Science

New Horizons Glitch

Pluto Charon Animation

The New Horizons Space Probe is approaching planet Pluto with the closest approach taking place next week. Over the holiday weekend, however, the spacecraft computer detected a problem and switched to “safe” mode.

The spacecraft took a series of images last week that were combined into the animated image above. Click on the image to enlarge.

The problem the spacecraft had, occurred after the images were taken. The New Horizons Team reports that a recovery is underway and that the spacecraft, otherwise, appears healthy:

During that time the autonomous autopilot on board the spacecraft recognized a problem and – as it’s programmed to do in such a situation – switched from the main to the backup computer. The autopilot placed the spacecraft in “safe mode,” and commanded the backup computer to reinitiate communication with Earth. New Horizons then began to transmit telemetry to help engineers diagnose the problem.

A New Horizons Anomaly Review Board (ARB) was convened at 4 p.m. EDT to gather information on the problem and initiate a recovery plan. The team is now working to return New Horizons to its original flight plan. Due to the 9-hour, round trip communication delay that results from operating a spacecraft almost 3 billion miles (4.9 billion kilometers) from Earth, full recovery is expected to take from one to several days; New Horizons will be temporarily unable to collect science data during that time.

Seeing Spots

400 Years of Sunspot Numbers

Over eight years ago, we posted a chart similar to the above in a write-up about Correlating Sunspots to Global Climate. The conclusions from that post still hold true today given the lack of ocean levels rising and icecaps melting that the Greenbats would have had you believe. At this point in time, we’re way past the supposed deadline of doom that the Greenbats, UN loonies and Algorians foresaw back then.

I was reading the March 2015 issue of QST Magazine, the publication of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), when I saw the graphic above. The associated discussion with the sunspot graphic spoke about predicting sunspots for the next solar cycles. The author mentioned that the current cycle may lead to another period of minimum activity as the sun has previously exhibited.

Ham radio operators have known for a century that radio propagation is greatly affected by sunspot activity. The more spots, the merrier for long-distance communication on certain frequencies. Solar flux causes the atmosphere to ionize, thus refracting radio waves over the horizon and even around the entire planet.

If, as the writer of the QST article fears, another sunspot minimum is in the works, then ham operators that depend on ionospheric propagation for their hobby will be out of luck. The rest of the world, in that event, should prepare for the bitter cold that a new minimum will likely bring.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Adios AR 2192 (For Now)

AR 2192

I went out to the courtyard to photograph the last image of the great sunspot of 2014, AR 2192 before it rotates out of Earth view. According to the article below, there is a possibility of the spot to return to the Earth-facing side of the solar disk in a couple of weeks. Click on the image to enlarge.

From SpaceWeather.com:

SUPER-SUNSPOT PREPARES TO DEPART: The biggest sunspot in nearly 25 years is about to leave the solar disk.

. . .

As AR2192 approaches the sun’s horizon, it is no longer facing Earth. However, the odds of an Earth-directed radiation storm are higher than ever. The reason is, the western limb of the sun is well-connected to Earth. Solar magnetic fields springing out of that region spiral back to our planet. If a sunspot passing through the area explodes, those spiralling magnetic fields can funnel energetic particles in our direction.

In only a few days, the behemoth sunspot will begin a 2-week transit of the far side of the sun, carried around by the sun’s 27-day rotation. However, that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of this magnificent active region. Big sunspots typically persist for two or three solar rotations before they decay. After it leaves, AR2192 will return in November.

Now THAT’s a Sunspot!

Sunspot 2192

We are going to have a partial solar eclipse tomorrow afternoon. I went out this morning to take some practice shots of the sun and it just so happens that major sunspot AR 2192 is transiting the nearside of the solar disc. There are several other smaller sunspots visible. Click on the image to enlarge.

As for the eclipse, there are some details about it on NASA.

And more about this giant sunspot at SpaceWeather.com:

Earth-effects could increase in the days ahead. AR2192 has an unstable ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic field that harbors energy for powerful explosions, and the active region is turning toward Earth. NOAA forecasters estimate at 65% chance of M-class flares and a 20% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.

Watch for some of our eclipse photos here after the event.

UPDATE: Sunspot 2192 has moved to the right and is in a position almost directly facing the Earth. Click here to view photo taken 23 Oct 14.

Circumhelical Arc

Circumhelical Arc

I went out onto the courtyard this afternoon to try and photograph sunspotsbut had no luck since there was a thin overcast layer of cirrus clouds. Damsel noticed that there was an arc around the sun so I positioned myself underneath the big saguaro out front and took this image of the phenomenon.

The halo around the sun reminds me of some of the halos around the heads in medieval art works such as “Madonna y Bambino” and other halo-worthy holy figures that we saw in The Vatican, Rome and Florence, Italy a few years ago. Click on the image to enlarge.

More Solar Activity

Sunspots

There is a parade of sunspots crossing near the solar equator today. I went out this morning and captured the sunspots with my usual setup of the Canon SX-40 through the cheap little solar filter from Rainbow Symphony. Click on the image to enlarge.

AR 1974 is pointed directly at the Earth and could produce flares. AR 1975 and AR 1976 look to be more intense and will be pointed earthward in a day or so. This could mean auroras in the arctic, communications and electrical grid blackouts or enhanced radio communications as in Ham Radio. Or, it could mean nothing at all.

We have seen from the past that the presence of sunspots generally means warmer temperatures on earth while the absence of them for prolonged periods tend to bring cold periods called minima. Some examples are the Maunder Minimum, the Dalton Minimum and the 1900 Minimum. There was an unnamed minimum in the 1960’s that had Time and Newsweek predicting a new ice age. But, we know how the news media wants to bend things around to capitalize on sensationalism to sell copy, I guess. Or maybe to put forth a political agenda. I think we all know how the media operates these days.

Reference: Correlating Sunspots to Global Climate.

Solar Activity

Sunspots 01FEB2014

Huge sunspot AR 1967 erupted with an M6 class solar flare a couple of days ago. It is not aimed directly at Earth, but scientists predict a 45 percent chance of auroras at high latitudes when the CME glances off the magnetosphere tomorrow. I photographed these two active sunspot regions around noon local time in Arizona. Solar north is up. Click on the image to enlarge.

There was a larger event in late December when the prediction for auroras was such that perhaps they could be seen at lower latitudes, but alas, nothing here at latitude 34. It is possible at this latitude (I have seen auroras in Southern California) so if we live long enough we may see them again here in our Arizona dark skies.