Friday, February 25, 2011

Monster Solar Prominence Captured by SDO


The Sun continues to be active! A large-sized (M 3.6 class) flare occurred near the edge of the Sun on February 24, 2011, and it blew out a gorgeous, waving mass of erupting plasma that swirled and twisted over a 90-minute period. This event was captured in extreme ultraviolet light by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. Some of the material blew out into space and other portions fell back to the surface. Because SDO images are super-HD, the scienctists can zoom in on the action and still see exquisite details. The video above was created using a cadence of a frame taken every 24 seconds; still, the sense of motion is, by all appearances, seamless. Sit back and enjoy the jaw-dropping solar show. See one of the images, below.

Spaceweather.com reports that Earth was little affected by this blast, as plasma clouds produced by the blast did not come our way.

The latest active sunspot — #1163 — is currently behind the Sun’s eastern limb, but be turning toward Earth in the days ahead, setting the stage for more activity if the eruptions continue.

A Video for you to check out as well.

Articles of Interest and Contest Opportunities

Here we at the beginning of a new weekend. Heck, today is the 56th day of this new year.
I have here this weekends contest opportunities along with some articles of interest.
Have a great weekend all, hope to hear you on the bands.

Contest Opportunities This Weekend
QRP Fox HuntFeb 25
NCCC Sprint LadderFeb 25
CQ 160-Meter Contest, SSBFeb 25-27
REF Contest, SSBFeb 26-27
UBA DX Contest, CWFeb 26-27
Mississippi QSO PartyFeb 26-27
North American QSO Party, RTTYFeb 26-27
North Carolina QSO PartyFeb 27-28
CQC Winter QSO SprintFeb 28


Articles of Interest

He's still getting the word out
He's an amateur radio operator (also known as a ham), a retired cryptographer, a retired naval officer and a retired director of the county's Emergency ...

Radio hams are contacting world
MEMBERS of Gisborne Amateur Radio Club will transmit from the top of Kaiti Hill this weekend, competing against the 63 other clubs throughout New Zealand to ...

Amateur Radio Association to offer opportunity to learn about 'ham ...
Waldo County Amateur Radio Association is participating in the American Radio Relay League's International DX Contest on Saturday, March 5, and all amateur ...

A 'ham' remembers going to war
McCarty enlisted in the US Army in 1942, but before that he was interested in amateur radio and developed skills he thought he could use in the military. ...

Neighbors Notes - Amateur radio club event, 'Hooray for Hollywood ...

Battleship NOrth Carolina | The Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club will operate from the Battleship North Carolina during the North Carolina QSO Party noon-10 ...

My Stamp Collecting Blog

Counter Added January 1, 2011

free counters

HOW TO READ PROPAGATION NUMBERS

The A index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 1 to 6 is BEST
  • 7 to 9 is OK
  • 11 or more is BAD

Represents the overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Ap" if averaged from the Kp-Index) (an average of the eight 3-hour K-Indices) ('A' referring to amplitude) over a given 24 hour period, ranging (linearly) typically from 1-100 but theoretically up to 400.

A lower A-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Ap-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

SFI index [ HIGH is GOOD ]

  • 70 NOT GOOD
  • 80 GOOD
  • 90 BETTER
  • 100+ BEST

The measure of total radio emissions from the sun at 10.7cm (2800 MHz), on a scale of 60 (no sunspots) to 300, generally corresponding to the sunspot level, but being too low in energy to cause ionization, not related to the ionization level of the Ionosphere.

Higher Solar Flux generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; Solar Flux rarely affects the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

K index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 0 or 1 is BEST
  • 2 is OK
  • 3 or more is BAD
  • 5 is VERY VERY BAD

The overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Kp" if averaged over the planet) over the past 3 hours, measured by 13 magnetometers between 46 & 63 degrees of latitude, and ranging quasi-logarithmically from 0-9. Designed to detect solar particle radiation by its magnetic effect. A higher K-index generally means worse HF conditions.

A lower K-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Kp-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

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