After a rather quiet period, Sol blasted into action again yesterday. After 4 M Class Flares, Mr. Sunshine blasted off with an X 2.7 late last night around 22:00 UTC. All very interesting needless to say, yet it became much more interesting this morning when I looked into CERN and what they were up to yesterday.....
Two beams of protons at 450 GeV collide in the the CMS detector for a total collision energy of 900 GeV. The LHC experiments are using these collisions to tune and align their detectors (Image: CMS/CERN)
At about half past nine CET this morning, for the first time since the Large Hadron Collider(LHC) started up after two years of maintenance and repairs, the accelerator delivered proton-proton collisions to the LHC experiments ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb at an energy of 450 gigaelectronvolts (GeV) per beam.
These collisions, which take place with each beam at the so-called injection energy, that is, the energy at which proton beams are injected into the LHC from the Super Proton Synchrotron, enable the LHC experiments to tune their detectors. This process is also an important step towards readying the accelerator to deliver beams at 6.5 teraelectronvolts (TeV) for collisions at 13 TeV.
Each low-energy collision sends showers of particles flying through an experiment's many layers. The experimental teams can use this data to check their subdetectors and ensure they fire in the correct place at the precise instant that a particle passes. Reconstructing flight paths of the particles from many parts of the detector at once helps the experiments to check the alignment and synchronization of various subdetector elements.
Proton beams collide for a total energy of 900 GeV in the ATLAS detector on the LHC (Image: ATLAS/CERN)
So just as the LHC team tests each component, system, and algorithm one after the other, the experiments go through checklists that confirm that everything is fully functional and no mistakes, bugs or failures are present when collisions are delivered at 13 TeV.
Meanwhile the LHC Operations team is halfway through its eight weeks of scheduled beam commissioning, during which the accelerator's many subsystems are checked to ensure that beams will circulate stably and in the correct orbit. Sensors and collimators around the accelerator's full 27 kilometres send information to the CERN Control Centre, from where the operators can remotely adjust the beam by fine-tuning the positions and field strengths of hundreds of electromagnets.
Proton-proton collision at 900 GeV as determined by the inner silicon trackers in the ALICE detector (Image: ALICE/CERN)
Though the first beam at 6.5 TeV circulated successfully in the LHC last month, there are many more steps before the accelerator will deliver high-energy collisions for physics to the LHC experiments. Well before the full physics programme begins, the LHC operations team will collide beams at 13 TeV to check the beam orbit, quality and stability.
Proton-proton collision at 900 GeV in the LHCb detector (Image: LHCb/CERN)
It's been a long time since I have given a solar update, but the video images from last night just begged to be posted.
In the past 48 hours we have had two major solar flares- an M4.5 and an X1.6- both came with CMEs and are directly geoeffective Earth facing. The M4.5 launched a slow moving CME that should intercept Earth early tomorrow- Sept 12. The X1.6 launched a fast moving CME that should intercept Earth..... early tomorrow. The X1.6 event lasted for a full hour from beginning to end.
The two sun spots we are eagerly watching are 2158 and 2157- both showing beta gamma delta configurations and both growing in size. 2158 is above the solar equator and 2157 just below it.
We are currently experiencing a radiation storm with elevated levels of high and low energy protons streaming past Earth, and are expecting a geomagnetic storm tomorrow morning as the first of the CME waves arrive.
... none of this info was what inspired me to post this article though. It was watching the video posted below. This photo is a screen shot that I captured from the video.
The Cabaret Show began last night at 00:43am UST (interesting timing I might add ;>) ) when our old friend, sunspot 1944/67 now renumbered 1990, blasted off an X Class 4.9 Solar Flare just as it began to rotate over the eastern limb into Earth Facing view- Kinda like the class clown lobbing a mega flash bang into the science lab on the first day back at school, just to say "HI! Remember me?!?"
The XClass 4.9 flare shook up lots of stuff, but so far it would seem that most of the energy will only hit Earth a slightly glancing blow. Having said that, there was definite radio black out interference- supposedly on the "sunlit side of earth" at the time, yet the One People radio show last night had significant interference last night for the first hour of the show. Go figure.
I would also like to note here that it is incredibly rare for a sun spot to exist as long as spot 1944/67/90 has- 3 rotations into Earth view is almost unheard of. Many smaller spots can "die" within hours of forming, but average sized spots usually last no more than 2-3 weeks.
Well my friends, I think that once again we'll be getting treated to a bright and energetic stage show... the only question left is: Will 1990 continue it's famous play dead act once it is geoeffectively Earth facing, or will three times be the charm?
From SolarHam:
Major X4.9 Solar Flare A major solar flare measuring X4.9 was just observed around returning
sunspot 1967 (newly numbered 1990) at 00:49 UTC. Despite appearing to be
in an advanced state of decay, the active region remains magnetically
potent. This just proves that you cannot judge a book by its cover. A
10cm radio bust measuring 3700 sfu and lasting 85 minutes was associated
with the event. The sunspot is not yet in a good geoeffective position
for Earth directed eruptions. The flare is the 3rd largest X-Ray event
of the current solar cycle.... CME Update:Attached image below by LASCO C2 captures a halo coronal mass ejection
(CME) leaving the sun at a quick rate of speed following the X4.9 flare
event Monday night. Click HERE
for a movie. Because the source sunspot (1990, ex 1967) is still
located near the east limb, the plasma cloud is directed mostly away
from Earth. Despite this, there does appear to be an Earth directed
component which could deliver a glancing blow to our geomagnetic field
by mid week.
Strong R3 Radio Blackout level was measured. R3
level can cause wide area blackout of HF radio communication, loss of
radio contact for about an hour on sunlit side of Earth and
low-frequency navigation signals degraded for about an hour. Coronal Mass Ejection was generated but this region is not in geoeffective position at the time and the plasma cloud is directed mostly to the east.
Another XClass flare just popped off a few hours ago with a pretty damn big CME- though mostly not Earth facing. .... Not that I'm saying I know more than the scientists at NOAA..... but guys! Don'tcha think you should perhaps upgrade your Solar Flare Risks? They've been 50% for an MClass and 5% chance of an XClass flare for the past 48 hours..... and we've already had 5 M Flares and 2 X Flares!!! .....Just sayin'
The Sun is showing real solar-maximum-like activity today. After 2 moderate solar flares last night, an X1.7 erupted at 02:15 UTC. It was followed by another M-class at 12:03 UTC and numerous C-class flares.
At 15:48 UTC, on May 13, 2013, a second major eruption started. Peak time was reached at 16:05 UTC and was measured as X2.86 solar flare. The source was again, an active region located around the eastern limb. This region will most likely continue to produce eruptions as it turns into Earth view today.
A 10cm Radio burst was associated with the event. A type II and type IV radio emissions were also associated. Type IV emissions occur in association with major eruptions on the sun and are typically associated with strong Coronal Mass Ejections and solar radiation storms.
This was second major solar flare of the day. The first one was strongest this year, this second one was even stronger and now holds the record of strongest solar flare this year so far.
Another X-Class Solar Flare (X2.8) Another major X-Class solar flare, this time peaking at X2.8 was observed at 16:05 UTC. Another Strong Radio Blackout resulted on the sunlit side of Earth. The source is again the active region rotating into view off the east limb. The latest event generated a Coronal Mass Ejection that looks to be directed mostly towards the east and away from Earth. The solar rotation will continue to carry the Sunspot into a more direct Earth view this week. Images and video below.Stay Tuned for updates.
ALERT: Type II Radio Emission Begin Time: 2013 May 13 1557 UTC Estimated Velocity: 949 km/s Description: Type II emissions occur in association with eruptions on the sun and typically indicate a coronal mass ejection is associated with a flare event.
ALERT: Type IV Radio Emission Begin Time: 2013 May 13 1557 UTC Description: Type IV emissions occur in association with major eruptions on the sun and are typically associated with strong coronal mass ejections and solar radiation storms.
SUMMARY: 10cm Radio Burst Begin Time: 2013 May 13 1553 UTC Maximum Time: 2013 May 13 1601 UTC End Time: 2013 May 13 1618 UTC Duration: 25 minutes Peak Flux: 520 sfu Description: A 10cm radio burst indicates that the electromagnetic burst associated with a solar flare at the 10cm wavelength was double or greater than the initial 10cm radio background. This can be indicative of significant radio noise in association with a solar flare. This noise is generally short-lived but can cause interference for sensitive receivers including radar, GPS, and satellite communications.
I've been keeping my eye on sunspot 1598 since it appeared revolving into earthview, and I had a niggling feeling that this bad boy wasn't going to go out quietly. Guess I was right. Two days ago 1598 popped off two M class solar flares, both with CMEs which should impact earth with just a glancing blow today/tomorrow, and a hand full of C's. Then last night 1598 gave us an M5 followed by an Xclass X1.8 Flare. The good news is that neither produced a CME, the bad news is that 1598 is just rotating into earth view and is all geared up to party some more. The flares did cause radio black outs, but only for an hour or so on the sunlit side of earth. Current Solar Forcast as spot 1598 rotates into direct earth view is 80% chance of M class, and 20% chance of X Class flares.
SuspiciousObservers video update for today has a lot of important information.
