is a reversed polarity sunspot.
Studies show that about 3% of all sunspots violate Haleâs Law. In many ways, reversed polarity sunspots are just like other sunspots. For instance, they have the same lifespan and tend to be about the same size as normal sunspots. In one key way they are different: According to a 1982 survey by Frances Tang of the Big Bear Solar Observatory, reversed polarity sunspots are more than twice as likely to develop complex magnetic fields mixing + and â together. Reversed polarity sunspots are therefore more likely to explode.
This one sure did, and a CME is now heading for Earth. Don\'t miss the impact.
https://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=15&month=08&year=2022