The Sun Acts Up
The
Sun became surprisingly active in
late October, 2003, three years after its last activity maximum. On the 22nd a huge sunspot group named
Active Region 10484 produced a flare and subsequent coronal mass
ejection
toward Earth. On the 24th, several B-CC
faculty and staff members and students viewed the spot group and others
in
white light with the 14-inch telescope.
Recording equipment was unavailable, but one viewer videotaped
the Sun
with a smaller telescope, which showed the whole disc, on the 25th and
27th,
when another spot group became active (AR 10486). See
the still pictures below.
On the 28th, the latter produced one of the most powerful flares
and
cmeÕs ever recorded, but cloudiness prevented observation in
Daytona
Beach. Full-disc and higher resolution
video images were obtained on the 29th, when the elliptical ring-shaped
spot
group north of AR10486 (AR10488) had developed the largest single spot
yet in
the activity period. Both groups could
be seen with the naked eye--using an appropriately dense filter.
Fortunately,
the speedy cloud of heavy, charged particles released in the cme of
Oct. 22
caused no important disturbance of terrestrial telecommunication or
electric
power systems. The event of Oct. 28
produced minor disturbances of commercial aircraft communications and
bright
aurora borealis displays visible, in dark skies, as far south as
latitude +34 degrees
or so, just 20 hours later.
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